What tension for 16G VS and Legend for Natural Gut Comparison

M

Magnus_CA

New User
I'm diving in with both feet to the the natural gut swimming pool. I've got a package of Klip Legend and Babolat VS Touch. I'm going to restring both of my racquets (Prince Ozone Tour 16x18) and see what fuss is about.

I generally string 16G multi at mid tension (58lbs). Is the power of these two strings similar enough that I should string both at 58?

Thanks for the help!
 
tennisfreak15347

tennisfreak15347

Banned
Legend and VS are both high quality guts. they're pretty different, however. VS gut is higher powered, while klip is lower powered and slightly stiffer due to a slightly higher synthetic coating. Generally, people string gut about 3 lbs higher for natural gut.
 
J

JavierLW

Hall of Fame
Magnus_CA said:
I'm diving in with both feet to the the natural gut swimming pool. I've got a package of Klip Legend and Babolat VS Touch. I'm going to restring both of my racquets (Prince Ozone Tour 16x18) and see what fuss is about.

I generally string 16G multi at mid tension (58lbs). Is the power of these two strings similar enough that I should string both at 58?

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

I string X1 biphase at 57 or 58, and I string Wilson Natural Gut (which is similar if not exactly the same as VS) at 59 or 60 if that helps. (2 lbs difference) It works fine for me.

It wont feel exactly the same though if that's what you are going for but it's still playable for me.

As far as Legend, I am venturing into that myself. Im going to go with 59 just to be safe since that way Im not changing too much at the same time.

Im also not all that sure that it would of been a big deal if I strung it at the same tension. Natural Gut is a lot more resilient so it stays playable for way longer then a multi did.

What was surprising was that if I strung most multi's at 60lbs, it would be too stiff compared to what I am used to, but when I did it with the NG it wasnt that big of a deal. (but I strung it at 62 once and I wanted to stick it in a steam room or something to lose some tension because then it felt too stiff)
 
K

Keifers

Legend
One thing you might want to consider is the issue of pre-stretching.

Because I found Legend noticeably firmer/stiffer than Bab VS, I would do only a very gentle pre-stretch on the Legend and a more normal pre-stretch on the VS.

Or do no pre-stretch on the Legend and only a gentle pre-stretch on the VS.

Of course, for a true comparison of the two, you would do the same to both and string both at the same tension. And then see how they play.

Good luck with this. Let us know how you go.
 
Valjean

Valjean

Hall of Fame
Magnus_CA said:
....I generally string 16G multi at mid tension (58lbs). Is the power of these two strings similar enough that I should string both at 58?
Click to expand...
In a word, no. Legend is a "durable" gut, and stiff besides, whereas VS is the power/playability entry in the gut field. I'd definitely up the VS by 3 lbs. at the least. To assure yourself, put the Legend in first. Depending on the multi, you could well experience a loss of feel and touch, and the VS will heighten your experience of either one, guaranteed.
 
M

Magnus_CA

New User
Valjean said:
In a word, no. Legend is a "durable" gut, and stiff besides, whereas VS is the power/playability entry in the gut field. I'd definitely up the VS by 3 lbs. at the least. To assure yourself, put the Legend in first. Depending on the multi, you could well experience a loss of feel and touch, and the VS will heighten your experience of either one, guaranteed.
Click to expand...

I've tried Dunlop Max Comfort 16, X-1 Biphase 16, and Wilson Reaction 16.
 
Azzurri

Azzurri

Legend
Valjean said:
In a word, no. Legend is a "durable" gut, and stiff besides, whereas VS is the power/playability entry in the gut field. I'd definitely up the VS by 3 lbs. at the least. To assure yourself, put the Legend in first. Depending on the multi, you could well experience a loss of feel and touch, and the VS will heighten your experience of either one, guaranteed.
Click to expand...

