Several years ago we playtested many of the KLiP offerings and came away impressed. At the time we were a much smaller operation with more limited offerings and decided not to introduce KLiP products to our local customers. (Probably not one of our wiser business decisions.) However, we always remembered the quality of the offerings. In 2009 we decided to drop a vendor who proved to be unreliable and refresh our offerings for our local stringing customers.
We are the only area stringing service bringing KLiP products to NE Atlanta and suspect many will be anxious to learn more about these products. The first offering we will discuss is the flagship product, KLiP Excellerator.
KLiP Excellerator is a premium quality multifilament string. We suspect it will be a long time, if ever, that any multi will surpass the WeissCANNON Explosiv! in terms of our complete reverence, however the KLiP offers a slightly different flavor. Excellerator is a crisper playing multi, still providing the comfort and power you would expect from a multi, and doing it better than most on the market. Unlike most premium multis it is available in 3 gauges; 16, 17 & 18.
While the Explosiv! is king in terms of soft multis, we are nearly ready to anoint Excellerator as prince of the crisp multis. The Excellerator we are playtesting is the 18ga version. It is being tested in a Kneissl Black Star. The string was installed on 1/2/09 and we strung it purposely at the high end to test durability and comfort. The stringbed stiffness (DT) as measured on the ERT 700 was 44. At the time of this blog entry the racquet has been strung for 11 days and has seen 4 hours of court time. DT = 43 which represents a minuscule initial tension loss…outstanding for any string, much less a multi, by any standard.
From a performance standpoint we have found a crispy, yet comfortable feel. The power level is greater than we expected or remembered, even at a high tension. Most importantly we have noted that while the LaserFibre Supreme was described as “boardy” and “hard” at higher tensions, this is definitely not the case with the Excellerator. Also when comparing the two, the initial tension loss for the Excellerator is LESS than that of the laser treated Supreme. Interesting…
We are anxious to see when and what happens to the performance of this string once it reaches 10 -1 5 hours of court time. We will report back and update this blog entry, so please stay tuned. Since it is an 18ga strung at a high tension it may not see that much action. We notice some string movement, nothing excessive. No notching is currently evident. Performance thus far is consistent, powerful and very pleasant. Once again, this KLiP product is impressing us and we are not alone.
UPDATE:
2/2/09 – 10 hours of court time and DT currently reads 39, representing a 12% loss. Limited string movement has not gotten any worse and durability is surprisingly good.
We have a customer who plays AA which is roughly equivalent to a 4.5 – 5.0 USTA level. She has suffered in the past from Tennis Elbow so we always use multis for her. Over the years she has tried many and the KLiP Excellerator 17 has emerged as her new favorite. According to her, it is livelier than Tecnifibre Bi-Phase, not as boardy as LaserFibre Supreme and is crisper than Yonex 880 ti and Explosiv! She prefers thin gauge, crisp multis and she reports this is the best playing string she has used to date. Given her style, preferences and game it is not surprising that the Excellerator is a perfect match for her. It may also be for you. Give it a try and see for yourself. Currently Guts and Glory Tennis is offering a KLiP Upgrade Special where you will save $4.00 off the stringing price of the Excellerator.
