The Church of Polystringism-- Alidisperanza's PT Thread

[alidisperanza]

Two quick updates.

Hit with an iPrestige 93 the other night because I popped all my frames and it was GODLY.

Stupid me, I grabbed a BLX 93 from my buddy thinking it would be similar and was incredibly, horribly disappointed. That racquet is a total POS. No power, no feel, no spin. Terrible terrible terrible.

On the bright side, I grabbed a vcore 89 and will be stringing it up with some yummy B7.... can't wait

[alidisperanza]

89T and B7 was a total flop. Very disappointing

Accidentally left 2 frames in the trunk of my car for a week, one Iontec/Kirsh Syn and the other Iontec/ M2 Pro...Amazing how much tension drops with the change in temp/weather.

Needless to say, both were of silly proportion-low tension (moreso the Iontec/M2). Hit with them anyways because all the other frames are popped and was surprised. I can flatten the ever living heck out of the ball on my groundstrokes although spin is severely lacking. The mains are just too mush and don't snap back the way I need them to.

The flat though... now that's just silly giggly fun

[alidisperanza]

Been trying out Platform tennis for a while now and got back on the regular court for the first time since the last post. Interesting game-- it's given me the gift of a flat forehand while unanimously destroying my serve... Back to strings.

I really don't know why I keep trying with this junk. M2 Pro is just not my cup of tea. I really wish I could unload the reel that I have. Strung a fresh set at 52, let it sit for two weeks to stabilize and it still felt akin to cold, hungry, crying, babies. It just really put a damper on my hitting. The 2.00/set Bomber/ogsm combo I had in my other frame felt like natural gut in comparison.

I just can't figure this string out. One hit it's feels nice, another time it feels like I'm playing with steel cable. The past few attempts at stringing it have just been a complete flop-- this stuff is not for me.

The more I think about it, The more I think PVAudio and some other prominent string testers on the boards hit the nail on the head. Find something you're comfortable with and stick with it. My string of choice is still Black 7 for when I have to jump into a match situation but I honestly think that any of the cheaper poly/syn combos I have are winning out in the long run.

Iontec Black/ Kirshbaum Synthetic Gut seems to last me the longest and comes in at ~3.00 a set?

[dennis10is]

I have to try platform tennis soon.

[lynnbart]

I broke a string tonight in a racket that had ProLine 2 in it and grabbed a racket that we hadn't used in awhile. Black Iontec crossed with PSGO. I'm not sure why I don't just buy a reel of Black Iontec and quit messing around with others. It still played very well and comfortable and it is amazingly durable...

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by dennis10is

I have to try platform tennis soon.

You'd love the general game play but I'm not sure you'd like the balls coming low off the screen.

Originally Posted by lynnbart

I broke a string tonight in a racket that had ProLine 2 in it and grabbed a racket that we hadn't used in awhile. Black Iontec crossed with PSGO. I'm not sure why I don't just buy a reel of Black Iontec and quit messing around with others. It still played very well and comfortable and it is amazingly durable...

I find that it works really well in a poly/syn hybrid. It's one of the few polys I can't notch-break in under 4 hours. I've played it with Kirshbaum Syn, OGSM and hollow core so far and the only combination I didn't like was the hollow core.Any slick syngut will work really nicely.

[lynnbart]

I will have to attest to the Black Iontec's durabiltiy as well. Plays well all the way to the end.

It really is a great value and performer.

[alidisperanza]

Holy Hannah! I found some time to string a new frame!!!

String: Wilson Hyperlast (Kevlar)/ Becker Bomber White
Tension 48/50
Frame: Yonex 95D

The pic I have is enormous so the link to my drop box is above.

I miss Kevlar... I really do. I loved hitting with Ashaway/AluRough at 58 in a Prestige mid... I can only imagine what it'll feel like in my 95D at much lower tension. I'm also hoping it's going to be a temporary solution to my string breaking issue since I no longer have time to string

VIVA LA KEVLAR! IT WORKS! I hit with it last night in the 95D and it gelled really nicely. At this low tension, it doesn't feel terribly harsh, or even all that stiff. Granted it's doesn't quite have the pocket or flex like a bed of poly but I had no issues controlling the ball, flattening it out, or spinning it up. Volleys are particularly nice because of the crisp and directness of the kevlar. The ball snaps into place, nothing more. Lets see how long it lasts


Stringing: Really easy. I miss Kevlar. No stretching, no problems. Clamp it as tight as you want, just don't kink it!

Ground Strokes:
This setup, as I've strung it, is pretty low powered. The kevlar doesn't give you much in the way of pop and the poly I used is not really a power string. For future reference, I might venture towards a more lively cross. Having said that, it does have great directional control and variable depth. There are no freebies here, you have to hit the proper stroke with the proper technique. The predominant ball I had success hitting was a very flat drive. The kevlar works well here because the ball stays fairly low to the ground. I was able to hit topspin too but the kevlar doesn't quite have the bite that a full bed of poly does. Again, this could verymuch be due to the fact that I haven't been on court in a few months.

