Out with Quadro Twist, in with V-Torque

I hit again today with the Quadro Twist. I think I have a total of seven or eight hours with the string and it just did not work for me. Low launch angle which seemed to result from a feeling of not being able to bite the ball. Less spin capability than the round Dunlop Explosive Red that I am now testing. Just overall an average or below average string in all aspects except for power, where it is medium to medium-high for a poly, and comfort where it feels soft when mis-hitting. I couldn't wait to cut it out, so I did, and replaced it with V-Torque 17 gauge/1.23 mm.



Strung it up at my usual tensions of 49 in the center mains and 46 in the center crosses. Wow, does this string stretch a lot when pulling tension! It lengthens as much as a multifilament, and I had an extra foot of string on both mains and crosses when I was done. I guess that compensated for the string looking to be a bit thicker than the 1.23 mm specified on the package - after thinning out, it does now look about right. It was two grams lighter than the Quadro Twist, so I added the weight back around the balance point as this racquet was two grams lighter but had the same balance point as my other racquet.

The TW reviews said this was a very low powered string, and that would be surprising considering how elastic it seems. Will be hitting with it tomorrow, and will also be buying some V-Square to try as well as the V-Torque Tour.

Wow, the V-Torque is a really spin capable string, in my estimation the most spin capable string I've used. When hitting extreme spin shots, there's a "tch" sound and an almost coarse feel that seems to come from the string biting into the ball. I was able to get the worn ball machine balls to consistently bounce up head high on the back wall 21 feet behind the baseline, and I could clearly see heavy underspin shots check up on the second bounce, so they left the court after the first bounce with still some underspin.

Power levels are medium, more than I would have thought given the TW review score of 38 in that category. Launch angle is medium high, and incoming ball spin sensitivity is nowhere near as great as Grapplesnake Cube, which is now the second most spin capable string I've used.

My only concern is that the strings are moving around a bit and don't return to their centered position, and this was after just one 75 minute ball machine session.

I'm playing a match later today so will see how it goes.

Did 90 minutes of all-out drilling with a former college player who is now in their later 30's. The V-Torque is a pretty firm string so mis-hits are probably on the harsh side of average. The string movement has increased - they are displaced after every rally though it hasn't made any perceivable difference in control or impact feel. There is notching about 25% of the way through. I had hoped that with the grooved shaped, rather than the gear shape of Cyclone, that the sharp edge would remain for longer but the string is worn almost smooth, in the same way and timeframe that Cyclone does. I think this does affect spin generation a bit on the most extreme swings, but overall it still remains at or very near the top of strings I've tried so far. Tension maintenance is average, but balls aren't flying on me (yet).

Who else has tried this string? What were your impressions? I'm thinking this is going to be one of the two or three contenders for my go-to string, as long as I can get another several hours of decent play out of it.

I like v-torque but it’s one of the only polys I break. I doubt you will get the hours you want out of it but I will stay tuned! The tour version is also good. Maybe even better.

Injured Again said:

Did 90 minutes of all-out drilling with a former college player who is now in their later 30's. The V-Torque is a pretty firm string so mis-hits are probably on the harsh side of average. The string movement has increased - they are displaced after every rally though it hasn't made any perceivable difference in control or impact feel. There is notching about 25% of the way through. I had hoped that with the grooved shaped, rather than the gear shape of Cyclone, that the sharp edge would remain for longer but the string is worn almost smooth, in the same way and timeframe that Cyclone does. I think this does affect spin generation a bit on the most extreme swings, but overall it still remains at or very near the top of strings I've tried so far. Tension maintenance is average, but balls aren't flying on me (yet).

Who else has tried this string? What were your impressions? I'm thinking this is going to be one of the two or three contenders for my go-to string, as long as I can get another several hours of decent play out of it.

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I played it a lot when it first came out. If it's 25% notched be ready for it to break. It likely won't be an even cut looking break like most poly V-Torque almost tends to shear off. If I played anything other than Solinco full time it would be V-torque.

Injured Again said:

Did 90 minutes of all-out drilling with a former college player who is now in their later 30's. The V-Torque is a pretty firm string so mis-hits are probably on the harsh side of average. The string movement has increased - they are displaced after every rally though it hasn't made any perceivable difference in control or impact feel. There is notching about 25% of the way through. I had hoped that with the grooved shaped, rather than the gear shape of Cyclone, that the sharp edge would remain for longer but the string is worn almost smooth, in the same way and timeframe that Cyclone does. I think this does affect spin generation a bit on the most extreme swings, but overall it still remains at or very near the top of strings I've tried so far. Tension maintenance is average, but balls aren't flying on me (yet).

Who else has tried this string? What were your impressions? I'm thinking this is going to be one of the two or three contenders for my go-to string, as long as I can get another several hours of decent play out of it.

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Good string. Really terrible durability for a poly.

have u tried round smooth soft muted copoly in cross like signum pro poly plasma or yonex poly tour pro. For me, SPPP 18g is the best cross...it allows for minimal string on string friction for better snapback and durability imo


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JOSHL said:

I like v-torque but it’s one of the only polys I break. I doubt you will get the hours you want out of it but I will stay tuned! The tour version is also good. Maybe even better.

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I kind of like the power level the regular V-Torque provides. The TW test only gave it a 38 for power but I find it to be just about right - pretty close to Solinco Revolution and Hyper-G, maybe a hair less than Tour Bite. But it has better grip on the ball than any of those, at least while the string is new. I'll have to try the Tour version, as well as the V-Square.

SavvyStringer said:

I played it a lot when it first came out. If it's 25% notched be ready for it to break. It likely won't be an even cut looking break like most poly V-Torque almost tends to shear off. If I played anything other than Solinco full time it would be V-torque.

