YTex Quadro Twist

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
I've been searching for my go-to string as part of a racquet switch I made this past January, and today was my first try with Quadro Twist. This string received very high scores for spin capability during the TW tests, and so I bought a pack to try.

Stringing was about average for a poly. There was moderate coil memory. The feel of the string is very plasticky and slick. It almost has a brittle feel. The square shape is not that noticeable, and the twist kind of looks like the duraflex on the PSGD. The string is very elastic, and double-pulling on my lockout stringer stretches the string a noticeable amount - nearly one-quarter inch on the center mains. After stringing as a full bed and letting it sit overnight, there seemed to be minimal tension loss. I used 50 pounds in the center mains and 48 pounds in the center crosses on an SW104.

I read reviews here and some people found the spin capability to not be as great as indicated in the TW tests. Unfortunately, I'm also one of those. The string really doesn't seem to bite the ball, and the launch angle is noticeably lower than with my current favorite, Solinco Revolution. Picking up a short, low ball and trying to skim it to generate a lot of topspin and to pick it up to get it over the net is very difficult - without hitting through the ball enough to compress it against the strings, the ball just seems to slide off the strings like it's a slick, round poly. It was particularly hard to come over a low, skidding slice and get the ball high enough to clear the net. When I did hit through the ball enough, it does grab the ball and put pretty good spin on it, but noticeably less than Revolution and with a lower launch angle. On the positive side, it's a very powerful string for a poly (probably a bit too powerful for me), and comfortable on mis-hits. The string tension felt right - I wouldn't have wanted it any tighter or looser, and the pocketing feel was very good on flat shots, where it had really good pop on hard swings. However, any significantly spinny swingpath, topspin or underspin, and the drop in ball speed seemed more than it should be. I also couldn't get a lot of hop on my serves, though flat bombs had a lot of ballspeed.

Some users have said the string seems to get better after a couple of hours of hitting. I'm frankly not willing to hit with a racquet for a couple of hours to get the strings to perform well when I get great performance right off the bat with other strings. Just wanted to pass along my impressions in case people were interested in testing this string.
 

tlm

G.O.A.T.
I've been searching for my go-to string as part of a racquet switch I made this past January, and today was my first try with Quadro Twist. This string received very high scores for spin capability during the TW tests, and so I bought a pack to try.

Stringing was about average for a poly. There was moderate coil memory. The feel of the string is very plasticky and slick. It almost has a brittle feel. The square shape is not that noticeable, and the twist kind of looks like the duraflex on the PSGD. The string is very elastic, and double-pulling on my lockout stringer stretches the string a noticeable amount - nearly one-quarter inch on the center mains. After stringing as a full bed and letting it sit overnight, there seemed to be minimal tension loss. I used 50 pounds in the center mains and 48 pounds in the center crosses on an SW104.

I read reviews here and some people found the spin capability to not be as great as indicated in the TW tests. Unfortunately, I'm also one of those. The string really doesn't seem to bite the ball, and the launch angle is noticeably lower than with my current favorite, Solinco Revolution. Picking up a short, low ball and trying to skim it to generate a lot of topspin and to pick it up to get it over the net is very difficult - without hitting through the ball enough to compress it against the strings, the ball just seems to slide off the strings like it's a slick, round poly. It was particularly hard to come over a low, skidding slice and get the ball high enough to clear the net. When I did hit through the ball enough, it does grab the ball and put pretty good spin on it, but noticeably less than Revolution and with a lower launch angle. On the positive side, it's a very powerful string for a poly (probably a bit too powerful for me), and comfortable on mis-hits. The string tension felt right - I wouldn't have wanted it any tighter or looser, and the pocketing feel was very good on flat shots, where it had really good pop on hard swings. However, any significantly spinny swingpath, topspin or underspin, and the drop in ball speed seemed more than it should be. I also couldn't get a lot of hop on my serves, though flat bombs had a lot of ballspeed.

