String suggestion for Head Radical Pro?

[AA5B Tiger]

Recently changed racquets -- from Head Extreme to Head Radical Pro -- mainly due to feeling I had to hold back with the Extreme / can swing all-out with the Radical. I also felt the Extreme had less control than the Radical. I can pin-point shots with the Radical that I couldn't get close to doing with the Extreme.

I experimented with many strings in the Extreme but settled on MSV Hex 17 and Goshen OG 17 51/54.

I put the same string in the Radical and liked it. However, I felt the substantially more flexible frame (and less power) may open up the opportunity to use strings that felt horrible in the Extreme. For example, I used TNT in the Extreme and it felt like a canon. Yet, I wonder if such a string in the Radical would shine?

'Just trying to save 20 string jobs of experimentation by tapping into the experience and wisdom of others...

Game: All-court, serve-and-volley

[DownTheLineWith90]

You try lux rough yet?
There's a reason why many prefer it.
Good snapback, decent durability, sick spin, maneuverability (if used to), nice soft feel.
In my opinion anyway.

[morandi]

I mainly used Volkyl Cyclone 17 at 48lbs in my radical with great success. I also really liked Gut mains and RPM 17 crosses.

[Cfidave]

I use Dunlop Black Widow 17ga. at 48/46 in my Rad Pro, and love it. I also think Kirshbaum PLII is a good match, and use it in my backup.

[AA5B Tiger]

Strange experience: I tried MSV Hex and Forten Sweet at 51/54 in the Radical Pro and it felt "pretty good". I hopes of getting a little more pop/power, I put in Hex/Goshen OG at 47/51 -- and could hardly generate any pace at all. ???

Balls were going a little longer, but the racquet felt totally dead. Was it the tension or switching the Sweet for the Goshen?

I'm seriously just considering going all VS Touch gut around 55# and being done with it... I'm 40 and don't break string nearly like I used to...

[fuzz nation]

Your story sounds a bit familiar - I switched from some stiff old ProStaffs into some softer frames, including my current Volkl C10's, and quickly noticed that while firm strings seemed more a necessity in the stiffer racquet, the more flexible alternatives could pair up rather well with softer strings. With less of a "hot" response from the sweet spot of a flexible racquet, the resilience of softer strings was much less of a liability for me.

While I like my overall softer layout, I still like to feel "enough" control when I swing away. I used 17 ga. syn. gut for a while, but I've done better lately with 16 ga. syn. gut, mostly because it doesn't degrade as quickly as the thinner stuff. I think that there's a moderate amount of resilience in the syn. gut, but it's easy to dial that in with the right tension.

I sampled a poly hybrid once and was careful to keep the poly component rather loose, but it was still too clunky feeling and dead for me. Super-soft racquets I've tried have run well with a multi like Tecnifibre Biphase, but even if I start with a multi at a rather snug tension, they usually loosen up more quickly that the syn. guts I use. Cost isn't a huge issue for me, since I string my own gear at home, but the low price tag on most syn. guts has been an added bonus.

No objection to the VS Touch - a buddy of mine gets a very cozy ride with that string (16 gauge) in his PD Roddicks at 62 lbs. I just worry that if I try it, I'll get hooked on the stuff and end up working a third job to support my habit!

[AA5B Tiger]

Originally Posted by fuzz nation

Super-soft racquets I've tried have run well with a multi like Tecnifibre Biphase, but even if I start with a multi at a rather snug tension, they usually loosen up more quickly that the syn. guts I use. Cost isn't a huge issue for me, since I string my own gear at home, but the low price tag on most syn. guts has been an added bonus.

No objection to the VS Touch - a buddy of mine gets a very cozy ride with that string (16 gauge) in his PD Roddicks at 62 lbs. I just worry that if I try it, I'll get hooked on the stuff and end up working a third job to support my habit!

I **loved** X1 Bi-Phase -- for about 4 hours. For me at least, after about 4 hours of hard hitting it turns into a trampoline. But for those 4 hours, it was the best string short of gut I've ever experienced -- by a wide margin. When considering the cost of X1 (~$19) divided by its relatively short quality duration, I'm not so sure real gut is not cheaper in terms of matches/stringing.

