Looking for an alternative gut setup for my son

[UCSF2012]

Originally Posted by Rumple

I don't think it is a stringing error as I have been stringing it the same for some time now, it is just that he is getting bigger and hitting harder. the Energy crosses are cutting into the mains. The Energy string has a slippery feel so I was a little surprised but the guages are thin on both so I might try a thicker guage in both and see how to goes. The X-one is a soft string.

Is the TF NGR2 much different to X-one?

We may just have to go to full bed Energy

He's 12, he's not hitting that hard. 15 and 16 is when boys start getting strong. Even worse, he's using an 18g which sucks out all power. I can barely serve 60mph with an 18g string, but I can easily break 110 with 16g.

Regardless, the multi/poly combo are prone to breakage. Even worse because you use an 18g string, which cuts into the mains even more quickly.

And it's meaningless that you've been stringing it that way for some time now. It's entirely plausible you've been doing it incorrectly forever. There are certain errors created by the machine mechanism, and it's a matter of whether you can detect them as an amateur stringer.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Rumple

He is top level junior and hits hard and/or with heavy spin.

Yes, Yesterday, he broke a string in each of his one set matches. On his last racket in the final.(lucky) I just restrung them the night before.

I have a challenger level player who I string for and he's not breaking strings this quickly (one set per set with full poly), and I'm quite certain he is hitting harder and with more spin than your son, so something is up. As someone mentioned, perhaps you are doing something incorrectly when stringing.

Also, I forgot to ask earlier,,,,,, but is he breaking strings in the middle of the frame, or is the string snapping at the head or edges of the frame? Perhaps a shank/mishit?

That said, this challenger player I string for uses the same frame as your son, and as I said, it is a string breaker. We tried all sort of strings and combinations. The one that seemed to last him the longest was to hybrid poly in the mains with 15 gauge nylon in the crosses.

Hope this helps.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by drakulie

I have a challenger level player who I string for and he's not breaking strings this quickly (one set per set with full poly), and I'm quite certain he is hitting harder and with more spin than your son, so something is up. As someone mentioned, perhaps you are doing something incorrectly when stringing.

Also, I forgot to ask earlier,,,,,, but is he breaking strings in the middle of the frame, or is the string snapping at the head or edges of the frame? Perhaps a shank/mishit?

That said, this challenger player I string for uses the same frame as your son, and as I said, it is a string breaker. We tried all sort of strings and combinations. The one that seemed to last him the longest was to hybrid poly in the mains with 15 gauge nylon in the crosses.

Hope this helps.

Hey Drake,

What nylon are you using in the crosses? Something cheap like "tournament nylon" or a syn gut?

Thanks!

-Fuji

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Fuji

Hey Drake,

What nylon are you using in the crosses? Something cheap like "tournament nylon" or a syn gut?

Thanks!

-Fuji

forten or genesis. it is very cheap when you buy the reel. like $15.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by drakulie

forten or genesis. it is very cheap when you buy the reel. like $15.

Very cool! Thanks!

-Fuji

[Up&comer]

Originally Posted by drakulie

forten or genesis. it is very cheap when you buy the reel. like $15.

Impossible! How can he use that? He's a pro!
Kidding, of course.

[Rumple]

Thanks for all the input - sorry about the long post ...

There may have been something gone wrong with the last stringing or there could have been something odd about the string - not sure- his coach is having a look at it. Breaking in the sweet spot area.

The problem is not that he is a super hard hitter and the strings are breaking because he is just hitting hard. Although for his age he is hitting hard. The problem is that the combination of strings that we are using now has about run its coarse. I was using the thinner guages and arm friendly strings because of his age. I think it is just that he is hitting harder and with more spin now (than before). And I think the strings and tensions I am using are allowing too much movement and the poly crosses are sawing through the X-One mains. Thus I was asking for some ideas for an alternative setup.

After talking with my son - the first racket that broke was one he had used at practice and not a freshly strung one (but only one preactice old). The second one that broke was only one set old. There may have been something wrong with the gut or the stringing.?? The previous competition over the course of 5 sets or so he broke two sets of strings. One break was of the poly crosses at the frame because of a miss hit.

At practice he has been getting about 5 or 6 hours out of a set of the hybrid setup. I would like to change the setup to get some better life and a better safety margin for competitions.

