Full poly strung at very low tensions is AMAZING

ogruskie

Professional
Let me start off by saying that Luxilon Big Banger Original is my absolute favorite string. The only downside is that it loses tension too quickly, so its hard for me to love it as much...

I always string between 50 and 55 pounds, regardless of string type. Even at 50, BBO was much too stiff. So I strung it up at 46 lbs, and WOW. Great comfort, no arm troubles. It felt like something between "soft" and "crisp". Awesome feel without feeling mushy. I still had a lot of control despite the low tension.

If you enjoy playing with full poly but suffer arm pain, I suggest stringing a few pounds below minimum tension. You'll still experience the playability of full poly without killing your arm, no matter how stiff the string is.

I'm gonna look for my old Silverstring and string it up at 46 as well.
 
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Thats the issue with all of the Luxilon strings. They are made to last about 2 hours. Silverstring is one of the highest rated string for tension maintained on Stringforum.
 

ogruskie

Professional
Thats the issue with all of the Luxilon strings. They are made to last about 2 hours. Silverstring is one of the highest rated string for tension maintained on Stringforum.

Yes, very unfortunate. I feel that ALU Power is a bit better at retaining tension but that string is awful...can't stand anything about it...

Silverstring is a great string all around, but when it comes to best tension maintenance nothing beats Hyperion Blackline...
 

ronalditop

Hall of Fame
Yes it is. You get great control, power, feel (because of the extra dwell time), and the best of all, it doesnt make your arm suffer.
 

ogruskie

Professional
My hitting partner was in disbelief when I told him how low my KBT was strung. I really don't see how people enjoy playing with full poly strung at 60lbs. Guess they enjoy the stiff board feeling...
 

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
it's actually very common (in my experience) to string "very low" aka in the 40s. Many players fail to drop tension at all when making the transition to poly, and end up with injuries that could be "avoided" (ok, maybe not avoided..)
 

ronalditop

Hall of Fame
it's actually very common (in my experience) to string "very low" aka in the 40s. Many players fail to drop tension at all when making the transition to poly, and end up with injuries that could be "avoided" (ok, maybe not avoided..)

That just happened to my friend two weeks ago. He used to play only with synguts strung at around 58. Since hes now hitting harder and therefore breaking strings faster, he wanted to try polys to get more durability. Since I have experience with polys, I recommended him to string it at around 52, but he decided stringing at 55. Just a 3 or 4 days after playing with his poly stringjob, his elbow started to hurt and he had to stop playing for a week and go back to synguts. After the week passed he returned to play now with his new syngut stringjob, but he still felt the pain. Now he wants to let his arm heal completely so hes gonna quit playing for a month. It sucks because hes a good partner.
 
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joe sch

Legend
Agree. Most players just cant be convinced to try strings at the low end of the recommended tension range. I can play polys around 50 but much higher and my elbow will start hurting. I have just recently tried the MSV Hex strings and really like these copolys.
 
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ClubHoUno

Banned
If I play with full CoPoly - I string mains @ 24 kg and crosses @ 23 kg.

Not so with Hybrids with softer string - It's important to go for a constant SBS in a stringbed.

But I agree - full poly is best at lower tension !
 

chaddles

Semi-Pro
I have found in heavy racquets, such as my leaded up K90's and Rebels, that poly's have to be strung in the upper range (usually 58lb) otherwise the racquets play too wildly & lack of control. I have not had any arm troubles with this setup and have been playing the most consistent tennis ever.
 

Jagman

Rookie
I have no doubt, after doing quite a bit of experimentation, that polys will generally perform "better" at tensions below the recommended ranges (in the 40's). At these low numbers, there is considerably more power and spin produced for an equal amount of effort at higher tensions. And, for poly, lower tensions are definitely easier on the arm. There is also a tradeoff, IMO, as I believe the increase in power does come with the sacrifice of some control; not enough to be unacceptable, per se, but noticeable.

Still, the concept of playing polys at lower tension can be difficult to fully embrace. I am among those who regularly string a stiff, heavy frame around 60 lbs. I will normally do this even with poly or a poly hybrid. Racquets that I have known and loved with this setup have included the K90, KPS88, RDS001 Mid, and RDiS 100 Mid. The RDiS is my current stick.

In terms of my tennis, I am an unabashed control freak. I have never had any difficulty producing my own power, so --- perhaps predictably --- my emphasis has always been on accuracy. Polys at high tension enable me to think and execute shots in terms of precise placement. That is why I will indulge myself with polys, even though their playability rapidly diminishes with age. I find that control with polys at lower tension requires a delicate balance of power and spin. As I seek to employ more spin to harness the added power, it is easy to apply too much, resulting in a shorter ball. It takes time to find an acceptable compromise.

Higher tensions also provide me with a particular "feel" and audible cue that I rely on heavily during play. Appreciable loss of either factor can lead to a certain feeling of disorientation and resulting lack of confidence on shots. I have noted, in my experience, that lower tensions produce a commensurate lower pitch off the strings and a more muted feel. Thus, my first reaction when testing setups at lower tensions is an immediate sense that "this is all wrong" and "I don't like it". I have to really stay with the combination for a while to start to see the benefit and make a fairer assessment.

