Low, low tensions. 30lbs feels great. 20lbs pretty good, too

F

fedhead83829

New User
unorthodox stringing said:
Did u have any string buzz problem with poly at 30lbs?
Click to expand...

mine, strung at 35lbs with a full bed of explosive poly, has a slight buzz. more so the first couple of times playing with it than now. Not sure if i just got use to it or if its gone down some.. i have my other racket strung at 30lbs but i have not hit with it yet..
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
I have my Biomimetic 100's at 372g (13.12oz). I use lead tape around the inside of the head from 9 to 3. I use several layers, first is Babolat for a heavy base, than 2 to 3 layers of standard 1/4".

The specs say 11.8oz (334g) strung, but all of mine weighed in at 11.9oz (337g). Specs say the swing weight is 311, so with the extra ounce and a third, I'm sure it is way more than that.

The combination of the 59 stiffness and the low tension seems ideal for my game.
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
fedhead83829 said:
mine, strung at 35lbs with a full bed of explosive poly, has a slight buzz. more so the first couple of times playing with it than now. Not sure if i just got use to it or if its gone down some.. i have my other racket strung at 30lbs but i have not hit with it yet..
Click to expand...

I had a buzz in my racquet when I strung it at 36, at 30, no buzzing at all.
 
E

eks-mat

New User
I played with my blx six.one 95 at 35 lbs with big hitter blue rough, I string myself, and it was very nice to only pull 35 pounds. The stringing went super easy, was easier on the clamps and my hands since the clamps didn't have to be so tight to hold tension.

Anyway I hated it. For me there was no surprising spin or anything, it just felt like a racket strung too low. low power yes, but the spin was terrible. In my expert opinion my strings were moving too much on impact. I don't get how all you have such spin with low tensions, my brother tried my racket and agreed on the power, but playing against him he definently wasnt spinning the ball at all either, and he does at his normal 56 lbs.

I'm fed up at the moment with all this anyway so I'm gonna take a break for a few weeks but I do wish I had better results tonight... id have to say it wasn't even that much different than normal tension...
 
v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
Sorry you hated it eks-mat.

I do have a question for those using an 18 x 20 string pattern - what tensions do you find work best? I'm at 35 lbs in my Donnay X-Platinum and it still feels pretty stiff.

Advice appreciated!
 
F

fedhead83829

New User
yourmailman said:
I had a buzz in my racquet when I strung it at 36, at 30, no buzzing at all.
Click to expand...

I played with 30# in both rackets i tried(bio 300 weighted the same as my aerogel 4d 200s & a f 3.0 tour) 2 nights and there was a slight buzz in both like the 35#. I am interested in seeing if its still there the next time because in had gone away after about two matches..
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
eks-mat said:
Ya, seems like everyone here loves it, makes me feel like I did something wrong... idk what it could of been though.
Click to expand...

eks-mat,

The extreme low tension is not for everyone. If you already hit with a lot of topspin you may not see that much of an increase. At higher tensions, I hit a pretty flat ball (thanks Jimmy Connors). Now I see tremendous amounts of topspin without much effort. And the backspin I get on some of drop shots is unbelievable.

As I stated earlier in the thread, all the people I have converted love the extra spin they get at ELT. I can vouch for the fact that it is their on their shots. Shots they weren't making before (at least not with the amount of spin). My girlfriend's shots started jumping a lot more, and the amount of spin was actually hard for me to gauge because it was so different than her shots when she was in the upper 50s.

I had to alter my game a little, but I am loving the ELT. But, like I said, it's not for everybody. Use what you are comfortable with. I like what ELT has done for my game and right now I can't see going back to the higher tensions.

Sorry it didn't work for you, but don't feel you did anything wrong. Did you hit with a lot of topspin at higher tensions?

On another note, I injured my arm in a singles match on Wednesday. I knew from past experience that I was going to have trouble serving last night. It was a little tenuous at first, but I think the ELT made it much easier to serve with the soreness I had. I remember having the same soreness when I first started playing again a few years ago, and I was lucky to get the ball over the net on my serves. I chalk it up to the low tension helping to propel the ball.