I finally have played both gut strings (Klip Legend 17g and Babolat VS 17g). The Bab is more powerful and a little softer..yet still crisp. The Klip has more spin and it is a little more stiff. The main thing is they both play extremely well. The $10 price difference is not worth it to get Babolat.
 
Valjean

Valjean

Hall of Fame
Magnus_CA said:
I've tried Dunlop Max Comfort 16, X-1 Biphase 16, and Wilson Reaction 16.
Click to expand...
While I certainly wouldn't call any of the above "touch" champions or bursting with "feel", too, Max Comfort and X-1 Biphase do have more of both than Legend. Reaction and Legend are a toss-up there, IMO. How your gut test turns out can depend significantly on what your game is like, anyhow--for example, baseline play, which doesn't really call for either one, can narrow the difference between Legend and VS, which then can seem to come down mostly to their relative power. I still think Babolat's superior placement plays its part, though.
 
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M

Magnus_CA

New User
I'm really enjoying the VS. I'm almost hesitant to restring with the Klip since I can't imagine it being better. I was surprised the VS started fraying into my first hour of play but it's stayed minimal since then.
 
M

Magnus_CA

New User
^^^Just to add the only thing holding me back from becoming a VS lifer is the cost. Even if I restring my 2 racquets at a minimum of 4 times a year it will cost me between $350 and $400 a year.
 
Valjean

Valjean

Hall of Fame
Magnus_CA said:
^^^Just to add the only thing holding me back from becoming a VS lifer is the cost. Even if I restring my 2 racquets at a minimum of 4 times a year it will cost me between $350 and $400 a year.
Click to expand...
You may save some money, just use VS half sets in the mains and a nice multi in the crosses. Besides, a good gut set lasts the equivalent of two synthetic string jobs.
 
O

Octavianus

Rookie
Valjean said:
You may save some money, just use VS half sets in the mains and a nice multi in the crosses. Besides, a good gut set lasts the equivalent of two synthetic string jobs.
Click to expand...



The combination of VS with multi in the crosses sounds appealing. How long does the multi last when you cross it with natural gut?
 
K

Keifers

Legend
You could save even more money by combining gut mains with monofilament crosses. Forten Sweet is a nice soft string that pairs well with gut -- and it's very inexpensive indeed.

Most of your playability and feel is going to come from the gut mains, so using mono crosses doesn't compromise overall performance much at all (compared with multi crosses).
 
Azzurri

Azzurri

Legend
I use Gosen Sheep as a cross and it lasts a long while. my next reel will be the Forten. I want to play a softer syn gut.

the Klip is an excellent string. if you want crisp and lower power, try the Klip.
 
N

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Valjean said:
In a word, no. Legend is a "durable" gut, and stiff besides, whereas VS is the power/playability entry in the gut field. I'd definitely up the VS by 3 lbs. at the least. To assure yourself, put the Legend in first. Depending on the multi, you could well experience a loss of feel and touch, and the VS will heighten your experience of either one, guaranteed.
Click to expand...

all gut strings are considered durable. just because VS isnt very durable for gut doesnt mean the other gut strings arent.
to say multi string has more 'touch' and 'feel' than any gut is funny.
if anything the vs gut 'feels' more like multi because it is very plasticized and probably the most heavily coated gut out there other than a specialty gut like Armourpro. less natural gut/heavily coated/most expensive/least durable=VS

Valjean said:
While I certainly wouldn't call any of the above "touch" champions or bursting with "feel", too, Max Comfort and X-1 Biphase do have more of both than Legend. Reaction and Legend are a toss-up there, IMO. How your gut test turns out can depend significantly on what your game is like, anyhow--for example, baseline play, which doesn't really call for either one, can narrow the difference between Legend and VS, which then can seem to come down mostly to their relative power. I still think Babolat's superior placement plays its part, though.
Click to expand...

as above. babolat doesnt have superior placement..you have no evidence of this. because it makes for a jumpy stringbed in general especially in todays more powerful racquets, unless strung very tightly, you can make a case for it having the worst placement not the best.
 
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