The gut/poly thread

lemintz · Jun 16, 2017

muph said:
Thanks for all the info lemintz! Actually, every time I tried a multi (Excel twice) it was done after 3 hours, same in my friend's Blade also with NXT. I'm staying away from multis for now even though spin and comfort wasn't bad.

Yeah I know what you mean. Is your blade 16/19? My experience is similar to yours with multis. But it seems that Velocity is a different kind of multi and doesn't fray or shred quickly like a lot of others. It does notch with poly in the crosses, and after 9-10 hrs it was notched almost half way through, but still played nicely and didn't seem to lose tension. Very interesting, unique and good string

ByeByePoly · Jun 16, 2017

lemintz said:
Yeah I know what you mean. Is your blade 16/19? My experience is similar to yours with multis. But it seems that Velocity is a different kind of multi and doesn't fray or shred quickly like a lot of others. It does notch with poly in the crosses, and after 9-10 hrs it was notched almost half way through, but still played nicely and didn't seem to lose tension. Very interesting, unique and good string

No fraying @24 hours ... safe to say it's not going to

Hansen · Jun 17, 2017

muph said:
Really surprised you had arm issues with ZX since it has such a low stiffness rate but thanks for the info.

the problem was that the zyex/poly combo had a lot of vibrations

muph · Jun 18, 2017

lemintz said:
Yeah I know what you mean. Is your blade 16/19? My experience is similar to yours with multis. But it seems that Velocity is a different kind of multi and doesn't fray or shred quickly like a lot of others. It does notch with poly in the crosses, and after 9-10 hrs it was notched almost half way through, but still played nicely and didn't seem to lose tension. Very interesting, unique and good string

ByeByePoly said:
No fraying @24 hours ... safe to say it's not going to

I'm playing a Pure Strike 16/19, my friend's Blade 98 is 18/20. Interesting to hear about Velocity, I had it on my list as a possible option for a multi but discarded the whole idea of a multi hybrid after I went through Xcel so quickly. May give it a shot if it really stays alive that long but first I'd like to try ZX as I have 2 sets lying around.

Hansen said:
the problem was that the zyex/poly combo had a lot of vibrations

Have you crossed ZX with any other strings than poly?

SpinToWin · Jun 18, 2017

muph said:
I'm playing a Pure Strike 16/19, my friend's Blade 98 is 18/20. Interesting to hear about Velocity, I had it on my list as a possible option for a multi but discarded the whole idea of a multi hybrid after I went through Xcel so quickly. May give it a shot if it really stays alive that long but first I'd like to try ZX as I have 2 sets lying around.

Have you crossed ZX with any other strings than poly?

I just have one question for you. Who is that in your profile pic? For..... Research purposes

Hansen · Jun 18, 2017

muph said:
Have you crossed ZX with any other strings than poly?

yes,i also used zyex with gamma tnt2 (crosses).
in general zyex fun to play with but not suited for matchplay, in my opinion.

muph · Jun 18, 2017

SpinToWin said:
I just have one question for you. Who is that in your profile pic? For..... Research purposes

My mum!

muph · Jun 18, 2017

Put 12 g from my Pure Strike's handle into the hoop today going 4 pts. less head light to make it feel more like the Blade. Was awesome to hit with but raising the swing weight by 40 now I got too much power again

Hawk crosses here I come haha!

muph · Jun 19, 2017

I was thinking since the gut isn't showing pretty much ANY notching yet after 6-7 hrs (crosses: Revolve Spin 17) if I should put in thinner crosses next time around to help with spin...? Or would it reduce durability of the gut a whole lot?

[Edit: replaced Revolve 17 in the crosses with Hawk 17 to further reduce power a bit will test drive it these days.]

ultradr · Jun 19, 2017

Hansen said:
yes,i also used zyex with gamma tnt2 (crosses).
in general zyex fun to play with but not suited for matchplay, in my opinion.

zyex's best use is in the cross.

aaron_h27 · Jun 20, 2017

Hey everyone new to gut/poly hybrids, I used a full bed of wilson natural gut for about 6 weeks and the crosses broke recently, I figured I could salvage the mains and just re-string the crosses with a poly. If I initally strung my gut at 55 lbs 6 weeks ago, what should i string the crosses at? I tried Alu Power Rough at 55 lbs in the crosses for 2 days and my arm was on fire...so i had to cut it out. I want to re-try but I will try stringing the poly at like 42 lbs. What do you all do?

speedysteve · Jun 20, 2017

I go high 40s on a lock out machine so that is around mid to low 40's esp once it's bedded in.
I've found I can only take poly on open string racquets. 16 x 18 is okay. 18 X 20 no go.
I use Klip Legend / Wilson Revolve.

