Smasher08
07-09-2011, 03:29 PM
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I've delayed posting this due to shoulder issues that came up just before I started hitting with this set-up.
I'd been trying Turbotwist with Tourna Irradiated 17g in the crosses, and although it had goood bite and decent spin, when I put string savers in due to the crosses started fraying, the stringbed got uncomfortably stiff for me very fast, and I actually injured my shoulder from it while serving in a match. It's now been 5/6 weeks and I still haven't been able to serve since.
I have, however, been able to do everything but serve, and I had Turbotwist strung at 53 and Spiral Flex in the crosses at 50 to really soften things up. I'll be honest: at first I absolutely hated it. The combination felt mushy and underpowered and unresponsive to me, and had I gone and typed this then, my words would have been pretty scathing.
But then after 4 hours or so of hitting, things changed.
Maybe the Spiral Flex loosened up, but suddenly I could feel the ball on the strings, and was getting decent pace and spin. Not quite spin like from MSV Focus Hex, but decent Intellitour-like spin. I'd describe Turbotwist as playing like a muted version of Rip Control: almost as comfortable, even considering how much stiffer it truly is.
Spiral Flex is a decent syn gut cross that really softens up the mains, though after 20 hrs or so I can really feel that the tension has dropped. After using Intellitour 17 for 6 or 7 years, perhaps I've been spoiled because it's my benchmark string and I just don't think Spiral Flex is quite on par with it (although to be fair, very few strings are imo). Spiral Flex does a good job in virtually every category, but the only thing I think it's outstanding in is its price.
From the baseline this hybrid played pretty well, and were good for volleys too. I didn't, however, get to serve with them since whenever I tried I still felt a searing pain in the middle of my shoulder. No pain doing anything else.
All in all, I'd say the combination is pretty decent but not mind-blowingly great. I also say that my shoulder probably just does not mix with poly mains. I'll admit that I'm somewhat jealous of people who don't get arm or shoulder problems from using them, but after trying several I've come to the conclusion that they just don't work for me.
Next up for me will be natural gut.
I've delayed posting this due to shoulder issues that came up just before I started hitting with this set-up.
I'd been trying Turbotwist with Tourna Irradiated 17g in the crosses, and although it had goood bite and decent spin, when I put string savers in due to the crosses started fraying, the stringbed got uncomfortably stiff for me very fast, and I actually injured my shoulder from it while serving in a match. It's now been 5/6 weeks and I still haven't been able to serve since.
I have, however, been able to do everything but serve, and I had Turbotwist strung at 53 and Spiral Flex in the crosses at 50 to really soften things up. I'll be honest: at first I absolutely hated it. The combination felt mushy and underpowered and unresponsive to me, and had I gone and typed this then, my words would have been pretty scathing.
But then after 4 hours or so of hitting, things changed.
Maybe the Spiral Flex loosened up, but suddenly I could feel the ball on the strings, and was getting decent pace and spin. Not quite spin like from MSV Focus Hex, but decent Intellitour-like spin. I'd describe Turbotwist as playing like a muted version of Rip Control: almost as comfortable, even considering how much stiffer it truly is.
Spiral Flex is a decent syn gut cross that really softens up the mains, though after 20 hrs or so I can really feel that the tension has dropped. After using Intellitour 17 for 6 or 7 years, perhaps I've been spoiled because it's my benchmark string and I just don't think Spiral Flex is quite on par with it (although to be fair, very few strings are imo). Spiral Flex does a good job in virtually every category, but the only thing I think it's outstanding in is its price.
From the baseline this hybrid played pretty well, and were good for volleys too. I didn't, however, get to serve with them since whenever I tried I still felt a searing pain in the middle of my shoulder. No pain doing anything else.
All in all, I'd say the combination is pretty decent but not mind-blowingly great. I also say that my shoulder probably just does not mix with poly mains. I'll admit that I'm somewhat jealous of people who don't get arm or shoulder problems from using them, but after trying several I've come to the conclusion that they just don't work for me.
Next up for me will be natural gut.