Poly string myths... feel free to add and dispute.

mawashi · Nov 29, 2010

I have read and re-read a lot of posts about polys and some of info don't make much sense to me so I'll like to found out the truths of these myths.

1. Polys loose bite cus they get worn down smooth after hitting... false

Polys get their spin from the rebound and after repeated usage and like any other strings its gets notched and lose some of the rebound. If you see a busted string bed from repeated usage, you'll clearly see that the strings are badly notched and break from being sawed through.

I will keep adding as more and more info becomes available.

mawashi

el sergento · Nov 29, 2010

mawashi said:
I have read and re-read a lot of posts about polys and some of info don't make much sense to me so I'll like to found out the truths of these myths.

1. Polys loose bite cus they get worn down smooth after hitting... false

Polys get their spin from the rebound and after repeated usage and like any other strings its gets notched and lose some of the rebound. If you see a busted string bed from repeated usage, you'll clearly see that the strings are badly notched and break from being sawed through.

I will keep adding as more and more info becomes available.

mawashi

Umm, poly's loose their bite when they loose their tension. Notching has absolutely nothing to do with a loss in playability. That's what you're saying right?

mawashi · Nov 30, 2010

el sergento said:
Umm, poly's loose their bite when they loose their tension. Notching has absolutely nothing to do with a loss in playability. That's what you're saying right?

Not exactly, it's not just the loss of tension but the loss of rebound on top of notching that reduces playability.

mawashi

Marcus · Nov 30, 2010

Poly hurts your arm !!!! That's no myth

Lefty5 · Nov 30, 2010

That you can swing as hard as you want at the ball and it will just automatically land in! I can't stand hearing that...its like technique has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Carolina Racquet · Nov 30, 2010

Myth or Fact..

As a general rule, you should not string a poly at the same tension as other strings (gut, multi and syn gut) because it's a stiffer string..

Nuke · Nov 30, 2010

Lefty5 said:
That you can swing as hard as you want at the ball and it will just automatically land in! I can't stand hearing that...its like technique has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Yeah, that's the big one for me. Here on TT, we see the occasional post, "My shots keep missing; what string should I switch to?" As if string will compensate for bad aim.

Mattingly · Nov 30, 2010

Polys last for months without breaking. Keep playing with them. Wrong.

I think Polys are made to be used 3 or 4 times of hard hitting. I tested the tension of the Weiss Cannon Turbotwist 1.18. Strung a one piece on a constant pull machine. Increased 5 pounds on the tie offs. Did not play with the racquet. 24 hours later the string had lost 8 pounds. Pathetic.

el sergento · Nov 30, 2010

Carolina Racquet said:
Myth or Fact..

As a general rule, you should not string a poly at the same tension as other strings (gut, multi and syn gut) because it's a stiffer string..

Mostly fact. I used to string NXT, a very soft string, at 60. Just thinking of hitting even a soft poly like Cyberflash at that tension makes my shoulder flare up.

kiteboard · Nov 30, 2010

Cf is gooey, and loses tens. way too fast.

pyrokid · Nov 30, 2010

kiteboard said:
Cf is gooey, and loses tens. way too fast.

Is this a myth?

I kind of doubt it because I've never heard anyone say that so I doubt it could be a myth...
And yeah, sure, it might lose tension too fast I guess... But gooey?

What?

And my myth is that Poly's DON'T have the most spin.
Kevlar does...

tlm · Dec 1, 2010

Polys will give you more spin+control, which is not true.

000KFACTOR90000 · Dec 1, 2010

I think describing polys as 1st 2nd 3rd generation is a bit of a myth.

mawashi · Dec 1, 2010

tlm said:
Polys will give you more spin+control, which is not true.

That might not be true as I have tried many polys and some of them do give much better spin and control than with gut, syn or multi. Because most polys are lower powered compared to the other strings except kevlar, one can hit harder and produce more spin on the ball.

