Kevlar in the mains, stamina in the crosses

dmcb101

Professional
Anyone else have an opinion on this. I was reading Agassi's book Open and noticed he used Kevlar through most of his career and then switched to poly's. I use Ashaway Kevlar 17g in my mains with Stamina 16 g in the crosses. I feel like I get a lot of spin and nice pop from this set up, but it seems others do not agree. what do you all think?
 

Ripper014

Hall of Fame
Anyone else have an opinion on this. I was reading Agassi's book Open and noticed he used Kevlar through most of his career and then switched to poly's. I use Ashaway Kevlar 17g in my mains with Stamina 16 g in the crosses. I feel like I get a lot of spin and nice pop from this set up, but it seems others do not agree. what do you all think?

I personally find kevlar extremely stiff... I do not get a lot of feel off of it.
 

dman72

Hall of Fame
Anyone else have an opinion on this. I was reading Agassi's book Open and noticed he used Kevlar through most of his career and then switched to poly's. I use Ashaway Kevlar 17g in my mains with Stamina 16 g in the crosses. I feel like I get a lot of spin and nice pop from this set up, but it seems others do not agree. what do you all think?


I use Kevlar 17 and whatever cheapo synth gut 16 is lying around. I'm not sure if it gives the spin that poly does (there's a debate about whether slippery or coarse strings give more spin...kevlar is pretty coarse). It does, however, last forever, reduce power (so you can lower string tension without launching the ball), and remain playable long after it looks hideously shredded, where as most people will tell you that poly sucks after a few sets of playing.

The key thing about kevlar that most people are stupid about is this:

"Don't use kevlar!!! I strung my pro staff up at 65 lbs with it and it hurt my arm!!"

No kidding stupid ***. You don't need to string up to 65 lbs with Kevlar to have a stiff stringbed. Try 50 or 55 pounds next time, Einstein. I guarantee that your elbow will be sore after hitting with a 65lb kevlar hybrid for 3 hours.

:rolleyes:
 

dmcb101

Professional
I use Kevlar 17 and whatever cheapo synth gut 16 is lying around. I'm not sure if it gives the spin that poly does (there's a debate about whether slippery or coarse strings give more spin...kevlar is pretty coarse). It does, however, last forever, reduce power (so you can lower string tension without launching the ball), and remain playable long after it looks hideously shredded, where as most people will tell you that poly sucks after a few sets of playing.

The key thing about kevlar that most people are stupid about is this:

"Don't use kevlar!!! I strung my pro staff up at 65 lbs with it and it hurt my arm!!"

No kidding stupid ***. You don't need to string up to 65 lbs with Kevlar to have a stiff stringbed. Try 50 or 55 pounds next time, Einstein. I guarantee that your elbow will be sore after hitting with a 65lb kevlar hybrid for 3 hours.

:rolleyes:

yeah that is kind of how i feel. I string my K blade Tour at 50 with the kevlar and 53 with the stamina. I think it has great pop and control and does not hurt my arm. i have used luxillon before and it is nice, but its real expensive and i really like kevlar.
 

Deodorant

Rookie
im currently using a kevlar hybrid. forten thin blend, very nice pop and control. it does actually produce more spin then my poly setup(check sig.) i believe most folks that end up getting elbow pain is bad form and weak muscles. they should work on their forearms every other day with wrist curls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMJ4zIZzZxY
 

ac3111

Professional
I thought kevlar was used for bulletproof jackets/vests...
Maybe nowadays tennis balls are like bullets or some treat them like that... :)
 
Anyone else have an opinion on this. I was reading Agassi's book Open and noticed he used Kevlar through most of his career and then switched to poly's. I use Ashaway Kevlar 17g in my mains with Stamina 16 g in the crosses. I feel like I get a lot of spin and nice pop from this set up, but it seems others do not agree. what do you all think?

Sorry that this post is off topic, but when does Oshkosh start there season?
 

dancraig

Hall of Fame
I think the Stamina has a strand of aramid (Kevlar) woven into it. That's what gives it it's durability, hence the name "Stamina". You might want to soften the setup with another synthetic gut.
 

dman72

Hall of Fame
I thought kevlar was used for bulletproof jackets/vests...
Maybe nowadays tennis balls are like bullets or some treat them like that... :)

Nylon is used to make stockings for women and gut is used to make sausage casing and polyester is used to make John Travolta's suits in Saturday night fever, so ..yeah, anyway you look at it can seem silly.
 

nabbydian

Hall of Fame
Kevlar was so stiff i had problems trying to hit over the net with it, i could barely get depth on my shots

i ever had it on my Wilson Pro Staff Tour and it simply didnt work for me
 
we start the first week in february, why do you ask? do you go to another state school in wisconsin?

Not yet, I am still a senior in high school. But next year I am either going to Oshkosh or Eau Claire. I believe you know who I am, you play on the same USTA team as my dad.
 
Yea, I have already been talking to Steve, and sometime in the near future I will be going up to Oshkosh for an official visit. Hopefully on a day that you guys have a match. And my dad's name is Jim Carlos. My name is Andrew. Say hi to Nate for me.
 

dmcb101

Professional
oh ok. i know who you are. i did not know that you were considering coming to oshkosh. I will probably see you when you come visit becuase coach francour has nate and I meet incoming recruits. when are you thinking of coming
 

Lambsscroll

Hall of Fame
Anyone else have an opinion on this. I was reading Agassi's book Open and noticed he used Kevlar through most of his career and then switched to poly's. I use Ashaway Kevlar 17g in my mains with Stamina 16 g in the crosses. I feel like I get a lot of spin and nice pop from this set up, but it seems others do not agree. what do you all think?

Do you truly feel you get a nice pop and spin from this setup? If so, sweet!
How can someone disagree with you when they don't even strike the ball the same way you do.
 

dmcb101

Professional
Do you truly feel you get a nice pop and spin from this setup? If so, sweet!
How can someone disagree with you when they don't even strike the ball the same way you do.

yeah i do feel like i get good pop. how can you say that others dont strike the ball the way i do when you dont even know me Lambsscroll? do you know me?
 

Lambsscroll

Hall of Fame
yeah i do feel like i get good pop. how can you say that others dont strike the ball the way i do when you dont even know me Lambsscroll? do you know me?

No, he he, I'm just saying that people who disagree with how you feel about this string setup probably have a different racket i.e. , different balance , weight, racket stiffness, tension and so on. Thus probably strike the ball differently.
 
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oh ok. i know who you are. i did not know that you were considering coming to oshkosh. I will probably see you when you come visit becuase coach francour has nate and I meet incoming recruits. when are you thinking of coming

I talked to Coach Francour last night about a good day to come, and I said around the middle of feburary so he told me that the 19th when you have a home match. Hopefully I will see you then.
 
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