Official TW December 2010 blind string playtest

I actually found time to string this up tonight on my Gamma X-ST lockout machine. I strung it at 60 pounds like I do all my other multis. As mentioned previously, these strings do not ghost from the clamps. Because of the rough texture, weaves are a little tougher than a typical multi. It had a lot of coil memory too. Probably should have pre-stretched it. The string does not stretch as much as Mantis Comfort and Maxim Touch, the two softest strings I've found so far. I bounced a few balls off the strings and it feels very muted which I like. Just from the ball bouncing, it seemed most like Tourna Quasi Gut but I know that is not a very accurate test. I'm playing Thursday evening so I'll give it a whirl then and report back.

Fed Kennedy said:

Got mine. I'm going to hybrid it with some thin poly...you guys think it should go Mains a la gut or x-1 or Crosses a la psgd or gosen?

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I don't think TW allows your to do hybrids for any string playtests...

flashfire276 said:

I don't think TW allows your to do hybrids for any string playtests...

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Pretty sure they do. You just have to be sure to include that information.

!<-_->! said:

Pretty sure they do. You just have to be sure to include that information.

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Oh shoot! You actually can!

TW Staff said:

Tension it is strung (please note if strung as hybrid or full set)

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Got the string a few days ago, and installed it. Just played for a couple of hours today, and will post further thoughts later, but a few initial impressions:

Tension: 54 lbs. on an electronic constant pull machine. I pre-stretched slightly by hand prior to installation, just to remove coil memory. The string is very stretchy, much like Gamma TNT and other resilient compositions.

Regular setup: Varies. Most often gut mains with Luxilon Fluoro crosses. Alternately I sometimes use various multis, such as Gamma TNT Touch, NXT, Babolat FiberTour, Isospeed, etc.

String pattern of your racquet: 16 x 20 (Babolat Pure Control +)

Power: Decent response. Fairly crisp and decent power, but not explosive. I would call the string pretty powerful but controllable. Not a slingshot.

Feel: This is where this string really excels in my opinion. It is VERY comfortable, and muted (in a good way). No loss of feel at all, it just plays very "quiet", and solid. Sort of feels like you have a vibration dampener in even if you don't. Reminds me a little bit of TGV in that respect.

Tension maintenance: Too soon to tell, as I have only played with it once. But it seemed very elastic and resilient when I installed it, so it will probably do decently in this regard. As Bud noted in a previous posting, this string stretches a LOT, and my tension head kept creeping further along the track to keep the tension at a constant level.

Installation: Quite easy to install, and not a lot of coil memory. Overall, very easy to work with, although the texture did cause some friction on cross string installation, which can slow down people who are fast weavers. It's also advisable to be careful not to burn the crosses for this reason. The string is fairly pliable, and I have no idea how anyone could have even considered that this might be poly. Clearly in the nylon/PU realm.

Overall comments and feedback: So far a very nice string, and super easy on the arm. Anyone with sensitivity to harsh strings will probably like this one. Though it's clearly very elastic and resilient, the power was very manageable and ball response very consistent. Nice quiet, solid feel, and fairly crisp. Despite its ugly color, this one could be a real find if the price is decent.

More to come as I hit a few more times.

Day 2 Play test:

Total time on court: 3 hours

String is holding up pretty well. I can see a few placed where the wrapper is fraying a bit, but so far the string isn't showing too much wear.

In addition, it seems to be holding its tension well. Still not much string movement at all and it still has that slightly stiff but crisp feel.

Played in the slightly colder bubble today so the balls felt a bit more dead today, so the string didn't feel quite as powerful as yesterday, but I still hit my share of winners. Touch around net is still good and the control is there.

Spin is so-so, but still works for me.

JRstriker12 said:

What is this stuff? I like it!

Day 1 Playtest:

Normal setup - Microgel Prestige Pro strung with Maxim Touch 17 + string savers - Full Bed @ 55lbs

Test Setup:
* Tension: 55lbs Full Bed
* String pattern: 16 Mains / 19 Crosses
* Power: Good pop with control. Ball explodes off the racket when hit dead center, but still has plenty of control.
* Feel: Slightly above average feel. Has a slightly stiffer, crisp feel to it compared to MT17. Had no problems with touch shots.
* Tension maintenance: Great. After the first hit it seemed to keep most of it's tension. Very little string movement.

