Doubles
Legend
I will actually be doing that, but likely not for another month or so.
Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour
- Thread starter 1990's Graphite
- Start date
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I haven't recently used Proline X but did use Evolution, and thought that string was a crisp, solid string that was pretty similar to Tour Bite in a thinner gauge than Evolution. So if Proline X is similar to Evolution, I'd expect you to find S7T to a bit less crisp, but more powerful and arm friendly, with more spin capability.
That being said, I've only used the 17 gauge S7T so the 16 gauge may be unusually thick and therefore stiff, or some other reason for the high test value.
Compared to Cyclone (my son currently uses 1.25 black Cyclone as his go-to string), S7T is about equally powerful but feels less springy and more crisp. Comfort would be roughly equal between the two, and I feel like S7T may have just a little bit more bite on the ball though that may just be because of the impact feel and not a real actual thing since I can generate really good spin with Cyclone (at least initially before it wears).
Agree with @USPTARF97 - S7T is pretty resistant to notching, though it will eventually notch and break. It also has a long period of very consistent playability.
Totally agree with comments by @FIRETennis and I have no personal experience with Tour Bite soft. I was going to try it but after finding S7T, I don't feel the need.
BBender716
Semi-Pro
Fwiw there's BOGO on BHST7 at another popular tennis online store...
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TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Wait a minute.... Cyclone is one of the lowest powered strings I have ever used. And I've played somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 different poly's in the last 6 years. I consider Cyclone a very low powered string. So that doesn't say much for BHS7T.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
17 gauge black Cyclone has been, for me and my son, on the more powerful side of average. I've tested about 20 different poly strings this year and my son has probably hit with about half of those in my racquet. We both feel like there's a tight cluster of strings right in the middle of the power spectrum, like Tour Bite, Hyper-G, and Solstice Power among many others. We've found that on the more powerful side are the various Volkl strings like Cyclone, Cyclone Tour, V-Square, V-Torque Tour, but these all have a springiness to them that I don't prefer. To me, S7T has similar power levels but has crispness in place of the springiness. But it is clearly higher powered than average.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Just took a look at the TW reviews for some of the strings I mentioned above, just to make sure I wasn't totally off base. Here are the power level numbers:
Cyclone: 67
V-Square: 59
V-Torque Tour: 70
Hyper-G: 51
Tour Bite: 54
Solstice Power: 67
S7T: 45
Well, I can't explain the 45 other than that my only experience is with the 17 gauge and they tested the 16 gauge, but give it a try and let us know what you think.
Cyclone: 67
V-Square: 59
V-Torque Tour: 70
Hyper-G: 51
Tour Bite: 54
Solstice Power: 67
S7T: 45
Well, I can't explain the 45 other than that my only experience is with the 17 gauge and they tested the 16 gauge, but give it a try and let us know what you think.
tpro2000
Rookie
Hey Guys -
Overall, what's the overall thought with comparison to BHB7, or even like Tier-One Firewire or Tour Status? Softer? More power (if I red all this correctly). I'm definitely interested in trying some. Have always been a fan of sided polys, low tension, and Tourna. Thanks!
Overall, what's the overall thought with comparison to BHB7, or even like Tier-One Firewire or Tour Status? Softer? More power (if I red all this correctly). I'm definitely interested in trying some. Have always been a fan of sided polys, low tension, and Tourna. Thanks!
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I signed up for the Tier One test and they sent me a set of Firewire Boost, which IMO plays and feels pretty similarly to Hyper-G. It's still in my racquet now, and so I have back to back comparison with S7T.
The S7T is more powerful, has a higher launch angle, and is crisper. The Firewire Boost has a slightly lower launch angle, has a bit more spin capability, softer impact feel, and is more muted and less jarring on mis-hits.
FIRETennis
Professional
My local dealer is pushing Diadem Solstice Power as “same or better” than BH7ST. For some reason in my part of the world Diadem, (Made in Taiwan?), costs as much as ALU although I have found some pricing similar to the Solinco’s. Anyone hit with Diadem Solstice Power and BH7ST side by side?
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Solstice Power was my go-to string for a few years with my previous racquet. I find it and S7T to be more different than alike. Solstice Power is significantly more highly shaped so when new it has much more bite on the ball. Spin capability is up there with the best shaped polys. However, it's a more muted contact feel where S7T has some crispness, and Solstice Power has much poorer tension maintenance and notches through itself faster than S7T does.
