Wilson 99S string experiences

drak · 01-17-2013, 06:57 AM

We are going to need a thread on this racket as strings/tension in this frame are going to likely be more important than other frames due to the 16x15 pattern and wider spacing.

So please report what you have strung it with and what tension, and your feedback on how it worked.

Thx in advance and let the 99S games begin!

JackB1 · 01-17-2013, 07:15 AM

I think full poly is pretty much a must with this racquet. Vary your tension depending on how much power/control you want. My 99s did fine at 55 lbs.

drak · 01-17-2013, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackB1

I think full poly is pretty much a must with this racquet. Vary your tension depending on how much power/control you want. My 99s did fine at 55 lbs.

great, what string did you use at 55lbs? what level are you? and as i said in racket forum some are finding very good results with a gut/poly hybrid

JackB1 · 01-17-2013, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drak

great, what string did you use at 55lbs? what level are you? and as i said in racket forum some are finding very good results with a gut/poly hybrid

Yes, gut/poly is always an exception and will play good in ANY racquet

I had Dunlop Black Widow in my 99s and I am 4.0 level. I found the power level perfect.

babar · 01-17-2013, 01:24 PM

I'm thinking of trying this frame as well. I use Black Widow 17g in a Yonex Xi 100 at 53lbs. Maybe Black Widow 16g at 55lbs?

syke · 01-17-2013, 03:41 PM

I have a full bed of Technifibre Black Code 17 @ 54 lbs on my 99S, nice feel but a tad too much power.

tennis_nut · 01-17-2013, 04:02 PM

I have 2 of the 99S racquets. One is strung with Solinco Outlast 16 and the other is strung with Sonic Pro Edge 16. Both at 56 lbs. on a lockout machine. I feel like I could have went a couple pounds tighter. The little bit of extra spin is nice but what I am really enjoying about the racquets is the large sweetspot and comfort with full poly.

JackB1 · 01-17-2013, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennis_nut

I have 2 of the 99S racquets. One is strung with Solinco Outlast 16 and the other is strung with Sonic Pro Edge 16. Both at 56 lbs. on a lockout machine. I feel like I could have went a couple pounds tighter. The little bit of extra spin is nice but what I am really enjoying about the racquets is the large sweetspot and comfort with full poly.

Outlast is a GREAT choice for the 99s.
Very durable and lower powered poly....also pretty comfortable.

tennis_nut · 01-17-2013, 05:42 PM

Yep. I am definitely preferring the Outlast more than the Sonic Pro Edge. It has a more solid feel and has great spin potential. I chose it after doing some research on tw's string friction tool. Outlast has very low string to string friction. It snaps back very well in the 99S.

drakulie · 01-17-2013, 07:22 PM

Full set of lux 4G 16g at differing tensions (between 45-55). Awesome spin, best control of the full poly set ups, and best tension maintenance.
full set of alu power at differing tensions (between 45-55). More spin, more lively than 4g and more power.
full set of black magic 17g at differing tensions (between 45-55). Same spin as above, better comfort, as lively if not more lively than the aformentioned.

durablity was about the same for all of the above.

vs 17/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17, black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs
vs 16/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs
vs tonic/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs
prince natural gut/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs

Best durability of the above was the 16 gauge gut with the thicker poly crosses (15L). To add, any time a thicker poly was used in combination with a thinner gut, the gut lasted longer than if both were the same gauge or the poly was thinner.

favorite combination of the above in terms of feel, spin, power, control, etc was the 17G gut with a 17 gauge poly. However, only lasted me a few hours.

The gut in this frame, coupled with a poly cross provided way more spin, power and comfort than with full poly.

Happy hitting!

tennis_nut · 01-17-2013, 07:38 PM

Thank you for the info drakulie! What tensions did you string the gut/poly hybrids at if you don't mind me asking? I want to try a gut/poly hybrid in one of mine but am a little worried about it being too powerful.

AlfaAce · 01-18-2013, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drakulie

... favorite combination of the above in terms of feel, spin, power, control, etc was the 17G gut with a 17 gauge poly.

If I want to try this combo in a 99S (probably with 17G Wilson Nat Gut and 4G 1.25), what tension(s) would you recommend? I'll preface this question with: I play PD2012s with full nat gut 17G at 60-62#. Thank you in advance!

drak · 01-18-2013, 02:45 PM

Played with my new 99S for first time today, strung with Pacific classic gut mains at 58# and 4g crosses at 55#, both 16 gauge 1.30. I liked this set up a lot, very comfortable, tons of spin, nice mix of control and power. Unless you are a big time power hitter/stringbreaker this combo should work for a lot of folks.

see my full review in the racket section

Drak

drakulie · 01-18-2013, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlfaAce

If I want to try this combo in a 99S (probably with 17G Wilson Nat Gut and 4G 1.25), what tension(s) would you recommend? I'll preface this question with: I play PD2012s with full nat gut 17G at 60-62#. Thank you in advance!

I always recommend, when players are switching to a new frame or new string to try and keep some things the same. In this case, I would recommend you use the same tension you used with the PD, and then go from there. If you feel the strings break too quickly, lower your tension.

One more note, I do believe lower tensions really magnifies the spin potential. But everyone is different, so best to experiment.

happy hitting!

AlfaAce · 01-18-2013, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drakulie

I always recommend, when players are switching to a new frame or new string to try and keep some things the same. In this case, I would recommend you use the same tension you used with the PD, and then go from there. If you feel the strings break too quickly, lower your tension.

One more note, I do believe lower tensions really magnifies the spin potential. But everyone is different, so best to experiment.

happy hitting!

