I Love Poly/Poly Hybrids. Best Affordable Ones You've Tried?

HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
I happened to have a reel of Solinco Tour Bite and an old reel of 18 gauge Pro's Pro Black Force laying around. I thought using BF in the crosses would be a good way to make the tour bite last longer and save some money. To my surprise, it had the perfect feel. The thin BF added just a touch of feel and pop to the stiffer TB. The result was a stringbed that felt like it had a ton of easy power but so much spin that everything curved in.

Now, I'm about out of both TB and BF. Just wondering if anyone else has found great poly/poly hybrids that are affordable. I'm not going to buy two types of lux and hybrid. One needs to be affordable.
 
1HBHfanatic

1HBHfanatic

Legend
ive been liking a few shaped poly mains/round poly crosses
several from the pros.pro strings
pp.hexaspin.out/pp.black.force (black/black)
pp.hexaspin.twist/pp.intense.heat (blue/blue)
but I also like fb.poly beds with hybrid tension combos like 49/46 etc...
I like that with mostly rounder polys, like YPTP or topspin.cyberflash
 
dr. godmode

dr. godmode

Hall of Fame
What are the goals of your set up?

I think TB is an excellent main. My preferred pairing so far is Polytour Fire, but its not exactly cheap. For crosses I look for something thin (1.20mm or less), and slippery with good tension maintenance. I also really like YPTP for this.

I recommend looking into GrappleSnake as they has strings designed explicitly to be crosses in poly/poly hybrids. I currently use their Neon Dust hybrid and it is excellent.
 
M

Moppet52

Rookie
I have recently gone back to an old favorite of mine.

Solinco Tourbite 16L in the mains

Topspin Cyberflash 17L in the crosses

I love this combo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
B

blai212

Hall of Fame
tourna big hitter silver 7 tour in mains
signum pro poly plasma 17 in crosses
SPPP is an absolutely fantastic string at an amazing price...value that cant be beat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jangotango

jangotango

Semi-Pro
L-TEC 5S and 0S. There's a place where you can get this string for $3ish a set...

Solstice Power and Flash is real good too.
 
Muppet

Muppet

Legend
A good one that's cheap was Tourna BHS 17/Tourna Black Zone 17, in my Dunlop Aerogel 200 @52/52. That racquet filters out a lot of the feel from the strings, so you can expect it to feel a little dead.
 
DonPepe

DonPepe

Rookie
1HBHfanatic said:
ive been liking a few shaped poly mains/round poly crosses
several from the pros.pro strings
pp.hexaspin.out/pp.black.force (black/black)
pp.hexaspin.twist/pp.intense.heat (blue/blue)
but I also like fb.poly beds with hybrid tension combos like 49/46 etc...
I like that with mostly rounder polys, like YPTP or topspin.cyberflash
Click to expand...
dont the shaped polys eat into the smooth polys? I used volkyl cyclone and wilson control, cyclone tore it up!
 
F

Fitpro58

New User
Cyclone main x co-focus cross.

—in my leaded up i.radicals, firm but smooth heavy-ballin’ line painters.

Gonna try revolution next in the same setup.


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Holdfast44ID

Holdfast44ID

Semi-Pro
blai212 said:
tourna big hitter silver 7 tour in mains
signum pro poly plasma 17 in crosses
SPPP is an absolutely fantastic string at an amazing price...value that cant be beat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I like TBHS7. I have a lot of Signum Pro X-Perience and that might be a good cross (worked well with ALU Power Rough as a main).

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
 
C

chic

Hall of Fame
1HBHfanatic said:
ive been liking a few shaped poly mains/round poly crosses
several from the pros.pro strings
pp.hexaspin.out/pp.black.force (black/black)
pp.hexaspin.twist/pp.intense.heat (blue/blue)
but I also like fb.poly beds with hybrid tension combos like 49/46 etc...
I like that with mostly rounder polys, like YPTP or topspin.cyberflash
Click to expand...
I'll second this theme. Been a big fan of:
pp.Hexaspin.twist/pp.Intense.heat (blue/black both 1.25) although after trying a range of tensions I like 44/42 in the heat and 40/38 in the cold.