Solstice Power doesn't seem as sensitive to tension loss as many poly strings. The launch angle doesn't change a whole lot as the string ages but the impact feel does get softer and the power level decreases. The gear shape wears flat in a couple of hours, but like Luxilon those first couple of hours are pretty special.
I ended up going away from Solstice Power because it felt different in a thinner gauge, needing more initial tension to overcome tension loss, at which point it started feeling harsh and unforgiving on mis-hits. Unless you need that extreme spin capability, S7T will last longer, be crisper and more powerful, and play more similarly over its lifespan than Solstice Power.
tpro2000
Rookie
Thanks. I used to us BHB7 for a long time, then switched to Tier-One Tour Status 17g for the last 4yrs or so. With my new Angell's, it doesn't feel as good compared to the 18g Lynx and Ice Code I have in it right now. Maybe I'll have to try some thinner options for Tier-One....love the price!
jangotango
Semi-Pro
Anybody tried BHS7T with gut yet?
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
i am actually trying out diadem solstice power mains and s7T in the crosses, strung at 50x48.
I did this because with solstice in a full bed, after 10 hours the stringbed gets more powerful so i am trying to tame it with the more resilient,crispy,better tension maintenanced ST7. Im in my 12th hour of hitting with this hybrid and its doing what i expected it to which is retaining its freshness. using diadem solstice power 16L and S7T in 17
FIRETennis
Professional
Thank you for that. It's exactly the info I was looking for. I have a couple racquets with ALU Spin & ALU Soft and to be honest I'm more excited to hit with the S7T than with the Luxilon. Maybe it's a placebo due to the price/value but my partner and I both felt like the spin was much greater and the balls were heavier with the S7T.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
That's an interesting combo - I might have to give that a try since I have both strings. I did early on try Solstice Power mains with SPPP crosses but I didn't get the tension right but could see the promise of a slick, hard cross with Solstice Power. I did try a thinner gauge of Solstice Power but had to string it tighter because of its eventual tension loss and that higher tension made it feel harsh. Relying on the S7T to retain tension and maintain stringbed stiffness may be the trick!
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Luxilon strings are pretty magical the first couple of hours but the S7T averaged over the first five or six hours is better than any Luxilon string that I've tested. It also seems to be able to reverse incoming spin with a very flat swing path, like when having to short hop a deep groundstroke coming at me. Other strings do this too, but those seem to have more sensitivity to incoming spin than S7T. Some round polys in this same situation will sometimes send the ball back with some backspin but I can see a few revolutions of topspin with the S7T. Those few turns are sometimes enough to help the drop in the court versus floating long.
BBender716
Semi-Pro
I'm on my way to the stringers. Can't decide between Hyper G or BHS7T. I assume BH silver tour is a bit more powerful but less dead and spinny than Hyper G?
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Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Saw in your other post that you went with S7T at 48X46 in your v7 Blade 18X20. I did 46 pounds all around and might go a bit lower next time, but 46 on my machine probably doesn't correspond with 46 on your stringer's machine.
I did find S7T to be more powerful, crisp, and lively than Hyper-G but feel that spin capability between the two are pretty close.
FIRETennis
Professional
I played with Hyper-G for over a year. Great string which has served me well but once I discovered BHS7T and convinced by the guys & gals on the forum to try, I have to say I would take BHS7T any day over Hyper-G.
BHS7T is more lively and has way more spin. Some balls just vertically drop inside the court like the 'Luxilon dip'.
It feels more crisp on impact but at the same time soft on the arm, hard to explain...
I recently played (and won) two tournaments, 5-6 sets in one day and zero arm discomfort. Hyper-G was also good at that.
BHS7T tension stability is beyond ridiculous.
Best thing to do is try them side by side!
Keep us posted! Lynx and ice code i both trried in the blade v7. Liked them both a lot!
tpro2000
Rookie
I've now gotten a few days on BHS7T and I'm really liking it. Liking the bite better than Ice Code 1.2 and Lynx 1.2. I'm using the 1.25m version, and the spin is fun, definitely has added pop compared to Hyper-G of the similar gauge. And so far even though it has notched a little, it doesn't seem to have dropped much in tension.
Reel bought
. Couldnt resist anymore. Damn holism..BBender716
Semi-Pro
I got it strung with BHS7T and I'm afraid I strung it too tight. I'm normally fairly insensitive to poly (I've played full bed with Tour Bite with no issues) but felt my elbow twinge a bit. Strung up the Blade v7 18x20 @ 48/46.
