kevlar mains/poly crosses work great! thank you travlerajm

[IwishIwasbetter]

i got this idea from reading his posts because i was breaking poly (volkl cyclone) every 25 hours of hitting, not to mention the fact it would feel significantly worse and not as much spin as before only after 7-10 hours of rallying.

I then read one of his posts on how he used kevlar mains and poly crosses. I decided to try it on my pure drive gt roddick plus with prince kevlar in the mains and volkl v pro 16 crosses.

It is playing better and better the more i play with it, unlike poly. i am in my probably 25th hour of playing with it and it is actually getting spinnier and less boardy. you also get more control than with full poly, even though i was stringing full poly at 46 and this kevlar poly hybrid at 39 on both mains and crosses.

again the longer you play with this, it will get slightly better.

this offers MUCH, MUCH more value than full poly and he is right that it really doesn't make much sense to use full poly.

I am used it on a very stiff, plus sized racket and have not had any arm trouble at all.

 

[IwishIwasbetter]

Travlerajm, if you read this, what tension did you string it at? what do you reccommend on my pure drive roddick plus? here are the specs:Head Size:
100 sq. in. / 645 sq. cm.
Length: 27.5 inches / 70 cm
Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 332g
Balance: 7pts Head Light
Swingweight: 336
Stiffness: 71
Beam Width: 22-26-23 Tapered Beam
Composition: Graphite Tungsten
Power Level: Low-Medium
Swing Speed: Moderate-Fast
Grip Type: Syntec Grip
String Pattern:
16 Mains / 19 Crosses
Mains skip: 8T,8H
Two Piece
No shared holes
String Tension: 55-66 pounds

mine plays fine at 39 lbs, but is there any way to make an even spinnier setup? is there certain kinds of kevlar and poly that should be used at a certain tension? could increasing or decreasing the mains or cross tension somehow increase spin? and is there anywhere i could add lead to make it spinnier?

also, i tried your pattern where you strung kevlar with only half the crosses, i found it to offer massive, almost unpredictable spin, but way too uncontrollable, and it was bad for my backhand. i won't be going back to that.

also, i read your thread about skipping the last few mains and the last few crosses to increase spin? do you still do this? how did this work? i can't do this on my pure drive roddick plus because of the string pattern, there isn't anywhere to tie off the mains. do you know a way?

sorry for all the questions, i appreciate your creative ideas you bring to the equipment part of tennis and you taking the time to post them.

 

[ahuimanu]

Was a kevlar man during my younger days (cross with gut or multifilament) and loved it! Gotta think you'd want to use a softer poly to cross it (arm problems) with but it seems you've got the tension way down low. My favorite brand of kevlar was Ashway (which is cross-braided) combined with VS gut on the cross string...Heaven!

i got this idea from reading his posts because i was breaking poly (volkl cyclone) every 25 hours of hitting, not to mention the fact it would feel significantly worse and not as much spin as before only after 7-10 hours of rallying.

I then read one of his posts on how he used kevlar mains and poly crosses. I decided to try it on my pure drive gt roddick plus with prince kevlar in the mains and volkl v pro 16 crosses.

It is playing better and better the more i play with it, unlike poly. i am in my probably 25th hour of playing with it and it is actually getting spinnier and less boardy. you also get more control than with full poly, even though i was stringing full poly at 46 and this kevlar poly hybrid at 39 on both mains and crosses.

again the longer you play with this, it will get slightly better.

this offers MUCH, MUCH more value than full poly and he is right that it really doesn't make much sense to use full poly.

I am used it on a very stiff, plus sized racket and have not had any arm trouble at all.

 

[user92626]

I used to use Ashaway kevlar 17 main and polylon 17 crosses, all at 50#. They felt lovely at first coming from easy-to-break, muted synth gut. Ater 2 sets of such combo, about 8 month, I started to notice some irritation in my shoulder.

 

[Power Player]

i got this idea from reading his posts because i was breaking poly (volkl cyclone) every 25 hours of hitting, not to mention the fact it would feel significantly worse and not as much spin as before only after 7-10 hours of rallying.

I then read one of his posts on how he used kevlar mains and poly crosses. I decided to try it on my pure drive gt roddick plus with prince kevlar in the mains and volkl v pro 16 crosses.

It is playing better and better the more i play with it, unlike poly. i am in my probably 25th hour of playing with it and it is actually getting spinnier and less boardy. you also get more control than with full poly, even though i was stringing full poly at 46 and this kevlar poly hybrid at 39 on both mains and crosses.

again the longer you play with this, it will get slightly better.

this offers MUCH, MUCH more value than full poly and he is right that it really doesn't make much sense to use full poly.

I am used it on a very stiff, plus sized racket and have not had any arm trouble at all.

You will get arm trouble.

You broke poly after 25 hours? It is dead after 6 or 7 and starts hammering away at your arm. If you are breaking poly after 25 hours, I dont even see the need to use it. I would use full synth gut and prevent the tendinitis that is bound to show up in a year or 2.

 

[CDestroyer]

You will get arm trouble.

You broke poly after 25 hours? It is dead after 6 or 7 and starts hammering away at your arm. If you are breaking poly after 25 hours, I dont even see the need to use it. I would use full synth gut and prevent the tendinitis that is bound to show up in a year or 2.

I agree with Power Player. I like the 18 gauge kevlar paired with 17 gauge synthetic gut on the cross. That setup is better for your arm, it offers better feel and the spin gets better and better.

Try it.

 

[insanefrog]

i use kevlar 16/tourna big hitter silver 16
mains 50lb , cross 55lb
great spin and control
last me about a month of vigorous hitting
but it tends to move crazily in the final week

 

[Larrysümmers]

try lowering it to maybe even 30 lbs.

but there is nothing spinnier than kevlar, great string just gotta string it low.

 

[TaihtDuhShaat]

The setup in my signature is also inspired by Travlerajm's posts on strings. I have about 20 hours of play on them now, and the performance has remarkably stayed the same. It started crisp with great spin and control, and feels softer now with the same great spin and control. The stiff kevlar mains seem to keep the string bed responsive and controlled even after the poly has lost tension.

I should add that my frame has 28g of lead in the hoop @ 10&2 and 32g split between the butt and the top of the handle. I wouldn't recommend this string setup for a lighter frame under ~355g. It really works best as a setup to control the power of a heavy frame.