Why restring Polys?

Totai · Nov 16, 2010

I switched from syn gut to polys this year, and poly's just don't break or move, so my stringbed still looks as if I just had the racquet strung. I also don't really feel a difference in the way the stringbed behaves (maybe it is because the reduction in performance is very gradual), so I can't justify having the strings cut out and restrung. I play about 8-10 hours a week and I have had the same poly strings on my racquet for 4 months, so if these were regualr syn guy they would have broken ages ago.

any good reason to restring?

big bang · Nov 16, 2010

So you played 8-10 hours a week for 4 months and your strings look as new?:shock: what are you hitting with? the frame??..

rodrigoamaral · Nov 16, 2010

you restring them because they go dead over time.. they also loose tension so restringing is required for optimal performance

mikeler · Nov 16, 2010

If they feel the same to you over time, the only reason I can see to restring is if you start developing arm problems.

polski · Nov 16, 2010

mikeler said:
If they feel the same to you over time, the only reason I can see to restring is if you start developing arm problems.

...and after 4 months, it's just a matter of days now. I tried poly's for about 9 months & my wrist was so bad that I could barely take it through the day.

My experience is that Poly is only good if you cut them out & re-string weekly. Even then, they will hurt your arm if your swing isn't ideal for Poly. If you hit through the ball every time & never hit flat they will be OK. If you hit flat, they are just too stiff for your arm to handle the shock.

Kevo · Nov 16, 2010

I think it's different with different strings, but in general the reason to restring is lack of feel or control. Strings lose resiliency over time, but if you like your strings dead then that's not an issue. Most polys don't get bouncy like nylon strings, so lack of control isn't usually an issue. Basically if you're happy with them, leave them in.

mikeler · Nov 16, 2010

polski said:
...and after 4 months, it's just a matter of days now. I tried poly's for about 9 months & my wrist was so bad that I could barely take it through the day.

My experience is that Poly is only good if you cut them out & re-string weekly. Even then, they will hurt your arm if your swing isn't ideal for Poly. If you hit through the ball every time & never hit flat they will be OK. If you hit flat, they are just too stiff for your arm to handle the shock.

I use the Mantis Comfort 16 @ 60# just like you. I'd never play with poly that long.

Totai · Nov 16, 2010

mikeler said:
If they feel the same to you over time, the only reason I can see to restring is if you start developing arm problems.

hmm, I have been getting slight golfer's elbow pains recently, I wonder if it could be due to the strings being way too old

Kevo · Nov 17, 2010

Could be. I'd also suggest figuring out how much tennis you've been playing recently and if it's more than usual, think about slowing down just a bit to give your arm a little more rest.

aphex · Nov 17, 2010

big bang said:
So you played 8-10 hours a week for 4 months and your strings look as new?:shock: what are you hitting with? the frame??..

haha...this^^^

I'm an average club player and i break poly in 12 hours max...

It starts feeling crap and trampoline-y after 8 hours max...

pvaudio · Nov 17, 2010

aphex said:
haha...this^^^

I'm an average club player and i break poly in 12 hours max...

It starts feeling crap and trampoline-y after 8 hours max...

Maybe it's because I restring so often, maybe because I like finding the ideal tension for me, maybe it's because I'm using a 90sqin racquet, but I have not ever once broken a poly string. Multis, syn guts, easy. I've just never broken a poly string.

pvaudio · Nov 17, 2010

And to the OP, since it hasn't been explicitly stated yet, you need to restring your poly stringbed because once the string dies, all it is doing is setting you up for arm problems. "Death" can pretty much be considered the string losing its resiliency and elasticity, so think about it as a fresh rubber band, or one you found in the bottom of your desk from years ago.

tlm · Nov 17, 2010

Because poly lasts so long is one of the reasons it is so hard on the arm. To me any poly feels like crap after 4-6 hours.

To play with it for months is not a good idea.If you have 2 rackets have one strung new with the same poly+tension.

Then next time out start out with your old string job for a while+then switch to the new one.If you dont feel a big difference in the feel then i dont know what to tell you.

Satch · Nov 17, 2010

first place where strings go "off" is on return of hard serve.

so if you don't play with serves they can last much longer, also it's all relative, someone change strings after 6 hours and someone that same strins consider as "new".

do what you feel is the best.

kimbahpnam · Nov 17, 2010

Totai said:
hmm, I have been getting slight golfer's elbow pains recently, I wonder if it could be due to the strings being way too old

it's probably due to the strings being poly.

tlm · Nov 17, 2010

Satch said:
first place where strings go "off" is on return of hard serve.

so if you don't play with serves they can last much longer, also it's all relative, someone change strings after 6 hours and someone that same strins consider as "new".

do what you feel is the best.

