Strings going 'dead' not what I thought

[Ramjet]

I always thought (from reading this forum) that poly strings go dead, and to protect your arm you should cut them out relatively soon (somewhere between 10 to 15ish hours).

However reading this article below it says that the sensation of 'dead', is just a different feel for the string bed as it loses tension. And that the strings don't lose snap back and are actually softer. And that there's a point at which they stop losing tension. That would mean that you don't need to cut them out to protect your arm, and you can keep them in there much longer. Only cut them out if you must have higher tension.

I'm no expert, but it made me wonder is the advice to replace polys frequently a little bit of marketing to increase frequency of sales? I'll try keeping my poly strings longer (say 15 to 20 hours or maybe longer).

The article helped me understand lot more also. (I'm not a stringer, and I play with black code 17ga at 48 lbs)

How to tell if your strings are dead and when to restring your racket – RACKETSTRINGERS

www.racketstringers.com

 

[x_h]

You need get two racquets and try it

 

[Brando]

@Ramjet, there's alot this blog post gets wrong, but the worst intel is under the Tension Loss and going 'dead' heading, and I quote:
"When a string loses tension, it becomes softer. That’s basically all that changes in a string. It does not lose power, resiliency or go ‘dead’ in a way that we can actually measure. It simply becomes less stiff, and thus feels different to the player. A string does not lose resiliency, meaning it will also return to its pre-impact length every time. Of course, if it wouldn’t, your strings would start to sag in the middle. Nor does a string lose elasticity. And old string used for many years will stretch less than when it was new, but it will still return 95 percent of its elastic stretch energy when impacted."

TRUE STRING STIFFNESS PHYSICS:

• A string becomes stiffer (not softer) when it’s stretched farther than it's been stretched before.
• The stiffer the string, the more force required to stretch it.
• That stiffness remains in the string until (or unless) it is stretched even stiffer.
• A nylon string breaks when its elasticity has been stretched away and it can’t get any stiffer. Many poly strings are so stiff that they lose their elasticity before they break, at which point their very stiffness makes the string bed seem resilient when it's not.

If stiffness is a material’s capacity to resist deformation, then elasticity is its capacity to return to shape after being deformed (elongated) under tension. In terms of breakage, poly is the most durable string. In terms of elasticity, it’s the least durable. So people play poly until it breaks, and for most it never does because they don't hit hard enough to even access its spin potential, let alone break it.

So they neglect to cut the string out after the ten or so hours of play that completely saps its elasticity. Dead poly no longer mutes the jarring vibrations of ball impact and players end up hurting their tendons before they know it. By the time you feel it, the damage is done. The advantage of multis and syn guts is that they snap WHEN their elasticity is sapped (not after), which is why they can be safely played until they snap.

 

[jxs653]

It's been always headscratcher whenever I heard people saying poly "losing tension" and "going dead" synonymously. No, it has nothing to do with tension; it has to do with changing characteristics of the string.

 

[x_h]

I really think it depends on the individual. for me, the string is just going too hard on my arm after a few hours (yer my arm can tell because it just doesn't feel comfortable hitting the same way). but for my mates, most of them don't care. they only come to me for restringing when it is broken, or they want a new one. so don't dive too deep into it, do whatever you feel the most comfortable with.

 

[VacationTennis]

All I saw was spam ads and videos on that post, and some keyword stuffing.

The term dead means different things from one player to another. A "dead feeling" string can be positive thing for fast swinging players.

 

[jimmy8]

Strings stretch also. After stringing and hitting a ball many times and time passing, the stretching also stops, it's all stretched out. The stretching while hitting helps with comfort and arm health. When stretching is dead, your arm health is going to start going.

Also, strings notch into each other, preventing string from moving as easily as before.

Also, there's slickness on the string that helps string movement that wears off.