* Overall comments and feedback:

Got it strung up today and just finished playing with it. From the start it felt good. I felt it had a nice crisp feel to it but not overly harsh. Felt a bit stiffer from the start than my usual Maxim Touch 17 set-up. Noticed it didn't move much at all and only a few strings have moved by the end of my match. Had plenty of control and good feel on touch shots.

Where it really started to shine was about 60 minutes into my match. I was Three games and I started going for my shots. Balls hit right in the sweet spot came off surprisingly hard and I ended up hitting a few totally unexpected winners. The ball felt really sweet coming off the racket and the string felt comfortable, even on hard hit balls.

Spin was adequate, but I don't hit with a ton of spin, so it mas more than enough for me. Had more than enough spin to dip the ball cross-court for a short-angled shots.

Durability seems good so far. Didn't see much wear, other than a little fraying in a few spots.

I have a match coming up tomorrow. I'll see if I still love it when I play tomorrow.

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Racquet: Dunlop Aerogel 100

String Pattern: 16 x 19

Regular Setup: WeissCANNON Scorpion 1.22 / Perf.Maxx Natural Gut

Stringing Machine: Silent Partner Aria

Stringing Method: Two piece

Tension (lbs): 58/60

ACTUAL REVIEW

Stringing: Stringing this multi was more difficult than many multifilaments such as NRG, X-1, Maxim Touch or Explosiv! as examples. This is due to the string being relatively stiff feeling for a multifilament. It feels more like a 16g synthetic gut instead. The mains obviously were not difficult and I strung them with relative ease. The string was not very elastic, so there was minimal clamp pull-back upon releasing the tension head.

The crosses were a bit more difficult to string, but not very*. Again, the string feels like a synthetic gut in hand so it for me was more difficult than a softer multifilament. The string didn't really have any friction burn when pulling the string through either which is likely due to its coating. I liked the fact that while the knots are bulkier than normal (a function of me using very thin gauge strings normally), Pro knots were not difficult to tie.

*I do not push or pull weave when I string as my hands are far too sweaty. I use a modified sewing motion which is indeed slower than push or pull weaving, but I never have to re-start a weave as you have to with pushing or pulling. Even with this method I can get an unfamiliar racquet done in about 20-25 minutes.

Power: Not much to write home about here. Not nearly as powerful as NRG or Explosiv!. I would compare the power level to that of Prince Topspin Plus. It does not appear to be very elastic as more powerful multifilaments which attempt to replicate the feel and performance of natural gut are. It has the power of a nylon string with an edge towards a mid-grade muti-filament. Again, power level was pretty similar to Prince Topspin.

Feel: Weak. As I've stated in my previous string reviews, I don't believe in terms like dwell time and ball pocketing as they really aren't legitimate objective descriptions of anything. The feel of the string really is also comparable to a synthetic gut. It's not exactly soft, but definitely doesn't have the harshness of a cheap nylon. I'd put it at the level of Pro Supex Spiral Flex 16. It's crisp, but does not give you the communication of a high quality multi-filament. I am biased as I use natural gut cross strings, but used to play with a full bed of NRG18 for my entire high school career and only once I entered college did I switch to polyester. This brown string doesn't come close to NRG.

Control: Fairly decent. Again, this string seems like a mid-high grade synthetic gut. To me that sounds paradoxical, but it's what I experienced. I also don't believe that a string allows one to "not miss" a shot as a change in string can't improve one's performance that much. However, the following section will expand on that statement. This string, being low powered, gives decent control simply in a passive manner as there isn't enough pop to fire shots where you don't want them.

Spin: Below average for a multi-filament, but a bit above average for a synthetic gut. In high school I used a full Western grip, so I tested the string using my now permanent semi-Western grip then switched for about 20 minutes to the full Western. Differences in spin production were minimal at best. The string really isn't meant to be a spin string and doesn't have anything to offer here compared to other multifilaments from Technifibre and Laserfibre.

Durability: Can't say. String didn't experience any fraying that I could tell and I tend to hit with quite a lot of spin. I can shred a full bed of NRG17 in 50 minutes (not snap, shred...of which there are pictures posted in this forum), but this unmarked guy didn't exhibit any fraying and will most likely snap as is typical of synthetic guts. String movement was obvious, especially when I switched to the Western grip, but I don't know of any multifilament or synthetic gut that does not move after hitting. Straightening was easy.

