Babolat created the world’s first set of natural gut tennis strings back in 1875.  Tennis strings have come a long way since then. Babolat tennis strings continue to reflect their expertise and experience in the field of tennis racquet strings. Babolat tennis strings cover all types of players and preferences, including synthetic gut, multifilaments, natural gut, and polyester strings.
Do you have a junior player that has powerful topspin ground strokes? During the recent state tournament in Montana, a 14 year old junior player was out-hitting his opponents with controlled, powerful deep shots. The opponents seemed to frame shots, miss strokes, and otherwise just plain look bad. I could hear the difference in the racquets. The player using the Babolat Pro Hurricane had great sound coming from the tennis racquet when he made contact with the ball. The other player’s racquet just sounded like a guitar. Twangy. That sound means the force is not going back into the ball smoothly, but vibrating through the racquet frame. This is lost power and control. After watching the Babolat Pro Hurricane is action, it justified a thorough product review.

The Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour tennis string is used on the pro tour by players such as Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, while Babolat VS Team natural gut is used by numerous players and is one of the top natural gut choices on the tour.

For more information about tennis strings, check out our tennis string buying guide.

The Babolat Pro Hurricane tennis strings are the best for power hitters. This is truly a great poly.
At the right tension, these strings can be really deadly.
It gives great spin to junior tennis players that hit with a semi western grip. It can dramaticly change your playing.
These strings will change your game, in a good way. They help you provide deadly power and spin, the perfect string for big hitters that want some spin on the ball to pass over the net with controlled height.

Generally, tennis retailers agree that the Pro Hurricane is one of the best strings around the market these days.

The string is made of a polyester material with an Innovative Structure: Octagonal shape providing more spin than other polyester strings. The following benefits are taken from the Manufacturer:

• 10% More Power
• 5% More Durable
• Same Spin
• Better Tension Maintenance

The manufacturer claims the Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour holds tension better than Big Banger Alu Power and Pro Hurricane.

For tennis stringers, the Pro Hurricane Tour is easier to string. Stringers commented about “a very enjoyable during the stringing operation thanks to its flexibility compared to standard polyester strings”. Since the Pro Hurricane Tour has some give, it does not burn the fingers like standard polyester strings. The silicone coating enhances sliding through the grommets.

The Pro Hurricane Tour is the easiest polyester to string in the market. Pro Hurricane is a polyester based durability string designed to meet the needs of top tournament players.  For Pro Hurricane, Babolat has introduced a new construction process called Technology XFP which utilizes Babolat’s latest string material Xtrem Futur Polymer.
Pro Hurricane is the string of choice for Fernando Gonzalez, Ivan Ljubicic, and Ashley Harkleroad.

Customer Reviews:
” This string is great! It provides good power, touch and spin compared to other polys I’ve used”
Luke, Wellington, New Zealand.  June 2010

“Great tennis string. Especially good used as a hybrid with this used as the durability string. String this racquet two pounds higher than you normally would because the Pro Hurricane strings lose about that much tension after the first couple hours.”
-Tennis Warehouse Customer,  May 2010

“Strung at 56 pounds on my Babolat pure storm GT tennis racquet after seven hours of play it has kept the tension, the feel is good and so is the power and control, however I prefer pro hurricane tour 17 which has some more power. This string creates some good spin and does not feel dead like Tecnifibre red code, polyspin or Luxilon big banger. Good string for the value.”
-Rafael, Beirut, Lebanon, national level tennis player

Comments: Nice string it also has good feel with the forehand, but just remember to string it looser like 50-55lbs.
From: John, New York, New York, United States. 4/10
Skill Level: 5.5

“An amazing string, good topspin, power and control. But the only thing is poor durability. The strings bites into each other too much.”
-Dex, New Jersey,: USA.  April 2010

“Given my game (a rafa-like lasso forehand and graf-like knifed slice backhand), I am amazed that the Pro Hurricane string lasted as long as it did and maintained a high level of performance. I play about two times a week for two hours at a time and the string lasted over four months without breaking. I just decided to try the 17 gauge version of this string. It’s not the most elbow friendly string, but its highly durable and does generate a good amount of spin.”
-Ryan, Alexandria, VA, USA  February 2010

Popularity: 15% [?]