Change it every 8-10 hours or 2 weeks whichever comes first. Or more often than that.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

-you can experience the "string dead" feel with most strings!
-right away "when newfresh", ALL strings feel great, soft, comfortable, responsive,
-but next day and/or a few hours AFTER hitting for 1st time, you can/will/should notice a change in that "good feel"!
-NOT a "DRASTIC change" in performance characteristics, but rather a subtle change over time
-SHAPED strings will become round/ish, and thusly loose that initial bite on the ball, but in a very subtle manner, not drastic

-but strings will play fairly similarly, until the outer material is broken, IMO/IME

 

[Brando]

...I'm no expert, but it made me wonder is the advice to replace polys frequently a little bit of marketing to increase frequency of sales? ....

I’m no expert in the tennis industry either, but this is a good question.
I suspect the answer is that the string makers have a Hobson’s choice; they can either increase sales by publicizing their product will harm you if not changed out regularly, or they can stay silent and let the initial performance of the strings do their selling for them (while allowing customers to be harmed). By their nature as corporations, the choice they’ve made is understandable, if disappointing.

 

[Kevo]

The thing is there is so much variation that you can feel between different poly strings that much of the generic advice is not applicable with a particular setup. I have always tended toward using polys that have a consistent feel and playability after the break in period. These strings tend to be the ones that many people would describe as having a dead feel. For me that's fine. As long as they are not stiff and harsh then I don't mind a dead or muted feel. I have played these strings until they break with no issues for many years. If I did have issues doing that I would just find another string. Not being made of money I'd rather waste a few hundred finding a string I can play until breakage than spend $10-$20 every match stringing up two frames. For people that don't string themselves it's even worse how much money you can blow on strings.

 

[aaron_h27]

You guys need to stop being cheap and re-string after 12-15 hours.

Of course if you're 3.0 or 3.5 it doesn't matter, but then why are you playing with poly..

 

[Brando]

The thing is... I have played these strings until they break with no issues for many years...

I believe you, @Kevo. Thing is, folks hear an exception like yours and think it disproves the rule. For many reasons, some people-- including my own dad-- never get hurt playing poly. Problem is, too many of us do get hurt and discover the cause too late.

 

[KC!]

Hyper G is still playable after 15 hours when it goes totally dead. (It's a pretty dead string to begin with But you can definitely feel that it has lost some of its elasticity and start to feel it in your arm. I'm a big believer in having multiple racquets and restringing polys every 10-15 hours depending on the string.

 

[colan5934]

@Ramjet, there's alot this blog post gets wrong, but the worst intel is under the Tension Loss and going 'dead' heading, and I quote:
"When a string loses tension, it becomes softer. That’s basically all that changes in a string. It does not lose power, resiliency or go ‘dead’ in a way that we can actually measure. It simply becomes less stiff, and thus feels different to the player. A string does not lose resiliency, meaning it will also return to its pre-impact length every time. Of course, if it wouldn’t, your strings would start to sag in the middle. Nor does a string lose elasticity. And old string used for many years will stretch less than when it was new, but it will still return 95 percent of its elastic stretch energy when impacted."

TRUE STRING STIFFNESS PHYSICS:

• A string becomes stiffer (not softer) when it’s stretched farther than it's been stretched before.
• The stiffer the string, the more force required to stretch it.
• That stiffness remains in the string until (or unless) it is stretched even stiffer.
• A nylon string breaks when its elasticity has been stretched away and it can’t get any stiffer. Many poly strings are so stiff that they lose their elasticity before they break, at which point their very stiffness makes the string bed seem resilient when it's not.

If stiffness is a material’s capacity to resist deformation, then elasticity is its capacity to return to shape after being deformed (elongated) under tension. In terms of breakage, poly is the most durable string. In terms of elasticity, it’s the least durable. So people play poly until it breaks, and for most it never does because they don't hit hard enough to even access its spin potential, let alone break it.

