Ashaway 100% Zyex monofilament

corners

Legend
Definitely unusual, and definitely unlike any other string material. The article below suggests that Zyex is very resistant to abrasion (and breakage) but also that it has alot of elongation and 'snap back' like natural gut. You wouldn't expect the two characteristics to go together ie something that elongates alot and supposedly springs back, you'd expect to be soft and thus susceptible to abrasion/breakage.

Yeah, there are lots of measureable physical qualities at play here: stiffness, elasticity, surface hardness, abrasion resistance. Like you say, we have an intuitive sense of how these qualities should be distributed in a material and that some of them should be linked and other exclusive each other. But some materials are strange.

The article you linked notes that zyex also has a high melting point. Polyester and nylon strings notch partly because they melt at the intersections from all the string movement: zyex monofilament should be less susceptible to this.
 
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dParis

Hall of Fame
Isospeed Pro Classic 16 is next in line after Dynamite for my playtesting so that is good to know.

Iso Pro Classic is 17g. Iso Control Classic is 16g. Same string otherwise.

I felt Control lacked character. I think you'll find it too springy in a "mushy" sort of way. Pro is much more responsive. More touch/feel, pocketing and bite - and more power, as would be expected.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Iso Pro Classic is 17g. Iso Control Classic is 16g. Same string otherwise.

I felt Control lacked character. I think you'll find it too springy in a "mushy" sort of way. Pro is much more responsive. More touch/feel, pocketing and bite - and more power, as would be expected.

My bad, I meant Control. After having a bad experience with the newer version of Control, several people mentioned the Control Classic was much better.

As for the Zyex, I'm trying to break my last set of Discho Microfibre and then I'll put the Dynamite Tough in that racket, hopefully this weekend.
 

Torres

Banned
Wilson BLX 6.1 95 18x20
Ashaway Monogut ZX (Red) 1.27mm @ 54lbs CP

(Note: According to Ashaway the red version is supposedly slightly stiffer than the natural)

I think I might have seriously misjudged the tension that would be appropriate for this string in this racquet.

In this racquet, I usually string a soft, lively, co-poly like BHBR16 at 53lbs CP. Perfect tension for that string in that racquet (for me anyway). A synthetic gut like Gosen in the same stick I would probably string at around 57-58lbs CP.

Out of the packet the Monogut ZX feels like a springy co-poly, so I thought I would ignore Ashaway's instructions of 15%-20% lower than nylon for the red ZX, and string it at a higher than recommended tension of 54lbs CP (about 7% lower than nylon). It strings like a poly but with quite a bit of stretch when pulling tension.

I'm wondering whether that 54lbs CP tension was a big mistake.The Monogut ZX strings up like a board at that tension. Bouncing the stringbed against the heel of your hand immediately after stringing, and it feels very stiff with very little 'give' to it. Trying to pull the mains with your fingers and the mains don't really want to move. Feels more like a poly stringbed strung at 60-62lbs.

Weirdly though, with a ball bounce test on the stringbed, the stringbed doesn't feel too boardy. The strings seem to 'give' with the impact of the ball. ALOT of vibration coming through the racquet though. Weird. Sweetspot seems smaller than normal (probably as a result of me having strung it too high) and anything immediately outside the sweetspot gives a tinny feedback. On a ball bounce test at least, anything right in the middle of the sweetspot, somewhat weirdly, actually feels quite plush....

Going to have a hit with it later this evening but I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be the ideal tension for this string.
 
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mikeler

Moderator
Wilson BLX 6.1 95 18x20
Ashaway Monogut ZX (Red) @ 54lbs CP


I think I have seriously misjudged the tension that would be appropriate for this string in this racqquet.

In this racquet, I usually string a soft, lively, co-poly like BHBR16 at 53lbs CP. Perfect tension for that string and racquet. A synthetic gut in the same stick I would probably string at around 57-58lbs CP.

Out of the packet the ZX feels like a springy co-poly, so I thought I would ignore Ashaway's instructions of 15%-20% lower than nylon for the red ZX, and decided to string it at 54lbs CP (about 7% lower than nylon).

Big mistake.

The string strings up like a board at that tension. Bouncing the stringbed against the heel of your hand immediately after string, and feels like a board - very stiff with very little 'give' to it. Feels more like poly stringbed strung at 60-62lbs.

Going to have a hit with it later this evening, but I'm pretty sure that I've strung this up way, way, too high a tension to allow for any meaningful playtest.....


Serves you right for not listening. :0

I'm looking forward to hitting with Dynamite Tough 16 soon. I strung mine up at 50 pounds lockout and it feels OK.
 

mikeler

Moderator
You never know, it might loosen up with a bit of hitting! :mrgreen:

I hope.


So far the Dynamite Tough has only lost 5.8% tension after stringing and with a few minutes of hitting. Maybe it will start dropping tension once I play with it full time.
 

corners

Legend
Wilson BLX 6.1 95 18x20
Ashaway Monogut ZX (Red) @ 54lbs CP


I think I might have seriously misjudged the tension that would be appropriate for this string in this racquet.

In this racquet, I usually string a soft, lively, co-poly like BHBR16 at 53lbs CP. Perfect tension for that string in that racquet. A synthetic gut like Gosen in the same stick I would probably string at around 57-58lbs CP.

Out of the packet the Monogut ZX feels like a springy co-poly, so I thought I would ignore Ashaway's instructions of 15%-20% lower than nylon for the red ZX, and string it at a higher than recommended tension of 54lbs CP (about 7% lower than nylon). It strings like a poly but with quite a bit of stretch when pulling tension.

I'm wondering whether that 54lbs CP tension was a big mistake.The Monogut ZX strings up like a board at that tension. Bouncing the stringbed against the heel of your hand immediately after stringing, and it feels very stiff with very little 'give' to it. Trying to pull the mains with your fingers and the mains don't really want to move. Feels more like a poly stringbed strung at 60-62lbs.