I'm using Klip Legend / Prince Synth (slick but forget which one) in a 18 X 20 and find that is okay.

muph · Jun 21, 2017

aaron_h27 said:
Hey everyone new to gut/poly hybrids, I used a full bed of wilson natural gut for about 6 weeks and the crosses broke recently, I figured I could salvage the mains and just re-string the crosses with a poly. If I initally strung my gut at 55 lbs 6 weeks ago, what should i string the crosses at? I tried Alu Power Rough at 55 lbs in the crosses for 2 days and my arm was on fire...so i had to cut it out. I want to re-try but I will try stringing the poly at like 42 lbs. What do you all do?

Never played full gut how was that spin-wise?

Gut is supposed to have the best tension maintenance out of all the string materials so it shouldn't lose all that much even after 6 weeks. If I was you I'd go for a smooth round poly though, the Alu Power Rough will saw through your remaining gut main strings pretty fast I would suspect. Lynx, Revolve, Hawk, Max Power, 4G: all strings that have been recommended a lot around here they're all smooth and round polys with good tension maintenance.

42 lbs. sounds a little low to me, might be that you'll have to handle a whole handful of power from the gut.

If you're looking for a comfortable poly cross Revolve might be for you...

SpinToWin said:
To update my comparison between the strings (approximate and not 100% exact though)

Comfort: Revolve>Hawk>Lynx>Max Power>Sonic Pro Edge>4G
Power: Lynx>Revolve>Hawk>Max Power>Sonic Pro Edge>4G
Control: 4G>Max Power>Sonic Pro Edge>Revolve>Hawk>Lynx
Spin: Lynx≥Revolve>Hawk>Max Power>4G>Sonic Pro Edge
Launch angle: Lynx≥4G>Revolve>Hawk>Max Power>Sonic Pro Edge
Pocketing: Hawk>Revolve>Lynx≥Max Power>4G>Sonic Pro Edge
Pop: Sonic Pro Edge>4G>Max Power≥Lynx>Revolve>Hawk

speedysteve · Jun 21, 2017

Nice analysis there.

Looks like I'm right at home on Revolve in that analysis.

muph · Jun 22, 2017

Played Longevity/Hawk today. Feel like I have all that power more or less

under control now but the springbed felt almost harsh compared to Lynx and Revolve. And quite a bit less spin it seems...

After 7 1/2 hours of hitting the Longevity is fraying a bit but has almost no notches! I don't see this string breaking ANYtime soon. Might restring soon though to raise tension in the mains +1 or 2 kg and go back to Revolve crosses. My buddy mistakenly bought Ball Feel instead of Longevity so I'll give that a try and a thinner-than-1.25-gauge Revolve would be awesome to try for increased spin but doesn't seem like they produce it... shouldn't have demoed 2 Blades with copoly setups now I'm missing that spin

Which copoly could compare to Revolve where thinner gauges are available?

Edit: Lynx is too lively, Hawk too crisp. I've played Kirschbaum Pro Line II 1.15 (stiffness 182.9 for 51 lbs. and fast swing speed) and liked it but that was as a cross with Xcel. Max Power and 4G are probably not comfortable enough. MSV Co-Focus 1.18 (stiffness 185.7 and little static tension loss)? Wondering how much faster the thinner gauges would go through the gut...

Maybe @SpinToWin you can help me out? Would really appreciate it.

SpinToWin · Jun 23, 2017

muph said:
Played Longevity/Hawk today. Feel like I have all that power more or less under control now but the springbed felt almost harsh compared to Lynx and Revolve. And quite a bit less spin it seems...

After 7 1/2 hours of hitting the Longevity is fraying a bit but has almost no notches! I don't see this string breaking ANYtime soon. Might restring soon though to raise tension in the mains +1 or 2 kg and go back to Revolve crosses. My buddy mistakenly bought Ball Feel instead of Longevity so I'll give that a try and a thinner-than-1.25-gauge Revolve would be awesome to try for increased spin but doesn't seem like they produce it... shouldn't have demoed 2 Blades with copoly setups now I'm missing that spin

Which copoly could compare to Revolve where thinner gauges are available?

Edit: Lynx is too lively, Hawk too crisp. I've played Kirschbaum Pro Line II 1.15 (stiffness 182.9 for 51 lbs. and fast swing speed) and liked it but that was as a cross with Xcel. Max Power and 4G are probably not comfortable enough. MSV Co-Focus 1.18 (stiffness 185.7 and little static tension loss)? Wondering how much faster the thinner gauges would go through the gut...