So they neglect to cut the string out after the ten or so hours of play that completely saps its elasticity. Dead poly no longer mutes the jarring vibrations of ball impact and players end up hurting their tendons before they know it. By the time you feel it, the damage is done. The advantage of multis and syn guts is that they snap WHEN their elasticity is sapped (not after), which is why they can be safely played until they snap.

Super well said here. Basically this. Dead poly because of use isn’t the same as a string that’s relatively stiffer and less elastic to begin with. Though it’s understandably confused by some.

 

[AceyMan]

Wow, that blog post gets so much wrong it must have never been discovered by anyone—notice that it has zero comments.

When I get done with work today I'm going to drop a comment with some of the truths that @Brando already stated.

/Acey

I have to admit it's a good looking site but after reading that nonsense I don't think I'd trust anything else they have to say on the topic of string behavior.

 

[Kevo]

I believe you, @Kevo. Thing is, folks hear an exception like yours and think it disproves the rule. For many reasons, some people-- including my own dad-- never get hurt playing poly. Problem is, too many of us do get hurt and discover the cause too late.

Just to be clear when I said "these strings" I mean the ones I've tried and decided to stick with for a while. I have definitely experienced pain playing with poly strings, and even a nylon based string or two in my time. My main point was it's not all polys. I would encourage anyone that experiences pain from play to pay attention to that and fix it asap. Strings is the easiest cheapest fix IMO. I played with kevlar for quite some time too, and playing with too much tension on the kevlar could bring the pain as well.

So while it's easier to experience problems with poly, it can happen with other strings too.

 

[silentkman]

Just to be clear when I said "these strings" I mean the ones I've tried and decided to stick with for a while. I have definitely experienced pain playing with poly strings, and even a nylon based string or two in my time. My main point was it's not all polys. I would encourage anyone that experiences pain from play to pay attention to that and fix it asap. Strings is the easiest cheapest fix IMO. I played with kevlar for quite some time too, and playing with too much tension on the kevlar could bring the pain as well.

So while it's easier to experience problems with poly, it can happen with other strings too.

My arm started to hurt when you mentioned Kevlar. I'm playing NG because of my shoulder and I've tried NRG2 because of the cost. How many string jobs in a year per racquet. I'm about at 5 per racquet, which is probably on the low end.

 

[Brando]

...My main point was it's not all polys. I would encourage anyone that experiences pain from play to pay attention to that and fix it asap. Strings is the easiest cheapest fix IMO... it can happen with other strings too.

True, @Kevo. The upshot we can agree on is that it's better to look for and apply an obvious solution than to continue playing in pain.

 

[jimmy8]

The thing is there is so much variation that you can feel between different poly strings that much of the generic advice is not applicable with a particular setup. I have always tended toward using polys that have a consistent feel and playability after the break in period. These strings tend to be the ones that many people would describe as having a dead feel. For me that's fine. As long as they are not stiff and harsh then I don't mind a dead or muted feel. I have played these strings until they break with no issues for many years. If I did have issues doing that I would just find another string. Not being made of money I'd rather waste a few hundred finding a string I can play until breakage than spend $10-$20 every match stringing up two frames. For people that don't string themselves it's even worse how much money you can blow on strings.

It doesn't matter what string you play, there's not some magic string that doesn't lose elasticity, tension, slickness, and doesn't notch. They all do. The stringing machine stretches the string, then every time you hit a ball the strings stretch. The strings stretch when the racket is sitting still at home. Try watching a slow motion hit of a tennis ball and watch how much the strings move and the racket bends. All those forces do a number on the strings. You can't have strings for that long in a racket and have nice elastic, stretchy string for the whole time. Change your strings often if you want good performance and good health. If you haven't felt the pain yet from keeping strings for a long time, then it's going to happen somewhere down the line. Pay for strings or pay for surgery/and or physical therapy. Your choice. I'm not talking to Kevo because I don't know how long it takes him to break strings, I'm talking to everyone who doesn't string often.