Although it usually only lasts me a week (15-25 hours) of mainly doubles. Too much play time and it starts to strain my arm, so only a good option if you're ready to string often or don't play everyday.

But for cost reference both reels combined cost me ~$85. This equates to about $2.50 per string job, so even restringing every week or two it doesn't cost that much.
 
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C

chic

Hall of Fame
DonPepe said:
dont the shaped polys eat into the smooth polys? I used volkyl cyclone and wilson control, cyclone tore it up!
Click to expand...

It really depends. I've definitely had strings that eat through (snapped one cheap setup in 3 days).

Intense heat is super smooth and despite its "softer" feel is quite a durable string in this sense. I rarely see notching before tension maintenance makes me cut out the string. The gauge probably contributes to this as well 1.25 (16L) is a pretty hefty size.
 
beepee1972

beepee1972

Semi-Pro
Kirschbaum Black Shark mains and Kirschbaum Pro Line II crosses. Been using this combi for years for most of my poly customers.....
 
Muppet

Muppet

Legend
How many people think a poly's slipperiness far outweighs its other characteristics for comfort and spin? Even elasticity is pretty similar comparing poly to poly. I'm thinking that it may be hard to go wrong if you just choose 2 slippery polys, taking into account price, shape, and longevity.
 
C

chic

Hall of Fame
Muppet said:
How many people think a poly's slipperiness far outweighs its other characteristics for comfort and spin? Even elasticity is pretty similar comparing poly to poly.
Click to expand...
Elasticity of the mains is important since snapback is what allows for good spin, it's relatively low for all poly's but still important. (Also it's a lot harsher on ones arm when it stops snapping back as well).

Smoothness for the crosses is important so that it's not interfering with the mains snapping back.
 
Muppet

Muppet

Legend
chic said:
Elasticity of the mains is important since snapback is what allows for good spin, it's relatively low for all poly's but still important. (Also it's a lot harsher on ones arm when it stops snapping back as well).

Smoothness for the crosses is important so that it's not interfering with the mains snapping back.
Click to expand...
I'd have to say that the great majority of polys snap back by design. If the cross string isn't slippery enough to allow snap back, then there is a problem. I think you're right about the danger of poly wearing out. But then we just need to spend more money (restring frequently) or do further research.
 
P

Pneumated1

Hall of Fame
chic said:
Elasticity of the mains is important since snapback is what allows for good spin, it's relatively low for all poly's but still important. (Also it's a lot harsher on ones arm when it stops snapping back as well).

Smoothness for the crosses is important so that it's not interfering with the mains snapping back.
Click to expand...

When I read 'elasticity of the mains is important,' I think of strings like V-Star, Ghost Wire, and Polyfibre Hightec. Any shaped polys that are known for this type of elasticity?
 
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1HBHfanatic

1HBHfanatic

Legend
Muppet said:
How many people think a poly's slipperiness far outweighs its other characteristics for comfort and spin? ...……..
Click to expand...

your question indirectly "hit the nail in the head", for what I like on a round/slick cross poly
-poly cross is more for snapback of the mains, I lower the tension so its not "too", ubconfortable
-poly cross is not a big factor for spin for me

so i really try to enhance the mains characteristics with the aid of a round, crisp poly; i do lower the tension a bit more on the cross to make it feel good to me!!
i have tried shaped thin polys on the cross string, but it somehow did not feel as good to me; so far i havent figured out why i dont like it as much; same shaped string on the mains and a round thin poly cross worked,,??!!??!!
 
