Consensus on different shaped strings.

[alidisperanza]

Triangles to dodecohedrons. (yes, round is a shape too). Every company has has something new going for them. How about the combination of diff shaped strings in hybrids? I know a few companies are dabbling with this concept and have produced packs but does it really work?

Will a triangular shaped string with a round counterpart produce more spin/control because it will slide better, or will it just notch faster?

Does the Gut/Poly effect extend to poly/poly with shapes?

Has anyone tried the smooth/shaped version of the same string in a hybrid and noticed a difference?

I tend to notch strings, is it all a gimmick after the first 20 mins when the edges round out?

 

[1HBHfanatic]

2me, Yes, makes total sense,,
the whole concept of "snapback", brought this out,.
a slick round cross string "aids", in the mains performance,,
Shaped poly mains(any shape)/slick poly cross string(thinner than mains, ime), work,,

but this notion is not that old,,
I can still remember a few years back, on this forum, how the notion of poly hybrids was a ridiculous idea,,
Snapback showed up,, and it changed the way stringers look at cross strings..

 

[alidisperanza]

2me, Yes, makes total sense,,
the whole concept of "snapback", brought this out,.
a slick round cross string "aids", in the mains performance,,
Shaped poly mains(any shape)/slick poly cross string(thinner than mains, ime), work,,

but this notion is not that old,,
I can still remember a few years back, on this forum, how the notion of poly hybrids was a ridiculous idea,,
Snapback showed up,, and it changed the way stringers look at cross strings..

I concur, and I've been doing it for a long time too, even varying the stiffness etc of diff strings to get blended play characteristics. But, does it carry over when you have these super shaped strings? IE: assuming it's sitting perfect and pretty, in theory a square string should slide better against a round cross than a round string...until it gets notched. then you have consistently more surface area and notched channel to provide resistance.

Another question which may merit another thread. Why do some people notch strings and some people wear through them?

 

[El_Yotamo]

Triangles to dodecohedrons. (yes, round is a shape too). Every company has has something new going for them. How about the combination of diff shaped strings in hybrids? I know a few companies are dabbling with this concept and have produced packs but does it really work?

Will a triangular shaped string with a round counterpart produce more spin/control because it will slide better, or will it just notch faster?

Does the Gut/Poly effect extend to poly/poly with shapes?

Has anyone tried the smooth/shaped version of the same string in a hybrid and noticed a difference?

I tend to notch strings, is it all a gimmick after the first 20 mins when the edges round out?

Don't particulary like triangles, but eh. I recommend a nice gear-shaped main with a either a smooth or a rough cross. Rough strings have very good ability to let the ball sink in and have quite good string-ball friction on the crosses, and also don't increase inter-string friction more than marginally when they're the cross in a hybrid. In fact, some actually decrease the inter-string friction while increasing the crosses' contribution to string-ball friction.

As I've said in other threads, a good starting point is Solstice Power or Eilte XT mains/RPM Blast Rough or Polytour Fire crosses.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Ive run into 2 types,, either too hard and/or too soft "on exteme shapes", such as triangular and gear shapes,,,
gear shapes in perticular, seem to be hard,, im not a fan,, tried about 4 or5 types,,,
triangular ones ive used about 3, and all seem too soft,,
like mentioned above,, after a few hits, or while stribging, it looses it shape,,,
head.gravity is one I recall clearly,, the triangilar string would deform when clamping, and create week spots, thusly premature breakage

 

[KYHacker]

Not a real fan of shaped strings. I knock the edges off in the 1st hour of play so their kind of pointless.

 

[alidisperanza]

Ive run into 2 types,, either too hard and/or too soft "on exteme shapes", such as triangular and gear shapes,,,
gear shapes in perticular, seem to be hard,, im not a fan,, tried about 4 or5 types,,,
triangular ones ive used about 3, and all seem too soft,,
like mentioned above,, after a few hits, or while stribging, it looses it shape,,,
head.gravity is one I recall clearly,, the triangilar string would deform when clamping, and create week spots, thusly premature breakage

Interesting with the clamping triangle.

I've noticed this most when trying to hybrid a multi and a gear-shaped poly in a desperate attempt to like multi. It locked in and was absolutely horrible. I would have rather played either string on its own. I'll definitely start paying more attention to the hardness

 

[alidisperanza]

Not a real fan of shaped strings. I knock the edges off in the 1st hour of play so their kind of pointless.

Takes about 20-30 mins for me, but it's more a hypothetical.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

I have yet to try 4sided ones,,
I do like 5 sided strings,, best # imo
6 is good, several good ones in this cat...
7sides and up is pointless, might just as well be round at that point..

 

[1HBHfanatic]

I tend to think that, its a double edge sword to try and make a shaped string...
to keep the edges, they need to make it hard,,, but too hard and it hurts the players arms,, like solinco.tour.bite..
too soft and it never gives you good clear edges that last, like babo.rpm (supposed to be a 6sided string, but it feels round, dull edges),, head gravity 3sided string,, deforms quickly,,

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Takes about 20-30 mins for me, but it's more a hypothetical.

Def. Not just hyphothetical,,, you can literally see it,,
I tried a pack of head gravity once,, I would stop and check every other game,, very dispointed with $18pk,,
1. it will deform from the clamps
2. the slide on string friction,.poly on poly
and 3. flaten out with hits,

ohh and the spin I got, was nothing significant that a 5 sided poly could not produce..

 

[TypeRx]

Outside of clamp marks/deformation (if I don't adjust my clamps properly), I never noticed a significant flattening of Tier One Firewire (triangular string). Certainly not within 30 min - 60 min of hitting. I would typically play with FW hybrid for 6-9 hours and then cut-out, so perhaps it would happen over a longer period.

 

[J011yroger]

I don't understand this notching vs wearing out thing?

My mains notch about half way through then they can break at any time. Sometimes they snap right away and the crosses are nearly perfect other times they hang in there a while and the crosses will be so flat that they no longer stick up above the mains.

J

 

[alidisperanza]

Def. Not just hyphothetical,,, you can literally see it,,
I tried a pack of head gravity once,, I would stop and check every other game,, very dispointed with $18pk,,
1. it will deform from the clamps
2. the slide on string friction,.poly on poly
and 3. flaten out with hits,

ohh and the spin I got, was nothing significant that a 5 sided poly could not produce..

The overall q is a hypothetical. I’m not looking for a string recommendation

 

[alidisperanza]

I don't understand this notching vs wearing out thing?

My mains notch about half way through then they can break at any time. Sometimes they snap right away and the crosses are nearly perfect other times they hang in there a while and the crosses will be so flat that they no longer stick up above the mains.

J

You and me both brother. Sometimes they hang on like the high school boy after prom is over and the love of his life is already philandering college studs

But, you also wear poly paper thin sometimes. I’ve always popped because of a notch