 

[tele]

i read the twu articles about this a while ago, and they seemed to conclude that increased lateral friction was the main culprit behind the stiff feeling of a dead stringbed rather than an increase in actual stiffness of the string itself. it has been a while though so i may be misremembering. either way, does not challenge the idea that poly beds get less comfy as strings stretch and lose tension

 

[Brando]

As usual, you’ve got that right, @tele. Quoting How Tennis Strings "Go Dead — Part 1:
“Polyester's extra spin is derived from the sideways movement and snap-back of the main strings … A side effect of lateral main string movement is that it softens the feel of the stringbed. If the mains begin to move less easily or not at all, the impact shock will feel larger. Again, a good candidate for string death.”

 

[Kevo]

Change your strings often if you want good performance and good health. If you haven't felt the pain yet from keeping strings for a long time, then it's going to happen somewhere down the line. Pay for strings or pay for surgery/and or physical therapy. Your choice. I'm not talking to Kevo because I don't know how long it takes him to break strings, I'm talking to everyone who doesn't string often.

That brings up a good point. My general advice to people is if you're not breaking your strings relatively often then you should be sticking with nylon and avoid poly. If I could get away with it I would be using something cheap and soft like Wilson Sensation. Once you start breaking nylon strings all the time then you could move up to poly. A lot of people want to use poly because they think it's going to make them play with tremendous spin. If that were true though then they'd be breaking the nylon fairly quickly and actually need a more durable string.

 

[Brando]

Wow, I think that legitimately deserves an 80s slow clap ....

 

[Bambooman]

Place your racquet with "dead" string across two supports and push down on the string bed. It will not actually be dead.

Mostly marketing and overactive imaginations. And weak arms.

 

[Brando]

I truly wish that you were right about that, @Bambooman.
But rec tennis players are suffering an epidemic of tendon injuries that they themselves don’t understand. It happens gradually and, by the time you feel it, the damage is done. If you don’t believe me, believe an open letter from the Executive Director of the US Racquet Stringers Assn:

Collaborative Effort By Bob Patterson:

When it comes to poly strings, we all need to make sure adult recreational players and juniors know the facts. I speak to many manufacturers, coaches, and racquet technicians, and the consensus is that recreational adult players and junior players are using the wrong type of string, tension—or both. Stiff polyester strings are prevalent in the marketplace and dominate the pro tours, but are they suited for the average club or league player? Most in this industry don’t think so.

First, the very benefit of poly strings is their ability to bend and snap back faster than other materials. This snapback enhances spin on the ball. A pro can swing out and get more spin on the ball while generating a heavier shot. You might think that would be the same for your average junior or club player, but it is most definitely not the case. Most players can’t generate enough racquet-head speed to bend stiff poly strings in the first place. If the string doesn't bend, it can’t snap back, and there is little or no spin enhancement. Many recreational players who switch to a poly never adjust their tension.

I’m always amazed to hear of a 3.5 adult or junior using a full poly set-up at high tensions. This is a surefire way for a player to hurt his or her arm.

Second, monofilament poly strings lose their elasticity—or the ability to snap back—much faster than nylon or other string materials. Since poly strings have a fairly dead feeling to begin with, their decline is less noticeable for recreational players, who tend to not restring as often as they should, which only makes the problem worse.

Not only is poly string wrong for most recreational and junior players, it can be harmful. The stiffer string coupled with stiffer, lighter racquet creates much more shock to the player when the ball impacts the stringbed. In recent years, we’ve seen arm and wrist injuries sideline many top pros, and these athletes train and take every precaution to prevent injury. If we all know it is a problem, how do we fix it?

It starts with education: inform players about why they should alter their string set-up. It is better for their health and for their game. Manufacturers need to step up, too.

It is easy to market a string their top sponsored player is using, but companies need to make rec players aware that string may not be best for everyone. Then they need to offer a softer, better-suited string.

The bottom line is that we all need to address this issue. Injured players play less, and may stop playing altogether.

