Best natural gut currently

jim e said:

I presently hit with Lux gut, the old Wilson gut, and Klip uncoated gut.
There is a difference with all 3 of them.
My preference is the Luxilon, as it has a more firmer feel, but gives better control along with great durability, as it lasts the longest.
I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder as everyone has preferences.
You ask what is the best for the $, the answer is it depends as each player has preferences.
Your best bet is to try each over time and see what works best for you.

Click to expand...

jim e said:

When I hit with Wilson nat. gut I stocked a bunch of it. but now I prefer the luxilon.
Klip uncoated hits the softest, it is similar to the old school gut made years ago like Victor Imperial was.
The Luxilon is a firmer hit, but like I said control is great with that one, and I string the Luxilon about 3 lbs lower than the Wilson and Klip uncoated

Click to expand...

ricki said:

you can still get old babolat stuff pretty easily

Click to expand...

CopolyX said:

For who? Me or You?

Click to expand...

CopolyX said:

I know what works best for me. Do you?
The list for natural gut is fairly short.
All that is needed is a you need to try them.
Make a short list and dive in..
No one can pick a string for you.
If you have a good stringer, talk to them. Helps..
Test, learn, try and grow..

Click to expand...

ricki said:

you can still get old babolat stuff pretty easily

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Of course, but there are always differences in gut. I want a classic gut that is soft. Buying gut in Australia is so expensive. Buying from the UK is decent but adds up if I am buying 5 different types of gut.



The Babolat Gut I am using is still in this packet:

Is this the original gut? I can't see anything referencing BT7 on the packet. This gut is phenomenal and soft.

I may order another 10 packets before it disappears from this supplier, their website shows the new package so might be running out of it?

Click to expand...

scotus said:

This question came up before. When we looked up TW's product description under that very packaging, it was said to be BT7.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Damn that sucks. The original must be very soft then if this stuff is BT7 that I was using. Perhaps the only option left is Klip if I want a more classic feeling gut.

edit* True, I just searched and Bab official confirmed still BT7 in nonmarked packaging... That is disappointing.

Click to expand...

jim e said:

If you fine a seller of the older Wilson gut, that is the same as the non BT7 that Babolat made, as Babolat made that older Wilson gut.
A poster here (Drakulie) , once said he opened a set of Wilson gut and it was marked babolat VS, but that was years ago, so it seems the older Wilson gut is the same as non BT7.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Now that Wilson has 8 strands and luxilon 9, the latter of which is hideously expensive what is the best gut available for price?

Haven't been able to find what people definitively like after all the changes in the last few years. Have done a lot of reading on here. Which plays most similar to old Wilson/Bab Pre BT7?

Options that are available in each price bracket from what I can see

Upper:

Luxilon
Pacific Gut
Klip Armor

Medium:

Klip Legend Tour (black)
Bab BT7
New Wilson
Signum Pro Premium Gut (who makes this)

Lower:

Klip Guru (uncoated)
Tonic
Klip Legend

Click to expand...

Nostradamus said:

Signum if my past experience of that company, probably suck.

Anyway, Is Klip Legend Uncoated gut really good ? price seem to be reasonable. and what is Klip Armor ? is that expensive if so why ? Klip is made from sheep gut ,, right ?

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

The Babolat Gut I am using is still in this packet:

Is this the original gut? I can't see anything referencing BT7 on the packet. This gut is phenomenal and soft.

I may order another 10 packets before it disappears from this supplier, their website shows the new package so might be running out of it?

Click to expand...

ricki said:

No BT7 = good gut I have several (bought old hybrid packages 6 m of gut and 6 m of PHT)

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Klip Guru is the uncoated stuff, probably different names in different places. It is meant to be soft, just a pain to string.

Click to expand...

jim e said:

To be honest, the uncoated Klip is not at all a pain to string.
It strings up nice, just need to take time to not kink it, and handle it nice, just like any other gut.

Click to expand...

McLovin said:

For me, Pacific Tough Gut is the best of today's bunch, although I've not tried Prime Gut yet. Yes, it is more expensive, but IMO, plays much better than the others. Unfortunately, I prefer the 17g and its been out of stock at TW for a while now.

However, my all-time favorite is Bow Brand Professional. Bummer it is no longer manufactured.

Click to expand...

McLovin said:

For me, Pacific Tough Gut is the best of today's bunch, although I've not tried Prime Gut yet. Yes, it is more expensive, but IMO, plays much better than the others. Unfortunately, I prefer the 17g and its been out of stock at TW for a while now.

However, my all-time favorite is Bow Brand Professional. Bummer it is no longer manufactured.

Click to expand...

Dartagnan64 said:

There are about 10 makers of decent gut strings and I suspect you'll get 10 different opinions about which is the softest. Feel is very subjective and personal. What floats someone's boat doesn't float another's.