Some users have said the string seems to get better after a couple of hours of hitting. I'm frankly not willing to hit with a racquet for a couple of hours to get the strings to perform well when I get great performance right off the bat with other strings. Just wanted to pass along my impressions in case people were interested in testing this string.

I liked the square X better than the Quadro twist, the square X had better control.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
I liked the square X better than the Quadro twist, the square X had better control.

I played about another 30 minutes with the string, and really nothing has changed. It just doesn't have bite on the ball and the launch angle is lower by a good amount than the Revolution that I have in my other racquet. I guess "control" is pretty okay with this string because I'm tending to swing pretty flat and through the ball, and then it has good directional accuracy and I can hit the ball at the speed I want to. It's not sensitive to incoming spin so volleys (I tend to volley pretty flat) are easy. Second serves are difficult to place. My slice serves in the deuce court go pretty wide, and my kick serves in the ad court end up in the middle of the box. There's just no grab as the racquet sweeps across the ball. It really just plays like a comfortable, muted round poly. I'm ready to cut it out after less than 90 minutes.

Is the Square X any different?
 

DrumWizOHBD

Semi-Pro
Is the Square X any different?

Yes, the Square X Plays firmer, but still fairly comfy....with less power, less pocketing, more spin, and more control. Honestly both strings play and feel quite different. Quadro Twist breaks faster, but I have found it's playability to remain better, whereas the Square-X kind of goes dead around 4-5 hours for me. Quadro Twist keeps it playability for 6-7 hours when it breaks for me. I always wanted to cut out SquareX after 2 matches, due to less comfort/pocketing, less spin, and less control, less power. At the very end of Quadro Twists life, it does start to lose a bit of control and spin and perhaps gets a little of that trampoline effect. Square X is a great comfort poly IMO. Square X is a Very good control oriented poly under $10, however similar to other strings in the $8 price point. Compared to like Volkl Cyclone, Square X has more control and more comfort, more muted feel and a little less spin and power. For reference, I prefer Square X strung in the mid to high 40's, and Quadro Twist in the mid 50's on the same racquet.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
DrumWiz, thanks for that feedback - it's very appreciated. I've continued to play with the Quadro Twist because I just want to get enough hours into it to see if it changes characteristics with time. I have maybe five hours and played with it for 90 minutes this morning. It's fine as long as I hit through the ball, but three times today it caught me out, all in the exact same situation. I was at the baseline and got a sitter close to the net. I ran up and all I needed to do was to watch my opponent out of the corner of my eye and hit it away from them with a half topspin swing. Each time, the strings just didn't grab the ball, the ball felt like it slid off the strings and it hit the tape. I supposed this could easily be corrected by hitting it flatter, but I've just always hit it this way with shaped strings and those grab the ball with a higher launch angle.

The Square X sounds interesting but I feel that if I'm going with a low powered string, I want as much bite on the ball as I can get. I do feel the Quadro Twist is a bit more powerful than I'm wanting, but I only strung it up two pounds tighter than my normal tension. Maybe I should have gone a bit higher, but then I wonder if I'd have even more problem with the ball bite on those half swings.

Thanks again.
 

DrumWizOHBD

Semi-Pro
I have tried quite a few other shaped poly strings that are marketed as softer. Some of my faves are Gamma Moto Soft, Tour Bite Soft, Volkl Psycho Hybrid (like better than Cyclone Tour personally, as I get a more consistent response), Pro Supex Black Fusion, Tier One Strike Force Rip at low tension (playability duration not excellent-but I really like it for 4-5 hours), MSV Focus Hex, Head Rip Control 17 is a Multi that really grabs the ball. I should also mention that while I thought Square X was a good string, I didn't like it on flat shots, similar to why I don't like RPM Blast; where, it feels fairly soft with good pocketing sensation on spinny strokes, but feels boardy on flat or blocked shots.
I also find a higher launch angle when using a Shaped Co-Poly in the mains with a slick round poly in the cross strung a few lbs looser than the mains.
 
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