In February 2018, the innovative American string brand Diadem will be introducing a new string! Mike tested this new Diadem Flash 16L . The string offers high durability, a crisp playing feel and, above all, excellent tension maintenance!

Specifications:

Brand: Diadem Type: Flash 16L Thickness: 1.25 mm (16L) String type: lively and comfortable round co-polyester string with tension retention and durability as strengths. The Diadem Flash strings are now available in 3 different thicknesses in our webshop!

Tested by:

Name: Mike Playing strength: 4/4 Type of player: more classic player, flat groundstrokes, generates little spin. Had shoulder problems in the past Racket: Prince Textreme Warrior 107 (107 sq/inch, 16/19 stringing pattern) Stringing hardness: 23/22 kg with a stringing range of 22-26 kilos Testing time: 5.5 hours Favorite string player: Diadem Solstice Power 17

About Diadem

The young American string brand Diadem is best known for its star-shaped strings, the Solstice Power and Elite XT series . The Solstice Power strings excel in power and spin and have a relatively longer ball-string contact. These soft co-poly strings offer great comfort by polyester standards. The Elite XT strings offer extra control in addition to firm spin thanks to the Star Core Technology. These strings have a much more direct response. For 2018, Diadem is expanding the line with two new strings. These are the Evolution (our review of which will follow later) which is particularly strong in a hybrid setup and the Flash that we are discussing today. The Flash is a round co-polyester string and sits between the Yonex Poly Tour Pro and the Prince Tour XP (Beast).

Judgement:

Durability: 8.5 Tension retention: 8.5 Spin/slice: 7 Ball feel: 7.5 Power: 7.5 Control: 7.5 Comfort/arm-friendliness: 8

Setup and stringing the string:

Compared to my favorite string from this brand, the Solstice Power 17, the Flash stringed easier. When tightening the width strings, I always have to 'align' the star-shaped Solstice Power first. This is due to the slightly higher friction due to the star-shaped construction. This round Diadem Flash 16L is easy to thread and does not feel very stiff. A simple stringing job!

Review Diadem Flash 16L:

I tested the Diadem Flash 16L for 3 indoor sessions (on carpet), totaling about 5.5 hours. And what always struck me is that the Flash 16L plays and feels very consistently! The string is in the range of the Yonex Poly Tour Pro and the Prince Tour XP, previously called the Prince Beast (XP).

Power/control and voltage maintenance

What I really like is that the string plays very consistently. This will partly be due to the good voltage maintenance. The Yonex Poly Tour Pro always scores well in terms of tension maintenance and constant performance. Where the Poly Tour Pro feels more low-powered, the Diadem Flash 16L plays a little crisper, a bit like the Yonex Poly Tour Strike that I recently tested . However, the string is less stiff than the Poly Tour Strike. The ball rotation (spin and slice) comes out easier than with the Poly Tour Pro. In that respect, the string also reminds me of the Prince Tour XP, aka Prince Beast (XP). In terms of power and liveliness, the string goes more in that direction. The control of the Diadem Flash 16L is nice due to the constant performance of the string. This is mainly due to the good tension maintenance and durability of the string. After 5.5 hours of playing, I can certainly continue with this string for another number of hours. I'm curious whether this will also work well on gravel.

Spin/slice

With my favorite Solstice Power 17, the extra spin potential of the sharp star-shaped construction gives me more margin and a higher net clearance. This gives me additional control with this rather lively string. With this Flash 16L you will have to play with a little more ball rotation in that respect, but the string plays slightly more stable over its entire lifespan. The result: fine control, even the longer the string is played.

Comfort/ball feeling

Finally, the comfort of the Diadem Flash 16L. Comfort is always important to me, given my past shoulder problems. The comfort of the Flash 16L is more than good. The string offers good vibration damping, but at the same time plays crisply enough. A nice combo! The ball feeling is also more than sufficient. I prefer to play the 17/1.20 mm thickness. It will also be released next month. It will offer even more ball feeling and touch, so that's good. The Diadem Flash strings are now available in 3 different thicknesses in our webshop!

Would you also like to test Diadem Flash?

Around the release of these new Diadem Flash strings, approximately February 20, we will distribute/raffle off 10 sets of these strings among our followers! Would you also like to test the Diadem Flash in your favorite thickness? Keep an eye on our social media channels: @mijnracket (FB) or @tennis_doctor (Instagram)!