Question for Kevlar users

[J011yroger]

Originally Posted by jason586

Really??? I am hurting for a bit more power, and the Kevlar does not bother my arm so far. But really tighter is more power - why is this???

If I want to figure out if I can get enough power out of Kevlar before moving back to full poly, what would you suggest as the most powerful kevlar (main only) set up and tension???
I notice you play with 16 ga, but have you tried thinner kevlar?? Did it give you more power/pop???

Two reasons actually.

Kevlar has no elasticity. Normal strings are better at absorbing and returning energy than the ball is, so stringing them looser allows them to absorb more of the impact, returning more of the impact. Kevlar is worse at absorbing and returning energy than the ball, so you want to string it tighter to make the ball absorb more of the impact.

The second reason is that because the Kevlar has no stretch to it, once it loosens up a bit it just flops around in the stringbed doing nothing, so when you string it loose it feels great for a little while, then turns to crap. By stringing the entire bed tighter, it hangs in there a bit longer because it is tighter to begin with, and has the tighter cross to back it up.

J

[jason586]

That makes sense, I guess I'll go 5 pounds higher instead - 55lbs Kevlar 18 / 60ish Genesis Black Magic 17???
This will also test to see if my arm can handle Kevlar if the tension has to be high to get additional power/pop.
For maximum power out of a Kevlar bed, do you still tension the cross about 5 lbs higher with a poly???

Originally Posted by J011yroger

Two reasons actually.

Kevlar has no elasticity. Normal strings are better at absorbing and returning energy than the ball is, so stringing them looser allows them to absorb more of the impact, returning more of the impact. Kevlar is worse at absorbing and returning energy than the ball, so you want to string it tighter to make the ball absorb more of the impact.

The second reason is that because the Kevlar has no stretch to it, once it loosens up a bit it just flops around in the stringbed doing nothing, so when you string it loose it feels great for a little while, then turns to crap. By stringing the entire bed tighter, it hangs in there a bit longer because it is tighter to begin with, and has the tighter cross to back it up.

J

[J011yroger]

I strung them the same, but I strung at 70#.

If anything I would string the Kevlar mains 2# tighter than the poly crosses. No reason to string a poly cross tighter than a Kevlar main.

J

[jason586]

Wow, don't know if I'll go to 70. Maybe Kev 18 Main 60 / BM 58.

Thanks for the help. What level do you play to break this tough string so often?
I hit hard compared to the 4.0 guys I play, but today I saw a couple college guys (5.5ish) playing a set. It was a whole different world than 4.0 or 4.5.

Originally Posted by J011yroger

I strung them the same, but I strung at 70#.

If anything I would string the Kevlar mains 2# tighter than the poly crosses. No reason to string a poly cross tighter than a Kevlar main.

J

[J011yroger]

Originally Posted by jason586

Wow, don't know if I'll go to 70. Maybe Kev 18 Main 60 / BM 58.

Thanks for the help. What level do you play to break this tough string so often?
I hit hard compared to the 4.0 guys I play, but today I saw a couple college guys (5.5ish) playing a set. It was a whole different world than 4.0 or 4.5.

Tough question since guys who are by definition 6.0 play 5.0 USTA leagues here.

I played two seasons of 5.0 and there were guys in there who recently graduated DI All Ivy or had ATP points in the past.

Got bumped down to 4.5 from playing injured (stupid pride), but will likely go back up to 5.0 after this season if I play singles.

I have been as high as #3 in Eastern men's open, 100 something national men's open despite my generally crappy showing in tournaments.

I am more of a practice court hero than match player, I can practice with anyone up to low level ATP guys.

There are a couple videos of me floating around, I will try to take another one in the next couple of weeks if my illegitimate brother/son gets over his hangover.

J

[jason586]

That is impressive; I really wish I would have played tennis seriously in my younger years to get to that level of play. I fell for golf instead.
The 4.0 guys around here seem to be mostly true 4.0s, but the 4.5s start to be previous (and even some current) college players who are tall and have massive angle advantages over my 5'8" self + years and years of experience with the sport.
I've been playing about 16 months, and my goal was to play quality 4.5 by the end of this year but did not make it. Ultimate goal for myself is to play 5.0, but I have 4 daughters (ages 2, 3.5, 5, 6.5 - 2 lefties and 2 righties); and the the oldest is starting to enjoy tennis. They are at the courts with my wife and I for 10 hours a week; so my efforts, research, and time is being passed on to them.
Your reply reminded me that I really need to get another video recorder that I can set up on a tripod to record myself at the courts.

Originally Posted by J011yroger

Tough question since guys who are by definition 6.0 play 5.0 USTA leagues here.

I played two seasons of 5.0 and there were guys in there who recently graduated DI All Ivy or had ATP points in the past.