Weirdly though, with a ball bounce test on the stringbed, the stringbed doesn't feel too boardy. The strings seem to 'give' with the impact of the ball. ALOT of vibration coming through the racquet though. Weird. Sweetspot seems smaller than normal (probably as a result of me having strung it too high) and anything immediately outside the sweetspot gives a tinny feedback. On a ball bounce test at least, anything right in the middle of the sweetspot, somewhat weirdly, actually feels quite plush....

Going to have a hit with it later this evening but I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be the ideal tension for this string.

Looking forward to reading your on-court impressions. I don't blame you for not following the 15-20% lower recommendation for ZX. There's nothing about the string that suggests it should be strung lower than copoly. I've scrutinized the lab data, comparing ZX to poly and nylon and I just don't get why Ashaway makes this recommendation. I emailed them about this and their final recommendation was 53-55 pounds as a good place to start, so maybe you'll be fine.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Looking forward to reading your on-court impressions. I don't blame you for not following the 15-20% lower recommendation for ZX. There's nothing about the string that suggests it should be strung lower than copoly. I've scrutinized the lab data, comparing ZX to poly and nylon and I just don't get why Ashaway makes this recommendation. I emailed them about this and their final recommendation was 53-55 pounds as a good place to start, so maybe you'll be fine.

They never returned my e-mail for tension recommendations.
 

Torres

Banned
They never returned my e-mail for tension recommendations.

Probably because there's a million different combinations depending on personal preference, racquets, string patterns etc

Just finished a drill session at the club. Very interesting and unusual string. Not what I expected at all. Comments to follow.
 
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mikeler

Moderator
Probably because there's a million different combinations depending on preferences and racquets.

Just finished a drill session at the club. Very interesting and unusual string. Not what I expected at all. Comments to follow.

Good point. It felt pretty good the few minutes I hit with Dynamite Tough.
 

Player#1

Rookie
In the absence of information, I bought a set of the string.

No good! It will not tolerate high tensions very well; It snapped during stringing at 72lbs. It held up at 65lbs, but feels too loose when I hit with it.

The string itself has incredible feel, ball pocketing and elasticity... I just can't string it tight enough to use it.
 

corners

Legend
In the absence of information, I bought a set of the string.

No good! It will not tolerate high tensions very well; It snapped during stringing at 72lbs. It held up at 65lbs, but feels too loose when I hit with it.

The string itself has incredible feel, ball pocketing and elasticity... I just can't string it tight enough to use it.

Hybrid it with poly, either in the mains or crosses.
 

Player#1

Rookie
Sorry, I left out my setup.

I hybrid it with polyfibre black venom in the crosses.

The setup feels better than a full bed of black venom at 65lbs, but I play better with higher tensions, so black venom at 72lbs plays better for me than monogut zx at 65lbs in the mains and black venom in the crosses at 72lbs.

At 65lbs, it does have some of the same feel as gut; It ends up feeling halfway between a high end synthetic gut and gut.
 

corners

Legend
Sorry, I left out my setup.

I hybrid it with polyfibre black venom in the crosses.

The setup feels better than a full bed of black venom at 65lbs, but I play better with higher tensions, so black venom at 72lbs plays better for me than monogut zx at 65lbs in the mains and black venom in the crosses at 72lbs.

At 65lbs, it does have some of the same feel as gut; It ends up feeling halfway between a high end synthetic gut and gut.

It's hard for me to relate as I string much lower than you, but your impressions are interesting nonetheless. Thanks. How does the ZX hold up in the mains compared to gut or syngut? Using ZX in the mains with a copoly cross (kind of a poor man's gut/copoly) is one of the things I'd like to try.

Possible uses of Monogut ZX:

1. Full bed. With it's very low stiffness, it may be an alternative to natural gut or powerful multis, but because of it's very slippery surface it may not require much string straightening.

2. As a cross with natural gut mains. This would, going by the lab numbers, be nearly as powerful as full gut, but the slippery ZX crosses should allow the natural gut mains to slide and snapback, generating more spin like gut/copoly does but with a softer feel and more pop than gut/copoly.

3. As a main string with a copoly cross. Using a flat copoly cross like Gosen Polymaster might allow the ZX main to slide and snapback much like gut mains do but the flat cross would reduce notching and hopefully preserve the life of the stringbed.

4. As a cross with a textured copoly main. Using it here to soften up the stringbed like copoly/syngut or copoly/multi, but ZX is not as stiff as either syngut or multi, so copoly/ZX should be even more comfortable and powerful. Also, ZX is more slippery than any syngut or multi, even teflon coated Prince Recoil, so it should excel in the crosses, allowing the copoly main to slide and snapback close to as well is it would in a full bed.

All theory at this point, but we're starting to get some reports on all four setups.
 

PBODY99

Legend
. Zyex MonoGut
1. Full Bed you are correct. It will start to move later than any string bed that doesn't have poly in it.
3. Crossed with 4G very little notching
5. As a cross with 4G, very comfortable, little notching
This is my experience with the frame in my signature.
I have not tried a shaped poly with this yet.
 

Player#1

Rookie
It's hard for me to relate as I string much lower than you, but your impressions are interesting nonetheless. Thanks. How does the ZX hold up in the mains compared to gut or syngut? Using ZX in the mains with a copoly cross (kind of a poor man's gut/copoly) is one of the things I'd like to try.

Possible uses of Monogut ZX:

1. Full bed. With it's very low stiffness, it may be an alternative to natural gut or powerful multis, but because of it's very slippery surface it may not require much string straightening.

2. As a cross with natural gut mains. This would, going by the lab numbers, be nearly as powerful as full gut, but the slippery ZX crosses should allow the natural gut mains to slide and snapback, generating more spin like gut/copoly does but with a softer feel and more pop than gut/copoly.

3. As a main string with a copoly cross. Using a flat copoly cross like Gosen Polymaster might allow the ZX main to slide and snapback much like gut mains do but the flat cross would reduce notching and hopefully preserve the life of the stringbed.