I can't tell the difference between VS and Tonic so I just get the cheaper version. Still plenty soft and good tension maintenance. My advice is buy the cheapest most durable gut and worry less about softness. You are not a pro, softer gut won't make you a pro, expensive gut will not transform your game, it will only make you more broke.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

I would prefer softness as I intend to string mid-high 50s in an open pattern as I need control woth poly cross. I have a torn ligament in my wrist so I want the most comfortable setup possible for when I have twinges from my comfort poly setup. My doctor informed that I can continue playing until pain gets too much, hence this setup to alleviate the pain if something happens. Softer frame has helped the most so far. Its not about trying to replicate professionals, its just about finding the best possible setup cheaply for myself without having to purchase a few hundred dollars of gut.

At this point natural gut has changed the most in the last few years probably compared to the previous 100. There is going to be a lot of differing opinions and feelings toward these changes. Vsbabolat who I respect for his opinion thinks BT7 is the worst mainstream gut available, and not even the cheapest, hence my enquiries to save money and get a potentially better product.

Feel is of course subjective, thats why its better to have more input from many different people. If the consensus of x being softer than y its a good place to start. Overwhelmingly it seems like most modern gut has thicker coatings and less feel than traditional probably because it costs less to manufacture. Thats why I am looking for something more classic, I have read things about klips softness, hence asking about it further. It is also cheaper than babolat gut and I have no idea about how many fibres/strands it uses. However, if opinion has changed in the last few years it is better to know the flaws in the string from people hitting long term with it.

Click to expand...

Say Chi Sin Lo said:

Babolat's BT7 is not the worst mainstream gut available, but Klip Legend can be had for cheaper and it plays nearly as good, so why pay the extra dollars? If I give you two racquets and I don't tell you which one is which, there's no way you can tell which is Klip Legend, and which is Babolat BT7. The only edge that Babolat BT7 has on these lower priced gut is their reliable availability.

Pacific Classic at $39 is already a better gut than BT7.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Ah thanks thats good to hear. The worst gut thing was more when wilson gut was still old school. So I guess it was to do with how different and poorer in comparison it was...

Price to buy different guts from overseas are: klip legend is $31-33 Aud and like $37 Aud for BT7/New wilson. The pacific gut leaps up to around $50 aud per set for classic and $58 aud for tough gut. This makes even trying pacific gut really difficult to justify...

Click to expand...

mctennis said:

I agree with what you are looking for. I am also never going to have the strokes of the pros, I'm not interested in that either. I think my body would not adapt to it either.
I think Klip gut felt too stiff for me. I tried it twice but have not used it because it did not have the gut feel I wanted. I like the old school feel of gut. Bow brand gut felt that way, old school. I do like Pacific gut but they have priced themselves out of what I want to pay, no reason for it being that expensive IMO.
I do not like Babolat gut since they have that BT7 added to it. Plays to much like plastic and no true gut feel.
I've used all the guts out there, even most of the cheap guts ( worthless and a huge waste of money). Luxilon gut is nice as well, however, the price they want for it is too steep. I normally hybrid my racquets so the cost is kept lower per racquet that way.
I had used some Prince gut, the one in the green package. It felt pretty good as well. I did find it on fleabay at one time at a decent price. Still older gut can be dry and break if not stored properly, just FYI.
Are you looking to use it as a full bed or a hybrid?

Click to expand...

jim e said:

The luxilon is very much resistant to kinking as compared to other gut strings.Most likely due to its coating. That string also has a small mark on the 20' area to help with measuring.
As far as the remainder of gut strings I typically just take my time to handle it a little more careful is all.
Another thing I do is I use a lubricant called tri flow (I'm sure any lube would do), and place a small amount on each top and bottom main string grommet, as that can prevent any pre mature string breakage near a grommet. Only downside to that is the need to clean all the clamps well after job is done. shanked shots is not good for gut strings, as it can snap at the grommet opening. It may not snap when you mishit but can later in bag because string was stressed, so its best if you are a relatively clean hitter.
With nat. gut I also will wrap the string around the diablo a second time if I happen to pull the same string twice so the gripper will be in a different spot.
When you weave, be sure to weave not only one ahead, but to pull most of the slack string on that one ahead as well so not to wear the string.
If you string gut as full bed, the bottom 2 cross strings can twist so to help with that I usually weave one string at a time,pulling it all the way through one main at a time kind of like sewing, or you can pull a loop to prevent twisting on those bottom 2 cross strings.

Click to expand...

joe sch said:

TriFlow is great stuff ... I use this teflon lube on my road bike.

Click to expand...

Say Chi Sin Lo said:

Babolat's BT7 is not the worst mainstream gut available, but Klip Legend can be had for cheaper and it plays nearly as good, so why pay the extra dollars? If I give you two racquets and I don't tell you which one is which, there's no way you can tell which is Klip Legend, and which is Babolat BT7. The only edge that Babolat BT7 has on these lower priced gut is their reliable availability.

Pacific Classic at $39 is already a better gut than BT7.

Click to expand...

ultradr said:

Original pre-bt7 was benchmark natural gut that had good blend of crispness and softness.

If you miss the softness, go with pacific.
If you must have crispness in gut, go with Klip.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Ah that is a bit disheartening with the klip. I will try the uncoated stuff still as it seems cool and unique older feel and see how that goes.

I only use it in main with poly cross - alu rough but going to try max power rough as a substitute, better playability duration and very similar.