The rackets are new, so won't be changing them anytime soon so ...

New setup ideas please - he is still only 13 (soon) so I don't really want to go to stiff a bed and his coach recommended staying away from full poly setups because not good for his body at his age. The full bed Energy 17 is OK but it is an arm friendly poly from what I read.

Arm friendly but with some spin and power and control with more amphasis on control and feel. (cost also important)

I could try the suggested going up in gauge for the current strings. I am wondering if we will have the same problem with keeping the Energy poly crosses?? Alternative to hybrid with X-one? BTW I am hybriding to keep cost down - but he like the hybrid feel also. Would a full bed of Head Rip Control be a good choice or go to a full bed of NGR2 1.34mm??

Anysuggestion for alternative setup for his rackets would be appreciated

[Rumple]

Drakulie, I undersatnd that nylon is pretty stiff so am wondering if it might be too stiff for a 13 year old???

[UCSF2012]

My suggestion is the same. Have a pro shop string up a racket with the same string combo. That'll tell you whether it's your stringing technique. If the problem truly is your stringing, then no string combo will be good enough. Let go of your pride for a minute and have someone else string the frame.

Not a single pro breaks their strings in 1 set, and they hit much harder than your 12 year old child. Something tells me it may be your stringing.

[ClairHarmony]

Polystar strings have a very unique feel among polys, Strike especially; however, they Energy and Strike are very shear prone from my experience at high tensions. This said, you string very low...but then again, you are talking about the 18g version here. In that guage, and with a shear prone poly; does glass break? You're gonna get breaks, and it's gonna make you feel like hiding behind your 1970s style mullet (a random interjection of oddball humor, is not a diss).

When I used the Yonex SRD Tour 90, the center grommets were trashed with age, with notta replacement set in sight no more.

I sampled a bevy of polys about 62, in hybrids...and strings were snapping left and right on violent mishits. I was playing sna-fu! When I really wanted to be playing tennis. Sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 25 minutes, etc. Loved the rackets, but they was a swiss cheese money pit in erotic, foreign, Japanes Ferrari colors. I mean neurotic.

If you want something soft that is reasonably thin, with good though not great spin, in the oddly, controllable mellow Sprite color...try, the little discussed gem, known only as MSV Evo Hex. Their 17L-ish version was NOT shear prone, like the Energy. Did not, snap, snap, snap in a breathtaking heartache. It's a mellow string, so not all that exciting. BUT, imo, what you're looking for.

It's one of the few polys that'll give you Polystar levels of feel and pocketing, *but* with much more control...and a little bit less of all deliciously, sizzle-happy, snazzy, crispy, electric jazz that the Polystar Energy is known for.

If you want something similar, but even less than you can imagine; then, I imagine Pro's Pro Revoltec is what you're looking for.

If you want something really dull feeling, and just so so ok everywhere in a reasonably thin guage, that is *especially* not shear prone? Then, try Pro Supex Big Ace in 1.22; it feels thicker than that though. It's soft, but not plush. It's a well-kneaded dough in red. You may not like it all that much, but it's a fallback you can rely on that plays predictably the same until you want to beat it out of your stick with a wooden bat...because it's *boring,* and not particularly inspiring, and really does not break easily.

My suggestion is again Evo Hex. It looks like Sprite, and when you're really thirsty you may just want to forget that it was only just a mirage? I don't know, only one way to tell if it really does play that well. It's a particular favorite of mine, an oyster is a garden of rose or black, rose or black, rose or black, or yellow...sheesh! I hate black strings with a passion, they're ugly, but protect you from the sun. Personally, I believe in being a different kind of oyster. Just because no one tries it, doesn't mean you shouldn't when Evo Hex plays like regular MSV Hex, but with rubber on. Yes, THAT good. Like a sad albino gummy bear with spiky hair, show this string some love...your peep will thank you. It's one of the best strings to WIN with, and look gentlemanly with afterward. When everyone else is icing their elbows down, because their modern-day, cheating strings play like hacksaws...you'll be thanking the heavens for this string. For those who hit too hard, like manly Bo Jackson; this is the string for you. Now, if you're a wimpy lad like Randy Roddick, or Ray "Moses" Ramone (a couple of guys I battle on the local ladder, they're real good); then you can you try a string with more pop, that's also slick and soft, and reasonably not shear prone relative to Energy like Black Magic, from Genesis.

