shaped or round poly

[tennisfreak73]

do you have a preference? if so why? pro's and con's for both if you have them and favorites would be nice to know. lastly if poly is used in a hybrid as a main please tell us your cross and vice versa. your comments and experiences are appreciated!

best,
TF

[mikeler]

I like shaped polys because I seem to be able to get a little extra spin from them.

[cluckcluck]

I've found that shaped polys give more spin but also don't last as long because they cut into the cross string at a faster rate than a round poly.
Round polys, do give good spin, but I feel can control shots better.

[un6a]

For me, difference in spin between round and shaped poly is neglible.
I believe that material and stiffnes of strings have much bigger impact on spin production than texture.
Difference in spin between multi and poly is much more noticable.

[Steve Huff]

I don't use polys much any more due to elbow problems, but I can comment on the what I felt was the difference between Kirshbaum Honey (round) and Spiky (textured). I felt the textured did give slightly more spin, but they also were harder to volley with because they picked up the spin from my opponent more. If you play strictly from the baseline, you may like the textured (or shaped) polys better. If you venture to the net much, I'd stay with the round.

[Xizel]

I like the feel of round poly. Just more plush compared to rough poly. The difference in spin is not as relevant to me. I do hit good spin but I flatten a lot and don't solely rely on heavy topspin.

[fortun8son]

Many shaped strings are not that far different than round.
Geometrics, like ZoTwist, Spikey Shark, and BHBR are a different story.

[mikeler]

I'm not a fan of twisted strings.

[danotje]

I just started venturing into shaped polys. I hit BHBR in a trial of newer polys because I thought it might be similar to the smooth one, so I'd get a 2-fer. Based on what I've read, they are very different strings. While I didn't like it's feel, the spin was substantially different for me. So much so that my pack of Silverstring (my 3rd test behind SPPP and BHBR) is still in my box of strings, and I just laced up Cyclone Tour (with reg Cyclone and BHB7 as my next 2 tests). My go to set up is Iso BL Spin which is a smooth poly, and it gets tons of spin, but it isn't quite as spinny as BHBR. So for now, I still like round polys, but my current crop of textureds might change my mind. Cyclone Tour, in particular, seems soft and lively, so I'm excited to hit with it tomorrow. Maybe I'll start my own string thread

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by danotje

I just started venturing into shaped polys. I hit BHBR in a trial of newer polys because I thought it might be similar to the smooth one, so I'd get a 2-fer. Based on what I've read, they are very different strings. While I didn't like it's feel, the spin was substantially different for me. So much so that my pack of Silverstring (my 3rd test behind SPPP and BHBR) is still in my box of strings, and I just laced up Cyclone Tour (with reg Cyclone and BHB7 as my next 2 tests). My go to set up is Iso BL Spin which is a smooth poly, and it gets tons of spin, but it isn't quite as spinny as BHBR. So for now, I still like round polys, but my current crop of textureds might change my mind. Cyclone Tour, in particular, seems soft and lively, so I'm excited to hit with it tomorrow. Maybe I'll start my own string thread

I'd be interested to read some follow up here.

[danotje]

Originally Posted by Ross K

I'd be interested to read some follow up here.

Well, got to hit with the 17g Cyclone Tour tonight. I used Iso Baseline Spin as the cros so that I could get 2 jobs out of a pack and still get the spin this string is supposed to produce.

Initial impression: this string is very soft! The IBS is already a soft poly, and the Cyclone Tour felt right at home with it. Some people complain that it is too powerful, but it fits my game like a glove. Very plush, yet crisp feel. I felt like I was in complete control of the ball the whole time. Spin was pretty sick at first, and then settled down to an above average level. Still really good, but I think the best I've had yet has been BHBR. BHBR just doesn't feel anywhere near as nice. I'm torn between the addicting spin and the lovely comfort.