It could be a mental thing, but I was actually serving pretty well, even with the pain.
 
E

eks-mat

New User
yourmailman said:
eks-mat,

The extreme low tension is not for everyone. If you already hit with a lot of topspin you may not see that much of an increase. At higher tensions, I hit a pretty flat ball (thanks Jimmy Connors). Now I see tremendous amounts of topspin without much effort. And the backspin I get on some of drop shots is unbelievable.

As I stated earlier in the thread, all the people I have converted love the extra spin they get at ELT. I can vouch for the fact that it is their on their shots. Shots they weren't making before (at least not with the amount of spin). My girlfriend's shots started jumping a lot more, and the amount of spin was actually hard for me to gauge because it was so different than her shots when she was in the upper 50s.

I had to alter my game a little, but I am loving the ELT. But, like I said, it's not for everybody. Use what you are comfortable with. I like what ELT has done for my game and right now I can't see going back to the higher tensions.

Sorry it didn't work for you, but don't feel you did anything wrong. Did you hit with a lot of topspin at higher tensions?

On another note, I injured my arm in a singles match on Wednesday. I knew from past experience that I was going to have trouble serving last night. It was a little tenuous at first, but I think the ELT made it much easier to serve with the soreness I had. I remember having the same soreness when I first started playing again a few years ago, and I was lucky to get the ball over the net on my serves. I chalk it up to the low tension helping to propel the ball.

It could be a mental thing, but I was actually serving pretty well, even with the pain.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I was gonna try it out again, but probably wont now. Big Hitter rough is pretty soft for a poly, maybe with a very stiff poly I'd like it more IDK. But ya I do hit with decent topspin already, and with the ELT I had virtually no spin, as well as NO power just swinging as I normally do. I really went at a few and just couldn't get the spin.

Having said that I am glad I tried it, and I am still gonna drop my normal tension a few lbs to see if I can find a sweet spot that does yield me a little more spin and increase ball pocketing. Also, I don't have arm issues, but the softness at 35 lbs was pretty nice I have to admit.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
eks-mat said:
Thanks for the input. I was gonna try it out again, but probably wont now. Big Hitter rough is pretty soft for a poly, maybe with a very stiff poly I'd like it more IDK. But ya I do hit with decent topspin already, and with the ELT I had virtually no spin, as well as NO power just swinging as I normally do. I really went at a few and just couldn't get the spin.

Having said that I am glad I tried it, and I am still gonna drop my normal tension a few lbs to see if I can find a sweet spot that does yield me a little more spin and increase ball pocketing. Also, I don't have arm issues, but the softness at 35 lbs was pretty nice I have to admit.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that you did not like ELT...:(

I have not tried Big Hitter Rough (BHR) but I have used Pro Supex Big Ace, which is touted to be a very soft co-poly. I did not like it at all in the low 40s and high 30s. Like your experience, there is simply no power, no spin and not much control. Just plushy softness! And there was plenty of string vibrations that even two dampeners could not mute!!!

At 50-60+ lbs, I normally already hit with a lot of topspin. With ELT, my spin levels increased much more than the increase in power. That allowed me to swing all out even from mid-court and not fear hitting the ball long. The spin will take care of it.

My one single session with 16g multi/ 17g syn gut already converted me. I fear to even think how much more spin I will get with poly at ELT. If the extra spin materializes, how am I going to even get the ball over the net! :shock:
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
fortun8son said:
It's funny.
People who have left their stings in forever would feel right at home with low tension synthetic.
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Not really... :)

I am one bloke who cuts and re-strings usually around 6-8 hours of play. Rackets restrung for about a month with little use are also re-done...

The feel and difference is drastic but the potential is huge.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
v-verb said:
Sorry you hated it eks-mat.

I do have a question for those using an 18 x 20 string pattern - what tensions do you find work best? I'm at 35 lbs in my Donnay X-Platinum and it still feels pretty stiff.

