Cross for Wilson Natural Gut

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by PigPen

Interesting choice. What do you string gut/mosquito bite at?

52 lb pacific tough gut mains
49 lb wc mosquito bite cross

18x20 midplus pt280 (similar to prestige MP, with more flex)

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by ramos77

whats it like after 10-15 hours?

am using wilson ng/co-focus and its nice until the co-focus gets to powerful.

Exactly my problem with cofocus

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

52 lb pacific tough gut mains
49 lb wc mosquito bite cross

18x20 midplus pt280 (similar to prestige MP, with more flex)

How long does mb stay playable. Cofocus eventually loses tension and gets too powerful.

[JT_2eighty]

At least twice as long as co-focus. WC strings are amazing at holding tension, and MB fits their lineup in terms of tension hold.

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

At least twice as long as co-focus. WC strings are amazing at holding tension, and MB fits their lineup in terms of tension hold.

And I'm assuming no arm problems with mb?

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by PigPen

Exactly my problem with cofocus

I love CF for its spin but ultimately had the same issue. Switched to 4G. Focus Hex 1.18 is also better for tamng the power but nothing beats 4G in control (spin potential not as good as CoFocus or Focus Gex crosses).

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by ramos77

whats it like after 10-15 hours?

am using wilson ng/co-focus and its nice until the co-focus gets to powerful.

I use VS/4G and it's almost like full bed gut in that it plays great until it breaks. The 4G starts out sort of stiff and then gets pillow soft for an extended period. I had it in one frame for roughly 8 weeks before I felt it became anything close to unplayable. When it does finally die it becomes boardy and dull instead of more springy and powerful.

I would say it's best from 1-20 hours in comfort. Very slow decline from there.

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

I use VS/4G and it's almost like full bed gut in that it plays great until it breaks. The 4G starts out sort of stiff and then gets pillow soft for an extended period. I had it in one frame for roughly 8 weeks before I felt it became anything close to unplayable. When it does finally die it becomes boardy and dull instead of more springy and powerful.

I would say it's best from 1-20 hours in comfort. Very slow decline from there.

Thank you for the detailed review. Seems to last a long time. Does the ng or 4g typically break first?

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

At least twice as long as co-focus. WC strings are amazing at holding tension, and MB fits their lineup in terms of tension hold.

Does MB play soft or crisp. What about the power level?

[PigPen]

I will be trying wilson ng mains with Black Magic, Big Ace Revo, Mosquito Bite and 4g. I will report results after each trial.

[TimothyO]

PigPen,

The ng breaks first but I haven't had as many breaks as with Cofocus or Hex. More often it simply feels dead enough that it's time to restring.

[PigPen]

I tried Wilson NG in the mains with Black Magic 17 in the crosses at 53/49 for the last 2 days. The string bed is much stiffer and than co-focus 18 at the same tension. Spin and power are also greatly reduced. However, I must admit that I do like the feel. Also, I am experiencing pain in the forearm from this setup. Either I need to reduce the tension or move on.

[BlueB]

Any smooth slippery poly. String it about 10lbs lower then the gut mains and enjoy. It's only there to allow gut to snap back into position upon hit and for a tiny bit more control.

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by BlueB

Any smooth slippery poly. String it about 10lbs lower then the gut mains and enjoy. It's only there to allow gut to snap back into position upon hit and for a tiny bit more control.

Which cross do you use?

[NLBwell]

I haven't tried a lot of gut/poly hybrids, but crossing with Signum Pro Poly Plasma Pure works well for me. It maintains tension well and doesn't go dead quickly. Spin is very good. I strung about 4 lbs looser than the gut.

[BlueB]

Prince Tournament Poly is pretty sweet. However, I had good success even with cheap ***** no-name poly.

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by PigPen

Does MB play soft or crisp. What about the power level?

Soft and powerful, without being "mushy" or uncontrollable; for me it is the best cross if you still want as much of that great pocketing feel of gut as possible, along with the better control and spin that comes with poly. It seems like the slight bit of prolonged dwell time allows for high levels of spin and touch.

[PigPen]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

Soft and powerful, without being "mushy" or uncontrollable; for me it is the best cross if you still want as much of that great pocketing feel of gut as possible, along with the better control and spin that comes with poly. It seems like the slight bit of prolonged dwell time allows for high levels of spin and touch.

I have a set of Mosquito bite on order from TW. Hoping that this will be the end of my experimentation. I'm hoping it doesn't hurt my arm like Black Magic and holds tension better than co-focus.

How would you compare MB to BM and Co-focus?

[ultradr]

I would just use Wilson gut full bed and string as tight as you're ok with.

[grover]

Originally Posted by ultradr

I would just use Wilson gut full bed and string as tight as you're ok with.

Yep. Everyone wants to try and find the silver bullet by using a hybrid. I tried as well but at the end of the day a full bed of gut is the best set up. For me anyway. I never have to worry about tension loss and I am amazed how long Tonic lasts in my racket before breaking. For this reason its really not anymore expensive than restringing a hybrid every two weeks because the poly goes dead. Can you hit with as much spin? No but this setup fits my serve and volley game just fine. I am a former 5.0 college player who now plays 4.5 due to age. (4