I'm actually really really liking Cyclone 18g in my Pure Strike Tour but could use a bit more free power from it. How does this string compare? Tension recommendations? Cyclone is currently strung at 48lbs.
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Injured Again
Hall of Fame
@BBender716 I strung up my extended demo v7 Blade 98 18X20 at 46 pounds and would go a couple of pounds lower the next time.
With this string and in hitting with it and the 16X19 back to back, the power level feels more different than the launch angle difference. It's almost like the lower power level is masked by the slightly lower launch angle and more solid feeling impact unless you hit the two of them back to back like I did. So going down a bit in tension might decrease the impact shock enough to make the elbow twinge go away.
With this string and in hitting with it and the 16X19 back to back, the power level feels more different than the launch angle difference. It's almost like the lower power level is masked by the slightly lower launch angle and more solid feeling impact unless you hit the two of them back to back like I did. So going down a bit in tension might decrease the impact shock enough to make the elbow twinge go away.
FIRETennis
Professional
I string the BHS7T at 56/54 in a 16/19, 345SW pretty stiff racquet and have experienced no elbow issues.
I do have discomfort when using ALU power that's been hit for more than 3-4h.
Tried Cyclone once and didn't like the plasticky feel to it. Outside of the US, it's more expensive than RPM Blast so I never gave it that much hitting time...
If you want more juice out of the shots on the Blade have you tried adding 2 grams of lead at 12 o'clock? That's probably a discussion for another thread ...
BBender716
Semi-Pro
I def don't need more power out of the Blade. I was actually looking in my Pure Strike Tour of moving from cyclone to something slightly more powerful as cyclone is the first string a while to feel underpowered for me.
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tpro2000
Rookie
Reel bought
I'm getting there! And where I work I can get it for a decent deal as well. I definitely like it better than Ice Code personally. Lynx I still have strung up in one of my frames and I feel that the BHS7T is a bit naturally softer with the added spin.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this string!
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
i just finished my 24th hour on my diadem solstice power/bhs7t hybrid strung at 50x48 on my phantom pro 100. I probably will snap them in the next hitting session based on the indentation left from the cross on the main.
with that said, im actually quite impressed with this combo. its playing the same as the first day of it being strung, and the edges of both strings in the sweet spot have held up well (no dulling/rounding out of the edges). I would probably drop the cross to 46lbs the next time around for a little more comfort, or try tier one ghostwire 17gauge next.
with that said, im actually quite impressed with this combo. its playing the same as the first day of it being strung, and the edges of both strings in the sweet spot have held up well (no dulling/rounding out of the edges). I would probably drop the cross to 46lbs the next time around for a little more comfort, or try tier one ghostwire 17gauge next.
FIRETennis
Professional
Great test.
Did you try both the diadem solstice power and the bhs7t strings individually in full beds as well to compare?
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
Yes I did. First I did the Diadem full bed at 50lbs and BHS7t full bed at 50lbs. I think combining them with Diadem in the mains was a better option as opposed to full bed. I also banked in on the Diadem Solstice Power sale and the BHS7t happy hour sale so I had multiple sets to try in full bed or hybrid. I would definitely recommend this combo. Diadem full bed was great at first but became too powerful and inconsistent, and BHS7T was too crisp for my liking and started to cause some elbow pain as it started to go dead so I had cut it out.
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
Did you end up trying this hybrid?
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Not yet. League season just started and our Club tournament starts in one week with a very deep field so I'm sticking with a full bed of S7T for the time being.
After 24 hours, your Solstice Power still has grooves in the sweetspot area?
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
That is great that Solstice Power is holding up well for you. I didn't find the gear shape to be that long wearing. I think the actual shape and size of the gear shaped protrusions doesn't scale up or down with the different gauges so they are proportionately smaller on a thicker gauge. I wore down the string down smooth after just a couple of hours in the 1.35 thickness. It does lose that awesome grip on the ball a little bit but still played pretty well until it broke for me at around the 12 hour mark. But this was in a 16X19 pattern in a 110 square inch racquet.
FIRETennis
Professional
I wish my strings lasted 24 hours of hitting
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I've gone through about 10-12 full bed stringjobs of 17 gauge S7T in my SW104, all at the same tension, and I'm starting to slowly drop the tension. I'm averaging about 12-13 hours before it notches through and breaks, and I have good playability until that last hour. Before that last hour, tension loss is not an issue so I dropped 1 pound all around and really don't notice any difference nor any loss in control. I'll drop another pound with each stringing and see when that point is that control suffers. But it really does seem like the little bit of tension loss that S7T has doesn't affect play. It probably loses a little bit of elasticity and pop as it ages, but it's almost evenly compensated for by the slight loss of tension. It's got a very stable lifetime.
tpro2000
Rookie
That's exactly what I've been noticing as well, not sure how long I've played on them. Been using 2 frames and rotating between the 2.