Advice appreciated!
Click to expand...

In my 18x20 Dunlop AG200, it did feel pretty "stiff" at 35/33. When I passed it to my playing partner, he thought it was strung around 50lbs or so.

I know I'll definitely drop some tension when I restring this 18x20 AG200. Maybe 32? Or 30?

I'm thinking what tension should I try on my 95 sq in 16x18 PSC 6.1... :?
 
E

evanjj

Rookie
Playing with this low tension really is something different. I was ready to give up on it last week, but told myself to really focus on good stroke technique and not going for extreme power shots the last 2 days hitting..and I love it again!

I was playing tired up until then for a few days and couldn't control my shots.

I can't stress enough how much you need proper technique at these low tensions. That is when you get rewarded :)
 
mikeespinmusic

mikeespinmusic

Rookie
Hi Chris,

Would love to see footage as to how this plays! I wouldnt mind trying 30lbs on stiff poly like genesis spin x on my boris becker DC London Tour.
 
P

Povl Carstensen

Legend
unorthodox stringing said:
In my 18x20 Dunlop AG200, it did feel pretty "stiff" at 35/33. When I passed it to my playing partner, he thought it was strung around 50lbs or so.

I know I'll definitely drop some tension when I restring this 18x20 AG200. Maybe 32? Or 30?

I'm thinking what tension should I try on my 95 sq in 16x18 PSC 6.1... :?
Click to expand...
Yes, perhaps one could make a rule of thumb that what is "soft" or low in 16/19 or 18 is a couple of kgs higher than in 18/20.
 
Old Chemist

Old Chemist

Rookie
Low tensions tougher on arm?

I generally have been stringing polys at 48-56 lbs -- decided to try low 40's.

I found the string bed felt duller and less responsive and bothered my arm to boot -- tried this with a couple of polys.

Don't know if this was addressed in this thread earlier, bit I am curious to see if anyone else had the same experience.
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
Old Chemist said:
I generally have been stringing polys at 48-56 lbs -- decided to try low 40's.

I found the string bed felt duller and less responsive and bothered my arm to boot -- tried this with a couple of polys.

Don't know if this was addressed in this thread earlier, bit I am curious to see if anyone else had the same experience.
Click to expand...

I started out in the 60's and some at 70. I started dropping at the suggestion of my coach.

I liked the initial drops into the low 50's, but when I got into the 40's, I had some control issues, and my forearm tended to get a little sore. In short, I didn't like it. It wasn't really too bad, but I didn't see any great advantage over the low 50's I had worked down to.

I was about to give up when I came upon this thread. I went into the 30's and found what a lot of people here have found. I liked it. My control started to return, no more arm soreness, and my strokes actually improved. Plus I started getting a lot more spin on the ball.

When I dropped down to 30 (which was the original intent of the thread) I found lots of power, spin and control. My service speed had dropped off a little when I started lowering my tension, but once I got into the really low 30s and at 30, it picked back up. Maybe it was just needing to get used to the lower tensions, maybe the middle tensions (40's & high 30's) aren't ideal for the way I serve.

To make a long story a little shorter, I absolutely love the ELT. Not the middle of the road, a bit lower than "normal" tensions, but the extreme low range. I tried several different blends in the mids. They all lacked what I was looking for. But when I got down to 32 and 30, I found a new weapon.

Everyone's experience is going to be a little different due to racquet choice and playing style. But I would say that the people going down into the 40's are missing the point of the experiment. Until you get WAY down in the 30's, you are not experiencing the effects of ELT.

In other words ... GO FOR IT!!! Jump in with reckless abandon. Do a great big cannonball. Don't wade into the shallow end of the pool up to your ankles and decide that swimming isn't for you. Have some fun.

Like Cole Porter said, "Do what all good scientists do ... EXPERIMENT"!
 
Old Chemist

Old Chemist

Rookie
Yourmailman -- I Tried Discho Big Blue 1.20 @30 lbs

Yourmailman,

Again thanks for your original reply to me -- so I tried 30 lbs not really expecting much but was very pleasantly surprised -- you were right on about better feel, more spin, a little more power, and yet still very good control.