Maybe @SpinToWin you can help me out? Would really appreciate it.

RS Lyon 1.20 may be worth a shot.
Also Solinco Outlast 18
Finally I seem to recall Prince Tour XT getting great numbers in regards to string to string friction

muph · Jun 23, 2017

SpinToWin said:
RS Lyon 1.20 may be worth a shot.
Also Solinco Outlast 18
Finally I seem to recall Prince Tour XT getting great numbers in regards to string to string friction

Awesome, thanks a lot! Just ordered Lyon and Tour XT.

Downtheline1 · Jun 30, 2017

I tried gut mains at 57 with Tourna Black Zone crosses at 54 in my Wilson RF 97 with good results.
Power, touch, directional control were all good.

For those playing the RF 97, what crosses do you like to use?

purdyd · Jul 1, 2017

I just restrung with Babolat VS 16g gut and Head Hawk 16G poly

From Babolat VS 16g gut and Head Lynx 16G

Probably waited far too long to restring but from my fuzzy memory of the Lynx when first strung, the Hawk seems more plush

too many variables, like stringing my own racquets but pleased with the result

I don't know what anyone else thinks or if there are any tricks but poly is miserable to tie compared with other types of strings

muph · Jul 1, 2017

purdyd said:
I just restrung with Babolat VS 16g gut and Head Hawk 16G poly

From Babolat VS 16g gut and Head Lynx 16G

Probably waited far too long to restring but from my fuzzy memory of the Lynx when first strung, the Hawk seems more plush

too many variables, like stringing my own racquets but pleased with the result

I don't know what anyone else thinks or if there are any tricks but poly is miserable to tie compared with other types of strings

To me Hawk seemed harsher than Lynx, even when stringing but I like your setup!

which Blade is that you're playing? On my Blade 98 18x20 I really liked Tonic+ Longevity/Revolve 1.25 @28/27. For my next setup I'll try Tonic+ Ball Feel/RS Lyon 1.20 @29/27 to see if I can get spin a little easier...

purdyd · Jul 1, 2017

16x19 blade 56 lbs gut and 53 lbs poly

maybe the lynx was dead,

the gut was pretty notched by the time I restrung

i was going to try revolve with wilson gut next restringing

RS Lyon seems to be less slippery than revolve or head hawk?

muph · Jul 2, 2017

purdyd said:
16x19 blade 56 lbs gut and 53 lbs poly

maybe the lynx was dead,

the gut was pretty notched by the time I restrung

i was going to try revolve with wilson gut next restringing

RS Lyon seems to be less slippery than revolve or head hawk?

True, Lyon has got a bit higher string to string COF than both Revolve and Hawk but I'll have to test drive the setup to see if this results in less snapback in combination with gut. I'm curious to see if I can generate easier spin with thinner crosses w/o sacrificing too much durability on the gut.

I'm waiting to receive a set each of Lyon 1.20 and also Prince Tour XT 1.18. XT has almost identical string to string COF to Revolve so this would be my next try...

speedysteve · Jul 2, 2017

Having hit with a Redondo 18x20 gut / synth, and played a couple of matches with it, I returned to the trough of gut poly strung in my beloved Prince EXO3 16x18 Tour 100's again. Klip leg and Revolve. Ooh that's nice.

TennisBoysCousin · Jul 2, 2017

Are there any soft copolys out there that are slick, good tension maintanence, and resist denting? Rs Lyon seems to be in this category, from what I have understood. I would like a cross that is nice on the arm, that won't lose tension so quickly like I have read of revolve.

SpinToWin · Jul 3, 2017

TennisBoysCousin said:
Are there any soft copolys out there that are slick, good tension maintanence, and resist denting? Rs Lyon seems to be in this category, from what I have understood. I would like a cross that is nice on the arm, that won't lose tension so quickly like I have read of revolve.

Maybe Isospeed Cream?

@ByeByePoly

KaiserW · Jul 3, 2017

Downtheline1 said:
I tried gut mains at 57 with Tourna Black Zone crosses at 54 in my Wilson RF 97 with good results.
Power, touch, directional control were all good.

For those playing the RF 97, what crosses do you like to use?

That's a nice setup in the RF, have used it before. I am currently using Revolve 17. Revolve has more spin but also more power than Black Zone. My ball is more dangerous with Revolve but the control is better with Black Zone.

