Ashaway 100% Zyex monofilament

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

Max-

Just in case you aren't pulling my leg.....hehehehehehe

The hand lotion is for the stringbed. It lubes the strings and reduces string to string friction (so the strings last longer and play new longer).

It's been posted about a few times in the past, but I think most folks don't buy it.

But, I am 100% sure it works for me, and works dramatically well.

It's 100% legal and there is not so much on the strings that it gets all over the ball, etc.

I checked it out, it's not as greasy as I first thought
Now that I switched to natural gut/poly hybrid, I will definitely try it. I wonder if cheaper non-coated gut will last so much longer with hand lotion... Thanks for the tip!

[Torres]

Immediately post stringing. As I mentioned in my first post, I snapped the end of the string when I tying off the knot. Hmmm....



I hoped it might have held but on the third outing, half way through the 1st set of my match yesterday, I noticed that all of my T serves were going long, and the serves from the ad side onto my opponents BH were going half way into the trams - which never normally happens as the 6.1 is pretty precise in terms of allowing you to hit your spots when serving. Taking a bit rip at the ball on groundstrokes sent the ball 2 or 3ft beyond the baseline.

Bounced the stringbed against the base of my palm a couple of times and thought, 'The tension maintenance on this string sucks' as I was sure it felt spongier than what it was previously. Until I noticed this......



Even strung as one piece wasn't enough to keep it playable, so a premature end to this playtest of this string

The end of the knot disappeared into the grommet after stringing, so I couldn't really see what was happening with it until the end eventually slipped through the knot entirely, during subsequent play, as it turned out. Shame really, because I was enjoying the way the string played up to that point.

That said, I like the string enough to try it out further, so have ordered another couple of sets of red ZX 1.27mm

[mikeler]

Thanks Torres. Now I'm going to buy another expensive string.

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Thanks Torres. Now I'm going to buy another expensive string.

But please try it in syn gut or multi or poly hybrid, enough with full beds!

I'm waiting for outdoor season to try out mine. Will hybrid with shaped poly mains first, but have a suspicion it will bring worst out of Zyex.

[Torres]

^ From my experiences, I wouldn't be hybriding it, certainly not with a nylon string. I don't see the need given that it has some of the power of a multi, but not the stiffness of a poly. Just adjust the tension to suit preference.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Torres

^ From my experiences, I wouldn't be hybriding it. I don't see the need given that it has some of the power of a multi, but not the stiffness of a poly.

I like testing everything full bed first anyways. My arm just can't deal with full beds of polys so that is not a possibility.

[corners]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

I've got two! I'm committed to these frames now.



Yes there is excessive string movement in this frame and it gets worse with reduced initial string tension (as in one gets less playtime before strings move the lower the initial tension).

I solved this problem by using the cheap trick mentioned in another thread....hand lotion. It works. There is not even a doubt. I have strings measuring low 40s on RT that snap back into place and play like new. To be honest, I like the way this frame feels with aged strings and hand lotion better than when freshly strung.

The lotion also greatly reduces wear.

So, perhaps this same trick applied with this much softer ZX will allow the string to have a respectable life in the 99S........I shall have to try this.

It might work. Lubrication works, of course, by reducing string-on-string friction. The 99S works in the first place because fewer cross strings means less total string-on-string friction, allowing the mains to slide further and faster than with a full number of crosses. But when the tension gets too low they slide too far and then don't have enough stored energy to snapback with the ball. If they snapback late they will actually reduce spin. But with lubrication, even if they mains are too loose and haven't stored an ideal amount of energy, they can still snap back because they encounter less resistance from the crosses.

I fully support your experiment with ZX in the 99S. However, keep in mind that Ashaway recommends staying under 60 pounds with this string. And from a couple of reports we probably know why - the string lacks tensile strength and will snap if strung above that threshold. So if you try ZX in the 99S I would string it right at 60 pounds. Using it only in the mains with a copoly in the cross might also be smart. I've recommended this in a couple places before, but it seems to me that Gosen Polymaster would be a perfect cross for the 99S. Polymaster is a flat, rectangular string with a cross-section of only 1.0 mm. Because it is flat, the main strings should slide back and forth along it without being sliced, as they normally would be by a cross-string with a circular cross-section. 4S, being "squoval" might also work.

However, even with lubrication you might find the ZX to be too flexible to function optimally in the 99S, but definitely worth a try.