4. As a cross with a textured copoly main. Using it here to soften up the stringbed like copoly/syngut or copoly/multi, but ZX is not as stiff as either syngut or multi, so copoly/ZX should be even more comfortable and powerful. Also, ZX is more slippery than any syngut or multi, even teflon coated Prince Recoil, so it should excel in the crosses, allowing the copoly main to slide and snapback close to as well is it would in a full bed.

All theory at this point, but we're starting to get some reports on all four setups.

I have only used it for a couple of hours, but at this point it appears the durability will be similar to that of a soft poly.

I would probably switch over to this string if I could string it tighter without breaking it.

I seem to get a little more spin with this setup (difficult to judge because of the change in tension)

The other thing of note I found with this string is that it was stretching more than gut while stringing at high tension.
 

corners

Legend
. Zyex MonoGut
1. Full Bed you are correct. It will start to move later than any string bed that doesn't have poly in it.
3. Crossed with 4G very little notching
5. As a cross with 4G, very comfortable, little notching
This is my experience with the frame in my signature.
I have not tried a shaped poly with this yet.

Thanks for your notes PBody!

Would you care to write a little more about the performance of the three setups you've tried? I would be most interested in...

1. In a full bed, how is the spin and control? Given its very low stiffness, I would expect it to be quite powerful. If the spin and control is good it seems that it would be a great alternative to gut.

3. As a main with 4G crosses, how was the spin compared to gut/copoly?

5. As a cross with 4G mains, did you get more pop and/or than you would with a syngut or multi cross?
 

corners

Legend
I have only used it for a couple of hours, but at this point it appears the durability will be similar to that of a soft poly.

I would probably switch over to this string if I could string it tighter without breaking it.

I seem to get a little more spin with this setup (difficult to judge because of the change in tension)

The other thing of note I found with this string is that it was stretching more than gut while stringing at high tension.

You know, given this string's very low stiffness numbers, and the fact that the stiffness doesn't really increase very much at high tensions - which is very unusual; aside from Zyex, only natural gut is like this - it would seem that stringing tight would be the logical thing to do with this string. But Ashaway recommends dropping tension like with a poly. Doesn't make sense. Given your experience with snapping at high tensions, I wonder if their tension recommendation isn't more to do with that. Maybe Zyex doesn't have the tensile strength to handle high-tensions.
 

corners

Legend
Probably because there's a million different combinations depending on personal preference, racquets, string patterns etc

Just finished a drill session at the club. Very interesting and unusual string. Not what I expected at all. Comments to follow.

What word, Torres?
 

Torres

Banned
What word, Torres?

Well, I was going to try and get some more time with this string before posting comments, but my initial impression based on about an hours drilling is as follows:-

Firstly, people need to put aside any preconceptions they have about strings because its characteristics of Monogut ZX aren't like any other string I've ever played it. Equally accurate though would be describing this string as having the characteristics of all sorts of other different strings rolled into one depending on how you hit the ball. It really is that unusual.

Initial thoughts are as follows...

Lift.
The BLX 6.1 95 18x20 is a pretty flat hitting stick. Have played with it for years. Balls tend to take on a fairly low trajectory over the net, even with a full bed poly. You really have to work the stick to generate a high ball trajectory over the net. I was really surprised how much 'lift' the ZX gave to the ball. It was very easy to generate more of an up/down ball trajectory even with that 18x20 pattern. Very surprised by this. It seems like the strings stretch and then spring back into place to put rotations on the ball, with the string's power giving the ball length and depth. If you want a 'high launch angle', its there. Equally, if you want to flatten out the ball, you can do that easily as well. There's wide range of variation that you can easily put on the trajectory of the ball.

Stiffness/comfort, string bed feel, and unusual sweetspot characteristics.
As mentioned earlier, I feared that I had strung this at too high a tension. Well, I was right and wrong in equal parts. The 6.1 does not have a very big sweetspot. It also gets smaller, the higher the tension you go or the stiffer the string that you use. The ZX accentuated those characteristics. Hit the ball in the middle of the sweetspot and there's ALOT of give. This string feels very soft and buttery right in the middle of the stringbed. It's like the ball really sinks into the middle of the stringbed and then springs out. It's a pretty plush sensation and there's alot of power from the stringbed there. However, when you don't centre the ball and instead hit outside that center sweetspot, its unforgiving and the power dies. It feels slightly boardy/tinny when you hit outside of the sweetspot (though it could the symptom of the tension I used). But at no time were the strings uncomfortable (despite them seeming like a washboard off the stringer), no matter what part of the stirngbed you used to strike the ball. The difference between the middle of the stringbed and the area of the strings away from the sweetspot / towards the frame is very marked in terms of difference in power, 'give' and forgivenss. There's a very big range of difference going on here (though it may have been due to the tension I used). It's a very unusual characteristic.

Power.
Vast difference between the centering the ball in the sweet spot and anything immediately outside the sweetspot. Nail the sweetspot and you can boom the ball. Anything outside the sweetspot and the ball dies. ZX seems to accentuate the characteristics of the 6.1 stringbed which isn't generally that forgiving. But my soft polys don't perform like that - obviously there is a difference between inside the sweetspot and outside the sweet but the different is nowhere near as marked with the soft co-polys (BHBR16) that I usually use with the 6.1. With the ZX, the differenced in power between inside the sweetspot and outside the sweetspot is very marked. The Monogot ZX seems to reward good technique. Hit the ball well, and that power from the middle of the sweetspot is controllable. Mis-time it, for example, hitting the ball too flat when jammed on a return and the ball lands 3ft behind the baseline.

Comfort.
Very comfortable string. There's alot of give to it. Ball feels like it really sinks into the stringbed before springing back out. Complete opposite of a stiff poly like Luxilon 4G.