I feel like the edges hold pretty well over time compared to other edges polys, but maybe that's new
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Yeah, unlike many other shaped polys, spin capability doesn't drop off much as the string ages, and launch angle seems to stay pretty consistent as well.
FIRETennis
Professional
Do you feel you get more depth, higher launch when you drop the tension or the impact feels even more plush? I've been stringing at 56/54 in a Pure Aero Tour ...
That's what I like to hear about a poly. I want something I am happy to play until I break it. I feel the same about my current poly and the price per reel is similar, so I should be able to string S7T as cheeply as I do WC Ultra Cable, so I think I will give this a test alongside WCUC when my current reel is up. WCUC is really good for me, but I'd be happy to find something that's even a little better.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I haven't had enough tension change to really detect if there has been any launch angle change. I originally came across S7T during the Tennis Warehouse playtest, and I strung it up in my racquet at this exact tension the very first time. The string that was in there before the S7T was Tour Bite 1.20 and so I had a good gauge of what tension to try.
What has happened is that in the last month, I've decreased the weight of my racquet by 12 grams, taking six grams of lead off the hoop and six grams off the handle. The lower recoil weight now makes the stringbed feel just a slight bit harsh, which is why I'm going slowly down in tension. I'm currently using 51 pounds in the center eight mains, decreasing to 40 pounds at the outer mains, along with 46 pounds in the center five crosses, decreasing to 33 pounds at the top and bottom cross. This sorta-proportional stringing has increased launch angle and has especially increased comfort on mis-hits, but hasn't resulted in a trampoline feel nor any loss of control. The overall stiffness at the sweetspot is probably equivalent to a straight 45 pounds if I were to use the same tension all around.
I have been kind of wondering if S7T was only good in a narrow range of tensions. In the various racquets I've strung it up in, varying from 98 to 104 square inches, and from 16X19 to 18X20, it has only worked for players at 46 +- 1 pound. I strung it up for someone who uses Element at 52 pounds and they found it too harsh at 50 but spot on at 47. I was a playtester for the Pure Strike 16X19 and it was spot on at 45 but harsh at 48. But you're using at 56/54 in a Pure Strike Tour and find it okay?
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Very curious to hear your impressions on S7T. I didn't get around to trying Ultra Cable - after testing a bunch of strings, I just found that I preferred as thin of a string as possible and UC was supposedly on the thick side for a 1.23 spec string.
It does feel thick because of the diagonal cross section. It's been really good for me so far though. Has played well right up until the end and for me the tension maintenance has been good, but a lot of people have said it was bad. I've been adjusting my tension ever since I got my reel and the tight or loose feeling of the string bed seems to remain for me until it snaps. I'm closing in on my ideal tension which seems to be on the loose feeling side, but not so loose that the launch angle overcomes my ability to easily compensate with how much I close the frame, if that makes sense. The spin is great and the feel when it's not too tight is really good as well.
I'm keeping a short list of strings I want to try when my reel is done, but I think it's going to be difficult for another string to win me over.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Two of the most spin capable strings I've tried were Volkl V-Square and Grapplesnake Cube, both square profile with very sharp edges like UC. Only problem was that both were very sensitive to incoming ball spin and I had poor playability duration with both. V-Square seemed to be made of a soft material and so it notched into itself badly - I think I got only about 4 hours before it wore through and broke. Cube didn't notch as much but it died a quick and hard death on me at about the six hour mark, really changing the impact feel and losing both power and launch angle. But it was the incoming spin sensitivity that made me shy away from sharp edged square strings. Do you notice that much? I occasionally play a couple of people who really slash at their underspin backhand with a ton of spin and it felt like I had to have the racquet face tilted back at an unreasonable angle to not volley those into the net. I could never get used to that.
I haven't noticed that. Maybe I just haven't hit against enough heavy slice to notice, or maybe it's something else.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Might be that UC is not as susceptible to incoming ball spin or that you are just better at instinctively compensating! Sounds like it is worth a try for me.
FIRETennis
Professional
I find it very comfortable, as nice as ALU Power Soft or Hyper-G. I use a Pure Aero Tour but with extra lead so the racquet is about 350g / 340-345SW.
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