I picked up a reel of Discho Big Blue 1.20 in Germany when I was visiting my daughter over Christmas (29 EU was too good to pass up). I started out trying it at 46 lbs (drop weight) which is a low tension for me. I quite liked it for the first 5 hours. I found it to be a low powered control string with a muted but not dull feel. After 5 h it became deadened and was hard on my arm -- up until then no problem. I cut it out right away and tried 42 lbs thinking I might get a longer playing time before it started bothering my arm -- no such luck -- right off the bat it gave me grief.

With some reluctance I followed your suggestion and strung up my racquet yesterday at 30 lbs (M's & X's). First off, stringing was an absolute delight -- pulling crosses was easy and quick. Today I played a friend who is a solid 4.5 -5.0. I usually average winning 3 games against him and have problems holding serve. We hit for about half an hour then played a set. Maybe I was sharp today, but I think the string setup made a big difference. I lost 7-6 in a tie break. I didn't break him but I did get him to deuce on his serve a few times. I held my own serve pretty easily, getting 5 aces on the way -- normally I get 1 - 2 per set. I did notice my balls were launching off my racquet at a higher angle giving me more clearance over the net, but as you noted the spin I was getting on the ball was bringing it down nicely so my shots were landing deep with some kick. I had to adjust a little bit to the way my racquet played but not anything really drastic. I was also surprised at the control I had on returning serve -- I was sure I would have a hard time with balls flying away on me -- in fact I had one of my better days returning -- slices, drives, and deep bloopers were all working. Finally, no arm pain after my session -- hope this continues.

What I am now wondering is how long the playability will last and I am also quite keen to try a few other polys at 30 lbs to see how they play.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
Old Chemist, thanks for sharing your experience!

Would you consider Discho Big Blue to be a soft or stiff poly?

Now that I am happy with the syn gut at ELT. I was thinking of trying ELT poly next...
 
Old Chemist

Old Chemist

Rookie
U-S,

If you are looking for a softer poly I found Dunlop Black Widow to be very soft. I also found Mamba O-Power and Black Mamba not too bad -- less than Big Blue but not as soft as BW.
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
Hey guys,

Chemistry ... nice to hear the good reports about ELT. Like I said earlier, I was very pleasantly surprised when I went low. I am now holding my own against players who used to thrash me. A bit more practice and I may actually start beating them.

U-S ... thanx for the shout-out in the blog. I like the syn-gut over the poly, but they both play great at ELT. What really got me was going to natural gut and getting even more spin and control. I played mixed doubles last night, and even though my arm was still sore (bruised my bicep ... don't ask), I was still able to hit some wonderful shots.

I think my next project may be to make some ELT shirts and give them to people who are playing at 30#. :)

The revolution has begun!
 
E

evanjj

Rookie
Am wondering if going lower than 30 pounds will gain anything? Reading Chris' original findings, he suggests I won't gain much by going to 20?

PS..Sign me up for a tshirt! :)
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
Old Chemist said:
U-S,

If you are looking for a softer poly I found Dunlop Black Widow to be very soft. I also found Mamba O-Power and Black Mamba not too bad -- less than Big Blue but not as soft as BW.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I have both a very soft poly and a stiff poly.

The problem is i do not have enough familiar rackets to string them up to test. Am also wondering if any has tried soft poly at 30lbs yet.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
yourmailman said:
U-S ... thanx for the shout-out in the blog. I like the syn-gut over the poly, but they both play great at ELT. What really got me was going to natural gut and getting even more spin and control. I played mixed doubles last night, and even though my arm was still sore (bruised my bicep ... don't ask), I was still able to hit some wonderful shots.

I think my next project may be to make some ELT shirts and give them to people who are playing at 30#. :)

The revolution has begun!
Click to expand...

I seriously don't think i can handle any more spin!

