Wilson 99S string experiences

[Fireball]

What about textured polys like Signum Pro Tornado or Babolat RPM? Will they have less "snap back effect" than non textured strings? What about life time compared to regular strings?

[JLK]

Have tried the following strings at the following tensions:

Lux 4G S 16L @58 and 53 - low powered, good spin, lasted 80 minutes each
Lux ALU @53 and 51 - better power and spin, lasted only 40 minutes each
Lux Original Rough 16 @ 51 - good power but less spin (suprisingly), lasted 90 minutes.

Trying Polystar Energy 16 tonight and will be trying Lux 4G S 15 this weekend.

[PED]

Originally Posted by JLK

Trying Polystar Energy 16 tonight and will be trying Lux 4G S 15 this weekend.

I'll bet the polystar snaps a lot quicker than the Lux, I used to burn through it in my pdr.

How much less power does the 4g have over the ALU?

You may consider Solinco Tour bite 16g. I've found the spin and power to be better than ALU plus Solinco usually last around 25% longer than ALU and the 16g is particularly robust.

[Federerkblade]

Thats true abt tour bite 1.30

[JLK]

ALU 16L had much more power. The ball really popped of the racket. The 4G 16L had a more muted feel and did not have the extra spin. I am very interested to see if the 4G 15 will make a difference.

I'm sure its been discussed but I always wondered why ALU does not come in a 130 or higher gauge. This would really be the perfect string for this racket.

Solinco Tour Bite may be the answer but I usually do not like "shapped" string as I find it less control for some reason and sometimes balls fly of in a different direction.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by JLK

Have tried the following strings at the following tensions:

Lux 4G S 16L @58 and 53 - low powered, good spin, lasted 80 minutes each
Lux ALU @53 and 51 - better power and spin, lasted only 40 minutes each
Lux Original Rough 16 @ 51 - good power but less spin (suprisingly), lasted 90 minutes.

Trying Polystar Energy 16 tonight and will be trying Lux 4G S 15 this weekend.

Goodness gracious.......

Every report appears to be that this frame just DEVOURS strings......

[barry]

I think you are going to need a 15 gauge string setup in the 99s. Maybe try ISOSPEED Baseline, it is 15L and tough.

Nice about the 99s is it is easy to string! I hit a few balls with the 105 version yesterday and would suggest 14 gauge string. spacing was very wide.

[Federerkblade]

If its killing string in two hours then one needs own stringer or no point

[JackB1]

You guys should try Solinco Outlast in the 99s. It's a perfect string for it!

[Buford T Justice]

Guys-

I was able to get a semi-decent pic of what the strings look like in the 99S after about 90 minutes of play. The photo below is with one of the crosses pulled out of normal position (as the crosses more or less "lock" in place once the mains are notched to this extent).

This is with a full bed of Snakebite 17 at 64 lb.

The notching is pretty bad IMO.

This seems about the same level of notching I saw with the Lux 4g 16 at 59 lb (but I dont have a pic to compare), but at least this time the cost to have the strings notch was only about 4 bucks and not 17

[tennis_nut]

Originally Posted by JackB1

You guys should try Solinco Outlast in the 99s. It's a perfect string for it!

Hi Jack, I just cut Outlast 16g out of my frame because of tension loss. Before the big drop in tension, it played great. Spin was excellent, feel was good, and not too high powered. However, around the 6-7 hour mark, the tension fell dramatically and it lost all its' good qualities. It started making a very annoying buzzing sound upon contact also. I feel as though this racquet causes tension loss to be more rapid. Maybe it's the string pattern? I don't know. I got it restrung with Silverstring 1.25 and am waiting to try it out

My other frame with 16g Prince gut/RPM blast 16g plays amazing. The spin is ridiculous. The mains seem like they are sliding a lot smoother than with 4G crosses. A little more powerful than gut/4G but not overly so. The only downside I see to this is the durability. There is heavy fraying and unraveling of the gut in the sweetspot and it looks like the gut won't last much longer. This is after about 4 sets of doubles and 2 sets of singles.

I think I am done with the gut/poly experiments. It's getting too darn expensive. I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by tennis_nut

I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

If you find it....please tell us!

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by tennis_nut

I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

Yes, keep us all posted on how this search progresses.

You may consider Solinco Tour bite 16g. I've found the spin and power to be better than ALU plus Solinco usually last around 25% longer than ALU and the 16g is particularly robust.

PED, do let us know asap how it goes with TB in the 99s... hmm, maybe I should just look in this direction for the next string-job?

[PED]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Yes, keep us all posted on how this search progresses.




PED, do let us know asap how it goes with TB in the 99s... hmm, maybe I should just look in this direction for the next string-job?

I figure why reinvent the wheel. I've got the 16l tb in there ATM and it plays great but the lifespan is not going to be very long.

I'll go with the 16g on my next restring.

[Buford T Justice]

And heres what this Steam 99S frame does to strings after ~3hrs of use!

[Buford T Justice]

As much as I dislike the string wear, I do like this frame enough to buy another one (which I did today). But, I also bought a reel of Gosen Polylon as well, so I can restring these things for like 2 bucks a piece. That seems to be what is required for this frame.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

As much as I dislike the string wear, I do like this frame enough to buy another one (which I did today). But, I also bought a reel of Gosen Polylon as well, so I can restring these things for like 2 bucks a piece. That seems to be what is required for this frame.

It is a string eating machine.

[tennis_nut]

Wow! You guys must be big hitters! It took me roughly six hours to break 17g Tornado.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by tennis_nut

Wow! You guys must be big hitters! It took me roughly six hours to break 17g Tornado.

In my case, I think it is just that I am genetically incapable of hitting a flat ball

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by PED

I figure why reinvent the wheel. I've got the 16l tb in there ATM and it plays great but the lifespan is not going to be very long.

I'll go with the 16g on my next restring.

Indeed. I'm also aware how TB generally lasts well time-wise compared to other polys (Alu, etc.) Maybe I'm just overthinking it a bit as the 99s seems to be garnering such anxious string related posts/discussion.