RPM Team: Initial Review/Impressions

[TimothyO]

Frame: Speed 300 modified to 340g/12 oz and 8.5 pts HL
Note: Speed 300 is 100", 16x19, Flex ~60

String: VS Touch Black / RPM Team 17 @ 54 / 50

Time: 4 hours so far...1.5 hours hitting serves and wall, 2.5 hours in mixed doubles ALTA B8 practice with teaching pro, drills and games.

Comparison/Reference: VS/CoFocus 17 and VS/RPM Blast 17 (my favorites)

Overview: extremely low power, superior spin, great control, potential comfort issue

Power: extremely low...far lower than CoFocus crosses, and lower than Blast. When practicing serves and hitting the wall it was so low as to be worrisome at first which is weird for me since I love low powered setups. But after several shots it settled in and, while still very low powered, I felt comfortable.

Spin: superior to CoFocus and Blast! Second serves were exceedingly easy. However, pace was much lower too. You have to eat your wheaties with this as a cross.

Control: outstanding! Better than CoFocus and on par with Blast.

Comfort: this is weird...my arm is stiff tonight! Didn't feel anything close to this discomfort even with dead Blast. However, I sometimes break my swing in Mixed doubles so as not to hit too hard vs the ladies, so it may be technique related. Even then I didn't feel like this with Blast playing mixed doubles, so I'm thinking it is the Team. It worries me enough that I'm not sure how far I'll proceed with this.

The comfort issue is really surprising. Babolat is pushing this as more comfortable than Blast and for use by "kids and women who don't change strings as often." I'm really hoping it's just my usual cautious nature in mixed doubles as I love the spin.

UPDATE 2/10, 6 HOURS PLAY TIME
Will be hitting later today but noticed something of interest after 2 additional hours of play. Where CoFocus and Blast maintain a smooth surface over which the mains continue to slide with prolonged use the Team seems be getting dented like other polys. The denting is more shallow than polys such as Lux so the impact on spin seems minimal. But the mains don't return to their original position as perfectly as with CoFocus and Blast. But don't worry...it's not like multis or pure gut where strings get stuck out of place...we're talking minor imperfections compared to the perfection this is Gut/CoFocus or Gut/RPM. Comfort still good. Power is low enough that I might try some extra lead at 12 for added oomph. I love the feeling of extra weight (better control) so that aspect of Team might be a nice side benefit.

UPDATE 2/11, 8.5 HOURS PLAY TIME
After roughly 8.5 hours of play time I cut out the stringbed today. I need to order some CoFocus but had some FocusHex in the bag-o-string so I'm having the frame restrung today with VS/Focus Hex for now.

The RPM Team remained comfortable throughout the test. Power remained low and control great and I really enjoyed both aspects. The deciding factor was a significant reduction in spin potential. Unlike RPM Blast and various MSV products the Team no longer provided what I call "casually accessible" spin. Of course I could still hit hard with top spin but if I screwed up in the slightest I failed to keep the ball in through topspin. As I approached the 8 hour mark I really needed to focus and hit as cleanly as possible. Spin was no longer idiot proof.

I believe this may be due, at least in part, to the sort of surface deformation I've seen with other polys. When pulling on the mains, especially in the sweet spot, I could feel the tiny ripples that form when the surface of a poly becomes bumpy from repeated bending and unbending. These "dents" quickly limit the idiot proof spin potential of a good gut/poly hybrid such as VS/CoFocus. CoFocus resists surface deformation under constant stress remaining smooth with prolonged use. All polys will eventually dent, especially with hard topspin hitting, but CoFocus and even Blast seem to resist this well.

A potential explanation for Team's greater deformation is that it's a "lower density" version of Blast. Where Blast is a tight solid monofilament Team is filled with tiny air bubbles. Maybe that weakens Team's strucutral integrity.

All is not lost though. Those who hit flat might still benefit from Team's lower power and great control and comfort. I added some weight to the head and flat shots were really fun. I could drop them on the court like artillery fire. I still couldn't t-off hitting flat like I can when hitting with topspin. But in a video by Babolat they mention the string might be good for kids and women who don't change strings much. Setting aside the sexist nature of the comment (I know plenty of A level women who can beat me handily) I could see Team working for lower level rec players who hit flat and want both comfort AND control and maybe haven't found that in a multi. (note: this applies for use as cross with gut mains...not sure how it would work full bed since I don't use full bed poly.)

[ChicagoJack]

Hi TimothyO,

Nice review, thanks.