Pacific is nearly twice the price of the main strings except luxilon for what I can find. I dont think it is worth it at the moment.

I may try the new wilson gut. I dont mind the BT7, but its still a bit stiff when first in and takes a while to soften up. I think my frame that is sitting around is actually old babolat gut. Will have to check it out.

*honestly as it is hybrid the BT7 does slide incredibly well but takes time to soften. The uncoated may be a little sticky but fine with the alu rough. It would also only be strung mid-high 50s and then the crosses 4-5 under. Only thing is I have heard new wilson gut coating is a little thicker similar to luxilon so may not be as soft for longer than BT7.

Click to expand...

Muppet said:

OP,
If it's true that Klip Legend and Babolat BT7 play that similar and you like them both and want to save money, why not use Legend whenever you can get it and order BT7 when Legend is out of stock?

Click to expand...

Say Chi Sin Lo said:

Because neither of them have the ball pocketing characteristic that I prefer. When I think of ball pocketing, I think of Pacific's lineup. But, they're becoming more and more unaffordable.

I can get the new Wilson Natural Gut for less and if they play anything like the new Luxilon Natural Gut, I'll be satisfied.

Click to expand...

jim e said:

When I string nat. gut I put a small drop of that lube on a very tiny brush that fits inside grommets, and lube all main string grommets ,s it does not take much, then string up the gut.
My gut racquets and gut customers I string for do not get the early snaps at grommet areas once this is done. It helps a lot.

Click to expand...

1. 17g In ascending order: VS Team/Luxilon/Klip Guru/Pacific Prime: VS and Luxilon (even more so) has a bit more durability, but less feel and stiffer overall. Guru feels great from the start, loses playability near the end. Prime needs to be played a bit to get the best feel(perhaps wear off the seal) but consistent to the end. Guru is the cheapest and does quite well with silicon lube spray. The old Wilson's are like the Team and the new ones like the Luxilon more or less.
2. 16g In ascending order: VS Tonic+ Ball Feel/VS Touch/Luxilon/Klip Legend/Guru: Tonic Ball Feel can feel great or good depending on the string thickness. It varies but for bang for buck, it's tough to argue. Touch is a bit better in feel, as is Luxilon, but the Lux plays more consistently throughout its life and lasts longer.
3. 15/15L for durability: Tonic+ Longevity/Klip Armour/Legend. Tonic and Armour are about the same in durability, but the inconsistency of Tonic puts it at the bottom (It's still the cheapest brand name gut I can find so I use it a lot). The Legend is a bit better and also available in 15g, which is best for durability, though the difference between 15 and 15L is a matter of 2-3hrs for me.

Sardines said:

My preferences are:

1. 17g In ascending order: VS Team/Luxilon/Klip Guru/Pacific Prime: VS and Luxilon (even more so) has a bit more durability, but less feel and stiffer overall. Guru feels great from the start, loses playability near the end. Prime needs to be played a bit to get the best feel(perhaps wear off the seal) but consistent to the end. Guru is the cheapest and does quite well with silicon lube spray. The old Wilson's are like the Team and the new ones like the Luxilon more or less.
2. 16g In ascending order: VS Tonic+ Ball Feel/VS Touch/Luxilon/Klip Legend/Guru: Tonic Ball Feel can feel great or good depending on the string thickness. It varies but for bang for buck, it's tough to argue. Touch is a bit better in feel, as is Luxilon, but the Lux plays more consistently throughout its life and lasts longer.
3. 15/15L for durability: Tonic+ Longevity/Klip Armour/Legend. Tonic and Armour are about the same in durability, but the inconsistency of Tonic puts it at the bottom (It's still the cheapest brand name gut I can find so I use it a lot). The Legend is a bit better and also available in 15g, which is best for durability, though the difference between 15 and 15L is a matter of 2-3hrs for me.

For serious game days(may 2-3 times a year for me), I go for the Legend 18g, which is coated but feels great with excellent playability. 5.0-5.5 former D1 all court player.

For those who care about weight, I've found the VS Touch Black 16g to come around 2g heavier than the Tonic+ Ball Feel, which means Ball Feel is thinner. The Tonic+ 15L Longevity have come 2g heavier than the Touch 16g.

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

I cant find any info on how many fibres klip uses. Does it mention on their packets?

Click to expand...

stephenclown said:

Now that Wilson has 8 strands and luxilon 9, the latter of which is hideously expensive what is the best gut available for price?

Haven't been able to find what people definitively like after all the changes in the last few years. Have done a lot of reading on here. Which plays most similar to old Wilson/Bab Pre BT7?

Options that are available in each price bracket from what I can see

Upper:

Luxilon
Pacific Gut
Klip Armor

Medium:

Klip Legend Tour (black)
Bab BT7
New Wilson
Signum Pro Premium Gut (who makes this)

Lower:

Klip Guru (uncoated)
Tonic
Klip Legend

Click to expand...

Nostradamus said:

Klip Armor is Upper level ?? I was told in this forum that it was total garbage.

Click to expand...

filipegrg said:

hello to all natural gut enthusiasts, please what do you think is the most low powered control oriented nat gut with the most spin potential? (In a full string job)

Click to expand...