Spin.
The jury's still out on this I'm afraid. Really need some more time with the string, but I didn't feel like was hittng a poly-esque heavy ball. There was ball speed and depth, but my opponents seemed to be swinging away at balls I was hitting towards them, and sending it back aggressively, instead of it being me putting them under pressure with the type of balls I normally hit with a full poly bed. In that sense, it seems to play a bit like a a multifilament or natural gut. But really I need some more time with the strings to figure this out, so its a tenative view at this stage because it could be explained by me simply getting used to the string and not hitting as aggressively towards opponents as I might usually do with a full bed poly and getting used to that high power central sweetspot in the stringbed. Need more testing time with regard to the issue of spin.

Power modulation.
Some strings allow for a limited range of power no matter how hard you hit the ball. For example, Babolat Revenge, Luxilon 4G, Weiscannnon Silverstring etc. Other strings allow for a vast range of power depending on how hard you hit the ball eg. natural gut. ZX has a vast range of potential power. You want to smack the ball through the court with a ton of ball speed, and you can do it (subject to being able to control it and keep the ball in the court). You want to take all the pace off the ball and hit the most delicate of drop volleys and you can do it. This is like having a 'big volume knob' that you adjust ad infinitum in terms power rather than a power 'on/off switch'. In that sense, its alot like natural gut.

Control.
Bit too early for me to be definitive about this but I didn't feel that the string was uncontrolled, provided you hit with the ball with good technique, either with a low>high path or turn your hand over through the stroke. That said, my comments on control may be influenced by having strung it in a control orientated stick. As mentioned earlier, if you're late hitting the ball and don't put some topspin on it, it can fly because of its inherent power. Its not forgiving of crude strokes or wild swings that a lower powered poly would be. It rewards good technique. In fact, I'd suggest that good technique, footwork/positioning and timing is a pre-requisite to get the best out of it. It doesn't seem as wild as some high powered multifilaments I've seen but again, that could be due to the racquet it was strung it. I have to admit that I don't think I've ever strung with the 6.1 with a full multifilment, so I don't really have a point for comparison. Directionally, the ZX seems pretty precise, but I qualify that again mentioning the racquet that it was strung in. Need some more hitting time with it, as well as probably trying it in a larger headed, open patterned stick. I suspect though that its unlikely to suit something like an APDC but I could very easily be wrong because its an unusual string.

Feel
This is a hard one to describe. It's soft but not soft. You can feel the ball but its not like the feel that you get from a multi, a synthetic gut or a poly. The stringbed sort of 'gives' and the ball sinks in but with a sort of a plasticine 'give' to it. It doesn't feel like other strings. Its a long time since I played with full bed natural gut, but from memory, I think its a bit like 1.25mm VS Team. The harder you hit, the more it seems to give before catapulting the ball out again. But then, it doesn't feel like natural gut either - it doesn't have that elastic spring - its more like a mechanical spring. It's hard to describe. All I can say is that it has its own unique feel.

Volleys
Volleys were good in terms of feel but adversely affected by that differential going on between the middle sweetspot (soft/plush) and the area immediately outside the sweetspot (slightly boardy/tinny/power dying). Again, it may have been a mixture of the the string, the tension used and the 6.1 small sweetspot producing slightly unforgiving results on anything less than perfectly centered volleys.

Durability
The string didn't break on me during play, but I only played for an hour or so. That said, I did manage to snap the end of the string off when tying off the last knot during stringing despite pulling in the direction of the knot. I doubt that it will have the durability of a poly.
 
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mikeler

Moderator
Mikeler,

Which Dynamite was that? Tough, Soft, gauge, tension?


Tough 16. Like Torres, I ignored the recommended drop in tension. The pain was very minor. I just did not want to take any chances. I played 1 set of singles and 2 sets of doubles yesterday with no issues. I'm not planning on cutting it out just yet.
 

scotus

G.O.A.T.
Tough 16. Like Torres, I ignored the recommended drop in tension. The pain was very minor. I just did not want to take any chances. I played 1 set of singles and 2 sets of doubles yesterday with no issues. I'm not planning on cutting it out just yet.

Perhaps with a little more tension loss, it would feel more comfortable.
 

corners

Legend
Well, I was going to try and get some more time with this string before posting comments, but my initial impression based on about an hours drilling is as follows:-

Firstly, people need to put aside any preconceptions they have about strings because its characteristics of Monogut ZX aren't like any other string I've ever played it. Equally accurate though would be describing this string as having the characteristics of all sorts of other different strings rolled into one depending on how you hit the ball. It really is that unusual.

Initial thoughts are as follows...

Lift.
The BLX 6.1 95 18x20 is a pretty flat hitting stick. Have played with it for years. Balls tend to take on a fairly low trajectory over the net, even with a full bed poly. You really have to work the stick to generate a high ball trajectory over the net. I was really surprised how much 'lift' the ZX gave to the ball. It was very easy to generate more of an up/down ball trajectory even with that 18x20 pattern. Very surprised by this. It seems like the strings stretch and then spring back into place to put rotations on the ball, with the string's power giving the ball length and depth. If you want a 'high launch angle', its there. Equally, if you want to flatten out the ball, you can do that easily as well. There's wide range of variation that you can easily put on the trajectory of the ball.

Stiffness/comfort, string bed feel, and unusual sweetspot characteristics.
As mentioned earlier, I feared that I had strung this at too high a tension. Well, I was right and wrong in equal parts. The 6.1 does not have a very big sweetspot. It also gets smaller, the higher the tension you go or the stiffer the string that you use. The ZX accentuated those characteristics. Hit the ball in the middle of the sweetspot and there's ALOT of give. This string feels very soft and buttery right in the middle of the stringbed. It's like the ball really sinks into the middle of the stringbed and then springs out. It's a pretty plush sensation and there's alot of power from the stringbed there. However, when you don't centre the ball and instead hit outside that center sweetspot, its unforgiving and the power dies. It feels slightly boardy/tinny when you hit outside of the sweetspot (though it could the symptom of the tension I used). But at no time were the strings uncomfortable (despite them seeming like a washboard off the stringer), no matter what part of the stirngbed you used to strike the ball. The difference between the middle of the stringbed and the area of the strings away from the sweetspot / towards the frame is very marked in terms of difference in power, 'give' and forgivenss. There's a very big range of difference going on here (though it may have been due to the tension I used). It's a very unusual characteristic.