Got bumped down to 4.5 from playing injured (stupid pride), but will likely go back up to 5.0 after this season if I play singles.

I have been as high as #3 in Eastern men's open, 100 something national men's open despite my generally crappy showing in tournaments.

I am more of a practice court hero than match player, I can practice with anyone up to low level ATP guys.

There are a couple videos of me floating around, I will try to take another one in the next couple of weeks if my illegitimate brother/son gets over his hangover.

J

[3fees]

I read from a stringer that he uses Kevlar and syn gut -that you string syn gut 10lbs higher than Kevlar,,e.g. Mains Kevlar 41/ syn gut 51, etc, so your string bed is not totally taken over by Kevlar.
I going to string one up Kevlar mains/syn gut crosses at low tension and check it out.

[2ndServe]

has anyone tried the new ashaway kevlar+ ?

[jason586]

I've been searching around Google and TT, and I can not find anyone reviewing it?
I like the description of it by Ashaway. It seems like it would have more power from the regular Ashaway Kevlar which is what I'm after. It only comes in the 1.25, but with more power that may work for me with a soft poly cross.
The more I read reviews and comments about the 1.10 Kevlar, the more I think it will not have the durability I am wanting. I do not understand why Ashaway goes from (16) 1.30 to (17) 1.25, then jumps all the way down to 1.10 in the 18 gauge. Seems like they should have a 1.20 or at least 1.15 Kevlar.

Originally Posted by 2ndServe

has anyone tried the new ashaway kevlar+ ?

[alidisperanza]

I think you have the gist of it from the other replies. J011y has the most experience with kevlar of the players that I know.

I've played the 60# Ashaway/Alu combo and it was fun while it lasted. He's right with the tension on the kevlar but what he didn't mention is that it is assuming that your arm can hold up to it. J plays with a 14+oz? frame with silicone which mitigates a lot of the impact. In a regular frame, a setup that high will feel like a board. You have to swing the crap out of the frame to get the strings to bend.

Currently I'm experimenting with Wilson Hyperlast mains (A smooth Aramid blend) and poly crosses at #48. The feel is solid and the control is nice but you won't find that extra power you're craving. You'll have to supply it yourself! As was mentioned above, there are always tradeoffs with everything.

If you don't have issues with durability, drop the gauge of the kevlar a bit. Two strings I'd give a shot are PolyStar Energy-- rather lively but soft, and Adrenaline-- it's the faux Alu that won't hurt your wallet. (If you have the budget, go for the full Alu.) Between these two you'll get a full spectrum.

[2ndServe]

Originally Posted by J011yroger

Two reasons actually.

Kevlar has no elasticity. Normal strings are better at absorbing and returning energy than the ball is, so stringing them looser allows them to absorb more of the impact, returning more of the impact. Kevlar is worse at absorbing and returning energy than the ball, so you want to string it tighter to make the ball absorb more of the impact.

The second reason is that because the Kevlar has no stretch to it, once it loosens up a bit it just flops around in the stringbed doing nothing, so when you string it loose it feels great for a little while, then turns to crap. By stringing the entire bed tighter, it hangs in there a bit longer because it is tighter to begin with, and has the tighter cross to back it up.

J

I also find this true. Also, since I started playing again this is the first winter I've had kevlar since I was 18 many moons ago. Cold didn't seem to bother me then but tight kevlar and temps in the 40s-50s makes it very jarring. I say string lower as the temps drop. I've found the 18g to hold tension a little better than the 17g, which is very weird.

See this for other kevlar etc info. The 17g loses something like 28lbs of tension.

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com...ctor_2012.html

[jason586]

Well, the 16 ga Ashaway Kevlar main broke yesterday; I thought the OGSM cross would be the first to go. It happened during a match with a 5.0 friend who doesn't take it easy on me. I finally got my first games off him (lost 6-2, 6-1 - every other time, he double-bageled me). I had him 40-15 in 3 other games as well but blew it. He mentioned afterwards that my strokes are really continuing to improve, and he notice a big difference even since our last match a month ago.

I noticed the Kevlar was much more useful in this match before it broke in the 2nd set. I was redirecting his pace instead of having to create so much of my own pace when playing slower hitting players. One problem mentioned is happening to me which is Kevlar being hard on the grommets. I have 4 broken grommets now when I had zero with poly and hybrids for several months before this. On a positive, I had zero wrist or shoulder pain for 50+ hours that I used the Kevlar compared to the small pains I was getting playing dead poly. The stringbed was stiff and low powered, but it was definitely not hard on my arm.
Between the broken grommets and lack of power, I'm not sure I will stick with Kevlar. I definitely do not want Kevlar to break my racquets like jolly did, but I will still likely try a thinner gauge Kevlar in the main with a softer poly cross.