Tension Maintenance: Fairly decent. I have five AG100s, four of which are my main racquets. I use the fifth racquet for these playtests and if I'm teaching or feeding for some junior players where I don't want to wear out my string beds which are strung with natural gut. With that said, I purposely strung the crosses tighter by two pounds to try to get an even stringbed stiffness. After my entire playtest which was about 1.5 hours, the string seemed to have the same tension as when I first started out. Then again, when playing with multis and syn. guts, this isn't as much of an issue as when using polyester strings. Overall, not bad.

CONCLUSION

This is a decent multifilament string. if it's priced below $6 or $7, it might be a viable choice for those looking for a multi with lower feel and power. Even still, I personally would not consider the string for any application whether a full bed or in any form of hybrid.

-Dave

LPShanet said:

Got the string a few days ago, and installed it. Just played for a couple of hours today, and will post further thoughts later, but a few initial impressions:

Tension: 54 lbs. on an electronic constant pull machine. I pre-stretched slightly by hand prior to installation, just to remove coil memory. The string is very stretchy, much like Gamma TNT and other resilient compositions.

Regular setup: Varies. Most often gut mains with Luxilon Fluoro crosses. Alternately I sometimes use various multis, such as Gamma TNT Touch, NXT, Babolat FiberTour, Isospeed, etc.

String pattern of your racquet: 16 x 20 (Babolat Pure Control +)

Power: Decent response. Fairly crisp and decent power, but not explosive. I would call the string pretty powerful but controllable. Not a slingshot.

Feel: This is where this string really excels in my opinion. It is VERY comfortable, and muted (in a good way). No loss of feel at all, it just plays very "quiet", and solid. Sort of feels like you have a vibration dampener in even if you don't. Reminds me a little bit of TGV in that respect.

Tension maintenance: Too soon to tell, as I have only played with it once. But it seemed very elastic and resilient when I installed it, so it will probably do decently in this regard. As Bud noted in a previous posting, this string stretches a LOT, and my tension head kept creeping further along the track to keep the tension at a constant level.

Installation: Quite easy to install, and not a lot of coil memory. Overall, very easy to work with, although the texture did cause some friction on cross string installation, which can slow down people who are fast weavers. It's also advisable to be careful not to burn the crosses for this reason. The string is fairly pliable, and I have no idea how anyone could have even considered that this might be poly. Clearly in the nylon/PU realm.

Overall comments and feedback: So far a very nice string, and super easy on the arm. Anyone with sensitivity to harsh strings will probably like this one. Though it's clearly very elastic and resilient, the power was very manageable and ball response very consistent. Nice quiet, solid feel, and fairly crisp. Despite its ugly color, this one could be a real find if the price is decent.

More to come as I hit a few more times.

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Your experience with this string nearly mirrors mine. I'm not understanding those who state this string is stiff with little stretch. It stretched more than any other string on my DW machine, I believe. The stretch is right up there in NG/MF territory.

Have you noticed the small green hairs all over the stringbed? I initially thought it was ball fuzz.

Bud said:

Your experience with this string nearly mirrors mine. I'm not understanding those who state this string is stiff with little stretch. It stretched more than any other string on my DW machine, I believe. The stretch is right up there in NG/MF territory.

Have you noticed the small green hairs all over the stringbed? I initially thought it was ball fuzz.

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THe gripper on the Aria is a linear gripper which rotates. It rotated simply about the amount that Pro Supex Synthetic Gut (original, 1.20) does, and there was little sling-back of the clamps. So no, I didn't experience this either.

pvaudio said:

THe gripper on the Aria is a linear gripper which rotates. It rotated simply about the amount that Pro Supex Synthetic Gut (original, 1.20) does, and there was little sling-back of the clamps. So no, I didn't experience this either.

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I also am using a linear gripper which also rotates. I also had very little "draw back" on the clamps. Very few resets of the tension bar. On about 80 percent of the pulls I was able to hit the mark on the 1st or 2nd try. This mirrors a firm, solid core stringing experience on my machine. This is pretty much what I expected from bending and inspection of the string. Been stringing since 1998.. I know what an elastic string looks like on my stringer.. this was not one of them.