And that’s not good for anyone. •

Bob Patterson:
Executive Director of
the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association.
Tennis Industry: Nov/Dec 2017

 

[graycrait]

All the over 60 yr old guys I know play their strings till the strings break or they do. Usually it is something else other than elbow that breaks: heart, knee, hip, ankle,stroke, etc. Just about all these dudes have several decades of Eastern forehands closed stances swinging RA 35 14.5oz 65" rackets strung "tight" with either nat gut or syn gut. Now they marvel that the string lasts over a year and the light giant 100" rackets make tennis darn near like pickle ball.

One guy even older than I who I had given a 10.5oz 100" racket strung with Hyper G came up to me a year later asking me if I had another extra racket as he had cracked the one I had given him when it got loose from him. I asked him about the string and he said it was the same "pretty" string that was in the racket when I had given it to him. I asked him if he thought the string had died? He said, "You've seen my game, what difference would it make?" So if you are in that category, by all means play on till the string breaks. That retired prison chaplain does.

 

[jxs653]

All the over 60 yr old guys I know play their strings till the strings break or they do. Usually it is something else other than elbow that breaks: heart, knee, hip, ankle,stroke, etc. Just about all these dudes have several decades of Eastern forehands closed stances swinging RA 35 14.5oz 65" rackets strung "tight" with either nat gut or syn gut. Now they marvel that the string lasts over a year and the light giant 100" rackets make tennis darn near like pickle ball.

It sounds too dramatic to me. The 65" wooden racquets are too ancient a thing, and probably even the older people you mentioned must've been playing larger graphite racuqets for the last 30~40 years.

One guy even older than I who I had given a 10.5oz 100" racket strung with Hyper G came up to me a year later asking me if I had another extra racket as he had cracked the one I had given him when it got loose from him. I asked him about the string and he said it was the same "pretty" string that was in the racket when I had given it to him. I asked him if he thought the string had died? He said, "You've seen my game, what difference would it make?" So if you are in that category, by all means play on till the string breaks. That retired prison chaplain does.

It has little to do with age I guess. Many young people play their poly string until they break too (let alone knowing the name of the string they're using). I think we in this forum are minority.

 

[Injured Again]

There is an obvious change in poly characteristics beyond just tension loss. It's very apparent when cutting out strings. With "dead" poly, there's minimal pull-back when the strings are cut, meaning that elasticity has decreased and so the gap that opens up where the string is cut, is minimal. With fresher poly, the pull-back is greater so the gap that opens up is larger. I'm not a player noted for having good touch but I can tell when a poly has lost elasticity more than if it has lost tension.

 

[Bambooman]

My theory is that back in the day people hit way less balls. Most old pro matches show minimal rallies. Probably even less in rec matches. Now people tend to hit more because they can.

 

[graycrait]

It sounds too dramatic to me.

I think this is funny. Players who have only played with 98-100" rackets think 107's are granny sticks. The only reason folks left wood 65" to graphite light 98-100" monster sticks is that it made tennis easier. 100" 11oz racket is not much different of a change from wood racket era that pickle ball is bringing today, easier/funner, less skill involved. All you folk who grew up with 98"- 100" graphite granny sticks will be lamenting the change of tennis to pickle ball, I'll be long gone and thankful for it

 

[SlowTiger]

I still don't get how people get 100 hours out of strings. My lowly 2.5 A be snapping polys in roughly like 20ish but they do deteriorate after every hitting session. They die after 10ish hours for me

 

[jxs653]

@Brando, I often read (like you wrote above) that people choose poly because of its spin potential but they won't benefit much because they don't swing fast enough. But don't you think people choose poly perhaps because of its superior feel (at least initially)? Talking of myself, one of the two reasons why I use poly is, I prefer feel of fresh poly to anything else including natural gut. (The other reason is it is the only type of string that maintains consistent stringbed.)

