Pacific Tough Gut - really tough

[maxpotapov]

I'm play testing Pacific Tough Gut 16 crossed with WC Mosquito Bite Red at 50/50 lbs in Prestige LM Mid, and from 2 hours of hard hitting I can tell it will be tough to break. No signs of notching, only a slight wear on the surface of both gut and poly strings. But it performs as a very low powered, control oriented setup, which is surprising for natural gut/poly setup at 50 lbs. I think for such a dense string pattern, Pacific Tough Gut may be safely strung at low 40s. I hope it will break in and become more energetic, as Prestige LM Mid can definitely use some help from the stringbed in terms of power. My sore shoulder could use some help too.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

2 hours and you're seeing signs of wear in a 18x20? That doesn't seem "tough"...

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

2 hours and you're seeing signs of wear in a 18x20? That doesn't seem "tough"...

A "slight wear on the surface" describes how Klip Legend and Pacific Classic looked after the first hitting session for me. Legend lasted me 30 hours and Classic is on 14 hours and counting (I thought it would break sooner, but it stubbornly holds on).

[wmilas]

2 hours for gut? That sounds tough. Pacific Classic is well on its way to a hairy mess after 2 hours for me.

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

I'm play testing Pacific Tough Gut 16 crossed with WC Mosquito Bite Red at 50/50 lbs in Prestige LM Mid, and from 2 hours of hard hitting I can tell it will be tough to break. No signs of notching, only a slight wear on the surface of both gut and poly strings. But it performs as a very low powered, control oriented setup, which is surprising for natural gut/poly setup at 50 lbs. I think for such a dense string pattern, Pacific Tough Gut may be safely strung at low 40s. I hope it will break in and become more energetic, as Prestige LM Mid can definitely use some help from the stringbed in terms of power. My sore shoulder could use some help too.

Pacific says, or used to say that their gut could be strung looser because it was stiffer. I have always had good luck with their gut and find the wear to be as you described. If you really want to extend the life of the string, after you play, do a little preventative maintenance and install string savers where ever you see wear.

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Pacific says, or used to say that their gut could be strung looser because it was stiffer. I have always had good luck with their gut and find the wear to be as you described. If you really want to extend the life of the string, after you play, do a little preventative maintenance and install string savers where ever you see wear.

Yeah I knew that, that's why I had it strung at 50 lbs, but now I think I should go for 44 lbs. But we'll see how it plays after break-in period.

I have Babolat stringsavers, but not sure if I want to use them 'cause the stringbed is tough enough on my arm.

[UCSF2012]

The power level will be mostly dependent on how tightly you string the poly crosses. If you want more power, lower the poly 1-2 lbs. When you understring the tough gut and keep the poly the same, the feeling is pure awkward. Very mushy. I've tried it, and I don't like it one bit.

[NLBwell]

I've got ToughGut in a couple of my Prestige Pros. They are strung in the mains with poly crosses. After a couple of months, the ToughGut looks as good as new. I put stringsavers in along the edges of the stringbed as the poly loses tension to make up for the tension loss, but not in the center of the stringbed. I'm not the biggest stringbreaker, but I haven't ever had a stringbed look this pristine after so many hours of hitting.

[scotus]

Tough Gut can be tough if you got it from a good batch.

The problem with Pacific, the way I see it, is quality control. Sometimes you can get sets that snap on you prematurely or even sitting in the bag over night.

I suppose that could happen with any manufacturer, but in my experience, Babolat has been the most consistent in terms of QC.

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

Yeah I knew that, that's why I had it strung at 50 lbs, but now I think I should go for 44 lbs. But we'll see how it plays after break-in period.

I have Babolat stringsavers, but not sure if I want to use them 'cause the stringbed is tough enough on my arm.

You may want to consider omitting the poly and stringing a multi next time int eh crosses.

[JT_2eighty]

Pacific Tough Gut has been my gut of choice, in fact my main setup (crossed with various polys) for a few years now.

In an 18x20 (midplus for me), it is extremely durable. I have compared it to a few other guts, like VS, Tonic+, Pacific Prime & Classic.

Tough, on multiple occasions, in both 16L and 17 gauge, and over the course of what must be numerous batches (having used the string for a couple years), has outlasted the other guts by a longshot. In some cases 2x-3x the durability/longevity of the other guts.

It is, however, a bit stiffer than the PPrime and of course VS, but still softer than any multi, with way more control than any multi or gut.

Honestly, for a mid to midplus, you can use 17 or if you are a big string breaker, the 16L. The 17 is definitely the most powerful gauge, with impeccable feel. 16L will provide a stable balance of control, power and feel. 16 I have not tried, as I prefer thinner gauges in the Pro Tour 280 MP.

I know some people gripe that Pacific can have less consistent QC than Babolat, but I guess I've been lucky over the years. I think as you move up their product ladder, the QC tends to be better: Prime is on par with VS, Tough is close, Classic is the one with more issues (basically Pacific's "tonic")

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

Yeah I knew that, that's why I had it strung at 50 lbs, but now I think I should go for 44 lbs. But we'll see how it plays after break-in period.