The skin rejuvenators on the market include ingredients from nature, such as the anti-aging power of plants. Botanicals are the best sources for active ingredients that protect and repair aging skin. Vitamins , antioxidants, and emollients that spring from leaves , nuts, and fruits, can reduce the sign of wrinkles. Here is a list of five natural ingredients that fight sagging, and boost radiance.

Bearberry: a flowering shrub that grows throughout the United States. It is used as a skin brightener.  The bearberry leaf contains arbutin, a derivative of the skin lightener hydroquinone. Hydroquinone reduces the formation of pigment producing melanin. Hydroquinone can irritate the skin, but bearberry is milder, so it is an effective Hydroquinone alternative. Bearberry containing products are great for women with melasma. Women who applied a cream that included bearberry once a day lightened the melasma dark patch by 70% after three months. Juice Beauty products feature the bearberry.

Acai: The brightly colored Brazilian berry packs a big anti aging punch. Acia berries are rich in emollients such as essential fatty acids and phytosterols that help seal moisture and strengthen the skins surface so its more resilient against outside irritation. Acai is considered a superfruit which boasts one of the highest ORAC scores, though to measure a food’s ability to ward off premature aging. DDF Mesojection Health Cell Serum contains the wrinkle fighting Acai berry.

Red Tea: Tea brewed from the leave of this South African shrub are rich in anti inflammatories such as quercetin that helps relieves itching and facial flushing. Red tea is ideal for reducing irritation stemming from rosacea and eczema flare-ups.Dermalogica products carry the red tea extract as part of their ingredients.

Argan Oil: The Moroccan argan tree has leaves that are loaded with glycerin, a humectrant that attracts water, plumping wrinkles. The leaf extract fends off wrinkle-causing free radicals and reduces collagen and elastin damage by 45% in one study.

Durian: The source of Durians beauty benefits is the creamy pulp. It may soon be in demand as the world’s top skin rejuvenator.  The hydrating oils, antioxidants, and natural sugars that strengthen natural cell membranes and prevent moisture from escaping. Durian is only available from Murad in the Murad eye cream.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Playing your best golf game, it takes good posture, strong abdominals, upper and lower back strength and overall flexibility.  Inversion tables offer a platform to gain these quality through a daily, five-minute program of inverted decompression. Some may consider it home medical equipment. Experts recommend inversion therapy as part of back exercises for golfers.

Better Posture: Inversion help realign the spine, creating a symmetrical axis of rotation. With improves posture, also comes improve outcomes low-wage contributed to a more accurate and consistent swing.

Upper and Lower Back Health: One-sided and rotational activities like golf can cause the body to overcompensate for the strong-side muscle groups, pulling the spine out of the line. Inversion with movement helps correct misalignment caused by rotation of the shoulders, hips, and twisting of the lower back.

Flexibility: Muscle and joint stiffness can hinder the golfer’s stance, impact the golf swing, and raise the risk of injury. Inversion is a nearly effortless activity that uses gravity to the body’s advantage, relieving tense muscles in the neck, shoulders and lower back. Inversion also help relieve compression fatigue, allowing the spine to elongate and the discs to re-hydrate, resulting in a more flexible spine. Inversion therapy can help the golfer swing freely without any fear of pulling a back muscle.

Core strength: Strong abdominals may help prevent the back injuries that plague many golfers. Inverted sit-ups place no additional load on the lower back and work your abs against gravity for the ultimate exercise.

Inversion equipment is not just for golfers. Any physical sport can benefit from inversion therapy to decompress over used joints, stretch tired muscles, and build core strength to reduce the potential for injury.

Popularity: 34% [?]

What tennis racquet does Roger Federer use? Federer has been with Wilson beginning with the Pro Staff. After the Prostaff Original 85 was discontinued, Federer’s racquet of choice was the flagship Wilson Tour 90. Now Federer uses the Wilson Six.One Tour BLX. This version of the 90 gets Wilson’s new BLX technology, which involves weaving Basalt fibers into the composition for improved vibration resistance. Wilson claims its BLX treatment allows a smoother signal to reach the player after impact for cleaner feedback and the “perfect feel.” Feel is good for the tennis player who plays with control and has a variety of shots in their game. The ability to switch from top spin, to slice, to flat strokes takes feel in your stroke. You can sum this racket up in 3 words: Touch, Precision, and Spin. Like its predecessors, the Wilson BLX Six-One tour 90 tennis racquet offers excellent plow-through. Users in various tests mentioned they were able to generate a lot of pace and penetration with this racquet.