SteveI said:

I also am using a linear gripper which also rotates. I also had very little "draw back" on the clamps. Very few resets of the tension bar. On about 80 percent of the pulls I was able to hit the mark on the 1st or 2nd try. This mirrors a firm, solid core stringing experience on my machine. This is pretty much what I expected from bending and inspection of the string. Been stringing since 1998.. I know what an elastic string looks like on my stringer.. this was not one of them.

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Mirrors my experience exactly.

What machine are you using?

pvaudio said:

Mirror's my experience exactly.

What machine are you using?

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Alpha Pioneer II. Six-point drop weight with flying clamps and linear gripper. Old machine.. Built like a tank.


http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=31729

The Alpha Pioneer III is the fixed clamp version (up-grade):

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=105719

Just received my string today but since I don't actually string my frames myself, it may be awhile until I actually get to try it...looking forward to it though!

The outer wrap in the string is starting to unravel after only a couple hours of play.

flashfire276 said:

I don't think TW allows your to do hybrids for any string playtests...

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People were doing natural gut hybrids with the 361 Nation. Honestly, I don't understand what in the world the point in play testing it is unless you always use natty crosses. I don't see how you can determine how good a string is unless you just use that string.

pvaudio said:

People were doing natural gut hybrids with the 361 Nation. Honestly, I don't understand what in the world the point in play testing it is unless you always use natty crosses. I don't see how you can determine how good a string is unless you just use that string.

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Exactly my thoughts. Tw should honestly forbid hybrids during playtests since they dont give a sincere review of the unknown string alone

pvaudio said:

People were doing natural gut hybrids with the 361 Nation. Honestly, I don't understand what in the world the point in play testing it is unless you always use natty crosses. I don't see how you can determine how good a string is unless you just use that string.

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Exactly what I was thinking! I mean, it's obviously going to change the reaction of the player and it's performance! Like you said, what's the point in playtesting it if you always use natty crosses?
And besides, people can easily "cheat" on their reviews if they do a hybrid with a string they're familiar with. You guys get me?

Day 3 Play Test:

Total Time on court: 4.5 hours

Notice the wrap is starting to fracture in some places. There are a few noticeable spots where the wrap is a lighter color because the outer wrap is starting to break. There are also also a few spots where the wrap is unraveling.

Feel is still crisp for the most part, but I did notice a few volleys where it seemed like I got a trampoline effect where the ball flew way further than I expected for the type of volley I hit.

I'm thinking I might get another 6 hours out of this string before it breaks.

Well, no more tennis for me this week. I'll be back on the courts next Monday.

JRstriker12 said:

Day 2 Play test:

Total time on court: 3 hours

String is holding up pretty well. I can see a few places where the wrapper is fraying a bit, but so far the string isn't showing too much wear.

In addition, it seems to be holding its tension well. Still not much string movement at all and it still has that slightly stiff but crisp feel.

Played in the slightly colder bubble today so the balls felt a bit more dead today, so the string didn't feel quite as powerful as yesterday, but I still hit my share of winners. Touch around net is still good and the control is there.

Spin is so-so, but still works for me.

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JRstriker12 said:

Day 3 Play Test:

Total Time on court: 4.5 hours

Notice the wrap is starting to fracture in some places. There are a few noticeable spots where the wrap is a lighter color because the outer wrap is starting to break. There are also also a few spots where the wrap is unraveling.

Feel is still crisp for the most part, but I did notice a few volleys where it seemed like I got a trampoline effect where the ball flew way further than I expected for the type of volley I hit.

I'm thinking I might get another 6 hours out of this string before it breaks.

Well, no more tennis for me this week. I'll be back on the courts next Monday.

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Very nice reviews man! Kind of mirroring my thoughts at the moment (should post my review in a couple of days).
I know the string is starting to fray from it's first layer. But do you see any notching at the moment?

Bud said:

Your experience with this string nearly mirrors mine. I'm not understanding those who state this string is stiff with little stretch. It stretched more than any other string on my DW machine, I believe. The stretch is right up there in NG/MF territory.

Have you noticed the small green hairs all over the stringbed? I initially thought it was ball fuzz.

