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The Smart is the new monofilament produced by the Belgian company Luxilon. I can’t remember so much hype generated by a string, result and merit of a very aggressive joint marketing campaign made by Luxilon / Wilson (the Smart is indeed sponsored as optimal string to be mounted on the Clash).
The string is composed of two materials combined in a single core of co-polyester circular section that has three polyamide cores clearly visible from the outside. The result is a “hybrid” string (Element style) that takes advantage of the control and spin characteristics typical of polyester with the elasticity and comfort guaranteed by nylon (polyamide).
The colouring is a “grey scale” where the light grey of the central core is “broken” by the dark grey of the polyamide cores. The effect produced is very similar to the two-tone strings that were in fashion some time ago (for example the Twice series of DoubleAR).
The Luxilon Smart is available in 1.25 mm sizes and, in the most competitive version, 1.30 mm.
The listing price for a reel of 12 meters is around 25 euros while for a reel of 200 meters is 320 euros. Obviously these prices are indicative and in shops you can find a few euros less.
The Smart is a very “eclectic” string that varies considerably its behavior depending on the tension with which it is strung. At low tensions (under 20 kg for instance) it is comfortable and returns a very “pasty” response while at medium-high tensions (over 22 kg) it becomes quite rigid, with a “metallic” sound, and strongly oriented to control. We recommend staying on low tensions (even on frames with low stiffness) to maximize the string’s attitude in spin generation.
The spin is in fact one of the most marked features of the Smart. It is not really a “spin machine” but it is appreciated for the access to the rotations that is rather simple and immediate. The ball comes out of the stringbed “heavy” and with deep trajectories without having to exasperate the technical gesture.
The control is also good, favoured by the progressive plasticization that transfers the maximum confidence to the player during the execution of the shots.
The returned power is at good levels. Unlike other monofilaments, the Smart activates quite easily and favours a certain depth of ball during the exchange.
The Smart is a hybrid monofilament with “medium” stiffness (0.78 kg/mm) resulting from the combination of co-polyester and polyamide. The result is a discreet feeling of comfort when strung, as anticipated, at low tensions (below 20kg).
The Smart is by nature a string quite balanced in its characteristics. It comes with good attitudes in all respects but without excelling in anyone. This “linearity” of behavior may not please the tennis player accustomed to using totally unbalanced mono on control and spin.
Good static tension, less dynamic tension that keeps the Smart playable at high levels for about 8 hours. The result would not be so bad, but given the basic price of tinkering you could expect something more.
The strength of the Luxilon Smart is its adaptability to the style of play of the tennis player who mounts it on his frame.
The “medium” stiffness of the Smart makes the string suitable for both a competitive audience, for control and spin skills, and for a more “amateur” audience that will be able to exploit power and control without sacrificing comfort.
When mounted at low tensions, it can also become a valid option for a junior competitive audience looking for more control and longer string life.
The Smart is suitable for both a modern spin game and a more “classic” and “flat” game. It fits well both on profiled frames with open string pattern (probably on this type of racket returns the maximum yield) and on boxed frames.
The tests were performed by stringing the Luxilon Smart on:
Luxilon “pushed” the Smart in a very aggressive way generating a very important hype on the string.
The Smart is a balanced string and comes with good attitudes in all respects. Slightly more marked are the characteristics related to spin and control.
The strength of the Smart is its adaptability to the style of play of the tennis player. It is suitable both for a modern game made of rotations and for a game more “classic” and “flat”.