However, I would think that even better than ZX in the 99S would be kevlar. The poster Travlerajm, and the TW Professor, have already experimented with kevlar mains and copoly crosses in 16x10 string patterns, before Wilson trotted out the Steams. Kevlar mains are very stiff, so would tend not to get stretched too far, even after losing tension. This should help with control and shot to shot consistency in the 99S. Paired with copoly crosses, maybe Polymaster, they should be free to slide and snap back very well, and since we're talking Kevlar, they should last much longer than copoly mains.

[corners]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

I checked it out, it's not as greasy as I first thought
Now that I switched to natural gut/poly hybrid, I will definitely try it. I wonder if cheaper non-coated gut will last so much longer with hand lotion... Thanks for the tip!

Lubrication definitely works. The only downsides are 1) marks on the ball, 2) hassle of appliction, 3) it wears off quite quickly, so you're gradually losing spin and getting a higher and higher rebound angle the longer you play with it. If a player wanted to use this in competition, they'd want to have multiple racquets and rotate them regularly.

[corners]

Originally Posted by Torres

Immediately post stringing. As I mentioned in my first post, I snapped the end of the string when I tying off the knot. Hmmm....

I hoped it might have held but on the third outing, half way through the 1st set of my match yesterday, I noticed that all of my T serves were going long, and the serves from the ad side onto my opponents BH were going half way into the trams - which never normally happens as the 6.1 is pretty precise in terms of allowing you to hit your spots when serving. Taking a bit rip at the ball on groundstrokes sent the ball 2 or 3ft beyond the baseline.

Bounced the stringbed against the base of my palm a couple of times and thought, 'This tension maintenance on this string sucks' as I was sure it felt spongier than what it was previously, until I noticed this......



Even strung as one piece wasn't enough to keep it playable, so a premature end to this playtest of this string

The end of the knot disappeared into the grommet after stringing, so I couldn't really see what was happening with it until the end slipped through the knot entirely. Shame really, because I was enjoying the way the string played up to that point.

That said, I like the string enough to try it out further, so have ordered another couple of sets of red ZX 1.27mm

That's a shame. But much better than the pics of a ruptured achilles I feared you would post.

Happy to hear you liked it well enough to continue testing. This thread is finally picking up some steam.

USRSA mentioned the problem of breaking knots in their playtest report:

As mentioned above, when you first take Zyex MonoGut out of the package, your first impression is likely to be that it is a stout-feeling polyester. As you work with it, however, there are indications that it is not as it seems. Zyex MonoGut stretches more under tension than poly, and it’s easier to handle. With a pre-production sample, we gave Zyex MonoGut the “poly tug” when tightening the knot during tie-off and broke the string, as did a couple of our playtesters.

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com...yex_monog.html

[Torres]

Restrung the last few crosses, pulling tension at 52lbs CP. There wasn't quite enough length, so I skipped the last cross before the tie off.

Far from ideal, but its going to have to do until my replacement sets arrive. Will be interesting to see whether its playable or whether it plays like a dog (I suspect that there's too much tension loss or uneven tension in the stringbed now).

Originally Posted by corners

USRSA mentioned the problem of breaking knots in their playtest report:
As mentioned above, when you first take Zyex MonoGut out of the package, your first impression is likely to be that it is a stout-feeling polyester. As you work with it, however, there are indications that it is not as it seems. Zyex MonoGut stretches more under tension than poly, and it’s easier to handle. With a pre-production sample, we gave Zyex MonoGut the “poly tug” when tightening the knot during tie-off and broke the string, as did a couple of our playtesters.

Very relevant comments from the USRA. When I originally got it, it felt like a poly out of the packet, so I'm assumed it was like poly for stringing purposes when in reality its softer and more susceptible (than poly) to breakage if you're not careful. No breakage when I tied off on the occasion in the above picture. You just need to be a bit more gentle as it doesn't like cack handedness. The string also seems to weaken in any area along its length where it twists or bends onto itself alot eg. a knot.

I experimented with the spare piece of ZX that was left over from not stringing the last cross. If you bend the string 180 degrees back on itself and deliberately kink it under pressure (I squeezed the bend using some pliers) and then flex the bend backwards and forwards repeatedly using your fingers (and we're talking trying to deliberately damage and break the string), it just disintegates like liquorice at the point of the bend. It breaks very easily when you force it to bend backwards and forwards over extreme bending angles.

Doing exactly the same thing with a spare piece of RazorCode (Tecnifibre's new baby) and no matter how many times you deliberately kink it, crush the 180 degree bend with pliers, or wrench it backwards and forwards at the point of the bend, or wrench it with pliers, it just doesn't seem to want to break. Very tough string, though not sure how that translates to arm comfort - stiff probably (RazorCode playtest coming up but that's another story).