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I agree with you about the stretch. Furthermore, when I did the pre-stretch by hand, I could clearly feel it. Not sure why others aren't also noticing this. It may behave slightly stiffly in terms of lateral rigidity (i.e. when it is bent), but it very stretchy along its axis (i.e. when it is pulled).

Didn't notice the green hairs, though. Could they have happened during the cross string pulling? I did mine very gently due to the texture, but a normal pull might create fibers from the coating.

Playing in about a half hour with this mystery string. I'll report back in the morning most likely.

flashfire276 said:

Very nice reviews man! Kind of mirroring my thoughts at the moment (should post my review in a couple of days).
I know the string is starting to fray from it's first layer. But do you see any notching at the moment?

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Thanks.

I haven't noticed any notching yet - but I haven't looked very hard. Let me take a second look later today.

Wow, USPS in warp speed. 16 days from SLO to Orlando?!

Thank you TW people, I just got the package. I will restring my racquet tonight and will be playing tomorrow...

Wow, this is by far the stretchiest string I have ever seen. Babolat n.vy is a joke compared to this one. I had to readjust dw like 10 times to go parallel...

It feels very waxy and slippery...

BobFL said:

Wow, this is by far the stretchiest string I have ever seen. Babolat n.vy is a joke compared to this one. I had to readjust dw like 10 times to go parallel...

It feels very waxy and slippery...

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Lol! What did I tell ya? I've never ratcheted my DW that many times on any other string that I can recall.

I was ratcheting 12-13 times most pulls, stringing at 60#

BobFL said:

Wow, this is by far the stretchiest string I have ever seen. Babolat n.vy is a joke compared to this one. I had to readjust dw like 10 times to go parallel...

It feels very waxy and slippery...

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The stretchiest string I have every strung with are the Gamma live wires. But I can't remember how much n.vy stretches.

OK, here is my initial review in the TW format.

Tension it is strung: 60 pounds on a lockout machine full bed
Your regular string set up: Mantis Comfort Synthetic 60 pounds full bed
String pattern of your racquet: 16 x 20
Power (or lack there of): Lowest powered multi I've ever used
Feel: Little feel
Tension maintenance: It seemed to drop after about 2 sets
Overall comments and feedback: See below

General: I could tell on the first few hits last night this string was VERY low powered. Everything I was hitting in the warm up was dropping in the service box. I was also hitting a lot of balls in the net. Basically my stroke had to change and aim higher so I could get the ball in. It really took a lot of effort to hit a deep ball. Normally my complaint with multis is that they are too powerful.

Serve: First serve lacked pop. Second serve lacked spin. I live and die by my serve. Last night was brutal.

Strokes: Many went in the net. To compensate I would swing as hard as I could resulting in balls going long. Not good.

Volleys: After getting beat 1 and 1, we played a practice 3rd set and I came to net a lot to try the string out at net. It's very good for volleys.

Touch shots: Awful. I felt like I had to actually hit a full stroke to get a drop shot over the net.

Softness: The string feels like a stiffer multi like Head RIP Control. It's almost too stiff for my elbow.

Tension: For those that have not strung this up yet, consider dropping it a few pounds below your normal setup. Fortunately the string dropped a little in tension and I won the practice set I played 6-0. Don't think my opponent was all that motivated though.

Durability: I'm definitely seeing some notching in my setup. I hope it breaks soon. Please!

Movement: The strings move around a lot but that does not bother me.

Conclusion: Got a very tough opponent tomorrow, think I'll play with my normal setup to avoid another crushing loss. I'll give this string another shot, but I doubt I would ever purchase this string. Perhaps a lower tension would change my mind but I can't change that now.

OK, I just played my friend. We played 3 sets. I played with Biomimetic 600 (102, 16x19). I hybridize my racquets but just for this occasion I strung my other racquet with full bed Babolat N.VY at the same tension of course - 59lbs. To put this is perspective with my racquet: 59lbs on dw machine should be discounted by ~4lbs to get comparable tension on electrinic machine. The recommended tension range for 600 is 55-6lbs.

Tension it is strung: 59lbs on DW machine; compared to the same racquet strung at the same tension with Babolat N.VY 16

My regular string set up: I exclusively use N.VY for crosses and various polys on mains (PH, Black Widow...)