 

[jxs653]

I think this is funny. Players who have only played with 98-100" rackets think 107's are granny sticks. The only reason folks left wood 65" to graphite light 98-100" monster sticks is that it made tennis easier. 100" 11oz racket is not much different of a change from wood racket era that pickle ball is bringing today, easier/funner, less skill involved. All you folk who grew up with 98"- 100" graphite granny sticks will be lamenting the change of tennis to pickle ball, I'll be long gone and thankful for it

What I tried to say by "for the last 30~40 years" was that the change was gradual. Those who were playing with 65" wooden racquets were more likely transitioned to 80" 13 oz graphite racquets rather than 100" 11oz. Of course there were oversized racquets as well but those are vastly different from today's oversized racquets.

 

[socallefty]

When you feel like your shots don’t have enough control or your wrist/elbow/arm feels any tightness/soreness, it is time to change your poly strings. If you repeat the stringjob and know how many hours you played with it the first time before you experienced the loss of control or onset of pain, then cut out the next stringjob 2-3 hours before that.

You don’t need to care if scientifically your poly is dead or not - just cut them out when they affect your performance or your arm/wrist/elbow health.

 

[TennisJrDad]

Sound advice

When you feel like your shots don’t have enough control or your wrist/elbow/arm feels any tightness/soreness, it is time to change your poly strings. If you repeat the stringjob and know how many hours you played with it the first time before you experienced the loss of control or onset of pain, then cut out the next stringjob 2-3 hours before that.

You don’t need to care if scientifically your poly is dead or not - just cut them out when they affect your performance or your arm/wrist/elbow health.

 

[jxs653]

When you feel like your shots don’t have enough control or your wrist/elbow/arm feels any tightness/soreness, it is time to change your poly strings. If you repeat the stringjob and know how many hours you played with it the first time before you experienced the loss of control or onset of pain, then cut out the next stringjob 2-3 hours before that.

You don’t need to care if scientifically your poly is dead or not - just cut them out when they affect your performance or your arm/wrist/elbow health.

I am not careful enough to remember hours of play so usually I find out my favorite racquet doesn't feel right only after I strat to play. That's the problem.

 

[Hulger]

The only time I have really experienced what it means for poly to be “dead” was when I purchased an old Head Pure Competition from fleamarket. It came strung with poly which I suspect was at least 20 years old.
It had lost all of its elastic properties. I couldn’t hit past the service box from the baseline. It was absolutely ridiculous.

I tend to restring if my strings lose too much tension (trampoline effect) or when mains notch so they can’t move freely. At that point I haven’t marked any power or spin loss, it’s more like the stringbed doesn’t feel so uniform and predictable anymore.
It depends on the poly type how long they will survive, approximately from 1 hours to 10 hours.

 

[Shroud]

I always thought (from reading this forum) that poly strings go dead, and to protect your arm you should cut them out relatively soon (somewhere between 10 to 15ish hours).

However reading this article below it says that the sensation of 'dead', is just a different feel for the string bed as it loses tension. And that the strings don't lose snap back and are actually softer. And that there's a point at which they stop losing tension. That would mean that you don't need to cut them out to protect your arm, and you can keep them in there much longer. Only cut them out if you must have higher tension.

I'm no expert, but it made me wonder is the advice to replace polys frequently a little bit of marketing to increase frequency of sales? I'll try keeping my poly strings longer (say 15 to 20 hours or maybe longer).

The article helped me understand lot more also. (I'm not a stringer, and I play with black code 17ga at 48 lbs)

How to tell if your strings are dead and when to restring your racket – RACKETSTRINGERS

www.racketstringers.com

returning to its original length is not the same as snapback.

 

[Brando]

@Ramjet, think about it for moment. Practically the only place you hear about poly's danger is here in this forum (or on the USRSA website). It's not the poly string makers who are saying this. By your logic, they should be the first ones to advertise the need to change their strings out for all the extra sales they'd get as a result. But they keep mum about it. Now, why? Because no maker of anything wants damage and injury associated with their products.