1. Better spin and better control than Co-focus sounds pretty sweet to me.
2. If it's way lower in power, as you say, then your spin to speed ratio is up, (more revolutions per distance traveled)
3. Then you swing harder to make up the power dif (even more spin, and tougher on the arm)
4. 1.5 hours of serving is bound to tire anybody's arm out.
5. All makes sense to me.

-Jack

[TimothyO]

Yes Jack, you nailed the string's dynamics.

While warming up with other male players I was hitting my best ground strokes ever. The extra spin and lower power allowed me to hit extra hard while keeping the ball in. One veteran player was taken by surprise by the extra pace and depth I was hitting with (it may sound odd that a lower power string allows extra pace but it's the extra RHS which allows more spin which drives the ball down sooner which allows the greater pace.)

I could also feel more ball pocketing than with Blast (about the same as CoFocus) and often heard that "thwappy" sound of mains rippling back in place over the crosses on hits with extreme brushing motion.

One odd aspect I forgot to mention...on slices I felt like Blast did a better job aiding spin generation while on ground strokes Team did a better job. Perhaps a function of ball pocketing? Don't know for sure and I need to try some more slices before reaching a conclusion.

On the comfort issue my arm feels perfectly fine this morning so it probably was technique. When I was hitting with the guys last night comfort was fine as I was hitting with proper full strokes, a loose arm, and a firm grip (not a death grip). When I hit with the ladies I tend to slow the swing down and then tighten the arm muscles while trying not to hit too hard. Yes, it's foolish, and something our ALTA coach is helping me with as he noticed me breaking my swing too... need to do the same swing but slower...but then I lose RHS and balls drop short on me with my low power setup. I think the answer is more spin and less forward momentum.

[InfCross]

Nice review.
I've played with both gut/rpm and gut/co-focus. Yes both are nice setups, but I think I solved the "powerful when dead" issue of co-focus crosses, kinda offtopic but Im now using pro hurricane 17(the round one) as a cross, its lower powered and still kinda soft(but stiffer than those RSI tests claim), also good in tension maintance. Too bad its pricey and buying a reel doesnt help much.
Back on topic, do u think RPM team is worth a try? I dont actually need it but coud use a little more spin.




.

[TimothyO]

Jury still out on Team. Hit serves and wall for an hour at lunch time and helped some friends warm up for their T2 doubles match.

Zero discomfort so it must have been me breaking my swing last night.

Definitely feeling more ball pocketing and spin than blast and definitely lower power. The extra spin is giving more confidence in my serves. I feel like Luke Skywalker..."Trust the force...err...spin, Luke".

On one handed back hands the situation is interesting. Swinging hard it feels easier to control the ball with a completely relaxed arm. i just knpw the ball will stay in. oTOH...I MUST take a full relaxed swing or the ball's going nowhere.

I'll be hitting this week with an A level ALTA player who serves big. He's going to practice serves amd I'll be practicng return of serve vs hard serves. We'll probably play some practice games too, will report back then. I think this might be my new goto setupbut don't want to jump the gun. Still in honeymoon period which can be misleading!

Re: Hurricane you might want to try Hurricane Feel. That was my favorite before I learned about CoFocus. Less durable than CoFocus but maybe a little more spinny.

[TimothyO]

Updated after 6 hours of play. See first post for details.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

Jury still out on Team. Hit serves and wall for an hour at lunch time and helped some friends warm up for their T2 doubles match.

Zero discomfort so it must have been me breaking my swing last night.

Definitely feeling more ball pocketing and spin than blast and definitely lower power. The extra spin is giving more confidence in my serves. I feel like Luke Skywalker..."Trust the force...err...spin, Luke".

On one handed back hands the situation is interesting. Swinging hard it feels easier to control the ball with a completely relaxed arm. i just knpw the ball will stay in. oTOH...I MUST take a full relaxed swing or the ball's going nowhere.

I'll be hitting this week with an A level ALTA player who serves big. He's going to practice serves amd I'll be practicng return of serve vs hard serves. We'll probably play some practice games too, will report back then. I think this might be my new goto setupbut don't want to jump the gun. Still in honeymoon period which can be misleading!

Re: Hurricane you might want to try Hurricane Feel. That was my favorite before I learned about CoFocus. Less durable than CoFocus but maybe a little more spinny.

I string Big banger at 55 lbs and RPM blast that i tried once time at 60 lbs. and i thought these tension provided Good power for both. Since RPM team is much lower powered, if i string it at 50-52 lbs range, do you think i can get similar power level to RPM blast or BB ?