String pattern of my racquet: 16x19

Power: Asymptotically Approaches Zero. My serves were very fluffy with no zip. I could not hit my usual angles and spots. I was getting tired because I was trying to compensate an evident lack of power with harder hitting. Didn't work. Just a friendly reminder here: the racquet was strung at the lowest recommended tension.

Feel: I am not really a 'feel' player but this one offered very little feel. I felt unusually disconnected from the ball. Very very strange feeling string.

Tension maintenance: Too early to tell. I did notice initial drop in tension but nothing major. It looks like it is going to hold tension well.

Stiffness and 'sound': It felt softer than N.VY. It also felt A LOT mushier than N.VY and I am very sensitive to the sound of my strings. They must sound good!

Spin: Very poor performing in this category. I hit flat ball but my slices and and slice serves were nowhere near the level I am able to produce with the other racquet (n.vy, full bed) let alone with usual hybrids.

Overall comments and feedback: I didn't like this string. It felt like it was extruded from a candle: very waxy and slippery. I am not able to name any highlights of this string. It was just a poor performer overall. Maybe the durability and tension maintenance are good but that remains to be determined.

I forgot to post about spin Bob, but I agree. "Asymptotically Approaches Zero", I still have tears in my eyes from that laugh.

I should also point out that Bob and I are fairly big for tennis players so generating power is usually not a problem for myself and for Bob I would suspect.

flashfire276 said:

Exactly what I was thinking! I mean, it's obviously going to change the reaction of the player and it's performance! Like you said, what's the point in playtesting it if you always use natty crosses?
And besides, people can easily "cheat" on their reviews if they do a hybrid with a string they're familiar with. You guys get me?

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I think there is one reason people do that. If they have played a hybrid for a long time then the feel would be completely different to just use whatever string they get in a full set.

So by switching the mains of the hybrid with the test strings they would be able to give a better review. The review would be more easily compared to their original setup than putting the test string in a full set and comparing it to X mains, Y crosses.

I hit twice with this string and will put a review today or tomorrow.

Okay! Took it to my stringer, let it sit around for a day, and went out for a couple of hitting sessions. Note that this is my first time playing with any kind of gut/multi on my own racquet, because I'm usually a full poly or poly hybrid kind of guy. Also, I just switched from that 361 Nation string on this racquet, so this is a really big difference.

Tension: 58 lbs
Regular Setup: Gosen Polylon 17/OG Sheep Micro 16 @ 58lbs
Racquet: Babolat Aero Storm Cortex (16x20)

First Impressions
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When the string came in, I thought, "What the?? Natural gut? It's smells weird!" But it has a very strange texture on it, and it had a very slippery surface. Very strange for a poly kind of guy.
Took it to my stringer. Just told him to string it at 58 as always, and treat it like multi. When I came in, I asked him on what his thoughts on the string were. "Very stretchy! This would be something totally different for you."

Power/Control
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Nice amount of power! It's not amazing, but really nice for my kind of game. I think that "trampoline effect" is starting to kick in. My strokes were coming out nice and deep. Approach shots were coming out fast, which was a shocker for me. But with this amount of power, there was still a nice amount of control. I can still easily aim where I want my ball to go, except maybe my volleys. Maybe the trampoline effect was kind of pushing my ball a bit too far.
But my serves was were I was kind of "iffy" on. I just couldn't get it right with this string. I was assuming to get improvement just like my strokes, but this wasn't the case. I had to adjust my swing and slow it down in order to get some pace. But it didn't come out as nice as I thought it would.

Spin
----
Spin was okay. I was expecting more from a textured string, but it was more than my typical poly setup. Topspin generation came easy, and my slices had a bit more "kick" than usual. But I'm assuming that the slippery coating on this string kind of prevented its full spin potential.

Feel
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Soft, mushy. Just like how I feel with most multis. I'm not a big fan with that mushy kind of feel, because I love a firm response. But the softness of the string really helped me go against those heavy balls and first serves. So this was a first for me.
What I did like about this string was that it had a nice amount of "pop". I'm really critical when it comes to that sound. It may not be as much as Babolat Revenge, , but the pop was nice for a string this "mushy".