Baseline shots felt great, and I was ripping the ball off both wings with ease. Knowing I had spin when I need it, I was very confident swinging away on every shot. Volleys were solid. Some floaters, but when I HIT the volley, it felt great. I was nailing swinging volleys from mid court all evening. The spin and power produced some awesome shots. Serves were good, too. Power was decent. Spin was great. Control seemed pin point. All in all, I might pick up a reel of this stuff. I still have BHB7 and regular Cyclone to go, plus I think I'm going to try the other half of BHBR with IBS at 36lbs. That should improve the feel and make things interesting.

Ratings:
Power 7/10
Spin 8/10
Control 7/10
Groundies 10/10
Volleys 7/10
Serves 8/10

I can't comment on durability or tension maintenance yet. This is good stuff, though.

[tennisfreak73]

Originally Posted by danotje

Well, got to hit with the 17g Cyclone Tour tonight. I used Iso Baseline Spin as the cros so that I could get 2 jobs out of a pack and still get the spin this string is supposed to produce.

Initial impression: this string is very soft! The IBS is already a soft poly, and the Cyclone Tour felt right at home with it. Some people complain that it is too powerful, but it fits my game like a glove. Very plush, yet crisp feel. I felt like I was in complete control of the ball the whole time. Spin was pretty sick at first, and then settled down to an above average level. Still really good, but I think the best I've had yet has been BHBR. BHBR just doesn't feel anywhere near as nice. I'm torn between the addicting spin and the lovely comfort.

Baseline shots felt great, and I was ripping the ball off both wings with ease. Knowing I had spin when I need it, I was very confident swinging away on every shot. Volleys were solid. Some floaters, but when I HIT the volley, it felt great. I was nailing swinging volleys from mid court all evening. The spin and power produced some awesome shots. Serves were good, too. Power was decent. Spin was great. Control seemed pin point. All in all, I might pick up a reel of this stuff. I still have BHB7 and regular Cyclone to go, plus I think I'm going to try the other half of BHBR with IBS at 36lbs. That should improve the feel and make things interesting.

Ratings:
Power 7/10
Spin 8/10
Control 7/10
Groundies 10/10
Volleys 7/10
Serves 8/10

I can't comment on durability or tension maintenance yet. This is good stuff, though.

i've heard tons of great things about Cyclone 17g, however, once you play a few hours with them the performance completely bottoms out. have you found this to be true? in other words, it starts as an absolutely awesome string and in no time is average at best.

[kopfan]

I try texture string but moving back to thin round poly as the texture tend to get a little smoothen on the sweet spot after some hours of hard hitting. Texture cut into the crosses faster than round string which break my crosses faster. Texture string are fun to play with but not as durable.

[pvaudio]

My fave poly is round, but my next fave is shaped and twisted, and then after that my third fave is round, fourth shaped and fifth round. They are:

1. WC Scorpion 1.22
2. Signum Pro Tornado 1.23
3. Discho Iontec Salmon 1.20
4. WC B5E
5. Bab Pro Hurricane 18

Of these, Tornado gives the most spin, Scorpion the most control, Iontec the most feel, PH18 the most comfort and B5E the most all-around of them.

[Tmano]

I think I like better the round poly, there is something about the round poly that the shaped don't have and I think it's some extra control in my opinion. Out of the round poly I like thhe best

Scorpion
Pro hurricane
Big hitter silver
I also really likes Cyclone but once the edges were gone.....weird

[tennisfreak73]

does anyone out there feel like, at times, they get too much spin? i'm finding that with the shaped poly's i'm getting so much spin, especially top spin and that my shots, especially on my FH, are falling way short and near the service line. i almost feel like if you hit with a good amount of top spin you might want to stay away from a shaped poly, in that, if we assume that a shaped poly gives more spin and bite than a round poly. also,

is there such a thing as too much spin? could we (at least me) be falling in love with the excessive loops, dips, and kicks that these stings are providing?