Power.
Vast difference between the centering the ball in the sweet spot and anything immediately outside the sweetspot. Nail the sweetspot and you can boom the ball. Anything outside the sweetspot and the ball dies. ZX seems to accentuate the characteristics of the 6.1 stringbed which isn't generally that forgiving. But my soft polys don't perform like that - obviously there is a difference between inside the sweetspot and outside the sweet but the different is nowhere near as marked with the soft co-polys (BHBR16) that I usually use with the 6.1. With the ZX, the differenced in power between inside the sweetspot and outside the sweetspot is very marked. The Monogot ZX seems to reward good technique. Hit the ball well, and that power from the middle of the sweetspot is controllable. Mis-time it, for example, hitting the ball too flat when jammed on a return and the ball lands 3ft behind the baseline.

Comfort.
Very comfortable string. There's alot of give to it. Ball feels like it really sinks into the stringbed before springing back out. Complete opposite of something like Luxilon 4G.

Spin.
The jury's still out on this I'm afraid. Really need some more time with the string, but I didn't feel like was hittng a poly-esque heavy ball. There was ball speed and depth, but my opponents seemed to be swinging away at balls I was hitting towards them, and sending it back aggressively, instead of it being me putting them under pressure with the type of balls I normally hit with a full poly bed. In that sense, it seems to play a bit like a a multifilament or natural gut. But really I need some more time with the strings to figure this out, so its a tenative view at this stage because it could be explained by me simply getting used to the string and not hitting as aggressively towards opponents as I might usually do with a full bed poly and getting used to that high power central sweetspot in the stringbed. Need more testing time with regard to the issue of spin.

Power modulation.
Some strings allow for a limited range of power no matter how hard you hit the ball. For example, Babolat Revenge, Luxilon 4G, Weiscannnon Silverstring etc. Other strings allow for a vast range of power depending on how hard you hit the ball eg. natural gut. ZX has a vast range of potential power. You want to smack the ball through the court with a ton of ball speed, and you can do it (subject to being able to control it and keep the ball in the court). You want to take all the pace off the ball and hit the most delicate of drop volleys and you can do it. This is like having a 'big volume knob' that you adjust ad infinitum in terms power rather than a power 'on/off switch'. In that sense, its alot like natural gut.

Control.
Bit too early for me to be definitive about this but I didn't feel that the string was uncontrolled, provided you hit with the ball with good technique, either with a low>high path or turn your hand over through the stroke. That said, my comments on control may be influenced by having strung it in a control orientated stick. As mentioned earlier, if you're late hitting the ball and don't put some topspin on it, it can fly because of its inherent power. Its not forgiving of crude strokes or wild swings that a lower powered poly would be. It rewards good technique. In fact, I'd suggest that good technique, footwork/positioning and timing is a pre-requisite to get the best out of it. It doesn't seem as wild as some high powered multifilaments I've seen but again, that could be due to the racquet it was strung it. I have to admit that I don't think I've ever strung with the 6.1 with a full multifilment, so I don't really have a point for comparison. Directionally, the ZX seems pretty precise, but I qualify that again mentioning the racquet that it was strung in. Need some more hitting time with it, as well as probably trying it in a larger headed, open patterned stick. I suspect though that its unlikely to suit something like an APDC but I could very easily be wrong because its an unusual string.

Feel
This is a hard one to describe. It's soft but not soft. You can feel the ball but its not like the feel that you get from a multi, a synthetic gut or a poly. The stringbed sort of 'gives' and the ball sinks in but with a sort of a plasticine 'give' to it. It doesn't feel like other strings. Its a long time since I played with full bed natural gut, but from memory, I think its a bit like 1.25mm VS Team. The harder you hit, the more it seems to give before catapulting the ball out again. But then, it doesn't feel like natural gut either - it doesn't have that elastic spring - its more like a mechanical spring. It's hard to describe. All I can say is that it has its own unique feel.

Volleys
Volleys were good in terms of feel but adversely affected by that differential going on between the middle sweetspot (soft/plush) and the area immediately outside the sweetspot (slightly boardy/tinny/power dying). Again, it may have been a mixture of the the string, the tension used and the 6.1 small sweetspot producing slightly unforgiving results on anything less than perfectly centered volleys.

Durability
The string didn't break on me during play, but I only played for an hour or so. That said, I did manage to snap the end of the string off when tying off the last knot during stringing despite pulling in the direction of the knot. I doubt that it will have the durability of a poly.

Thanks a lot for your report Torres! And sorry to have rushed you!

It sounds like a very interesting string indeed. The small sweetspot aspect is not what I would have expected to hear, but very interesting observation, and not a particularly encouraging one. That ZX gives such a deep pocket in the center but feels more boardy than copoly on the periphery is very strange. I hope you'll have time to post and update after some more playing time.

I'm leaning toward trying gut/ZX and copoly/ZX and comparing them to my normal setup of gut/copoly when the weather allows me to do some playtests. Reports on copoly/ZX seem to be the most positive so far, but my fondness for gut/syngut makes me think gut/ZX would be even better, provided I can get the tension right. We'll see.
 

corners

Legend
I had to put Dynamite back in my bag today after 2 sets. It was starting to bug my wrist.

Sorry to hear that Mikeler. Dynamite, on paper, is more flexible than any multi on the market so your experience is surprising, on paper. But the real world is where it counts. One thing to keep in mind is that Dynamite, because of it's very high-friction braided nylon coating doesn't move much. When main strings move, even if they don't snap back like copolys, dwell time increases and shock is reduced. So ZX might be a better fit for sensitive wrists.
 