That string plays like a black pearl, but costs not that much more than charcoal. It's good...but the control isn't all there. Much like with Energy, zingy strings that sweetly, hallow out all the bad vibrations.

If you want a string that's easy on the arm, but with loads of controllable pop for a poly...on account of being a vicious, psycho accountant, FAT, spinning machine...try Turbo. Like Energy, it's not that much harder on the arm than a synthetic gut; but, oh man, does it give more spin. Spiky Shark a little bit more, definitely; but then it goes dead just like that, and just sucks. Energy *pockets* the ball as though engineered by closet, German "Yonies" still wearing their vintage oval pressed pants. *That's* how it *feels* like it's getting spin, NOT just the shredding texture. AND, it's actually *not* that shear prone like crazy Energy and Strike were for me.

It may lose tension fast, but at least it still feels and responds *cozy.* It's the big, gentle "Fuzzy Ben" of a string...that still has the closet temper of a grizzly bear when you need it. It's a high voltage, yet *furry*, beautiful, golden brown bear skin of a string. But then again, it also is a random rocket launcher too...my primary and only misgiving about it. Plus, it's yellow; when it'd look better if it were mandarin, and tasted like orange chicken spaghetti-yo's. Have you ever had those kind of days, where you just have those kind of blues? Take my advice, buy MSV Evo Hex 17L-ish string. It's not sexy, but it's clear, and plays just like a translucent Ariel cowboy. A somewhat dull, yet still fine, angel among strings...umm, can your son say Mandy Moore, without blushing? Yeah, I thought so; then he should try this string, and win class. Win boring, yet win easy...it's just that sort of *unsung* string, that'll make your open checkbook, feel like a hero. ...so-many-strings-to-test-drive-like cockroaches sprouting out of the ground. Watch, tomorrow there'll be a new brand of strings made from nuclear re-engineered cockroaches in "sexy" black, and they'll call it sculpted, shredded, and possibly Smithsonian in perspective. If you don't try it right now, I think you'll burp...or maybe even something worse. So many times it's the brain dead player with nothing to fiddle, fuss, or tap with their Iphone obssessively over and over with...that just might win the match. Again, it's just that kind of string. If there were more of it, with this marketing strategy behind their philosphy; then, it wouldn't stand out like a Sprite-infused 'shroom among rats. If you try it, and do not like it? Hey, don't sue...I'm not Paris Hilton. Have a heart, man! I've never even been to France, can you believe that? I don't like pro tennis players ranked within the top 81 or 82 in the world, they have it too good...when some of us still have to contemplate using Global Gut at above 65lbs, and watching it snap, just like that...what a sad waste of a black cat (I believe they're lying, cows and sheep are very costly these days you know, they don't just grow like scaredy, cat stars on sycamore trees, you know...meow, meow...oh, exotic extruded hot dog, there's one now! I'm jumping off this balcony right now, just like Batman I can fly...oh, no, !! wait a second, hmm, hmm...thinking, rescue "9-1-1, oh yes, halo, TW Holy ******* Express, and also Re-bay too; do you have any more strings I can try? No? Ok, thank you, well that was fun, hmm").

I hate it when that happens, and the way time flies by. Appreciating is the only battle worth keeping up with, now that I'm no longer up to date on all the latest crazes worth living for.

[Racer41c]

Hey Dad !

At least your problem is string which is cheap. When my daughter was going through 5-6 field hockey sticks a season that was more like $150 a piece.

So anyway, If I were you I'd do 2 things: #1 set aside an entire night and read the entire Gut/Poly thread. It's very long but very helpful. #2 thing I'd do is experiment with what you read out of the thread b4 buying reels. No one here is going to tell you that a multi is the ticket for a string breaker. It might work as a cross string if you want more power, but never as a main string.

The other thing I'd recommend is to do the math when comparing strings. What I mean is if multi is lasting 1 hour at a cost of $10, a string (like 15g gut) that lasts 4 hours and costs $20 bucks would cost you only $5/hr. So don't shy away from Gut/poly.