ZX is clearly alot softer and less durable than a typical poly. It doesn't resist brutal attempts to break it well. Then again, the trade off is that its alot more comfortable than a poly, and I don't see how during play the string would be subjected to repeated extreme angle bends backwards and forwards.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by corners

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com...yex_monog.html

I re-read that again and I have to say that I pretty much agree with all the positive comments. Not sure if RSI list the comments from positive to negative, but I pretty much agree with the first 26 comments, up to where that woman suggests its a stiff string. The guy who says that it bridges the divided between poly and nylon is right on the money.

I do want to see what playability and tension maintence is like over 10, 15, 20+ hours though before coming to an overall conclusion. That I suspect is the key.

[corners]

Originally Posted by Torres

Restrung the last few crosses, pulling tension at 52lbs CP. There wasn't quite enough length, so I skipped the last cross before the tie off.

Far from ideal, but its going to have to do until my replacement sets arrive. Will be interesting to see whether its playable or whether it plays like a dog (I suspect that there's too much tension loss or uneven tension in the stringbed now).

Good on ya for salvaging the job. Hope it plays well enough to justify the effort. Those lower crosses aren't doing much anyway But I supposed you'll notice some extra heat if you hit a ball down there.

Very relevant comments from the USRA. When I originally got it, it felt like a poly out of the packet, so I'm assumed it was like poly for stringing purposes when in reality its softer and more susceptible (than poly) to breakage if you're not careful. No breakage when I tied off on the occasion in the above picture. You just need to be a bit more gentle as it doesn't like cack handedness. The string also seems to weaken in any area along its length where it twists or bends onto itself alot eg. a knot.

I experimented with the spare piece of ZX that was left over from not stringing the last cross. If you bend the string 180 degrees back on itself and deliberately kink it under pressure (I squeezed the bend using some pliers) and then flex the bend backwards and forwards repeatedly using your fingers (and we're talking trying to deliberately damage and break the string), it just disintegates like liquorice at the point of the bend. It breaks very easily when you force it to bend backwards and forwards over extreme bending angles.

Doing exactly the same thing with a spare piece of RazorCode (Tecnifibre's new baby) and no matter how many times you deliberately kink it, crush the 180 degree bend with pliers, or wrench it backwards and forwards at the point of the bend, or wrench it with pliers, it just doesn't seem to want to break. Very tough string, though not sure how that translates to arm comfort - stiff probably (RazorCode playtest coming up but that's another story).

ZX is clearly alot softer and less durable than a typical poly. It doesn't resist brutal attempts to break it well. Then again, the trade off is that its alot more comfortable than a poly, and I don't see how during play the string would be subjected to repeated extreme angle bends backwards and forwards.

Interesting. Thanks for reporting on your stress tests. I don't know enough about material physics to say, but it seems unusual that this stuff has low tensile strength (shown in your bending tests and by the fact that it seems to snap when tensioned above 60 pounds) but has a hard surface. I recall reading that tensile strength and hardness were proportional to each other. Maybe I misunderstood. But for us that surface hardness is the key, as it allows the ZX to slide around without notching and denting, which is really what differentiates it from multis with their soft, gooey surfaces. The high melting point helps too.

I re-read that again and I have to say that I pretty much agree with all the positive comments. Not sure if RSI list the comments from positive to negative, but I pretty much agree with the first 26 comments, up to where that woman suggests its a stiff string. The guy who says that it bridges the divided between poly and nylon is right on the money.

Yes, I think they do list the negative comments on the bottom. And it's interesting that even with the highest rated strings that there are always some naysayers at the bottom. Hopefully a couple people scared off by some early negative reports will take a peak at the thread now and experiment with this stuff.

I do want to see what playability and tension maintence is like over 10, 15, 20+ hours though before coming to an overall conclusion. That I suspect is the key.

I'm already pretty excited to try it, even if the lifespan isn't super. But if this stuff lasts 10-20 hours it will definitely be a winning option for people currently cutting out soft copolys after 8-10 hours.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by corners

Lubrication definitely works. The only downsides are 1) marks on the ball, 2) hassle of appliction, 3) it wears off quite quickly, so you're gradually losing spin and getting a higher and higher rebound angle the longer you play with it. If a player wanted to use this in competition, they'd want to have multiple racquets and rotate them regularly.