Initially, I had some difficulties hitting deep with so much spin. Quite a few balls curled down into the net on my side. I had to take a full loopy smack at the ball to get it over with heavy topspin. Once it cleared the net, i can really see my partner struggling to get his timing right. It kicks almost 6ft up! Most of his returns became weak blocks and shallow taps.

Don't start the revolution! Let us practise more and make $ betting with the skeptics. :twisted:
 
K

keithfival

Professional
Less power?

Ok, I just strung an MG Rad with Outlast 16L/Forten Sweet 17 at 32/35. Been playing with 17g syngut at 50, so already coming from moderate/low tension.

First hit:

Groundies: deeper, often landing around the baseline, but seem quite a bit slower. Even when I'd really step in and crank one it seemed like the ball was in slo mo and the other guy had an extra 5 seconds to get there!

Volleys: more forgiving, more bite on slice

Serve: only hit a few but seemed slower like groundies

Comfort: same. Really didn't seem extra comfortable and definitely less so than syn gut at 50.

Control: Same.

How are people getting more power with this setup? I can see deeper but it seemed half speed compared to when I smack a flat FH at 50lbs. Please explain!
 
N

NE1for10is?

Semi-Pro
Sorry if this question has been asked a billion times already here, but I'm not up to going through all 80 pages of this thread tonight.

I'm recovering from Golfer's Elbow. How does the low tension poly compare to natural gut in terms of comfort and feel? Is low tension poly going to be more forgiving or do you guys think it would be ok with a more flexable racquet to give it a the low T poly a spin? (pardon the pun)
 
v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
NE1for10is? said:
Sorry if this question has been asked a billion times already here, but I'm not up to going through all 80 pages of this thread tonight.

I'm recovering from Golfer's Elbow. How does the low tension poly compare to natural gut in terms of comfort and feel? Is low tension poly going to be more forgiving or do you guys think it would be ok with a more flexable racquet to give it a the low T poly a spin? (pardon the pun)
Click to expand...

I would go one step further and try gut at low tension like yourmailman has. Especially if you're recovering from golfer's elbow.

Check some of his posts a page or 2 back where he's tried klip 18 to great results.

Poly at low tensions is fairly comfortable - I've got Solinco TB17 and Barb wire at 35 - but don't take a chance.
 
E

evanjj

Rookie
v-verb said:
I would go one step further and try gut at low tension like yourmailman has. Especially if you're recovering from golfer's elbow.

Check some of his posts a page or 2 back where he's tried klip 18 to great results.

Poly at low tensions is fairly comfortable - I've got Solinco TB17 and Barb wire at 35 - but don't take a chance.
Click to expand...

Yes, I use Babolat Gut on mains and Alu Rough on crosses at 30 pounds and it is as soft as a baby's bottom on the arm :)
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
keithfival said:
How are people getting more power with this setup? I can see deeper but it seemed half speed compared to when I smack a flat FH at 50lbs. Please explain!
Click to expand...

Is there more spin?

The most surprising result most people encounter at low tension is the loss of power. To me, it felt like the soft stringbed absorbed all the power so the ball is not compressed much. The trampoline I had expected with synthetic gut at 30lbs did not happen at all.

For the hybrid you did, I would think the very low "stretchability" of the poly could have dampened the power even more. At least synthetic gut would stretch and rebound.

Would you consider trying full synthetic gut at 30lbs? :)
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
NE1for10is? said:
I'm recovering from Golfer's Elbow. How does the low tension poly compare to natural gut in terms of comfort and feel? Is low tension poly going to be more forgiving or do you guys think it would be ok with a more flexable racquet to give it a the low T poly a spin? (pardon the pun)
Click to expand...

Even the softest poly is still a very stiff string with little flexibility. So while low tension increases the comfort, I can still definitely feel it is a stiff string material.

I have not tried natural gut. But with the comfort levels and incredible spin from synthetic gut at ELT, I don't think I need to spend more $ for extra comfort.
 
The Meat

The Meat

Hall of Fame
Just curious to all of those who posted positive results from ELT stringing with full poly, did you hit flat before ELT or hit with a lot of spin?