What is plow through? More “plow through” equals to less vibration on your arm. Plow through can actually be expressed numerically as the proportion of a racket’s mass actually involved in striking the tennis ball. Depends on balance, swing weight, mass, and where you tend to catch the ball on the racket face – really the distribution of racket mass as related to the tennis ball. Everything from slice to topspin was zinging. Some users struggled with this line of racquets from Wilson, but this type of racquet may fit players with a two-handed backhand. Having both hands on the racquet worked well with the plow through and one reviewer felt it seemed much more manageable and easier to maneuver. Another reviewer the racquet felt more muted or dampened when compared to the Wilson KFactor and nCode racquets.

Technical Specifications:

• 90 square inches,16 x 19 string pattern, 12.5 ounces (strung)
• Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 90 square inches 581 square centimeters
• Weight 12.5 ounces 354 grams Balance Point 12.375 inches
  31 centimeters 9pts Head Light Construction 17.5mm Straight Beam Composition Karophite Black / Basalt String Pattern 16 Mains / 19 Crosses

The Six- One tour is clearly a player frame. With its thin flat beam, relatively high swing weight and head light balance this frame screams aggressive all courter. While it is more forgiving than the original Six- One tour retail frame it still demands long fast fluid groundstrokes, efficient service motion, and clean volley execution to get the most from it.

So is there more to the changes in this racket than a paint job? The surprising answer is yes. This may be the most linear racket on the market. There is a perfect progressing of power that is directly linked to how hard you hit a shot. A lot of non player frames that provide extra pop are harder to control on touch shots.

This racket allows you to hit drop shots consistently just a few feet from the net if your technique allows. Roger Federer has added the drop shot to his match play since 2009 and the engineers have tuned the equipment for those players with stroke variety. The spin production makes these shots even more deadly. Federer just never had a chance to play Nadal much in 2009 due to Nadal dealing with knee problems. It appears that the sweet spot is slight larger that the K-factor but this may be the Basalt fibers at work removing harsh unwanted vibration. At the net the maneuverability is very good despite the frames weight. Bad volley technique such as long backswings will be an issue for all but very physically strong players. The nearly perfect feel of this racket allows you to absorb the power of hard hit passing shots and take the offensive. It is great at drop volleys as well.

Serving requires solid technique and requires you to make all of the power. If you are looking for extra heat on your serve don’t expect this frame to give it to you. Accuracy is incredible. It is possible to hit all of the angles and to do so consistently with this frame. But if your technique falters it is not going to be pretty.

From the baseline the spin capabilities and precision allows you to dictate play from the first shot. The ability to hit with lots of topspin, chip, slice and flatten out shots is very nice and quite predictable. This is where the Basalt fibers are most evident. The feel of the ball on the strings is a good as ever but the frame is better damped. One of the few rackets that does not need a string damper. Along with good topspin generation, this is a perfect frame for hitting low biting slice shots as well.

The experts at Tennis Express have suggested the Six-One tour is a bit like taking a Mercedes -MacLaren F1 Car for a spin. If you are highly skilled at tennis, this racket gives to superb feedback on every shot and the things you can accomplish with it are nearly limitless. If not, your best bet in both cases is to sit and pose, at least that way you can look the part.

While this is one of the best Wilson tennis racquet frames on the market, it is tailor made for an advanced player with nearly perfect technique. If you have a tendency to hit the ball a little late but still would like a BLX tour frame, look at the review for the BLX tour 95.

Due to the small head size it is wise to string (especially with poly strings) at the lower end of the tension range as a starting point.

Popularity: 72% [?]

In the coming weeks, Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, the Clash of the Titans remake and How to Train Your Dragon will all be released in 3-D in North America, while Avatar could also still remain in some locations. Not all theater owners have bought the new digital projectors and made the necessary upgrades to screen the films in the new format, so a limited number will be able to actually show all the titles in 3-D. About 3,900 to 4,000 3-D-ready screens are to be available in the U.S. and Canada by the end of March. But, typically, a movie in wide release might show on up to 10,000 screens.