I played around this this today, and reapplying on every other changeover seems about sufficient. It takes maybe 10 seconds to apply (its obviously a very small amount). It can be stretched a little longer, but with older strings the drop off in performance with longer periods of time becomes noticeable.

Marks on the ball were minimal (not noticeable really) but I was playing on hard court. On clay, this may not be the case....haven't tried it yet.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

I checked it out, it's not as greasy as I first thought
Now that I switched to natural gut/poly hybrid, I will definitely try it. I wonder if cheaper non-coated gut will last so much longer with hand lotion... Thanks for the tip!

I know for sure polys will last a lot longer with this method. The notching I monitored was reduced approximately in half if I had to guess.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by corners

However, I would think that even better than ZX in the 99S would be kevlar. The poster Travlerajm, and the TW Professor, have already experimented with kevlar mains and copoly crosses in 16x10 string patterns, before Wilson trotted out the Steams. Kevlar mains are very stiff, so would tend not to get stretched too far, even after losing tension. This should help with control and shot to shot consistency in the 99S. Paired with copoly crosses, maybe Polymaster, they should be free to slide and snap back very well, and since we're talking Kevlar, they should last much longer than copoly mains.

Damn the possibilities never end do they

I have thought about Kevlar....but am a little bit chicken to try them due to the stiffness factor (and associated arm health). Some of the stiffness values for Kevlar on the stringforum are nuts! They make polys look like a strand of overcooked rubbery linguine.

[corners]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

Damn the possibilities never end do they

I have thought about Kevlar....but am a little bit chicken to try them due to the stiffness factor (and associated arm health). Some of the stiffness values for Kevlar on the stringforum are nuts! They make polys look like a strand of overcooked rubbery linguine.

You just string at lower tension. Kevlar/Polymaster I at 40-45 should be ok.

[Torres]

Played a match this evening with ZX/6.1/missing cross/ghetto stringbed.

It played surprisingly well. Definitely leans towards the feel/performance of a poly most of the time than any natural gut. Rip the ball and feels like a poly with alot of that crunchy 'thwap, thwap thwap' sensation when striking the ball. But then there's also a pocketing sensation to the strings and also power on demand when you want it. Really quite a forgiving stringbed. Throw in the ability to also play the most delicate of drop shots and you have quite an unusual string because when you hit a very soft, delicate shot, the strings feel soft with good feel/feedback and control. Hit the ball hard and it feels soft poly-esque but with more pocketing. Alot of different facets to this string. For a set at least, I was on fire!

Will need to get it restrung though, otherwise its difficult to tell whether any adverse characteristics are due to the string itself or the missing cross string and ghetto restring. I think I'm going to go slightly lower tension-wise next time.

[corners]

Originally Posted by Torres

Played a match this evening with ZX/6.1/missing cross/ghetto stringbed.

It played surprisingly well. Definitely leans towards the feel/performance of a poly most of the time than any natural gut. Rip the ball and feels like a poly with alot of that crunchy 'thwap, thwap thwap' sensation when striking the ball. But then there's also a pocketing sensation to the strings and also power on demand when you want it. Throw in the ability to also play the most delicate of drop shots and you have quite an unusual string because when you hit a very soft, delicate shot, and the strings feel soft with good feel and control. Hit the ball hard and it feels soft poly-esque but with more pocketing. Alot of different facets to this string. For a set at least, I was on fire!

Will need to get it restrung though, otherwise its difficult to tell whether any adverse characteristics are due to the string or the missing cross string.

On fire with missing strings. Sounds like a good player to me.

Yeah, that's pretty cool - polys play very stiff with short dwell time even on slow swings/touch shots. Polyesque on groundies, softness and feel on touch shots - sounds pretty nice.

[travlerajm]

Now this has me intrigued.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by corners

Yeah, that's pretty cool - polys play very stiff with short dwell time even on slow swings/touch shots. Polyesque on groundies, softness and feel on touch shots - sounds pretty nice.

Not sure if I was imagining this but the stringbed seemed slightly stiffer this time round. I hoping that was just due to having removed a number of the crosses and re-pulled tension on them rather than the strings starting to go dead. The last cross above the gap also showed a bit of movement this evening without going back into the place. The other strings were okay.

I'm going to have restart this playtest with a new set. Bit annoying really because at various times, I was really enjoying hitting with this string/racquet combination. During my first set hitting with the ZX earlier today, it actually crossed my mind that I hadn't had this much fun with the 6.1 since the time I strung it with a Wilson NG / Alu Rough hybrid. The ZX/6.1 combo was that satisfying.