And, yes, there is a point at which poly strings stop losing tension, and that's when they've lost all their elasticity. And that's the moment they stop providing their last smidge of protection from the impact vibration shock that travels up from the racquet and into the tender tendons of your arm. BTW, I'm not asking you to believe me. Go ahead and play your bed of Black Code until it breaks. I only ask that when you not-so eventually get TE from this practice that you return to these boards and report your injury so that others may learn.

 

[Brando]

@Brando, I often read (like you wrote above) that people choose poly because of its spin potential but they won't benefit much because they don't swing fast enough. But don't you think people choose poly perhaps because of its superior feel (at least initially)? Talking of myself, one of the two reasons why I use poly is, I prefer feel of fresh poly to anything else including natural gut. (The other reason is it is the only type of string that maintains consistent stringbed.)

Sorry for the late reply, @jxs653, but i missed your post. Wanna know the funny thing? Statistically, most players prefer the feel of nylon over poly strings because a poly stringbed usually feels (and is) much stiffer and sounds much 'pingier' than the standard 'pock' of nylon. So, yes, there's evidence that the average player plays poly because they've been told it has more spin potential and it's what the pros use.

 

[jxs653]

Sorry for the late reply, @jxs653, but i missed your post. Wanna know the funny thing? Statistically, most players prefer the feel of nylon over poly strings because a poly stringbed usually feels (and is) much stiffer and sounds much 'pingier' than the standard 'pock' of nylon. So, yes, there's evidence that the average player plays poly because they've been told it has more spin potential and it's what the pros use.

Thank you for your reply, Brando. I may be a an outlier because I experience that 'pock' feel with poly than multifilament or syn gut. Perhaps I am used to poly. And I don't use poly because of spin but because it maintains its stringbed. I always feel that control goes awry when stringbed goes awry. I guess every one who played tennis long enough has this experience that he perfectly executed his stroke (at least he thought so) but the ball flied anywhere and then he found the strings so wildly misaligned.

Edit. I believe that what snapback really contributes is not adding spin per se but keeping stringbed consistent and thereby allowing the player to swing harder without worrying losing control. And increase in spin is a byproduct rather than direct result of snapback.

 

[am1899]

Man. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy - keeping poly in a racquet past 15 hours. In fact, I’ve gotten so I won’t play a meaningful match without at least one freshly strung stick. More often than not I doubt any poly gets more than 6 or so hours of play before I cut it out. In fairness, it is true that my ability to string my own and get string relatively cheap allows me to restring just about as often as I like.

 

[Brando]

Ah, your own string machine and the skill to use it. You're living the dream, @am1899. And @jxs653, some would say that poly's added spin is what creates a consistent stringbed. But I play nylon so I can't say. One thing I can say is that when poly goes pock and not pink, it's being struck with enough racquet head speed to make for one heavy ball flying over the net.

 

[SlowTiger]

It's not as noticable when you restring every 10 hrs. The new strings feel better, grips and pockets more but at 10 hrs they aren't dead enough to go wow this is life changing. When you decide to restring after 16 hrs, that new set is kind of life changing. You then think back why you stretched those few extra hrs out of your old string

 

[dyslexical-scope]

Most of the second hand racquets I've bought have had completely dead poly in them.
Snip one of the center mains and there's barely a millimetre of elastic retraction.
Pulling the strings out is actually a bit of a chore; they're so frozen and stiff and uncooperative.
It makes you really wonder how many recreational players are playing with this stuff.

What I feel on my end when poly starts to die is a loss of sensation for finding the middle of the stringbed.
I've heard it described as losing the pocket, I think that's a decent way to put it.
It all starts to feel a bit ill-defined, and unresponsive.

What I see on my end when a hitting partner is trooping on with dead poly is a huge loss of depth control.
Can see them doing a lot of technique debugging on the fly to try to compensate for balls going tragically short or wildly long.