000KFACTOR90000 said:
I think describing polys as 1st 2nd 3rd generation is a bit of a myth.

That too might not be true as polys are the most popular strings among the pros and are constantly being updated/upgraded so it is expected that there are different generations of polys.

mawashi

Dominik · Dec 1, 2010

pyrokid said:
And my myth is that Poly's DON'T have the most spin.
Kevlar does...

Especially 19-gauge kevlar! Love it so much more than my old poly setup.

user92626 · Dec 1, 2010

Fact:

Poly, being smooth surface, does not "grap", friction-wise, the ball as much as strings like kevlar. This is a no brainer because it's like driving with a new tire with alot of grooves and spikes vs a well worn tire.

Bartelby · Dec 1, 2010

Most say that spin comes from the main sliding across the cross string and therefore it is not comparable to a car tyre's grip.

user92626 said:
Fact:

Poly, being smooth surface, does not "grap", friction-wise, the ball as much as strings like kevlar. This is a no brainer because it's like driving with a new tire with alot of grooves and spikes vs a well worn tire.

mawashi · Dec 1, 2010

user92626 said:
Fact:

Poly, being smooth surface, does not "grap", friction-wise, the ball as much as strings like kevlar. This is a no brainer because it's like driving with a new tire with alot of grooves and spikes vs a well worn tire.

I think it best not to mix up the difference between ball bite and heavy spin.

kevlar imo has the best ball bite but is also the lowest powered string around so unless you can swing as hard as nadal you will get a really spiny ball but in comparison doesn't produce as heavy a ball as one struck with poly.

The major advantage of poly is that it produces just the right amount of spin and speed to really create a very heavy ball but its stiffness and lack of feel isn't for everyone.

One of the few polys that I really like is black magic and big ace micro as they have really nice ball pocketing and really good feel for a poly.

mawashi

mdmerg · Dec 1, 2010

I really like BAM. I wish it lasted longer for me; it breaks in a week.

mawashi · Dec 1, 2010

mdmerg said:
I really like BAM. I wish it lasted longer for me; it breaks in a week.

1.19 - 1.15mm 1 week is pretty good. Perhaps you can consider black magic too as it feels a bit more crisp than bam but has really good ball pocketing too.

mawashi

Ross K · Dec 1, 2010

mawashi said:
1.19 - 1.15mm 1 week is pretty good. Perhaps you can consider black magic too as it feels a bit more crisp than bam but has really good ball pocketing too.

mawashi

Sorry m, which exact Black Magic are you referring to?

R.

mawashi · Dec 1, 2010

genesis black magic

000KFACTOR90000 · Dec 2, 2010

mawashi said:
That too might not be true as polys are the most popular strings among the pros and are constantly being updated/upgraded so it is expected that there are different generations of polys.

mawashi

Kind of my point - the majority of the pro's are using poly's created many years ago.

DrpShot! · Dec 3, 2010

000KFACTOR90000 said:
Kind of my point - the majority of the pro's are using poly's created many years ago.

Not a myth. The "first generation" of polys were made in Taiwan decades ago and it was horrible stuff. As far as I can tell, a maker of elastic straps for bras in the Netherlands started the "2nd Generation" of polys by making poly strings out of a more forgiving type of polyester. Luxilon first brought that string to the tennis market by giving it to Spanish clay courters who were tired of paying for tons of natural gut. The "3rd Generation" refers to the relatively new polys made out of blended polyether instead of pure polyester, the "co-polys". That's just my take on it, definitely not totally accurate.

kalic · Dec 3, 2010

Polys are always low powered. Myth.

insiderman · Dec 3, 2010

"Not a myth. The "first generation" of polys were made in Taiwan decades ago and it was horrible stuff. As far as I can tell, a maker of elastic straps for bras in the Netherlands started the "2nd Generation" of polys by making poly strings out of a more forgiving type of polyester. Luxilon first brought that string to the tennis market by giving it to Spanish clay courters who were tired of paying for tons of natural gut. The "3rd Generation" refers to the relatively new polys made out of blended polyether instead of pure polyester, the "co-polys". That's just my take on it, definitely not totally accurate."