Torres

Banned
more boardy than copoly on the periphery is very strange.

It feels a bit boardy/tinny on the periphery like a dead poly but without the stiffness or discomfort, if that makes any sense? It's like a describing piece of cardboard your toaster might come in - its boardy but not stiff or uncomfortable if you were to use it to hit a tennis ball. Hard to describe because this Zyex stuff seems to have its own characteristic. I think it would be less noticeable if I had strung it at a lower tension, but then that central sweetspot would probably start becoming really powerful.

Like you I suspect a poly/ZX or ZX/poly hybrid mix could well work. Also - as you originally suggested - I suspect that with a larger open patterned stick, it might be an idea to do longer pulls during stringing (I strung the ZX in the same way as usual) though I've no idea how that would affect its sweetspot characteristics. Anyone with an interest would probably need to experiment with pull speeds/times and possibly prestretch to see what might give the optimum results. Materials engineers would probably have a field day describing the tensile strength and stiffness of this string and how that changes depending on its length between two points....
 
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corners

Legend
It feels boardy on the periphery like a poly but without the stiffness or discomfort, if that makes any sense? It's like a describing piece of cardboard your TV might come in - its boardy not stiff or uncomfortable if you were to use it to hit a tennis ball. I think it would be less noticeable if I had strung it at a lower tension, but then that central sweetspot would start becoming really powerful.

Hmmm, I see what you're saying. It kind of sounds like it would be best for someone with slower swingspeed, where that central sweetspot power would actually be welcome. And that's kind of how Ashaway is marketing it. It might also behave differently in an open pattern, well, I guess every string does, but ... I think I'm going to have to try it in a full bed head to head with natural gut in a full bed to really get a handle on this stuff. So that's four tests just for this string, uggh. Still very curious about this stuff though.
 

Torres

Banned
I think I'm going to have to try it in a full bed head to head with natural gut in a full bed to really get a handle on this stuff. So that's four tests just for this string, uggh. Still very curious about this stuff though.

^ Try a set and see. It's definitely a different material that offers different characteristics to poly, nylon or natural gut. I'm not convinced that it offers any outright perfomance advantage over other types of strings, but it will be an interesting playtest if nothing else. I can sense that your mouse is hovering over the 'click to buy' button on the TW strings page.... ;-)
 
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mikeler

Moderator
^ Try a set and see. It's definitely a different material that offers different characteristics to poly, nylon or natural gut. I'm not convinced that it offers any outright perfomance advantage over other types of strings, but it will be an interesting playtest if nothing else. I can sense that your mouse is hovering over the 'click to buy' button on the TW strings page.... ;-)

Just make sure to actually follow the string tension recommendations unlike knucklheads mikeler and Torres. :)
 

corners

Legend
^ Try a set and see. It's definitely a different material that offers different characteristics to poly, nylon or natural gut. I'm not convinced that it offers any outright perfomance advantage over other types of strings, but it will be an interesting playtest if nothing else. I can sense that your mouse is hovering over the 'click to buy' button on the TW strings page.... ;-)

Ha, it was. The only thing that stopped me was the new 17g version, which TW hasn't got in stock yet. But I promise I will test this string in several configs and report back here. Won't be until March though.
 

corners

Legend
Just make sure to actually follow the string tension recommendations unlike knucklheads mikeler and Torres. :)

Yeah, I don't know that you guys knuckleheaded it; Ashaway told me to try 53-55 first, which is around where Torres strung it. But maybe they should be heeded when it comes to their Dynamite stuff.

Ignoring their recommendation, and just going by the stiffness, other lab tests and the few reports we have in, I would string it 2-3 pounds less than I would a full gut job, which means 57 pounds in a mid. But I'll listen to Ashaway and start with 55 in a full job and use that as a reference point. I really liked gut/Prince Recoil at 52/50 in a mid. Recoil is about as slippery as ZX but significantly stiffer. So I'm really hoping gut/ZX at 56 will deliver just the combo of spin and zip I'm looking for. We shall see. Must say I'm wary after reading Torres' comments, even though there was a lot that was positive and intriguing in there too. Just not looking forward to hitting with a pizza box :)
 

Player#1

Rookie
Yeah, I don't know that you guys knuckleheaded it; Ashaway told me to try 53-55 first, which is around where Torres strung it. But maybe they should be heeded when it comes to their Dynamite stuff.

Ignoring their recommendation, and just going by the stiffness, other lab tests and the few reports we have in, I would string it 2-3 pounds less than I would a full gut job, which means 57 pounds in a mid. But I'll listen to Ashaway and start with 55 in a full job and use that as a reference point. I really liked gut/Prince Recoil at 52/50 in a mid. Recoil is about as slippery as ZX but significantly stiffer. So I'm really hoping gut/ZX at 56 will deliver just the combo of spin and zip I'm looking for. We shall see. Must say I'm wary after reading Torres' comments, even though there was a lot that was positive and intriguing in there too. Just not looking forward to hitting with a pizza box :)

I had the opposite impression regarding tension as the guys who "knuckleheaded" it;

I have no problem controlling a full bed of gut because of the level of pocketing/feel the gut provides. The ZX has that same pocketing/feel, but not quite as much as gut. At the same time, it feels like it has just as much power as gut. My impression was that I would need to string it at 76lbs vs 72lbs for gut in order to control it.

I did not get the boardy feel from it. I actually felt like it made the string bed a lot more forgiving/powerful towards the periphery. I have been using a low powered mid sized 18X20 racket. I hit hard, flat groundies and play aggressive serve-volley tennis.

Maybe the higher tension is why I am getting a different feel from it. This is an interesting string; It falls into a new category of strings.
 
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Torres

Banned
The other thing I forgot to mention is that it feels like a 'grabby' type of string when you brush up on the ball. In that sense in reminds of some of the grabby, bitey sort of polys but without the firmness. The string definitely wants to put rotations on ball if you hit the right type of stroke.