Alice in Wonderland, produced by Disney, scheduled for release March 5,  is one of 20 3-D releases scheduled this year with additional films expected to be announced. The main issue of course is that less than 10% of movie theaters,  roughly 4,000 screens can project in 3-D. This is personally felt in Bozeman, Montana, where there is no ability to watch these movies in 3-D. Hollywood seems to be ahead of its movie distributors for 3D technology. This lack of 3-D supply and theaters is putting pressure on theater owners who may not have enough screens to play both avatar which is running strongly going into the Academy Awards as well as house wonder.

In a traffic jam becomes even more congested. In early April class of the Titans snippets during the Olympics broadcast. Theater owners are trying to add 250 screens a month and will eventually pick up the pace from 4000 screens at the beginning of 2009 to hopefully 7000 screens by the holiday film releases. 3-D technology has given the industry some optimism. Higher ticket prices have helped increase revenue and fatten profits for Hollywood.  Movies such as “Dragon”, and Alice in Wonderland were filmed in 3-D., but Clash of the Titans is being converted from 2D just before they are released. If the movie does well as a 3-D movie, then more studios will look to convert to 3-D movies. However, quick 3-D conversions are not as good and could end up with moviegoers being dissatisfied with the technology. 3-D which is done well and good for the industry that bad 3-D can risk spoiling the whole concept.

The quest to deliver 3d television shows, video games, and movies to 3-D ready HDTVs is moving forward despite the dearth of programming. A supply of 3-D broadcasts may entice viewers to use the special glasses. To learn more about 3-D ready LCD Tvs, please check out the LCD TV buyers guide.

The simulation of three dimensions requires two images, one each for the users left and right eye. The two approaches include analgryph and polarization. The analgryph technique uses color filters in paper lenses and some people say it works best on HD flat screens.  Viewers prefer projection technology using polarized light and inexpensive plastic glasses. A third approach that does require glasses, currently favored by Philips Electronics, may take several years before commercial release.

Samsung has released two 3-D ready plasma TVs , 42 inches and 50 inches.  The 50 inch plasma TV is priced at $2,656 (shop for HDTVs online). However, Network broadcasters may be the critical path to 3D in the home. Broadcasters just invested in major upgrades for high-definition television and are reluctant to spend more money on infrastructure to explore 3-D technology. In the end,  consumers will be the judge in the the sales growth of 3D ready LCDTVs.

Popularity: 57% [?]

As parents, one of the milestones in parenting is teaching your child to ride a bike. For everyone parent with young children, there is a new bike accessory invention on the market that may eliminate the training wheel. As every parent knows, the training wheels create instability in the bike as it tips from one side to another. Bikes with training wheels require frequent adjustments and never really allow the child to move smoothly from training wheels to two wheels.

A new company is introducing a product to challenge the conventional method. It is a new type of children’s bike accessory called the Gyrowheel. The gyrowheel is designed to replace traditional training wheels by swapping out the standard front wheel of a children’s bike. A kids bike that contains a spinning disk generates a force to self stabilize the bike. The spinning disk creates a force that is powerful enough to hold the wheel upright at very low speeds. This allows kids to learn the pedal and then gradually ratchet down the power.

The wheel retails for about hundred dollars. 12 inch Gyrowheels are designed to fit 12 inch kids’ bikes and 16 inch Gyrowheels are designed to fit 16 inch kids’ bikes. What size bike you should buy depends on the rider’s inseam. It’s best to take a look at the size chart on the individual bike as they vary in style and dimensions.

• 12 inch bikes typically accommodate riders who are 34-46 inches in height
• 16 inch bikes typically accommodate riders who are 38-52 inches in height

If a new rider is between sizes, the manufacturer recommends the smaller of the two appropriate sizes. A smaller bike allows for easier handling, including steering and pedaling. It also allows the rider’s feet to touch the ground more readily, which makes new riders feel more confident. Further, they recommend that new riders start out by pushing along the ground with their feet, so an appropriately small bike is particularly important for this.

Popularity: 41% [?]