I have Babolat stringsavers, but not sure if I want to use them 'cause the stringbed is tough enough on my arm.

It should break in nicely for you. Pacific Tough does have an initial break-in phase where it will seem too stiff for an hour or more. After about 2-4 hours (depending on how hard/often you hit), it will settle in for you. I've found that lowering poly crosses 3lbs from the gut mains help to reduce break-in phase.

Also, great choice on the cross. You are basically using my go-to setup, although I use the 16L TG / WC MB (blue). In my MP, 52/49 has been too good to beat.



^about 4-5 matches in with Tough Gut 16L mains / mosquito bite cross

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

It should break in nicely for you. Pacific Tough does have an initial break-in phase where it will seem too stiff for an hour or more. After about 2-4 hours (depending on how hard/often you hit), it will settle in for you. I've found that lowering poly crosses 3lbs from the gut mains help to reduce break-in phase.

Does this differential deform racquet head at all? I'm OK with extra hour of break-in, but I can not tolerate irregular shape due to mains/crosses differences.

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

You may want to consider omitting the poly and stringing a multi next time int eh crosses.

I still have Ashaway MonoGut ZX 16 to try before I go to multi crosses. For some reason very little information on that string, so I bought it to try in crosses and mains.

[maxpotapov]

Originally Posted by UCSF2012

The power level will be mostly dependent on how tightly you string the poly crosses. If you want more power, lower the poly 1-2 lbs. When you understring the tough gut and keep the poly the same, the feeling is pure awkward. Very mushy. I've tried it, and I don't like it one bit.

Well it's not crisp or lively, that's for sure. I thought the poly will lose tension more than gut anyway, but maybe extra 1-2 lbs would help...

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

Does this differential deform racquet head at all? I'm OK with extra hour of break-in, but I can not tolerate irregular shape due to mains/crosses differences.

I have no deformation with the 52/49 setup, and my racquet is very flexible and susceptible to deformation. I've experimented with larger differentials and have had deformation, which takes a good 6+ pounds of difference for that to happen.

Next time just try a 1-2 pound drop before jumping any further. It may help.

[parasailing]

Originally Posted by JT_2eighty

Tough, on multiple occasions, in both 16L and 17 gauge, and over the course of what must be numerous batches (having used the string for a couple years), has outlasted the other guts by a longshot. In some cases 2x-3x the durability/longevity of the other guts.

It is, however, a bit stiffer than the PPrime and of course VS, but still softer than any multi, with way more control than any multi or gut.

Honestly, for a mid to midplus, you can use 17 or if you are a big string breaker, the 16L. The 17 is definitely the most powerful gauge, with impeccable feel. 16L will provide a stable balance of control, power and feel. 16 I have not tried, as I prefer thinner gauges in the Pro Tour 280 MP.

I know some people gripe that Pacific can have less consistent QC than Babolat, but I guess I've been lucky over the years. I think as you move up their product ladder, the QC tends to be better: Prime is on par with VS, Tough is close, Classic is the one with more issues (basically Pacific's "tonic")

You must be lucky or I got two bad sets of ToughGut and Prime as both sets definitely felt inferior in terms of QC. When I pulled them through the grommets, some of the strings definitely felt uneven which I never had any issues with VS.

They are one of the longer lasting gut but they did not feel as soft and elastic as the original VS and at the current price, for me, I rather go with X1 Biphase instead.

[fortun8son]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

I still have Ashaway MonoGut ZX 16 to try before I go to multi crosses. For some reason very little information on that string, so I bought it to try in crosses and mains.

The Zyex Monogut looks very interesting.
I look forward to your review.

[corners]

Originally Posted by maxpotapov

I still have Ashaway MonoGut ZX 16 to try before I go to multi crosses. For some reason very little information on that string, so I bought it to try in crosses and mains.

The most important info on Monogut ZX is that zyex is the only string material other than natural gut to not increases in stiffness at higher tensions. Monogut ZX is about 10-15% stiffer than natural gut, and only about 60% as stiff as the softest copolys. So I would string accordingly: as a cross with gut mains I would string both the gut mains and the ZX crosses tighter than you would with gut/copoly. The cool thing is that even if you bump up the tension by 10 pounds the gut/ZX will still produce a faster shot than gut/copoly because the dynamic stiffness of both the gut and the zyex will stay pretty much constant as you increase in tension. But the strings will deflect less at higher tensions, so you will have more control and a more consistent shot-to-shot response.

Monogut ZX would also be very interesting as a gut replacement in a gut/copoly setup. It does not have quite the energy return of natural gut, but if strung 5 pounds tighter I think ZX/copoly would be worth a punt.

Perhaps even better would be as a cross with a shaped copoly main. ZX is much less stiff and also slippier than any multi, so it should excel as a cross with copoly mains.

Sorry to barge in with the unsolicited advice!

[JT_2eighty]

^^ well, thanks... now I want to try Monogut zx! Just when I thought I was 'done' testing new strings, :/