Strings only go off from returning hard serves?
I can ruin my strings with never returning a
hard serve, sorry but you are way off.

pvaudio · Nov 17, 2010

tlm said:
Strings only go off from returning hard serves?
I can ruin my strings with never returning a
hard serve, sorry but you are way off.

He's saying that if you do a lot of match play, your strings will die far quicker than if you just go out and rally for an hour and a half. He's right, I think you just didn't understand his intent.

Thepowerofchoice · Nov 17, 2010

I string my racquets with full poly around 35 lbs and it last me 20+ hours. No arm pain. Low tension poly is the key...last longer and arm friendly.

jmhs · Nov 17, 2010

Thepowerofchoice said:
I string my racquets with full poly around 35 lbs and it last me 20+ hours. No arm pain. Low tension poly is the key...last longer and arm friendly.

What poly are you using? Is this the case for you regardless of the stiffness of the poly you're using?

tlm · Nov 17, 2010

pvaudio said:
He's saying that if you do a lot of match play, your strings will die far quicker than if you just go out and rally for an hour and a half. He's right, I think you just didn't understand his intent.

How is he right? I guess it depends on how you rally.
If you are hitting out in an hour+half hitting session
you will hit a lot more balls than you would playing
a match.

Since when does returning serves become that
much harder on the string job than hitting repeated
ground strokes.

Totai · Nov 17, 2010

I played for a couple of hours today and I could definitely feel golfer's elbow when serving. Time to give my stringer a call, it might be due to the old poly's

Satch · Nov 18, 2010

tlm said:
How is he right? I guess it depends on how you rally.
If you are hitting out in an hour+half hitting session
you will hit a lot more balls than you would playing
a match.

Since when does returning serves become that
much harder on the string job than hitting repeated
ground strokes.

since there is 99% more chance taht you will make a misshit returning a 120mph serve, and break a string or damage it, than you would in any rally... only if you constantly miss sweetspot, but then your tehnique is bad.

mikeler · Nov 18, 2010

Totai said:
I played for a couple of hours today and I could definitely feel golfer's elbow when serving. Time to give my stringer a call, it might be due to the old poly's

Try the Mantis Comfort. Durability is not good but comfort can't be beat unless you go to natty gut.

tlm · Nov 18, 2010

Satch said:
since there is 99% more chance taht you will make a misshit returning a 120mph serve, and break a string or damage it, than you would in any rally... only if you constantly miss sweetspot, but then your tehnique is bad.

Okay number one there are very few of us rec. players
that are ever seeing 120 mph serves. I know there are
many dreamers here who think they can hit serves that
fast, but lets be serious.

Nobody is talking about breaking a string, we are talking
about strings losing playability.Strings lose their resiliency
from repeated hitting not returning a few serves.

Roger No.1 · Nov 20, 2010

pvaudio said:
Maybe it's because I restring so often, maybe because I like finding the ideal tension for me, maybe it's because I'm using a 90sqin racquet, but I have not ever once broken a poly string. Multis, syn guts, easy. I've just never broken a poly string.

I've never broken any string

I usually restring them when they look like they're about to break

tlm · Nov 20, 2010

Roger No.1 said:
I've never broken any string I usually restring them when they look like they're about to break

A lot of people do that, when the strings start
looking chewed up they replace them. The
problem with poly is it does not show wear, so
people just keep using them. Then they just
keep getting stiffer+harder on the arm.

TennisNinja · Nov 20, 2010

big bang said:
So you played 8-10 hours a week for 4 months and your strings look as new?:shock: what are you hitting with? the frame??..

Haha the frame.

neesun · Nov 20, 2010

I strung my Babolat Pure Storm limited with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at 56. At first the string was stiff but there was a lot of control. After maybe 8-10 hours of play the string feels softer and I'm blasting a lot of balls long. It seems there has been a loss in tension and I already need a re-string. I play my tennis on grass courts this season, any recommendations for a decent string with good spin, accuracy which doesn't lose tension too quickly? Sorry to thread hijack.

tlm · Nov 21, 2010

That is why i restring at least once a week. Nothing compares to the way new strings play.

If i am playing a match, i always have a new string job.

Bud · Nov 21, 2010

Poly is good for 6-8 hours of hard playing, maximum. After that, it's dead and harsh on the joints.

Uncle Emmitt · Nov 23, 2010

If the balls arent flying on you I wouldnt myself change it that often. 4 mos does sound like quite a bit but a couple of months to me isnt a real big deal. To me after I play a while with them sometimes the strings seem to settle in and I like them the way they are. I don't think them being old has much to do with a hurting arm. If new poly doesnt hurt you I doubt older poly will. I have about 4 racquets. To play and teach w and normally I'll have one strung that has been the same poly for a while and I dont notice any difference. To me I just can tell when the ball starts flying on me and then I'll restring.

Speed Kat · Nov 24, 2010

Why? To not put your arm at risk! It could be doing its damage slowly in the background. 4 months is too long sir!

Why restring Polys?

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