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So your experience was that it seemed to split along the length of the string where the groove was cut into it? And what type of Solinco string is your favorite?

mad dog1 said:

Good string. Really terrible durability for a poly.

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mad dog, terrible durability from fast wear, or from breakage?

Injured Again said:

mad dog, terrible durability from fast wear, or from breakage?

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Snappage. 17g snaps in less than 5 hours in a prestige mp 18/20.

blai212 said:

have u tried round smooth soft muted copoly in cross like signum pro poly plasma or yonex poly tour pro. For me, SPPP 18g is the best cross...it allows for minimal string on string friction for better snapback and durability imo
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I have to admit that I'm pretty lazy and would rather string one piece than two, which is why I really prefer to use full beds of the same string. I still do have about a third of a reel of SPPPP 1.23 from when that was my go-to string and that I wouldn't otherwise use any more, and maybe I'll give that a shot. Do you have a tension recommendation for SPPPP? I'm currently using 46 in the center crosses and would think I'd want to go a couple of pounds less with SPPPP due to the better tension maintenance. No?

mad dog1 said:

Snappage. 17g snaps in less than 5 hours in a prestige mp 18/20.

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Not good! I'll be on hour 3 through 6 tomorrow!

what about V square ? it's volkl's best string they ever made, they said

Nostradamus said:

what about V square ? it's volkl's best string they ever made, they said

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Ordered, but not here yet. . .

Injured Again said:

I have to admit that I'm pretty lazy and would rather string one piece than two, which is why I really prefer to use full beds of the same string. I still do have about a third of a reel of SPPPP 1.23 from when that was my go-to string and that I wouldn't otherwise use any more, and maybe I'll give that a shot. Do you have a tension recommendation for SPPPP? I'm currently using 46 in the center crosses and would think I'd want to go a couple of pounds less with SPPPP due to the better tension maintenance. No?

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It really depends on the conditions that you play in. The hotter the weather, the higher u should go in tension; colder weather -> lower the tension. In hotter weather, the ball will be flying off the stringbed so you need tighter strings for control...in colder weather, the racquet/strings stiffen up so you need to lower the tension or else it will feel boardy. For reference, I string up my vcore98/ezone98 with signum pro xperience 17L mains and SPPP crosses at around 52/50 or 51/48. Highly recommend stringing crosses looser than mains to promote snapback action in mains. I am located in northern new jersey with temperatures around 65-70 degrees when it’s nice but when the temperature drops to 60 or so, I can definitely feel the stiffness in my stringbed that’s strung at about 52/50. SPPP has good tension maintenance but it is also a soft copoly so i dont think it is necessary to string it lower...I would string it as tight as you can without it feeling too stiff, worst case scenario, if it’s too tight, jus let it loosen up over time and eventually it will soften up and feel nice...if you string too loose, there’s no way of tightening the stringbed. Hope this helps, best of luck!
B


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Injured Again said:

So your experience was that it seemed to split along the length of the string where the groove was cut into it? And what type of Solinco string is your favorite?

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Tourbite for sure. Regular and diamond rough. I don’t like the feel of the soft.

Hit with the V-Torque about 30 minutes last night. Balls were flying everywhere, and the strings were all over the place. I checked by pinging the stringbed and the tension loss was huge. The ping frequency, which was higher than my other racquet, was now way lower. I put the racquet away and in total, the stringbed has maybe three hours of hitting. I pulled it out just now, and this is how the strings look:



Look at the wear on the stringbed:



They crosses are worn totally smooth and the mains have just a tiny bit of shape left. The tension loss is so great that I don't think I could have used enough initial tension to compensate without it feeling way too boardy at first. Also, the string stretched so much when pulling tension that I would have been uncomfortable using much more, and I only used 49 pounds in the mains. Magical first hour, then totally not usable at three hours.

Scratch this string off my go-to list. . .

The highest I ever remember stringing it was 52lbs with the 18g. It lasted like 3 hours before it popped.

Yep sounds about right. It’s magical for a little bit but then not so much.

Cut out the V-Torque and strung it up with Kirschbaum Proline Evolution 1.25 at 50 in the center mains and 46 in the center crosses. It felt a bit more elastic than average when pulling tension, so I decided to go up a pound in the mains. Very slick and smooth string. Will hit with it tomorrow evening.

Injured Again said:

Cut out the V-Torque and strung it up with Kirschbaum Proline Evolution 1.25 at 50 in the center mains and 46 in the center crosses. It felt a bit more elastic than average when pulling tension, so I decided to go up a pound in the mains. Very slick and smooth string. Will hit with it tomorrow evening.

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What is your impression of this string since you used it?

mctennis said:

What is your impression of this string since you used it?

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Proline Evolution is a pretty decent round string. It's got excellent tension maintenance and feels crisp. There's decent bite on the ball but not nearly as much as the shaped poly strings. Medium to medium-low power levels, very similar to Diadem Flash or SPPP Pure. Maybe a bit harsher than both of those strings when mis-hitting. Very good directional and length control.

I ended up cutting it out. In the 18X19 pattern and with the 1.25 gauge, it just didn't provide enough grip on the ball for me. I couldn't effectively hit loopy shots, and my backhand slices were floaty and didn't really penetrate the court. I had a lot of problems hitting a slice serve out wide. I just couldn't get the strings to grab the ball and it felt like the ball would just slide off and go well wide. The sensation of lack of grab was probably also due to the low launch angle as well.

It's a good string overall but just doesn't suit my style when playing singles. When the doubles league rolls around this fall, I may switch to it as having a round, highly control oriented string keeps me from trying to hit shots that are effective in singles but not so much in doubles. I end up playing a more straightforward doubles game and that helps lower my error count and makes me a better partner since I'm always the weaker player on my team.