1HBHfanatic

1HBHfanatic

Legend
Muppet said:
I'd have to say that the great majority of polys snap back by design. If the cross string isn't slippery enough to allow snap back, then there is a problem. I think you're right about the danger of poly wearing out. But then we just need to spend more money (restring frequently) or do further research.
Click to expand...

just strung 2rakets yesterday for some shop client who requested it,
both with FB, babolat.pro.hurricane,, that string started to "squeak", when I was fanning the crosses,, the whole time im thinking, "this is some sh*t cross string, too much friction",,,
but they must enjoy the feel, because they asked for fb poly @58lbs
 
C

chic

Hall of Fame
1HBHfanatic said:
just strung 2rakets yesterday for some shop client who requested it,
both with FB, babolat.pro.hurricane,, that string started to "squeak", when I was fanning the crosses,, the whole time im thinking, "this is some sh*t cross string, too much friction",,,
but they must enjoy the feel, because they asked for fb poly @58lbs
Click to expand...

I mean if they're stringing poly @58 and it wasn't an oversize racquet, they probably just don't know any better. Hook them up next time and offer to cross one racquet with a cheap smooth poly and the whole thing at like 52# then tie off the crosses to themselves so you can cut out and replace just the crosses if they don't like it
 
C

chic

Hall of Fame
Muppet said:
I'd have to say that the great majority of polys snap back by design. If the cross string isn't slippery enough to allow snap back, then there is a problem. I think you're right about the danger of poly wearing out. But then we just need to spend more money (restring frequently) or do further research.
Click to expand...

They do snap back by design, as that's what tennis strings are for. But they have very low elasticity compared to gut, synthetic gut, Kevlar, etc. Poly as a material stretches out rather than snapping back into place, resulting in tension loss. This material fatigue is an innate characteristic unfortunately so barring some totally new material science us poly players should be restringing frequently.
 
Muppet

Muppet

Legend
chic said:
They do snap back by design, as that's what tennis strings are for. But they have very low elasticity compared to gut, synthetic gut, Kevlar, etc. Poly as a material stretches out rather than snapping back into place, resulting in tension loss. This material fatigue is an innate characteristic unfortunately so barring some totally new material science us poly players should be restringing frequently.
Click to expand...
For the short time that they last polys snap back faster and bite the ball harder. More elasticity wouldn't help with this. High elasticity means more travel of the ball along the strings before the ball leaves the string bed. Polys catch the ball short on this travel due to low elasticity and bites well due to their stiffness. The poly strings don't last as long as other strings. Using them is an investment in frequent re-stringing. If you don't have the budget for that, settle for a more comfortable string that won't have the short term durability but will have better tension stability.
 
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P

Pneumated1

Hall of Fame
1HBHfanatic said:
just strung 2rakets yesterday for some shop client who requested it,
both with FB, babolat.pro.hurricane,, that string started to "squeak", when I was fanning the crosses,, the whole time im thinking, "this is some sh*t cross string, too much friction",,,
but they must enjoy the feel, because they asked for fb poly @58lbs
Click to expand...

Lol, I string for an older guy who loves pro hurricane in his hyper hammer 5.3 stretch 110. I finally talked him down from 56 lbs to 50 lbs full bed (1 piece ATW). And you're right, this stuff squeaks like crazy, especially pulling tension on crosses. But he loves it. I almost feel obligated to talk him out of this cheap string, but I've learned not to fight it.
 
1HBHfanatic

1HBHfanatic

Legend
@Pneumated1
ive come to realize, people like what they like!!
all one can do is advise of the issues and offer new available options, and then let the client decide from there..
 
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Pneumated1

Hall of Fame
1HBHfanatic said:
@Pneumated1
ive come to realize, people like what they like!!
all one can do is advise of the issues and offer new available options, and then let the client decide from there..
Click to expand...

I agree. He's used this racquet and string combo for years, and he has no elbow (2hbh) or wrist issues. He's actually a solid player still, so strictly from a performance standpoint, not to mention comfort/arm health, I can think of 10 strings off the top of my head that would suit him better. I can't remember how much advising I've done, but maybe I should do some more.
 
B

blai212

Hall of Fame
can anybody shed some light on the differences between using 16L, 17, 17L as the gauge for poly cross in a poly/poly hybrid or gut/poly hybrid? I know that the thinner gauge cross cuts into the mains faster than thicker gauge but is the playability of thinner gauge cross that much better than a thicker cross?


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