What's the lifespan of gut main/poly cross?

[mongting]

I bought a used Puredrive with VS / Pro Hurricane hybrid. When do I have to restring it? If the feel is okay, can I just keep playing with it until the main breaks? Or, dead poly will harm my arm eventually? I want to go for full bed of natural gut next time. I just don't want to waste good-looking main gut right now.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by mongting

I bought a used Puredrive with VS / Pro Hurricane hybrid. When do I have to restring it? If the feel is okay, can I just keep playing with it until the main breaks? Or, dead poly will harm my arm eventually? I want to go for full bed of natural gut next time. I just don't want to waste good-looking main gut right now.

- You can play with gut mains until it snaps. Gut's playability doesn't diminish much.

- Dead poly in the crosses will largely be overshadowed by gut's godliness in the mains. Back to my first point: If you've got gut in the mains, play it until it snaps.

- A good set of gut should last you at LEAST 20hours. With string savers, you can add 10hours to that.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

- You can play with gut mains until it snaps. Gut's playability doesn't diminish much.

..

- A good set of gut should last you at LEAST 20hours. With string savers, you can add 10hours to that.

Just to be clear OP, while those two statements may appear to be contradicting, what Say Chi Sin Lo means by 'lasting 20 hours' is time until it breaks. He is correct that gut truly does not 'go dead' like many synthetic strings, nor does it lose much tension after it's initial tension loss.

Pardon the pun, but provided it doesn't break, you can literally play with gut "until the cows come home"...

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

- You can play with gut mains until it snaps. Gut's playability doesn't diminish much.

- Dead poly in the crosses will largely be overshadowed by gut's godliness in the mains. Back to my first point: If you've got gut in the mains, play it until it snaps.

- A good set of gut should last you at LEAST 20hours. With string savers, you can add 10hours to that.

I agree with these points although I am not sure a string breaker will get 20 hours every time.

[Centerforward71]

I know this has been answered before but I want to once again hear opinions on cutting out the poly cross only and reststringing? Also do you redo poly lower than originally to account for gut tension loss ?

[ultradr]

As times go by, gut becomes slightly more lively (if the gut is a quality one).
Deadening of poly kinda nicely compensate it (if not strung too tight).

I could personally play until it pops. For some people, who does not
like dead poly, it might not be their cup of tea.

[marosmith]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

I know this has been answered before but I want to once again hear opinions on cutting out the poly cross only and reststringing? Also do you redo poly lower than originally to account for gut tension loss ?

Nothing wrong with it. If you want to be safe have it mounted on the stringer when you cut out the crosses.

[Centerforward71]

Originally Posted by marosmith

Nothing wrong with it. If you want to be safe have it mounted on the stringer when you cut out the crosses.

Should the poly be strung a bit lower than first time or alot lower ???

[marosmith]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

Should the poly be strung a bit lower than first time or alot lower ???

I have done it every which way at some point but I would shoot for 5-10 lbs lower and then adjust from that point. There isn't really a wrong way to do it unless you go real extreme one way or another.

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

I know this has been answered before but I want to once again hear opinions on cutting out the poly cross only and reststringing? Also do you redo poly lower than originally to account for gut tension loss ?

This tends to be a stringer's preference thing. Some will do it and swear by it; I will never do it nor for any customer.

[marosmith]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

This tends to be a stringer's preference thing. Some will do it and swear by it; I will never do it nor for any customer.

I can understand for guarantee reasons someone not doing this for a paying customer, however for someone stringing themselves or for a friend there is NO good reason not to do it. Unless you're filthy rich.

[Smasher08]

Originally Posted by mongting

I bought a used Puredrive with VS / Pro Hurricane hybrid. When do I have to restring it? If the feel is okay, can I just keep playing with it until the main breaks? Or, dead poly will harm my arm eventually? I want to go for full bed of natural gut next time. I just don't want to waste good-looking main gut right now.

The longevity of your stringjob will depend on a number of variables: the gauge, tension, composition and texture of crosses, string pattern of your racket, your frame's stiffness/flexibility, your swing style, how hard you hit the ball, and your NTRP level.

You should certainly be getting 20 hours, but 30-50 is possible too. Personally I get ~70 hrs out of Pacific Classic 1.25 x MSV Co-Focus 1.18, and if I don't prestretch the mains I don't notice the crosses dying. But that's one of the benefits of CoF.

See how it goes for you.

[NLBwell]

The only problem I've found with string lifetime is when the poly crosses lose tension the stringbed becomes too lose and therefore I lose some control. Adding a lot of stringsavers (65) along the outside of the stringbed has tightend up the stringbed and made it play almost as good as new (a little less spin). Also, I recently tried re-stringing just the crosses, and so far so good on that.

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by marosmith

I can understand for guarantee reasons someone not doing this for a paying customer, however for someone stringing themselves or for a friend there is NO good reason not to do it. Unless you're filthy rich.

I am not filthy rich and it's not a practice that I would ever do. If I can't afford to replace my stringbed, then I won't use those strings. Honestly, is that half set of gut worth the risk of damaging your frame? I'm not saying it will happen, I'm simply saying that it's far more likely than if you restring the entire racquet as it was meant to be.

[McLovin]

[Lambsscroll]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

Should the poly be strung a bit lower than first time or alot lower ???

Good question. On my machine which is a 6 point mounting system the racket is nice and secure for cutting out the cross. I find that restringing the cross at the original tension seems to work fine. I'm not sure why this is the case because you would think the mains would have lost tension and the string bed wouldn't play the same. But for whatever reason it plays close to the original stringing.

I should mention I use Wilson gut in the mains.

[Centerforward71]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

I am not filthy rich and it's not a practice that I would ever do. If I can't afford to replace my stringbed, then I won't use those strings. Honestly, is that half set of gut worth the risk of damaging your frame? I'm not saying it will happen, I'm simply saying that it's far more likely than if you restring the entire racquet as it was meant to be.

I tend to agree...

But then why not just full bed gut, if abiding by this theory then the poly cross other than to change feel is not really worth it.

I dont think I am going to do it, I feel like its a bit of a guessing game and to me the performance of my racquet and strings is EXTREMELY important and I need to know what I can expect from my strings not hope what I can expect.

[Centerforward71]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

The only problem I've found with string lifetime is when the poly crosses lose tension the stringbed becomes too lose and therefore I lose some control. Adding a lot of stringsavers (65) along the outside of the stringbed has tightend up the stringbed and made it play almost as good as new (a little less spin). Also, I recently tried re-stringing just the crosses, and so far so good on that.

Exactly what just happened to me. I hit pretty hard all wings and after about 6 hours of play the control is SIGNIGICANTLY lower, not terrible but noticeable and I am having to steer shots a bit more, at first it was free wheeling and great spin. I am just not sure about just redoing the crosses, my game is about lots of racquest speed, I cant have a guessing game with my string beds, even a small guessing game..

[Lambsscroll]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

The only problem I've found with string lifetime is when the poly crosses lose tension the stringbed becomes too lose and therefore I lose some control. Adding a lot of stringsavers (65) along the outside of the stringbed has tightend up the stringbed and made it play almost as good as new (a little less spin). Also, I recently tried re-stringing just the crosses, and so far so good on that.

Did you use the same tension for the cross?

[NLBwell]

Originally Posted by Lambsscroll

Did you use the same tension for the cross?

yes - just put it in at the same tension without really thinking about it.