So at that rate, 60# for both the gut and poly? I've mostly heard hybrid users saying you should string the poly 3-6# lower than the gut, no? I've never tried a hybrid string job. Sorry for the noob Q

.

AlfaAce · 01-21-2013, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlfaAce

If I want to try this combo in a 99S (probably with 17G Wilson Nat Gut and 4G 1.25), what tension(s) would you recommend? I'll preface this question with: I play PD2012s with full nat gut 17G at 60-62#. Thank you in advance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by drakulie

I always recommend, when players are switching to a new frame or new string to try and keep some things the same. In this case, I would recommend you use the same tension you used with the PD, and then go from there. If you feel the strings break too quickly, lower your tension.

One more note, I do believe lower tensions really magnifies the spin potential. But everyone is different, so best to experiment.

happy hitting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlfaAce

So at that rate, 60# for both the gut and poly? I've mostly heard hybrid users saying you should string the poly 3-6# lower than the gut, no? I've never tried a hybrid string job. Sorry for the noob Q

.

^^^Drakulie - Can I get your expert opinion on this please?

Also - What do you advise if I go with a 16G NG and a 15G Lux "4GS"? Same?

Thanks again!

Pro_Tour_630 · 01-18-2013, 07:32 PM

dark, rabbit, et al.......we are talking about this frame in the jr section for an 11 year old girl who hits flat with somewhat of an eastern grip. she is used to 18g blackcode mains with bipase 18g in cross at low tension in her babolat PD. if she stays with the same set up and her swing path do you think she would like this frame

will she have issues with directional control since she is not a heavy tops hitter with such an open pattern. or will this frame force her to hit more tops to keep the ball in, your thoughts

drak · 01-19-2013, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

dark, rabbit, et al.......we are talking about this frame in the jr section for an 11 year old girl who hits flat with somewhat of an eastern grip. she is used to 18g blackcode mains with bipase 18g in cross at low tension in her babolat PD. if she stays with the same set up and her swing path do you think she would like this frame

will she have issues with directional control since she is not a heavy tops hitter with such an open pattern. or will this frame force her to hit more tops to keep the ball in, your thoughts

really hard to say, for this frame even more than others - DEMO DEMO DEMO. I wanted an extended demo so I bot one, figuring it's an easy sell if I did not like it

drakulie · 01-17-2013, 07:44 PM

sorry, forgot to include that. will edit my post. in the meantime, I tried them at 45, 48 and 55 lbs.

parasailing · 01-17-2013, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drakulie

sorry, forgot to include that. will edit my post. in the meantime, I tried them at 45, 48 and 55 lbs.

Do you think 58lbs VS main gut and 52lb Ltec cross is too high tension due to this being a stiffer racquet? I am used to using that tension for my PSTGT and from TW specs, this seems the Steam is a tad stiffer.

Should I have VS mains at 52lbs and 46lbs in the Ltec crosses as a starting point?

01-17-2013, 06:57 AM	#1
drak Professional Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,054	Wilson 99S string experiences We are going to need a thread on this racket as strings/tension in this frame are going to likely be more important than other frames due to the 16x15 pattern and wider spacing. So please report what you have strung it with and what tension, and your feedback on how it worked. Thx in advance and let the 99S games begin!

01-17-2013, 07:15 AM	#2
JackB1 Legend Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 8,278	I think full poly is pretty much a must with this racquet. Vary your tension depending on how much power/control you want. My 99s did fine at 55 lbs. __________________ Wilson Black Blade 104 - NXT Tour / Copoly at 55/51

01-17-2013, 03:41 PM	#6
syke Professional Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1,082	I have a full bed of Technifibre Black Code 17 @ 54 lbs on my 99S, nice feel but a tad too much power. __________________ Pacific X Force Modified (333g/5HL/333SW) + Volkl Cyclone 18/Yonex Poly Tour Pro 125

01-17-2013, 07:22 PM	#10
drakulie Talk Tennis Guru Join Date: May 2004 Location: FT. Lauderdale, Florida Posts: 23,905	Full set of lux 4G 16g at differing tensions (between 45-55). Awesome spin, best control of the full poly set ups, and best tension maintenance. full set of alu power at differing tensions (between 45-55). More spin, more lively than 4g and more power. full set of black magic 17g at differing tensions (between 45-55). Same spin as above, better comfort, as lively if not more lively than the aformentioned. durablity was about the same for all of the above. vs 17/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17, black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs vs 16/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs vs tonic/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs prince natural gut/poly (4g, alu, black magic 17,black magic 15L) 45, 48, 55 lbs Best durability of the above was the 16 gauge gut with the thicker poly crosses (15L). To add, any time a thicker poly was used in combination with a thinner gut, the gut lasted longer than if both were the same gauge or the poly was thinner. favorite combination of the above in terms of feel, spin, power, control, etc was the 17G gut with a 17 gauge poly. However, only lasted me a few hours. The gut in this frame, coupled with a poly cross provided way more spin, power and comfort than with full poly. Happy hitting! __________________ Head Stringer @ the LTC, Babolat Star 4 Stringer http://www.youtube.com/user/drakulie Last edited by drakulie : 01-17-2013 at 07:45 PM.

01-18-2013, 07:32 PM	#17
Pro_Tour_630 Legend Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lebanon Posts: 5,097	dark, rabbit, et al.......we are talking about this frame in the jr section for an 11 year old girl who hits flat with somewhat of an eastern grip. she is used to 18g blackcode mains with bipase 18g in cross at low tension in her babolat PD. if she stays with the same set up and her swing path do you think she would like this frame will she have issues with directional control since she is not a heavy tops hitter with such an open pattern. or will this frame force her to hit more tops to keep the ball in, your thoughts Last edited by Pro_Tour_630 : 01-18-2013 at 07:35 PM.