In 2011 a brash and bold new stringing upstart thrust itself upon the US stringing market. The strings represented the very best work of John Elliot, who is known in the profession as the “Father of Polyester Strings” At the time, Mr. Elliot had a hand in developing a huge number of poly and copoly strings in production. L-TEC represented the best of his work and was considered to be the ultimate in terms of overall playability, tension maintenance and overall performance. This is the string line that would change tennis.
Indeed L-TEC created a stir in the marketplace. It broke convention in many ways. It was presented as a complete stringing system. The L-TEC system was the first to make use of the poly/poly hybrid using differently shaped polys in the mains and crosses to create custom effects. Today many string companies are pre-packaging differently shaped polys, but L-TEC was the first. No one prior to L-TEC had any such offering.
L-TEC was the first poly-based string to specifically call for stringers to install it the way it was designed to perform best…at LOW tensions. (Well, lower than synthetic and natural guts.) L-TEC boldly made the claim that polys needed to be strung low for optimal performance and laid the ground work for polys to be strung at lower tensions (in the 30’s and 40’s) and still maintain outstanding control. In an effort to help support this, L-TEC promoted a method of stringing that resulted in a terrific playing stringbed at lower tensions. While some polys suggest dropping tension by 10%, none went to the length of making such a strong suggestion and providing support and a method for stringing.
L-TEC strings were the first in any marketplace to offer a square shaped string. Today there are many square shaped strings available, but once again, L-TEC blazed that trail and showed how to hybrid that offering with huge versatility for outstanding effects and results. In fact, the L-TEC 3S/4S combination is the only hybrid that was ever successfully patented because of the unique performance characteristics it delivered.
L-TEC strings bravely and boldly entered the marketplace at premium pricing. Very bold for a new company. L-TEC was the most expensive strings in the marketplace, by far. It was a premium string aiming for players who wanted the best performance regardless of the cost. It is likely that L-TEC paved the way for other strings to increase pricing once it was realized the market would bear higher pricing. This is one of the unfortunate legacies of the L-TEC string.
L-TEC was the first company to offer their strings in half sets, full sets, 1/4 reels, 1/2 reels, full reels and oversized reels. Today we see some string companies offering half reels and even half sets, but to date, no one is offering customers the convenient variety of L-TEC. Of course since the system allowed for a variety of shapes to be blended the smaller volumes made this easier for customers to experiment.
Yes, L-TEC changed the tennis string market in many ways. Unfortunately the premium pricing model was proven as not being able to succeed without major marketing dollars behind it and L-TEC became a niche string. Today, we are sad to announce, that we will no longer be carrying the legendary L-TEC strings. It is time to move on. While it is sad to watch this legend leave the US shores, it will be remembered fondly. It is truly a brand that blazed trails and left an indelible mark.
The good news for US residents is that we have a nice inventory on hand that we are blowing it out at fantastic savings! Strings that were once selling for $19 per set have been drastically reduced. We have created a one of a kind sale for this unique string. A sale of which has never been offered before.
We possess a substantial amount of these Premium L-TEC offerings in full sets, 1/4 reels, 1/2 reels, as well as the full reels and oversized reels that were once reserved for retailers ONLY. For our clearance sale, we have created a unique ordering process. Customers let us know how many full stringings they desire and we, in turn, will fulfill the order with whatever sizes are most efficient for processing the order. Better yet, customers used to have to order larger quantities to bring the cost per set down, but in this clearance we are selling at BELOW the lowest cost per set and well below wholesale. This is the best deal Guts and Glory Tennis has ever offered. L-TEC Premium strings are still the top performance polys on the market and we are making them available to you at just $3.00 per stringing!!! BEST. DEAL. EVA!
L-TEC Premium String Sale is HERE.
