String Guide to the Perplexed

[arche3]

Originally Posted by BigT

UCLA plays Pepperdine this Tuesday @UCLA. Both are top D-1 schools and both use Solinco. From my experience, Solinco strings are heavy and thick and have better durability than many others.
Try going there and asking the players how many hours of hitting their strings last before breaking. UCLA's #2 from last year, who I hit with once in awhile, said his Revolution 1.25 lasts him at most 7-8 hours, and that's in a Prestige.

Now a Futures player is claiming to get 30+ hours?? Don't believe everything you read.

1.25 I consider a thinner string IMO. I am using ltec mains at 1.28 and they actually feel and play as 1.30 and I think they run thick. I can easily break 1.25 mains in 6 hours as well. And I am 45 years old.
My ltec broke at around 24 hours today. The flat 4s cross really delayed any deep notching. I can easily see some string jobs with ltec going 30 hours without break at a very high level of play. The 0s/4s hybrid is very stout in terms of wear. More so than many other polys. I think its the flat wide cross.

[TenFanLA]

Yeah that does seem a little far-fetched, unless he's the 6.0 version of Fabrice Santoro.

[mixedmedia]

Originally Posted by arche3

1.25 I consider a thinner string IMO. I am using ltec mains at 1.28 and they actually feel and play as 1.30 and I think they run thick. I can easily break 1.25 mains in 6 hours as well. And I am 45 years old.
My ltec broke at around 24 hours today. The flat 4s cross really delayed any deep notching. I can easily see some string jobs with ltec going 30 hours without break at a very high level of play. The 0s/4s hybrid is very stout in terms of wear. More so than many other polys. I think its the flat wide cross.

I bet they run thick to slip in a little extra durability.

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by mixedmedia

I bet they run thick to slip in a little extra durability.

A plausible explanation... Hmm *goes to dig up calipers*

[mixedmedia]

And the result?

[mixedmedia]

And maybe measure that SS when you get it, for fairness sake.

[alidisperanza]

I don't have any L-tec yet. SS measures pretty true to form.

[mixedmedia]

Oh yeah, haha, forgot about that.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by TenFanLA

Of course it's only 1 session and I am trying not to get too excited about LTec yet. But if LTec plays the same or close to how it played tonight for at least 6 hours, then it's a no brainer for me. I've always wanted to play with ALU but it kills my arm after 1-2 hours. If I can get the same or similar playability from LTec for 6 hours without the arm pain, I'm switching to this string.

The only ? I have is...if LTec plays well until it breaks (let's say 20 hours), will the 2nd racket be ok going 2-4 weeks without being played or will it die? I hope not because if it plays like how Arches3 said, LTec could easily last me 20 hours.

$20 for 6 hours of play is still not exactly good price/performance IMO. I am currently getting 6-8 quality hours from 'no name' polys, and they are less than $3.50/set by the reel.

[TenFanLA]

Originally Posted by BigT

$20 for 6 hours of play is still not exactly good price/performance IMO. I am currently getting 6-8 quality hours from 'no name' polys, and they are less than $5/set by the reel.

I doubt that LTec at $20 a pop would win any price/performance awards. But if it gives me 6 hours of ALU-like play it's worth it for me personally. Of course if it goes 20 hours, at $1/hr it should at least be able to throw its hat into the price/performance ring.

[danno123]

Originally Posted by BigT

This is one of the most common, misunderstood subjects around, and I will not be able to answer all the issues in one sitting.

Just based on many first-time customers that come my way, I would say that at least 60% of the people out there that are using poly, should not be. From the posters here, it looks more like 75%.

Poly is for players that have developed a fast swing speed and that can consistantly hit higher powered shots. I would say unless a player has reached at least the 4.0 level (should be more like 4.5), he should not even consider using poly.

For example, a few weeks ago, a father of a 10 year old called me and asked for a string recommendation for his son. I told him, for a 10 year old, any standard synthetic or multi would probably do. He began asking about poly, saying that his son is very strong and hits very hard. I asked him how often his son breaks his normal 16g synthetic. He answered, "Maybe once a month of playing about 3-4 times a week". Luckily, he listened to me. Tried out a set of a good synthetic, and 2 weeks later ended up getting a reel.

To conclude, if one is not breaking a basic 16g synthetic gut in about 10 hours of play or less, your swing speed is probably not fast enough to justify using poly.

I like using poly for three reasons: (1) it does add a little bit of spin to my shots and topspin shots that would have been a little bit out now fall in; (2) it will not break in the middle of a match; and (3) because I cut it out after 10-12 hours, I get to experiment a lot, which is fun for me. Like you, I use a "no name" brand of poly that's fairly inexpensive but works well.

[timmeh]

Where I live, it costs $40 for synthetic string and labour, and $65 for poly string and labour.

Now you can see that even if I am suited to poly, it is just not feasible to replace my string every 10 hours. That is $6.50 per hour just for strings.

So my question is, how can I play with poly in the most cost effective way? Which polys last the longest? If I blend a poly with a synthetic gut will it last longer?