When it breaks I am going to try RPM Blast. I know most say a smooth poly is better for a cross but I am curious to try it since I liked RPM Blast when I used it in my 6.1 95S.

Traffic · Jul 3, 2017

SpinToWin said:
Maybe Isospeed Cream?

@ByeByePoly

No. Isospeed Cream crossed with gut main is a horrible idea. Don't do it. Don't buy up all my supply of Cream.

ByeByePoly · Jul 3, 2017

Traffic said:
No. Isospeed Cream crossed with gut main is a horrible idea. Don't do it. Don't buy up all my supply of Cream.

That was selfish ... but well played.

TennisBoysCousin · Jul 3, 2017

SpinToWin said:
Maybe Isospeed Cream?

@ByeByePoly

Target acquired, "isospeed cream". Computer, set launch angle, "launch angle set".Blastoff in three, two, one...

Traffic · Jul 3, 2017

ByeByePoly said:
That was selfish ... but well played.

I had to try. I'm absolutely loving VS/Cream. I had a great round of tennis with my son yesterday. You know those times when your serves are going in very well and your ground strokes are so sharp? Of course I had my stupid UEs when I create the point and just need to close the deal with an easy OH and well...let's not talk about it.

But setting up the point felt so easy with the spin, comfort, feel...oh so good.

ByeByePoly · Jul 3, 2017

Traffic said:
I had to try. I'm absolutely loving VS/Cream. I had a great round of tennis with my son yesterday. You know those times when your serves are going in very well and your ground strokes are so sharp? Of course I had my stupid UEs when I create the point and just need to close the deal with an easy OH and well...let's not talk about it.

But setting up the point felt so easy with the spin, comfort, feel...oh so good.

Gut elitist

TennisBoysCousin · Jul 3, 2017

Traffic said:
I had to try. I'm absolutely loving VS/Cream. I had a great round of tennis with my son yesterday. You know those times when your serves are going in very well and your ground strokes are so sharp? Of course I had my stupid UEs when I create the point and just need to close the deal with an easy OH and well...let's not talk about it.

But setting up the point felt so easy with the spin, comfort, feel...oh so good.

How's the tension maintanence and resistance to notching? Is it better than your typical soft poly? I hear the softer polys usually suck in these categories.

Traffic · Jul 3, 2017

TennisBoysCousin said:
How's the tension maintanence and resistance to notching? Is it better than your typical soft poly? I hear the softer polys usually suck in these categories.

I'll have to take another RT reading. But I have not "felt" any significant changes to tension. I'm on about hour 6. I have very light fraying on both gut and soft poly. But I'm not a string breaker. More of a notcher on the mains.

Downtheline1 · Jul 3, 2017

KaiserW said:
That's a nice setup in the RF, have used it before. I am currently using Revolve 17. Revolve has more spin but also more power than Black Zone. My ball is more dangerous with Revolve but the control is better with Black Zone.

When it breaks I am going to try RPM Blast. I know most say a smooth poly is better for a cross but I am curious to try it since I liked RPM Blast when I used it in my 6.1 95S.

Thanks. I want for more control, so I'll stick with BZ as a cross.

I would be interested to know how RPM Blast works out for you in the RF97.

TennisBoysCousin · Jul 3, 2017

Traffic said:
I'll have to take another RT reading. But I have not "felt" any significant changes to tension. I'm on about hour 6. I have very light fraying on both gut and soft poly. But I'm not a string breaker. More of a notcher on the mains.

I'll give cream cross a shot, thanks for the info! I'll hybrid it with either gut or Velocity and post back with results!

Also, a few other crosses I have considered are WC Silver string or scorpion. Any experience with these two crosses? Do they have the desirable traits of a nice string cross?

Traffic · Jul 3, 2017

TennisBoysCousin said:
I'll give cream cross a shot, thanks for the info! I'll hybrid it with either gut or Velocity and post back with results!

Also, a few other crosses I have considered are WC Silver string or scorpion. Any experience with these two crosses? Do they have the desirable traits of a nice string cross?

Silverstring is not a particularly slick cross string. It is lower powered and seems to maintain tension adequately (for a poly). No experience with Scorpion.

Traffic · Jul 3, 2017

TennisBoysCousin said:
How's the tension maintanence and resistance to notching? Is it better than your typical soft poly? I hear the softer polys usually suck in these categories.

RT says 49.7 off the stringer. 6/21
46.7 after 5hrs. 6/25
46.3 today after 6hrs. 7/3.

Fabolous-vs · Jul 5, 2017

Hi friends.

