Solinco Prototype Playtest - String "B"

[TW Staff]

Hi Playtesters,

This thread is for those of you who receive the Solinco prototype marked "B".


Please post a full review by Friday July 27th.


If for some reason you do not post or if your review is clearly lacking effort and thought, you will be excluded from future string/racquet/shoe playtests.

**Hybrids are okay **

You must include the following in your review.

Your regular string set up
Confirm the prototype you received - A or B
Whether or not you used a full set or hybrid for the playtest
If hybrid, list the other string used and whether it was in mains or crosses
Tension used for playtest
Racquet brand and model used for test
Power level of test string or hybrid
Feel (crisp? mushy? soft? stiff? off center feedback?)
Tension maintenance (how long before it became too loose or unplayable?)
Control (predictable trajectory? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?)
Spin
Compare to the string you use most often
Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension?)
General comments (please summarize likes and dislikes)

Please expand on your answers where appropriate, e.g., don't merely say that a string has good control. Tell us why.

Happy hitting!

TW Staff

[enderx1x]

Received mine
Without taking out of the clear bag it looks very similar to tour bite. It has the seems to have the same square shape and color. I'll be stringing it up this weekend.

[cltennis21]

^^ same here. Appears to be an exact copy from the outside.

[KoolTennisKid]

Yeah I agree, it also looks like it's could be a 17g

[darklore009]

Is there a way to enter the playtesting, I'm interested in trying it out.

[db10s]

Nope, that already happened. Better luck next time.

[PBODY99]

Rec'd in Phila Pa on 24 June


Your regular string set up
Various Poly 1.20mm/ with a solid core sny gut cross
the prototype you received - B
hybrid for the playtest Prince Sg df 1.25 mm crosses
,
Tension used for playtest: 40 Mains/ 44 crosses
Racquet brand and model used for test: Prince Speedport Gold 110
Power level of test string or hybrid: Average for a copoly
Feel FRIM
Tension maintenance 12 HOURS over 2 weeks of time, still plays fine I cut poly strings out after 2 weeks for arm safety
Control : Above average control
Spin: Tight, in a tournament match on hard and a Sr league on red clay, my opponents reported that the ball had more rpms than they thought it would,leading to more mishits on their part
Compare to the string you use most often
Tension recommendations I would use my regular tension
General comments (please summarize likes and dislikes)
Shaped string, average coil memory for a copoly. knots were not a problem. I really enjoyed this string thanks for the opportunity.I would like to see this in a 1.20mm or less as I don't break polys.

[mpournaras]

Can people please post some pictures of it strung up with you review?

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by mpournaras

Can people please post some pictures of it strung up with you review?

No Pics... too busy. Looks like a gray muti-sided poly 17G. Will be stringing later today and begin playtesting tonight. I am very excited that I have a string to test and it is right on the middle of outdoor season here. Most times I am testing either late or early season..or indoors. I can really put this string thur the test.. ... and I have a frame that needed strings..cool

Steve

[Rjtennis]

I got mine today. Like others have said, it looks similar to Tour Bite. Im excited to playtest this one!

[enderx1x]

I only had time to play a little today, but first impressions were good. Much softer than tour bite but still great power and spin.

[mad dog1]

^^ sounds like prototype A and B strings may be made of the same material and have different shapes/structures. i thought prototype A also felt much softer than TB and was quite good in the power dept as well.

[mars76]

I got mine yesterday.

I am planning to got for Hybrid setup.

Will string it during the weekend and will post back my findings.

If any one else is planning to go for hybrid could you please post the cross you are using.

[jonnyjack]

I'm going to string at 48 lbs in the mains and use Wilson Synthetic Gut Extreme 17 at 50lbs in the crosses. Using my same exact setup so I'm only changing one variable for the playtest.

[OldFedIsOld]

Just received my strings today.

Playtest: Day 1
Okay guys I just couldn't wait to try these strings so after about 4 hours after stringing it I got on court for a test hit. I played about 3 hours, varying from baseline play, volleys, smashes, serves, and returns.

Your regular string set up: Gosen OG Sheep in the mains and Pro Supex Big Ace in the crosses, 52/48 lbs.[/b]
Confirm the prototype you received - B
Whether or not you used a full set or hybrid for the playtest: Hybrid
If hybrid, list the other string used and whether it was in mains or crosses: Gosen OG Sheep in the crosses, prototype in the mains
Tension used for playtest: Used it in two racquets, one is strung at 50/46 and the other is 55/53
Racquet brand and model used for test: Both racquets were Pro Kennex Silver Ace 90 racquets
Power level of test string or hybrid: Racquet 1(50/46 lbs) had a lot more pop than my previous string job with Solinco Tour Bite, Racquet 2(55/53lbs) had a little less pop than usual. One thing to note is the higher strung racquet didn't get as much pop on the serve.
Feel (crisp? mushy? soft? stiff? off center feedback?) Racquet 1: Stiff/crisp, it felt like Solinco Tour Bite but it was a lot more arm friendly. I probably didn't need to hybrid it with a syn gut in the crosses, felt very crisp which I like a lot. Racquet 2: Very stiff/crisp like the other racquet, I'm glad that I used syn gut in the crosses at 54lbs because it sort of hurt my wrist at first but after about 30 minutes it started feeling a lot better.
Tension maintenance (how long before it became too loose or unplayable?) Racquet 1 was strung at about 48lbs, the racquettune app read about 53.2lbs and after the 3 hours it dropped to 52.5lbs, it was still very playable after 3 hours. Racquet 2 was strung at about 54lbs, the racquettune app read about 57.3lbs and after 3 hours it dropped to 54.8lbs, it was still playable and it felt a lot better than when I first started hitting with it.
Control (predictable trajectory? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?) Control was there in both racquet 1 and 2, I tried inside out forehands, cross court buggywhips, and volleys. They were all going in the direction I wanted it to. Volleys felt very crisp and the serve was good, but lacked power on the first serve. However on the second serve it helped me get a little more kick on the kick serve and good angle on the slice out wide.
Spin: Hahahahaha, this string doesn't have much competition IMO in the spin area. I was ripping the felt off the ball like I would with the Solinco Tour Bite but I could also flatten out some shots more than I would with Tour Bite.
Compare to the string you use most often: My usual Gosen mains and Pro supex cross setup is geared more towards touch and power, the prototype and the gosen crosses helped me in the spin aspect of my game. I can't really compare these two, but I can with the Solinco Tour Bite and gosen crosses hybrid. Overall in the first 3 hours of hitting I really liked the prototype more than the Solinco Tour Bite in all areas.
Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension?) If you play it in a fullbed go no higher than 57lbs(if you use a racquet larger than a 98"), since I used a 90" racquet for the play test I would recommend around 52lbs, it gave me an added boost in spin and I could still flatten out the ball.
General comments (please summarize likes and dislikes) There weren't many dislikes for the string because it helped me get the control/spin I need to control my hard hitting baseline game. The only dislike I have is that it is still quite stiff, a little bit easier on the arm than Solinco Tour Bite.