Here are the prices for restringing if you care to look at the options: http://www.uqsport.com.au/index.html?page=46152

[Overheadsmash]

Big T I like to put babolat 15G gut in my mains and cross it with Lux savage white. This combo feels good for about two months playing three times a week for 1.5 to 2 hours. It's expensive though. Can you point me to a good syn gut in place of this?

Here's my info:

3.5 using 95 inch 11.3 oz stick - string tension is 52 on mains and crosses.

[danno123]

Originally Posted by timmeh

Where I live, it costs $40 for synthetic string and labour, and $65 for poly string and labour.

Now you can see that even if I am suited to poly, it is just not feasible to replace my string every 10 hours. That is $6.50 per hour just for strings.

So my question is, how can I play with poly in the most cost effective way? Which polys last the longest? If I blend a poly with a synthetic gut will it last longer?

Here are the prices for restringing if you care to look at the options: http://www.uqsport.com.au/index.html?page=46152

Buy a stringing machine. Seriously. It costs me less than $5/stringing. I'd probably quit the game if I had to pay the prices in that link. I break typical syn gut every month or so and multis don't last long at all. I'd be divorced if I paid $30 every time I had to restring a racket.

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by timmeh

Where I live, it costs $40 for synthetic string and labour, and $65 for poly string and labour.

Now you can see that even if I am suited to poly, it is just not feasible to replace my string every 10 hours. That is $6.50 per hour just for strings.

So my question is, how can I play with poly in the most cost effective way? Which polys last the longest? If I blend a poly with a synthetic gut will it last longer?

Here are the prices for restringing if you care to look at the options: http://www.uqsport.com.au/index.html?page=46152

Holy cow. That's an expensive string job. With the strings available I would go with Sonic pro strung at lower tension. Your stringbed will feel pretty comfortable and should last you a long time.

Originally Posted by Overheadsmash

Big T I like to put babolat 15G gut in my mains and cross it with Lux savage white. This combo feels good for about two months playing three times a week for 1.5 to 2 hours. It's expensive though. Can you point me to a good syn gut in place of this?

Here's my info:

3.5 using 95 inch 11.3 oz stick - string tension is 52 on mains and crosses.

I'm assuming you're talking about VS Touch 15L? It's tough to replicate that particular feeling, the string is some of the best stuff on the market. My suggestion would be to try a cheaper gut and see how you like it. While the playing characteristics won't be as plush as VS, you'll still have that gut feeling. (check out Klip or Pacific) Another alternative would be to try out multifilaments-- I'm not a fan of them in general but NRG2 is tolerable

[Overheadsmash]

Originally Posted by alidisperanza

Holy cow. That's an expensive string job. With the strings available I would go with Sonic pro strung at lower tension. Your stringbed will feel pretty comfortable and should last you a long time.



I'm assuming you're talking about VS Touch 15L? It's tough to replicate that particular feeling, the string is some of the best stuff on the market. My suggestion would be to try a cheaper gut and see how you like it. While the playing characteristics won't be as plush as VS, you'll still have that gut feeling. (check out Klip or Pacific) Another alternative would be to try out multifilaments-- I'm not a fan of them in general but NRG2 is tolerable

tried NRG2 once and did not like it, but I know several who love it in a full stringbed. Is there a syngut that has a "textured" surface to it so it bites into the ball better? I'd like something that comes in a reel for less than $75 U.S.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by timmeh

Where I live, it costs $40 for synthetic string and labour, and $65 for poly string and labour.

Now you can see that even if I am suited to poly, it is just not feasible to replace my string every 10 hours. That is $6.50 per hour just for strings.

So my question is, how can I play with poly in the most cost effective way? Which polys last the longest? If I blend a poly with a synthetic gut will it last longer?

Here are the prices for restringing if you care to look at the options: http://www.uqsport.com.au/index.html?page=46152

I feel your pain.

How much do they charge just for labor? Perhaps getting the string on your own and bringing it to them would work. Otherwise, maybe try other home stringers? I know there definitely should be a few around, as I have been sending many strings to Brisbane and Queensland lately during the Australian summer.

The best option though, as others have stated, would be to get your own stringer. That literally gives you limitless options to try and see what works best, and saves a ton of money.

[drakulie]

Agree with nearly everything the OP has posted about poly use, and who is getting the benefits of it.

I would say about 70 to 80% of players I string for are getting zero benefits of poly other then the string being more durable.

[ATP100]

Originally Posted by BigT

In the past few years, it seems that there are more and more posters here that are very new to strings and confused about some of the basics. Plus, I have gotten many emails through the years with questions that come up often.

I hope to use this thread to answer some of these issues. Playing and stringing and a pretty good level for 20+ years, hopefully some will benefit from my experiences.

Sorry, your thread is turning into a typical string thread.

(A joke)

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Overheadsmash

Big T I like to put babolat 15G gut in my mains and cross it with Lux savage white. This combo feels good for about two months playing three times a week for 1.5 to 2 hours. It's expensive though. Can you point me to a good syn gut in place of this?

Here's my info:

3.5 using 95 inch 11.3 oz stick - string tension is 52 on mains and crosses.

Although gut is unique in it's feel, at the 3.5 level, I think a thick 1.35 or 1.40mm(15g) multi could work just as good for you.

Any reason why you're using poly crosses?