I played a lot with VS Touch (mains) und YPTP (crosses). Then I switched to X-One Biphase (mains) and YPTP (crosses), however, after every match my arm and my should hurts. I play 4-5 times a week. Therefore I am going to switch back to gut/poly. Do you guys have any must-try string what I can use instead of YPTP?

Thanks.

speedysteve · Jul 10, 2017

Fabolous-vs said:
Hi friends.

I played a lot with VS Touch (mains) und YPTP (crosses). Then I switched to X-One Biphase (mains) and YPTP (crosses), however, after every match my arm and my should hurts. I play 4-5 times a week. Therefore I am going to switch back to gut/poly. Do you guys have any must-try string what I can use instead of YPTP?

Thanks.

If you like YPTP you might like Wilson Revolve. I found Revolve a little more forgiving, just as slick if not slicker, lasts okay for me and it's orange

brettatk · Jul 17, 2017

Finally got around to stringing up one of my rackets with VS Babolat Touch 16g (60 lbs) in the mains and Wilson Revolve 16g (57 lbs) in the crosses. Had a match yesterday so I decided to start warming up with it. Liked the feel from the first ball. Felt I could really hit out on the ball and had pretty good spin. No pain at all in my elbow. Now to see how long this setup will last.

Borrelli · Jul 17, 2017

I've been using MSV Co Focus in my crosses for a while now due to their softness but I'm getting the worst "pinging" noise from my string bed when I hit. It just doesn't sound solid at all. Any recommendations for a soft poly cross that will maintain tension and not sound like this?

Thanks

TennisBoysCousin · Jul 17, 2017

Borrelli said:
I've been using MSV Co Focus in my crosses for a while now due to their softness but I'm getting the worst "pinging" noise from my string bed when I hit. It just doesn't sound solid at all. Any recommendations for a soft poly cross that will maintain tension and not sound like this?

Thanks

I have personally found that tying a rubber band in between the two central mains does a great job removing the ping sound without adding much additional weight, maybe like .5 grams or so. There are many talk tennis tutorials on the forum if you search for them.

SpinToWin · Jul 19, 2017

Borrelli said:
I've been using MSV Co Focus in my crosses for a while now due to their softness but I'm getting the worst "pinging" noise from my string bed when I hit. It just doesn't sound solid at all. Any recommendations for a soft poly cross that will maintain tension and not sound like this?

Thanks

Isospeed Cream seems to fit the bill I think.

ByeByePoly · Jul 19, 2017

SpinToWin said:
Isospeed Cream seems to fit the bill I think.

No Tonic/Cream ping ... smooth as butter ... creamy butter.

muph · Jul 21, 2017

I'm having a hard time getting my hands on Tonic+ Longevity, even at online retailers - is there a noticeable difference in lifespan compared to Ball Feel? That one I can easily pick up in stores here...

ByeByePoly · Jul 21, 2017

muph said:
I'm having a hard time getting my hands on Tonic+ Longevity, even at online retailers - is there a noticeable difference in lifespan compared to Ball Feel? That one I can easily pick up in stores here...

What's ball feel? And why does that sound so dirty?

My stringer had tonic.

dave t · Jul 21, 2017

Ball feel is the thinner gauge of tonic and longevity is the thicker. I think they're supposed to be like 16L/15L, respectively. But not 100% sure on that. Longevity almost lasted too long for me, ball feel is plenty durable in my blades. Maybe a little more spin too...

mrtrinh · Jul 21, 2017

Just tried luxilon gut/alu soft on my 100p at 52/48. I have to say luxilon gut feels a lot like babolat vs. The power and spin was nice but it didn't offer that pocket feeling i like with Pacific classic gut/4G. Maybe I need to drop the tension a little but I'll have a run at it again on monday.

muph · Jul 21, 2017

dave t said:
Ball feel is the thinner gauge of tonic and longevity is the thicker. I think they're supposed to be like 16L/15L, respectively. But not 100% sure on that. Longevity almost lasted too long for me, ball feel is plenty durable in my blades. Maybe a little more spin too...

Yeah, Ball Feel is supposedly "<1.35mm" and Longevity ">1.35mm" with some thickness variation as opposed to Babolat VS.

@dave t: are you playing the 18x20 Blade 98?

SpinToWin · Jul 22, 2017

muph said:
I'm having a hard time getting my hands on Tonic+ Longevity, even at online retailers - is there a noticeable difference in lifespan compared to Ball Feel? That one I can easily pick up in stores here...

For me there was a noticeably difference in my PS 95 back then. Got around 6-7 hours I think out of Ball Feel and well over 10 hours with longevity. The strings performed differently though.

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