I decided to just go the VS Touch route at 55# and see how long it lasts (and stays resilient, good feeling). If it feels good in frame #1 at that tension, I'll just string up the 2nd frame at the same and make it a game to see how long I can go with the strings not breaking / still feeling good.... It will be here tomorrow and I hope the experiment turns out well....

[NorcalTennis]

Originally Posted by AA5B Tiger

I **loved** X1 Bi-Phase -- for about 4 hours. For me at least, after about 4 hours of hard hitting it turns into a trampoline. But for those 4 hours, it was the best string short of gut I've ever experienced -- by a wide margin. When considering the cost of X1 (~$19) divided by its relatively short quality duration, I'm not so sure real gut is not cheaper in terms of matches/stringing.

I decided to just go the VS Touch route at 55# and see how long it lasts (and stays resilient, good feeling). If it feels good in frame #1 at that tension, I'll just string up the 2nd frame at the same and make it a game to see how long I can go with the strings not breaking / still feeling good.... It will be here tomorrow and I hope the experiment turns out well....

Hey AA5B - How did the full VS Touch go? I recently tried VS Touch mains with 4G crosses (57/55) in my radical and wasn't sold on them. I'm currently trying Cyclone 16 at 52lbs and I love the control but the power on my serve isn't there. I was thinking about a full VS Touch but wanted to see what your experience was?

[AA5B Tiger]

Originally Posted by NorcalTennis

Hey AA5B - How did the full VS Touch go? I recently tried VS Touch mains with 4G crosses (57/55) in my radical and wasn't sold on them. I'm currently trying Cyclone 16 at 52lbs and I love the control but the power on my serve isn't there. I was thinking about a full VS Touch but wanted to see what your experience was?

It's still going well. There's a good bit of fraying, but it hasn't broke and is certainly not dead.

However, I preferred the bit of extra pop of VS Touch mains with MSV Co-Focus crosses. However, the MSV went dead to the point of being noticeable after about 15 or so so hours of play. I tried the "surgery" approach of cutting out the MSV crosses only and replacing it, but only had some Head Sonic Pro laying around. Once back in, the setup didn't have that "alive" feel it did. May buy 1 set of Co-Focus and try a true apples to apples surgery of just replacing the crosses and seeing what happens.

Have also thought about string savers and just stringing down a few pounds to make up for the rigidity.

FWIW -- I have it in the Radical at 55 main / 53 cross - VS Touch 16.

[Muppet]

Another thing you could try, if you haven't already, is lowering the tension two pounds for the replacement poly crosses, to account for the tension lost in the gut mains. Or, on the other hand, you could just break in the tension on the new crosses, while the gut holds steady.

[NorcalTennis]

I know this was mentioned already and you tried the string but for me X1 has worked out the best. I had one racquet strung with Touch at 55 and another with X1 at the same weight. For me, X1 beat out Touch in all categories except off center hits. Obviously, both are top strings and very arm-friendly which I need but X1 had more power. Just wanted to provide you with my research on the two strings for what its' worth.

[anubis]

Originally Posted by AA5B Tiger

Recently changed racquets -- from Head Extreme to Head Radical Pro -- mainly due to feeling I had to hold back with the Extreme / can swing all-out with the Radical. I also felt the Extreme had less control than the Radical. I can pin-point shots with the Radical that I couldn't get close to doing with the Extreme.

I experimented with many strings in the Extreme but settled on MSV Hex 17 and Goshen OG 17 51/54.

I put the same string in the Radical and liked it. However, I felt the substantially more flexible frame (and less power) may open up the opportunity to use strings that felt horrible in the Extreme. For example, I used TNT in the Extreme and it felt like a canon. Yet, I wonder if such a string in the Radical would shine?

'Just trying to save 20 string jobs of experimentation by tapping into the experience and wisdom of others...

Game: All-court, serve-and-volley

The radical pro has a very high swing weight. IMO it's not a low powered racquet, and one could argue that its actually more powerful than an extreme.

I think if you really want to tap into the potential of that racquet, you should go full poly. Pick something soft, like a Black Widow or Tourna BHB7. String @ 56 lbs and really try to swing for the fences. With proper technique, I think you'll find that you're going to hit some pretty serious bombs with it.