Note that this is only 3 hours of hitting, I will continually play test this for another 4 days and post my readings of the tension from using the racquettune app.

After about 5 days of testing I broke the lower tensioned hybrid on the top of the mains. The tension dropped about 10lbs since the initial readings.

My final impressions are that the string was significantly better in terms of comfortability than Tour Bite, however it lost a lot of tension in 5 days of hitting. Still a good string though.

[Rjtennis]

I strung mine up today and hope to hit with it tomorrow. Its was pretty easy to string as it is not quite as stiff as my regular string. I was really suprised how much this string stretched. I tried to pull it very slow to compensate for the stretching.

[drkplayer122]

I just strung it up. It wasn't difficult to string up compared to tour bite so thats a plus. I will be comparing each of them on my MG rad MP. Will try to hit with them ASAP. It looks like its going to give amazing spin like TB but we'll see.

[mars76]

I strung mine today.

Racquet : toned ti 70 long mp
Mains. : prototype B @ 48lb
Crosses. : pro's pro hitek multifiber @ 52 lb

Went to a local court and practiced servers for half an hour.

Will be playing a league match and practise session.

Full review to follow.

Thanks

[mars76]

Hi,

Here is my review after few hours of hitting.

First of all few pictures of my racquet.







My Regular string set up : Hybrid ( Poly in the mains + Gosen OGSM in crosses)

Current Setup : Prototype B in mains (48lb) + Pro's Pro hitek multifiber in crosses (52lb)

Racquet brand and model used for test : Yonex Ti 70 Long

Feel : Slightly Crispy. Earlier i played with a full bed of Multi and it was very soft. When compared to it this is not as soft.

Tension maintenance : So far i didn't notice any tension loss. It was strung just two days back. May be i need to update this review after a week.

Control : Excellant control. The racquet i am using is control oriented racquet and this String didn't mess any thing. I was able to change the direction of the ball on my forehand and backhand with out any issues.

Spin : I am a flat hitter with little bit of spin. I didn't notice any excessive spin. How ever when i tried to generate some spin i can definitely notice the spin. But again that's not how hit most of my strokes.

Comparison to my full bed multi : This has plenty of power. With full bed multi i needed to generate my own power. It's not like i am hitting lost of balls long.

Tension recommendations : 48 Mains + 52 Crosses. This is my regular setup and i didn't try to change it.

General comments : Overall i am happy with this String. I don't think i like the full bed of this. But as a hybrid setup so far i didn't find any drawbacks.

Will update my review after a week or two to see how the tension maintenance and others aspects of the string change over time.

[UPDATE]

I have played few more days with the same setup and the more i play the more i start to like this String. My initial assessment of Spin is no longer true. If you want to generate spin this string has it.

The String bed is very consistent and i can hit the slices with more accuracy and there is good response on my ground strokes.

over all i am happy with this string.

the only thing i miss is i didn't try the full bed. With the slight elbow symptoms i am not trying the poly full beds.

[/UPDATE]

Thanks

[chay337]

Regular setup: Babolat Hurricane Pro Tour 16 or Signum Pro Tornado 17
Type: prototype B
String bed type: full
Tension: 57 lbs.
Racquet: Babolat Aero Pro Drive GT
Power level: Mid
Feel: The bed had a crispness to it but I might have needed to string it at low 50s to get the power to where I'm used it.
Tension maintenance: Played 4 sets on it and I haven't noticed a significant drop in tension over the norm.
Control: Control seems on par with my normal setup.
Spin: Although prototype B did have texture, I didn't notice an increase in spin.
Compare to the string you use most often
Tension recommendations: I would like to try the same set at 52-54 lbs.
General comments (please summarize likes and dislikes): This string felt very close to Luxilon Alu Big Banger 16 to me. The crispness and the feel was very close to it.

This was my first time trying out Solinco branded strings and had no expectations prior to hitting. After couple sets, it started reminding me of the said Luxilons and was not used to the subdued feel of the strings. I'm not cutting them out yet and will give it couple more weeks to see where the feel and tension will go and report on it if it's any different.