[danotje]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak73

i've heard tons of great things about Cyclone 17g, however, once you play a few hours with them the performance completely bottoms out. have you found this to be true? in other words, it starts as an absolutely awesome string and in no time is average at best.

Just to be clear, I'm currently hitting Cyclone Tour which is a twisted version of the regular Cyclone. It is red, and from what I have read, it is a substantially different string. That being said, I haven't noticed any significant performance decrease yet after 2.5 hours on court. The real test will come on the next outing, I think. Spin was good, but Blue Rough was better. Odd random thing that I remember someone else writing about, too, is that I was literally tearing into the ball. There were a lot of little patches of fuzz on the court--kind of like little yellow toupes. Strange, but made me feel cool I'll write some more after I hit again. Might be a while, though, with the holidays coming up.

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak73

does anyone out there feel like, at times, they get too much spin? i'm finding that with the shaped poly's i'm getting so much spin, especially top spin and that my shots, especially on my FH, are falling way short and near the service line. i almost feel like if you hit with a good amount of top spin you might want to stay away from a shaped poly, in that, if we assume that a shaped poly gives more spin and bite than a round poly. also,

is there such a thing as too much spin? could we (at least me) be falling in love with the excessive loops, dips, and kicks that these stings are providing?

I have found, which I do obviously disclaim is my personal observation, that different strings produce different types of spin. I am not a fan of geared strings. This includes Spiky Shark, Blue Gear, SP Plasma HEXtreme and probably a few others I'm missing. Reason being, they all produce the same sort of spin. It's a very loopy, floaty type of spin which really is more amusing than amazing. The textured strings which I like create what I consider heavy spin: spin combined with pace that bite into the court and push you back. The two best I've found for this are Tour Bite (IMO, the best out there for it) and BHBR. Those are the only two strings where I have been told that having changed nothing but the string that my shots are kicking and skidding. However, there is a problem. Tour Bite has zero feel. I mean, none at all. If you stay at the baseline and that's it, then I see no reason to use any other string. BHBR in my experience is too powerful for a lot of people. With that string, you end up relying on that heavy spin to produce control on your shots because you get more pop than you expect. The best compromise that I've found is Tornado, but it has an extremely unique feel which many do not like, but many do like (me being one of them). Even then, it does not have the feel that I like when I'm at the net, so I stick with my cheapo standby Scorpion.

[JDMasFCK]

Found that shaped poly's have more spin for me but over time they dull out and lose that spin potential

[danotje]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

I have found, which I do obviously disclaim is my personal observation, that different strings produce different types of spin. I am not a fan of geared strings. This includes Spiky Shark, Blue Gear, SP Plasma HEXtreme and probably a few others I'm missing. Reason being, they all produce the same sort of spin. It's a very loopy, floaty type of spin which really is more amusing than amazing. The textured strings which I like create what I consider heavy spin: spin combined with pace that bite into the court and push you back. The two best I've found for this are Tour Bite (IMO, the best out there for it) and BHBR. Those are the only two strings where I have been told that having changed nothing but the string that my shots are kicking and skidding. However, there is a problem. Tour Bite has zero feel. I mean, none at all. If you stay at the baseline and that's it, then I see no reason to use any other string. BHBR in my experience is too powerful for a lot of people. With that string, you end up relying on that heavy spin to produce control on your shots because you get more pop than you expect. The best compromise that I've found is Tornado, but it has an extremely unique feel which many do not like, but many do like (me being one of them). Even then, it does not have the feel that I like when I'm at the net, so I stick with my cheapo standby Scorpion.

I found BHBR to be the best at spin production so far, too. Interesting that you say some people feel it is too powerful as I've read that in reviews, too, yet did not find the same result. In fact, I thought it lacked power. It was nice in that I could swing away and never worry about the ball going out, but I felt it took some pace off my serve. To be fair, it was in a hybrid w/Forten nylon, though. I'm going to try it again with an IBS cross. If I can get even a little power/feel, I would switch to it. The spin was awesome.