Tension Maintenance
--------------------
Pretty good so far! Played a couple games with it and some hitting sessions, and nothing too different from point A and point B. Strings don't move around that much, which is a big pleaser for me! Apparently multis have really good tension maintenance, and I think this kind of proves it.

Durability
---------
Uhmmm... I don't know what to say. A bit too early to give a full opinion. That top layer is starting to "shrivel" down. There's a bit of notching in the center of my stringbed. Maybe it's because I'm used to such long-lasting polys. I estimate I can still get maybe 3 more sets with this string. I know multis supposedly have really long life because they can hold tension so well, but I hope the string itself can last some tough shots.

Overall Comments/Feedback
---------------------------
I'm not much of a multi or gut kind of guy. But if you're into that kind of softness, you can give this a try. Lots of power and stretch. So if you don't want so much trampoline effect, you might want to try to prestretch and string a bit higher than usual. Soft and mushy kind of feel. Might recommend this to some players that seek a bit more "oomph" in their strokes while finding comfort.
But for players out there like me, this can be a really nice hybrid if you find the right string. Maybe a thinner, softer co-poly would make a nice hybrid to compliment its softness and power.

I'm wondering if people with stiffer rackets are enjoying this more than those of us with more flexible lower powered rackets.

BobFL said:

OK, I just played my friend. We played 3 sets. I played with Biomimetic 600 (102, 16x19). I hybridize my racquets but just for this occasion I strung my other racquet with full bed Babolat N.VY at the same tension of course - 59lbs. To put this is perspective with my racquet: 59lbs on dw machine should be discounted by ~4lbs to get comparable tension on electrinic machine. The recommended tension range for 600 is 55-6lbs.

Tension it is strung: 59lbs on DW machine; compared to the same racquet strung at the same tension with Babolat N.VY 16

My regular string set up: I exclusively use N.VY for crosses and various polys on mains (PH, Black Widow...)

String pattern of my racquet: 16x19

Power: Asymptotically Approaches Zero. My serves were very fluffy with no zip. I could not hit my usual angles and spots. I was getting tired because I was trying to compensate an evident lack of power with harder hitting. Didn't work. Just a friendly reminder here: the racquet was strung at the lowest recommended tension.

Feel: I am not really a 'feel' player but this one offered very little feel. I felt unusually disconnected from the ball. Very very strange feeling string.

Tension maintenance: Too early to tell. I did notice initial drop in tension but nothing major. It looks like it is going to hold tension well.

Stiffness and 'sound': It felt softer than N.VY. It also felt A LOT mushier than N.VY and I am very sensitive to the sound of my strings. They must sound good!

Spin: Very poor performing in this category. I hit flat ball but my slices and and slice serves were nowhere near the level I am able to produce with the other racquet (n.vy, full bed) let alone with usual hybrids.

Overall comments and feedback: I didn't like this string. It felt like it was extruded from a candle: very waxy and slippery. I am not able to name any highlights of this string. It was just a poor performer overall. Maybe the durability and tension maintenance are good but that remains to be determined.

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You must be an engineer as well :lol:

mikeler said:

I'm wondering if people with stiffer rackets are enjoying this more than those of us with more flexible lower powered rackets.

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It's interesting to see all the different reactions to the string.

I agree that the spin is so-so, but the reaction to the power level of the string seems to vary.

I play with a microgel prestige pro, which has a stiffness of 63 - that's flexy for me, my last stick was a PDR.

The string doesn't feel all that powerful on average - I didn't feel it lacked a lot power but provided a good control/power blend. I think first time out, hard hit balls dropped at the baseline instead of going deep.

But maybe it gets a little trampoline effect when you hit in the sweet spot or as the tension drops. I swear that a dead-center ball comes off much harder than I expected in comparison to my usual set-up. I also see that some other testers got some volleys where the ball just flew long.

mikeler said:

I'm wondering if people with stiffer rackets are enjoying this more than those of us with more flexible lower powered rackets.

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I have to agree with that.
Like, there's a lot of players that are enjoying this string, such as Bud and JRstriker12.
Then there's you and BobFL, and I know you guys have a lot of experience and high standards for soft strings. But I find it interesting is that the results are starting to vary from everyone's perspective. Like you 2 aren't big fans of these strings, while JRstriker12 is enjoying his time he got with it.