This could NOT be more inaccurate! Poly was first developed for strings in Germany - years & years before other Mfg's wen to Asia for a lower priced version(s) - it would take hours to also correct your other statements here as well...

TennisCJC · Dec 3, 2010

Fact: poly's are low powered. In general, they do not launch the ball as far or fast as synthetics or gut. If you get more power from your poly, it's because you are getting more spin and control and thus swinger faster to generate the extra power. But, same swing with poly vs syn/gut and syn/gut will have a touch more power.

Fact: poly's give a bit more spin. The stiffness and the rebound of the poly's generate a bit more spin. Read TW University stuff if you want all the magic formulas but it hurts my head.

Fact: poly's have a bit more control. The string bed doesn't deform as irregularly as syn/gut thus resulting in a ball that goes where the strings point more often.

Fact: poly's are harsher on the arm. I have tried many poly's including the new 3rd gen softer poly's and they all are harsher than syn/gut. Especially harsher if you use the same tension.

Fact: drop you poly tension 5% to 15% below you syn/gut tension to lessen harshness. Poly's will magically maintain control, and spin even at the lower tensions. This is a fact according to my personal experience but it is a universal truth too.

ClubHoUno · Dec 3, 2010

TennisCJC said:
Fact: poly's are low powered. In general, they do not launch the ball as far or fast as synthetics or gut. If you get more power from your poly, it's because you are getting more spin and control and thus swinger faster to generate the extra power. But, same swing with poly vs syn/gut and syn/gut will have a touch more power.

Fact: poly's give a bit more spin. The stiffness and the rebound of the poly's generate a bit more spin. Read TW University stuff if you want all the magic formulas but it hurts my head.

Fact: poly's have a bit more control. The string bed doesn't deform as irregularly as syn/gut thus resulting in a ball that goes where the strings point more often.

Fact: poly's are harsher on the arm. I have tried many poly's including the new 3rd gen softer poly's and they all are harsher than syn/gut. Especially harsher if you use the same tension.

Fact: drop you poly tension 5% to 15% below you syn/gut tension to lessen harshness. Poly's will magically maintain control, and spin even at the lower tensions. This is a fact according to my personal experience but it is a universal truth too.

I agree except with this:

But, same swing with poly vs syn/gut and syn/gut will have a touch more power.

Same swing with even Alu Power (a very powerful poly) compared to same swing with VS Team 17 natural gut with not provide the same power - far from.

Preston · Dec 3, 2010

Myth: Polys taste good

Fact: I've almost puntured my eye ball while stringing them up

Fact: I have actually punctured my skin while string them up

Fact: Can work as a good cat toy

Myth: "The string that gives you the spin"

Fact: Donut fridays at work cause me to lose my mind...

mmaster · Dec 3, 2010

i think TW university said different shape/edged polys don't really give you more bite and spin. (ie the pentagonal, hexagonal, etc. shaped strings)

Totai · Dec 3, 2010

Preston said:
Myth: Polys taste good

Fact: I've almost puntured my eye ball while stringing them up

Fact: I have actually punctured my skin while string them up

Fact: Can work as a good cat toy

Myth: "The string that gives you the spin"

Fact: Donut fridays at work cause me to lose my mind...

your donut fridays cause me to lose my mind too! I get nothing out of my company

Preston · Dec 3, 2010

Totai said:
your donut fridays cause me to lose my mind too! I get nothing out of my company

ha. Bummer, maybe you should steal office supplies!

XFactorer · Dec 3, 2010

Preston said:
ha. Bummer, maybe you should steal office supplies!

You're such a bad influence. And you're weird, too!

Poly string myths... feel free to add and dispute.

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