poly and tension questions

[tomato123]

Just some thoughts and questions following my first time using poly strings is:

I had it strung a Lux. Ace at 10% lower tension as Luxilion recommended, but I don't know if that necessarily meant that stringing it at 54lbs translates into a 60lb. feel, but it certainly did not feel like 60lbs (it felt a lot looser) and thus I had to take some power off my swing and adjust to the power that the string provided. Is that because poly provides more power than a regular synth gut, or is it because of the tension indeed is 54lbs and not 60, or both? Also, after playing with it for about a good 2 weeks or so, it felt even more "wabbly" which I presume is because of the tension loss, so to those who regularly use poly strings, do you usually end up cutting them yourself before they break on their own? Since it seems like they don't break very easily, I would figure that it also has that much more room to deteriorate in playability. So I'd like to get some feedback regarding those two questions. Thanks.

[LoveThisGame]

From reading this forum, I am definitely in the minority because I don't drop tension on polys.

1) They lose tension more readily than most other strings.

2) Personally, I prefer stiffer, crisper strings. (When I test multifilaments, I have to force myself not to cut them out after one day and find myself using them for only one set at most.)

3) I have had no problems or complaints from customers.

I do have a strong preference for poly hybrids, both from the customer's viewpoint and stringing.

[pure luck]

indeed u have to drop tension on poly strings but only 2lbs

poly strings normally do not snap

enjoy your play :)

[Marc C.]

I do have a strong preference for poly hybrids, both from the customer's viewpoint and stringing.

Stringing polys in the crosses is a *****.

[David Pavlich]

The reason for dropping tension is because polys are much stiffer than the usual synthetic. 60 lbs reference tension is 60 lbs reference tension, regardless of the string type. However, strings like Kevlar or poly have much less elongation percentages relative to synthetics and gut.

You lower the tension to reduce stringbed stiffness. You have to experiment with reference tension in order to match what you used to play with.

Also, polys are notorious for high initial tension loss so keep this in mind when determining what is good for you.

David