During my playtest, I don't think my racquet speed was as high as it might have been (with a full bed poly) as I was still feeling my way into the string and getting used to the power from the that sweetspot. Grab is there though, its just that the string's power lengthens the ball trajectory and depth. I don't think I quite had the confidence to consistently take a 100% flat rip at the ball (am used to a firmer stringbed) but its early days with that string.
 
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mikeler

Moderator
Should be warmer today than the last 2 times I hit with Dynamite, so I'll give it one more shot. If I feel any twinges in my wrist again, then it gets the scissors.
 

corners

Legend
I had the opposite impression regarding tension as the guys who "knuckleheaded" it;

I have no problem controlling a full bed of gut because of the level of pocketing/feel the gut provides. The ZX has that same pocketing/feel, but not quite as much as gut. At the same time, it feels like it has just as much power as gut. My impression was that I would need to string it at 76lbs vs 72lbs for gut in order to control it.

I did not get the boardy feel from it. I actually felt like it made the string bed a lot more forgiving/powerful towards the periphery. I have been using a low powered mid sized 18X20 racket. I hit hard, flat groundies and play aggressive serve-volley tennis.

Maybe the higher tension is why I am getting a different feel from it. This is an interesting string; It falls into a new category of strings.

Thanks for your detailed impressions. It kind of sounds like it does show the power that the lab numbers would suggest that it has, but that the pocketing and maybe the launch angle differs from gut enough that a significant adjustment period is required to get a handle on the string. It sure does sound like a new and interesting string. Can't want to try it.
 

corners

Legend
The other thing I forgot to mention is that it feels like a 'grabby' type of string when you brush up on the ball. In that sense in reminds of some of the grabby, bitey sort of polys but without the firmness. The string definitely wants to put rotations on ball if you hit the right type of stroke.

During my playtest, I don't think my racquet speed was as high as it might have been (with a full bed poly) as I was still feeling my way into the string and getting used to the power from the that sweetspot. Grab is there though, its just that the string's power lengthens the ball trajectory and depth. I don't think I quite had the confidence to consistently take a 100% flat rip at the ball (am used to a firmer stringbed) but its early days with that string.

I attribute that "grabby" feeling to main string sliding and snapback. When the mains slide and snapback dwell time is increased and I think that that is the "grabby" sensation we associate with copolys. This is exactly what I'm looking for - grabby like copoly but more powerful.

Torres, it does sound like this string is unusual enough that a longer than normal adjustment time might be required to get a handle on how it plays. You comment that you weren't hitting at 100% suggests this, I guess. Looking forward to hearing how the string works out for you longer term. Hopefully it will show the durability that Ashaway claims it has.
 

corners

Legend
It hurt my arm, I have no problem with gut poly but this stuff beat my arm up pretty good.

Sorry to hear that. How was string movement? I ask because, as I mention above, when the mains slide and snapback dwell time is increased and anytime you lengthen dwell time shock is decreased. I think this is the reason why gut/poly is so comfortable - the elastic gut slides and snaps back giving very long dwell time - kind of like the gut mains catch the ball and then throw it back out. If the ZX is "moving" or getting stuck out of line this would suggest that it's not snapping back and you'd lose that extra dwell time.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Sorry to hear that. How was string movement? I ask because, as I mention above, when the mains slide and snapback dwell time is increased and anytime you lengthen dwell time shock is decreased. I think this is the reason why gut/poly is so comfortable - the elastic gut slides and snaps back giving very long dwell time - kind of like the gut mains catch the ball and then throw it back out. If the ZX is "moving" or getting stuck out of line this would suggest that it's not snapping back and you'd lose that extra dwell time.

I don't think you can buy the RSI stiffness numbers on this one. The Dynamite is fairly stiff or firm even at 50 pounds in my Exo Tours.
 

Torres

Banned
Hold your horses everyone! Just had another 1.5 hours of drills/matchplays and this string feels quite different to what it was like in the first hour....

Second report to follow.
 

corners

Legend
I don't think you can buy the RSI stiffness numbers on this one. The Dynamite is fairly stiff or firm even at 50 pounds in my Exo Tours.

I always buy the stiffness numbers because it is a very straightforward property of the strings that is easily measured. Whether or not it feels as "soft" as the stiffness number would suggest is another story, but the measured stiffness is a known fact, regardless of how it feels. But I know what you mean. I'm just opposed to the knee-jerk reaction that I hear sometimes on the board that if a string doesn't feel like the stiffness measurement suggests, then the stiffness measurement is bogus. I think this is very unwise. It's like admitting that we don't understand something and then, instead of searching for more facts to improve our understanding, we throw away one of the few facts that we posess. Doesn't make sense to me.

My hypothesis for your experience with Dynamite remains the one I suggested earlier - that Dynamite, having the highest string on string friction of any strings tested, resists string movement and acts more or less as though the strings are locked in place. As I mentioned before, strings that are free to slide increase dwell time and thereby reduce impact shock. But there is something else that could be at play here that is related. The lab stiffness numbers are taken from lengths of string that are tensioned and then struck with a hammer with controlled force. The elongation of the string during that impact is measured and that's where the stiffness numbers come from. But in a racquet, the effective length of each string can be much shorter than the piece tested in the lab. If the strings were glued or bonded at the intersections, then each length would be as short as the distance between each intersection, so like 1 cm. Conversely, if the strings are slippery and free to slide around, the stretched length could be much longer, even as long as the entire grommet-to-grommet distance. It could be that short lengths of Zyex are disproportionately stiffer than long lengths, so that if the strings are relatively immobile they will actually be stiffer than if they were free to slide around. If this were the case, then you would be right - we should not buy the stiffness numbers we have because they are derived from a longer length of string than what is actually being stretched in a strung racquet. Just a guess, really, and I hope I'm making sense.