I have also found that the quality or style of play of my opponent matters. Poly setups at low tension seem to play better for me when facing an adversary who hits a penetrating, heavy ball. This makes the stringbed come alive for me. By contrast, playing someone who plays more spin, touch, or junk can be frustrating, as the lower tension offers me too little feedback and too much power. That's obviously not going to be true for everyone, but it is something that I experience as a relative newbie to the low tension setup.

I suspect that most people who are accustomed to using higher tensions in their frames would find suddenly switching to a lower tension to require a big adjustment in their play. Speaking only for myself, I find that higher tensions --- even with poly --- are not necessarily better, but are seemingly more natural, given long-established habit.

I will continue to play around with poly at lower tensions as I enjoy doing different things. I can also see the advantages of poly at low tension. However, for the time being, the majority of sticks in my bag will remain strung around 60 lbs, which is actually middle-of-the-road for most manufacturer's recommended tension ranges. YMMV :)

Cheers!
 
My hitting partner was in disbelief when I told him how low my KBT was strung. I really don't see how people enjoy playing with full poly strung at 60lbs. Guess they enjoy the stiff board feeling...

They have to string higher because their 16 X 19 string patterns are boatloads more powerful than the anemic KBT which is a good thing for control..
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
If using a poly/multi hybrid.....if you string the poly way low, say at 50, would you also drop the multi equally or can you raise it up to say 55 to regain some control?
 

lawlitssoo1n

Professional
My hitting partner was in disbelief when I told him how low my KBT was strung. I really don't see how people enjoy playing with full poly strung at 60lbs. Guess they enjoy the stiff board feeling...

it's all personal preference, i used to string syn gut at 70+ on my ncode 90 when i was 13-15 years old. switched to poly hybrid/syn gut on kbt at 65/64. and switched to full poly 65/64. and now i'm at just 64. i'm a flat hard hitter, and i love how the ball doesn't flyyy out
 

JoelDali

Talk Tennis Guru
My buddy strings BBO at 40 something. And I always give him grief about it.

I dunno, Lux seems better for me in the 60 range.

I will try 52 next time around just to see what ya'll are talking about.

I've always strung tight, anything looser is just too mushy for me, but perhaps poly is a different story at lower tensions.

Anyhoo, just blabbering... :)
 

roc17355

Rookie
I too never thought I would venture into the 40's on a string job but when I played with the KBT I strung full Focus Hex 1.18 at 49/47 and it was wonderful. The only thing that I felt lacked was control on the fast reaction type volleys, everyone seamed to sail long with those type of shots.
 

Power Player

Bionic Poster
I keep dropping it. I went from 60#s (not good) and now I am down to 54. I am going to try my MSV hex at 52 and Cyberflash at 53#s. The lowest rec'd tension on my Radical is 52, but I could see myself going down to 50 if I can retain enough control.
 
If using a poly/multi hybrid.....if you string the poly way low, say at 50, would you also drop the multi equally or can you raise it up to say 55 to regain some control?

You could do that. Keep in mind your mains dominate the stringbed feel. Secondly the mains (type and tension) determine durability and spin. Your crosses (type and tension) dictate power and comfort.:)
 
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PED

Legend
I keep dropping it. I went from 60#s (not good) and now I am down to 54. I am going to try my MSV hex at 52 and Cyberflash at 53#s. The lowest rec'd tension on my Radical is 52, but I could see myself going down to 50 if I can retain enough control.

I've actually had the opposite effect with the Rad Pro. I used to string at 54/52 and now I'm up to 57/55 or 58/56 because of the power of the Rad and the soft nature as well. The softness really does open up your options in stringing. I had a hard time keeping it in the court when I tried 53 lbs in the Rad. I've got some good ole BBO on the way next week.

Great stick though-def my fav one ever.
 

Power Player

Bionic Poster
I've actually had the opposite effect with the Rad Pro. I used to string at 54/52 and now I'm up to 57/55 or 58/56 because of the power of the Rad and the soft nature as well. The softness really does open up your options in stringing. I had a hard time keeping it in the court when I tried 53 lbs in the Rad. I've got some good ole BBO on the way next week.

Great stick though-def my fav one ever.

I use so much topspin that I can keep it on the court at low tensions. Im a western grip guy so I can get away with the low tensions luckily.
 

PED

Legend
I use so much topspin that I can keep it on the court at low tensions. Im a western grip guy so I can get away with the low tensions luckily.


I use both: the full western and lots of spin but the higher tensions seem to work better for me in this stick. I'm not complaining by any means about the Rad-it's fantastic.

Powerplayer, I know that you know all this better than I do: you're the one that sold me on the Rad :)

I used to use the PDR and I was limited in what tensions I used because of the 72 flex. It's not a problem in the Head as you know since it's so arm friendly. I'm going to try my pl2 at 60 and see how it goes.
 
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