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

Frame: Speed 300 modified to 340g/12 oz and 8.5 pts HL
Note: Speed 300 is 100", 16x19, Flex ~60

String: VS Touch Black / RPM Team 17 @ 54 / 50

UPDATE 2/10, 6 HOURS PLAY TIME
I love the feeling of extra weight (better control) so that aspect of Team might be a nice side benefit.

What do you mean by Extra weight in above statement ?

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

What do you mean by Extra weight in above statement ?

Some extra lead tape at the top of the hoop.

At the moment I have a few grams at ~2 and a few grams at ~10. Don't know the precise amounts since I did it based on feel with RPM Blast crosses. Based on the length of the tape probably about 3 grams in each location for a total of (very roughly) 6.

I've tried frames previously with more lead along the upper hoop and it feels great but demands the right string to avoid excess power (driven of course too by frame stiffness, size, and pattern).

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

I string Big banger at 55 lbs and RPM blast that i tried once time at 60 lbs. and i thought these tension provided Good power for both. Since RPM team is much lower powered, if i string it at 50-52 lbs range, do you think i can get similar power level to RPM blast or BB ?

Only tried BB once and my arm couldn't take it, so not really sure. Remember too we're comparing RPM Blast to RPM Team in this instance. So far, Team is playing lower powered than Blast with the same initial reference tension and exact same frame.

I think that many strings have a weird power curve where power can increase with lower tension but then at some point it sort of decreases again as the string bed goes all wilty. Same goes for loss of elasticity and tension loss based on play time (two different things): over time all strings lose tension but their change in elasticity seems to be different string-to-string...some become trampolines while others become boards!

In any case I believe stringing polys lower (no more than 50-52) is probably a good idea. I tried RPM Blast cross at 57 or 58 (gulp!) and gosh they went dead fast. I had always wondered if I could tell when a poly cross went dead and sure enough, the difference was dramatic. Amazing control but felt terrible.

[tlm]

Has anyone tried this in a full bed, when testing a new string i don't think that using a hybrid is a good way to test a string.

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by tlm

Has anyone tried this in a full bed, when testing a new string i don't think that using a hybrid is a good way to test a string.

For those who prefer full bed poly I full agree. That's why I tried to be careful in the OP and explain all the details on the hybrid setup. OTOH, since I don't use full poly it wouldn't be helpful to me to try it in a full bed.

Also, I've udated the original post: result...after 8.5 hours I cut out the string bed today...see OP for details.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

For those who prefer full bed poly I full agree. That's why I tried to be careful in the OP and explain all the details on the hybrid setup. OTOH, since I don't use full poly it wouldn't be helpful to me to try it in a full bed.

Also, I've udated the original post: result...after 8.5 hours I cut out the string bed today...see OP for details.

Okay thanks for the update, if you are only changing the poly part of your string job and keeping the other the same then i guess it still gives a pretty good comparison.

I am really anxious to try this new rpm out. I found that even with the regular rpm that it does lose some spin production and comfort with time, so if the team at least maintains its comfort better that will be a plus.

[mixedmedia]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

For those who prefer full bed poly I full agree. That's why I tried to be careful in the OP and explain all the details on the hybrid setup. OTOH, since I don't use full poly it wouldn't be helpful to me to try it in a full bed.

Also, I've udated the original post: result...after 8.5 hours I cut out the string bed today...see OP for details.

Plus, some strings aren't very impressive as mains in a full bed setup but great as crosses in a hybrid (e.g. MSV Co.-Focus).

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by mixedmedia

Plus, some strings aren't very impressive as mains in a full bed setup but great as crosses in a hybrid (e.g. MSV Co.-Focus).

Absolutely true!

[mixedmedia]

TimO, I've probably asked you this before, but I lose track sometimes. Have you ever tried WC Scorpion as a cross with gut mains? How does the deformation compare to CF? I got sidetracked from testing a playing regularly for a bit, so it's hard for me to think how it's going to be going back to Scorpion after Cofocus. I'm worried the spin and comfort may be worse than I remember (even reading over the play log I kept, since I hadn't tried CF at that point). Sorry to be off-topic. Thanks!

[TimothyO]

Not Scorpion but have tried one of the other Weiss strings.

[Nostradamus]

Would you say that RPM team is lower powered than the pro hurricane string ?

[TimothyO]

I used Pro Hurricane Feel so can't compare to the other two flavors (regular and Tour). Definitely lower powered than Feel.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by TimothyO

I used Pro Hurricane Feel so can't compare to the other two flavors (regular and Tour). Definitely lower powered than Feel.

how does the power compare to tech black code ? thanks