If this were the case, though, it could also help explain the stiff feeling Torres experienced on the edges of the stringbed with the slippery ZX.
 

mikeler

Moderator
I always buy the stiffness numbers because it is a very straightforward property of the strings that is easily measured. Whether or not it feels as "soft" as the stiffness number would suggest is another story, but the measured stiffness is a known fact, regardless of how it feels. But I know what you mean. I'm just opposed to the knee-jerk reaction that I hear sometimes on the board that if a string doesn't feel like the stiffness measurement suggests, then the stiffness measurement is bogus. I think this is very unwise. It's like admitting that we don't understand something and then, instead of searching for more facts to improve our understanding, we throw away one of the few facts that we posess. Doesn't make sense to me.

My hypothesis for your experience with Dynamite remains the one I suggested earlier - that Dynamite, having the highest string on string friction of any strings tested, resists string movement and acts more or less as though the strings are locked in place. As I mentioned before, strings that are free to slide increase dwell time and thereby reduce impact shock. But there is something else that could be at play here that is related. The lab stiffness numbers are taken from lengths of string that are tensioned and then struck with a hammer with controlled force. The elongation of the string during that impact is measured and that's where the stiffness numbers come from. But in a racquet, the effective length of each string can be much shorter than the piece tested in the lab. If the strings were glued or bonded at the intersections, then each length would be as short as the distance between each intersection, so like 1 cm. Conversely, if the strings are slippery and free to slide around, the stretched length could be much longer, even as long as the entire grommet-to-grommet distance. It could be that short lengths of Zyex are disproportionately stiffer than long lengths, so that if the strings are relatively immobile they will actually be stiffer than if they were free to slide around. If this were the case, then you would be right - we should not buy the stiffness numbers we have because they are derived from a longer length of string than what is actually being stretched in a strung racquet. Just a guess, really, and I hope I'm making sense.

If this were the case, though, it could also help explain the stiff feeling Torres experienced on the edges of the stringbed with the slippery ZX.

You also have to look at how the string stiffness test is done. For cost reasons, it does not mimic hitting a thousand balls off a tennis racket.

I'll post this in my multis thread as well, but I broke the Dynamite last night after only 3 sets of singles and 3 sets of doubles. It was a little warmer last night and just perfect conditions for tennis. The Dynamite was feeling absolutely terrific, no arm issues whatsoever. My forehand was finally coming out of a 2 month hibernation and then the darn string broke. I'm guessing the tension loss helped. The final measurement I got off RacquetTune was 11.1%.

One interesting thing about this string is that my 2nd serve was really good. I felt like I was almost hitting 2 first serves because of the confidence that I would not miss. Touch with this string is poor though. All in all an interesting string test.
 

corners

Legend
You also have to look at how the string stiffness test is done. For cost reasons, it does not mimic hitting a thousand balls off a tennis racket.

Are you talking about their tension loss simulation? There I agree with you - I think hitting the string twenty times with a hammer with a force meant to simulate a 120 mph serve sounds good in principle, but it appears to me that it is actually too agressive. TWU's testing shows that copolys lose 20+ pounds of tension, which is more than in real life, IMHO. However, the synguts lose half as much and natural gut loses even less, so at least the testing is an accurate reflection of how much better gut is than syngut and syngut than copoly.

As far as their stiffness tests go, they use a 3.3 cm length of string. As I mentioned upthread, using a 1-1.5 cm length might be a better idea.

I'll post this in my multis thread as well, but I broke the Dynamite last night after only 3 sets of singles and 3 sets of doubles. It was a little warmer last night and just perfect conditions for tennis. The Dynamite was feeling absolutely terrific, no arm issues whatsoever. My forehand was finally coming out of a 2 month hibernation and then the darn string broke. I'm guessing the tension loss helped. The final measurement I got off RacquetTune was 11.1%.

One interesting thing about this string is that my 2nd serve was really good. I felt like I was almost hitting 2 first serves because of the confidence that I would not miss. Touch with this string is poor though. All in all an interesting string test.

You might try ZX next :) Dynamite mains/ZX crosses might be really good too. The slippery ZX crosses should reduce notching of the Dynamite mains somewhat and the string movement and snapback you should get would reduce impact force by prolonging dwell time. Dynamite has such high ball-string friction that it would seem an excellent main string.

The problem with Dynamite has always been durability. The outer nylon braid is not really that tough, but it's meant to protect the thin strands of Zyex inside of it. Those strands tend to get sliced rather easily. A braid of Kevlar would probably be better but would be very expensive to make. The ZX, on the other hand, being a monofilament, should be much more durable than Dynamite. We'll see how long it lasts for Torres.
 

Player#1

Rookie
I used a piece of the dynamite tough 16 to burn out a wood racket. The "tough" nylon coating came off and I was left with just the zyex multifilaments. The zyex filaments looked to have a diameter of 1.00mm-1.10mm. I am not surprised this string would break quickly; The nylon coating easily wears off, then you are basically left with a very very thin gauge zyex multifilament string.
 

corners

Legend
I used a piece of the dynamite tough 16 to burn out a wood racket. The "tough" nylon coating came off and I was left with just the zyex multifilaments. The zyex filaments looked to have a diameter of 1.00mm-1.10mm. I am not surprised this string would break quickly; The nylon coating easily wears off, then you are basically left with a very very thin gauge zyex multifilament string.

Yeah, the nylon braid doesn't hold up. Over the past couple years I've seen numerous board members become enthusiastic about Zyex because of its extremely low stiffness, but they usually abandon the string after again and again watching the outer braid fall apart and expose the thin zyex filaments inside. It's a bit like Isospeed Control strings, which have a very weak outer layer of polyolefin surrounding a wee little strand of nylon inside. I always wondered why Ashwaway didn't just make a monofilament out of Zyex. Now they have. Some of the reports we have suggest ZX is pretty notch resistant. If a player doesn't mind staying under the 60# tension limit this does seem like a very interesting string.
 
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