Serves:

About average. Less mph, more control. Less kick, but better ability to place the ball.

Volleys:
Hit a few and it was as expected. Snappy. Great for redirecting shots with a bit of an extra zip. What you see is what you get. There is no extra so it's a direct feedback system.

Durability/Tension Maintenance:
TBD but the kevlar is starting to shift around a bit at ~2hr mark as expected

[finalfantasy7]

^ have you tested the either of the new yonex strings - poly tour pro/ poly tour spin. If so whats you take?

I know Pv tested it and didnt like it, compared it to black magic

[alidisperanza]

I haven't even had the time to string a frame recently. I'd first have to get my hands on some (although I think I know someone with a reel). Come December 12th I'll be able to jump on court again regularly. For now, it's finals mode

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by finalfantasy7

^ have you tested the either of the new yonex strings - poly tour pro/ poly tour spin. If so whats you take?

I know Pv tested it and didnt like it, compared it to black magic

No no no no no, Black Venom, not Black Magic. Black Magic is soft and spinny. Black Venom is plastic and awful.

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

No no no no no, Black Venom, not Black Magic. Black Magic is soft and spinny. Black Venom is plastic and awful.

Sounds like RPM :P


On a different note, someone mentioned that 14gauge lux was in the works? Would that even fit through some groms?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by alidisperanza

Sounds like RPM :P


On a different note, someone mentioned that 14gauge lux was in the works? Would that even fit through some groms?

Maybe with the new line of sticks next year.

[alidisperanza]

Yeah. There's always something new coming out. I swung around some of the new Dunlop line and wasn't impressed. No clue how they hit but it nothing clicked.

[alidisperanza]

VIVA LA KEVLAR! IT WORKS! I hit with it last night in the 95D and it gelled really nicely. At this low tension, it doesn't feel terribly harsh, or even all that stiff. Granted it's doesn't quite have the pocket or flex like a bed of poly but I had no issues controlling the ball, flattening it out, or spinning it up. Volleys are particularly nice because of the crisp and directness of the kevlar. The ball snaps into place, nothing more. Lets see how long it lasts



Oh and I swung around the new F2 Tour (the new 200)... I'm impressed. Me like

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by alidisperanza

VIVA LA KEVLAR! IT WORKS! I hit with it last night in the 95D and it gelled really nicely. At this low tension, it doesn't feel terribly harsh, or even all that stiff. Granted it's doesn't quite have the pocket or flex like a bed of poly but I had no issues controlling the ball, flattening it out, or spinning it up. Volleys are particularly nice because of the crisp and directness of the kevlar. The ball snaps into place, nothing more. Lets see how long it lasts



Oh and I swung around the new F2 Tour (the new 200)... I'm impressed. Me like

Back in my Pro Blend days, it would turn into a rocket launcher around the 15 hour mark.

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Back in my Pro Blend days, it would turn into a rocket launcher around the 15 hour mark.

I hit with it for about 45 mins and it's already notched haha.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by alidisperanza

I hit with it for about 45 mins and it's already notched haha.

I used to put string savers in that setup too. It was unbreakable.

[fgs]

my absolutely very first encounter with kevlar has been this summer, when doing a test for the german tennis magazin i had a set of polyfibre thinergy amongst the candidates. this was a 1.10mm kevlar mains and a multi as a cross. besides the fact that i really did not very much like the feeling of it, i managed to break the mains in less than four hours - and they supplied two sets. simply judging by this, i do sincerely doubt that even thicker kevlar mains would render considerably longer playing times than poly in my case.
i did not have the feeling that in spite of the thinner gauge i was getting more spin, a really rather unorthodox situation, but this could have been due to the fact that the mains were not really sliding back at all, right from the very beginning. could surely be also related to the fact that i had a multi as cross and not a poly, but i assume that with a poly the fel would have been even more unbearable. i have tried some multi-mains/poly-crosses hybrids this summer and have not had any satisfactory results at all.

[alidisperanza]

Originally Posted by fgs

my absolutely very first encounter with kevlar has been this summer, when doing a test for the german tennis magazin i had a set of polyfibre thinergy amongst the candidates. this was a 1.10mm kevlar mains and a multi as a cross. besides the fact that i really did not very much like the feeling of it, i managed to break the mains in less than four hours - and they supplied two sets. simply judging by this, i do sincerely doubt that even thicker kevlar mains would render considerably longer playing times than poly in my case.
i did not have the feeling that in spite of the thinner gauge i was getting more spin, a really rather unorthodox situation, but this could have been due to the fact that the mains were not really sliding back at all, right from the very beginning. could surely be also related to the fact that i had a multi as cross and not a poly, but i assume that with a poly the fel would have been even more unbearable. i have tried some multi-mains/poly-crosses hybrids this summer and have not had any satisfactory results at all.

My suspicion is that the Multi had a huge part to do with it. Multi effectively neutralizes my spin strokes due to the nature of the string especially when used with Poly. From 1.10-1.30, I can see a huge difference in durability. I've played this setup plenty of times before (albeit with a different poly cross) and durability and spin has always been pretty solid. We'll see how it wears.