Feedback on strings

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Permalink Reply by Jason Schofield on September 10, 2013 at 5:52am

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

just go read here for a few hours.. till your eyes bleed.. Then you will know almost everything about tennis string.. J

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Permalink Reply by Bill Patton on September 13, 2013 at 7:36am

If thats an 18x20 string pattern you should be 50# or even less.   If 16x19 try 52# and go up or down from there, poly strings are made to be strung much lower than 5-6 pounds.   I have a 100sq inch racquet and I string at 48# with my poly.  

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Permalink Reply by Rajat Bhatia on September 13, 2013 at 12:10pm

thanks Bill. Its a 16 x 19 pattern. I'll try 52. Any recommendations on string that's arm-friendly and good for control?

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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on September 13, 2013 at 2:19pm

Here's a review of strings I did:

Luxilon:

            Alu Power (regular)- remarkable cut and drive potential, stiff but manageable, durable.

            Alu Rough- stiff, must be strung lower than regular Alu Power, great cross string to support either synthetic guts or multis, never do full set about 57 lbs, too boardy otherwise.

            Ace- great 18 gauge, do not string above 60, has nice feel with synthetic gut hybrid

            Timo- very good 17 gauge, good in a full set around 57-59 lbs.

            M2- little dull, too much spring, better off hybriding with a multi like Fisher M-One multi

            Original/ Fluoro- both very dull, sluggish.

 

Tecnifibre

            Red Code: 16 gauge great for flat hitters, 17 gauge for spin hitters, stiff, yet comfortable

            Black Code: rubbery, not good tension maintenance for very long, 18 gauge use as a cross only 

            X-One Biphase: very gut like multi, frays alot but has very soft feel, slight bite

            NRG 2:  More punchy than X-One, and not as soft, but still has nice feel

 

Kirschbaum:

           Pro Line 2: very good blend of touch, feel, slight bite, more for those who like to roll their drives, all around string

           Super Smash: Very thick, bland feel. First generation, can get decent spin though, doesn't last.

 

Babolat:

          Hurricane Tour: solid, smooth playing, good bite, lasting control string, 17 or 18 gauge plays best

          Excel Power: very good multi, has nice soft feel, doesn't last very long, lightweight

          RPM Blast: works well for spinners, better than Black Code, but gets dull and dead at the same time

          Addiction: cheap soft string, loses tension too fast, avoid.

          VS Gut: Best gut I've ever tried. Good protective coating, but better to string only in the mains. Real easy to burn the string as a cross against poly mains and snap if not careful. Prestretch always. The hybrid package with Hurricane Tour is a very good one to have, if you have picky seniors who want the best.

 

Wilson:

           NXT Tour: very good multi but frays very fast

           Sensation: Very bad tension loss, overly soft, cheap. Avoid.

           Enduro: decent playing, some bite but can break suddenly on shearing mishits

 

Head:  FXP Power: polyolefin string, strange feeling, no bite

 

Gamma: 

          Live Wire/ Professional : Very good multis with lots of bite, lasts moderately

          TNT2: soft multi, very decent

          Zo Tour: Good bite, Alu Power competitor

 

Gosen:

         OG Sheep Micro: very trampoliny, only use as a cross

         Nanocubic: punchy multi

         Kevlar: very stiff, always string low like 52 lbs

 

Weiss Cannon:

         B5E: highly rated spin string, crispy, lots of bite

         Scorpion: all around control string

         Silverstring: control string, but very dull on slices, not a great deal of bite

 

Klip Excellerator: very smooth string, no bite, maybe too smooth to point of weird feel

 

Topspin Cyberflash: cheap reel, plays good for about 4 hrs, then loses ALL tension, avoid.

 

Tourna Big Hitter Blue: slightly unpredictable, but has good cut on ball

 

Yonex 850: decent mid range multi, smooth. use in cross with Solinco Tour Bite or Alu Rough

 

Signum:

          Pro Poly Plasma: very good medium performing poly, cheap reel, nice bite, orange, good feel, hold tension

          Hyperion: good soft poly with good feel

          Tornado: rubbery but soft, good feel, but needs to be strung tighter than usual, like 61

 

Polystar:

          Energy: good soft string, for conservative hitters, not much spin, oily coating, cheap reels

          Turbo: excellent spin, blade like profile, loses tension fairly quickly, cheap reels

 

Volkl:

          Cyclone: very textured, crispy, brittle feel, use 17 or 18 gauge only

          Powerfiber: decent multi

 

Boris Becker Bomber: probably the best cross for a stiff poly like Alu Power or Red Code

 

Solinco

          Tour Bite: the best spin string period. Almost as stiff as Alu Power, but has slight trampoline, but not annoying. Always hybrid with either syn gut or multi like Yonex 850.

          Outlast: crappy plastic feel, avoid.

 

MSV Focus Hex: stiff, dull feeling, has some bite. did not like.

 

Pro's Pro: 

          Cyber Power: a cheaper alternative to Alu Power, supposed to have some of the same characteristics

          Vendetta: terrible feel, avoid. no feel.

 

Eagnas:  strings for the budget conscious. Reels are very cheap from Gardena factory, Nano string that might be like Gosen Nanocubic. received only fair performance ratings on stringforum.net. 

 

Synthetic Guts: a must have reel if you're going to do a stringing business

          Prince: great feel, non Duraflex feels better to me

          Dunlop: gold version has great feel

          Head: nice feel

          Wilson Stamina: decent feel

          Forten: very decent feel, cheap.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on September 13, 2013 at 2:34pm

The specs on the Biomimetic 200 Lite are below. Certainly a flexy racquet and at tweener weight. Open pattern. Hopefully you haven't been using the same set for more than a month. Polys lose elasticity in 12 hrs of use.

If Hurricane Feel is too jarring, you may like a string I've used, very soft. Head FXP Tour is part poly, part multifilament.

The Head FXP Tour provides a nice blend of power, comfort and control. Constructed from a polyester monofilament fiber core and an 8 layer multi-filament wrap. The liquid outer coating helps decrease friction for more spin potential. This string provides excellent ball pocketing for more power.

• Gauge: 16 / 1.30mm
• Construction: Polyester monofilament core with 8 multi-filament wraps.
• Length: 40 feet / 12.2 meters
• Colors: Black or Blue

Head Size: 95 sq. in. / 612.9 sq. cm.

Length: 27in / 68.58cm

Strung Weight: 11.5oz / 326.02g

Balance: 6 pts HL

Swingweight: 308

Stiffness: 57

Beam Width: 21mm / 21mm / 21mm /

Composition: HM6 Carbon/Aerogel/Graphite

Power Level: Low

Stroke Style: Full

Swing Speed: Fast

Racquet Colors: Navy / Blue / Yellow

Grip Type: Gecko Tac

String Pattern: 16 Mains / 19 Crosses Mains skip: 7H,9H,8T One Piece No Shared Holes

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Permalink Reply by Rajat Bhatia on September 13, 2013 at 2:49pm

thanks Tim, that's useful feedback. 

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Samuel DAmore on November 6, 2014 at 6:57am

Yes, too high..try going down to 54 first
Also it not best string out there nor the worst.
https://stringforum.net/ratings.php?sdnr=4248&count=1

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