I kind of want to know how it feels for those who tried full poly who also hit with a lot of spin before I string up some test racquets.
 
yourmailman

yourmailman

Rookie
Sorry, been out of town for a few days.

Played with my nat gut at 30 against my favorite person (whom I strung with Technifibre Red Code 18 at 30) in the frozen north.

Yes, the poly setup still feels stiff. I like the syn gut much better. Very comfortable with no effects on the arm at all. I would recommend going that route. The only down side I have seen from the syn gut is a lot of string movement.

Natural gut has the same feel as the syn gut with much less string movement. But try the syn gut first, was less expensive.

Meat, I did hit a pretty flat ball before ELT, and if needed, I can still hit a flat ball with 30#. I just have to watch how much power I out into it.

As others have mentioned, ELT has helped me hone my shot mechanics and improve my game. Part of the improvement comes from the addition of spin, but there is also improvement from hitting the ball better. You don't have to use as much power to get results.

As far as the ball slowing down, I have not seen that at all. It may be a little slower until it hits the court, but then it ricochets with more speed than I ever saw on any of my flat shots when I was at high tension.

Hope this helps.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
Meat,

Many whom i've played with commented that i already have very heavy spin with multi and syn gut at 60+lbs. I don't normally hit flat.

With full poly strung at 40-50s, i felt there was less spin than full multi or poly hybrid. I had to smack at the ball VERY hard to get enough bite to generate spin. It is the same for textured or shaped full poly as well.

My last experiment with full poly was at 38/36. (Details in my blog) There was immense comfort but very little spin.

With full syn gut at 30lbs, that was the MOST amount of spin i have ever generated. So much that sometimes the ball curls into my side of the net from the baseline with a full swing! And i was already aiming to clear the net by at least 4-5 ft! Nothing i have tried came close in spin prowess, not even kevlar nor poly hybrids. Flat shots were good too but directional control is slightly less than normal tensions.

Just to satisfy my curiousity, I just strung up another racket with full poly at 32 lbs. I'll update my blog when i've had a chance to play.
 
unorthodox stringing

unorthodox stringing

Rookie
yourmailman said:
As far as the ball slowing down, I have not seen that at all. It may be a little slower until it hits the court, but then it ricochets with more speed than I ever saw on any of my flat shots when I was at high tension.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Yeah man! And after the ricochet comes the comical part of watching my partner's totally SHOCK faced at how high the ball kicked off the ground!!! Ha ha ha :twisted:

It's unbelievable! :)
 
K

keithfival

Professional
unorthodox stringing said:
Is there more spin?

The most surprising result most people encounter at low tension is the loss of power. To me, it felt like the soft stringbed absorbed all the power so the ball is not compressed much. The trampoline I had expected with synthetic gut at 30lbs did not happen at all.

For the hybrid you did, I would think the very low "stretchability" of the poly could have dampened the power even more. At least synthetic gut would stretch and rebound.

Would you consider trying full synthetic gut at 30lbs? :)
Click to expand...

Probably more spin but nothing extraordinary. Definitely hit a deeper ball. It will hit with it some more but it's not actually particularly comfortable. Less so than the same frame with syngut at 50. Also feels like a good 10-15mph less on serve.

I will try syngut at 30 at some point.
 
A

allenkau

Rookie
33lb - RPM Blast 17g - head Liquid Metal Radical Oversize

33lb - RPM Blast 17g - head Liquid Metal Radical Oversize - STOCK. No lead tape

Jumped on the bandwagon. Hit for about 45 minutes in 40 degree weather.

Overall - Took time to get used to it. Did not try Serves or Volleys.

Forehands - Lots of spin. Felt like the ball stayed on the strings a lot longer. Had to perform Full strokes to keep the ball in. Can't get lazy or it will sail.

Backhands - Felt the same as forehands. SLICES - Very good.. Lots of action.

Defensive reach shots - They are magical. Somehow ends up over the net and in... Throws my partner off guard.
 
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