It's probably just personal preference I believe. Like how I enjoy a firmer response, while many love buttery-soft feel.

After reading all the initial reviews, I'm not as excited to receive the playtest anymore, lol. Please tell me this is all a joke

flashfire276 said:

I have to agree with that.
Like, there's a lot of players that are enjoying this string, such as Bud and JRstriker12.
Then there's you and BobFL, and I know you guys have a lot of experience and high standards for soft strings. But I find it interesting is that the results are starting to vary from everyone's perspective. Like you 2 aren't big fans of these strings, while JRstriker12 is enjoying his time he got with it.

It's probably just personal preference I believe. Like how I enjoy a firmer response, while many love buttery-soft feel.

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Yeah the results are all over the place! Poor TW, they have to try and wade through this to figure if they want to sell the string. Might be a good idea to add a "Would you buy this string if the price were right?" poll just to help them decide whether to carry it. I do like my buttery feel, so nice on the elbow.

mikeler said:

Yeah the results are all over the place! Poor TW, they have to try and wade through this to figure if they want to sell the string. Might be a good idea to add a "Would you buy this string if the price were right?" poll just to help them decide whether to carry it. I do like my buttery feel, so nice on the elbow.

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I dont think the opinions are that far often when you consider the player's persepctive.

For most of the poly players, this string is mushy (and it is in comparison to poly) has more power and less spin. But for multi-players, it's a bit stiff, less powerful, maybe a bit more control and so-so spin.

So on average I think we get a stiffer, control oreinted multi/synth gut with average spin, maybe a bit better than average durability (IMHO).

There were some disagreements on if the string stretches alot. Could that be a function of the type of machine you use? Or maybe the string batches are inconsistent??? (not good)

Anyway, it's always fun to try something new.

I'd definitely buy a few sets and see how it does with some string savers.

JRstriker12 said:

I dont think the opinions are that far often when you consider the player's persepctive.

For most of the poly players, this string is mushy (and it is in comparison to poly) has more power and less spin. But for multi-players, it's a bit stiff, less powerful, maybe a bit more control and so-so spin.

So on average I think we get a stiffer, control oreinted multi/synth gut with average spin, maybe a bit better than average durability (IMHO).

There were some disagreements on if the string stretches alot. Could that be a function of the type of machine you use? Or maybe the string batches are inconsistent??? (not good)

Anyway, it's always fun to try something new.

I'd definitely buy a few sets and see how it does with some string savers.

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That's a valid point about those coming over from the poly world. The string was like a typical multi for me on my crank machine. I'm sure you notice it much more on a drop weight. It's nowhere near as stretchy as the Mantis Comfort Synthetic that I use. That first pull with the Mantis I have to use almost the entire length that my crank will travel.

mikeler said:

Yeah the results are all over the place! Poor TW, they have to try and wade through this to figure if they want to sell the string. Might be a good idea to add a "Would you buy this string if the price were right?" poll just to help them decide whether to carry it. I do like my buttery feel, so nice on the elbow.

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IMO, the fact that you have to do that means....NOPE!

mikeler said:

Softness: The string feels like a stiffer multi like Head RIP Control. It's almost too stiff for my elbow.

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I'm not disagreeing that it may feel that way, but Head RIP Control is NOT considered a stiff multi objectively speaking. It clocks in at around 185, which is quite soft, and well below a lot of strings that are considered to be soft multis.

JRstriker12 said:

It's interesting to see all the different reactions to the string.

I agree that the spin is so-so, but the reaction to the power level of the string seems to vary.

I play with a microgel prestige pro, which has a stiffness of 63 - that's flexy for me, my last stick was a PDR.

The string doesn't feel all that powerful on average - I didn't feel it lacked a lot power but provided a good control/power blend. I think first time out, hard hit balls dropped at the baseline instead of going deep.

But maybe it gets a little trampoline effect when you hit in the sweet spot or as the tension drops. I swear that a dead-center ball comes off much harder than I expected in comparison to my usual set-up. I also see that some other testers got some volleys where the ball just flew long.

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I agree. It's almost like two completely different sets of string were sent out that appear identical :lol:

I was hoping to put another 3 hours on it tonight but unfortunately I think the rain may start before 6pm

Blind String Review:

• Tension it is strung
  Strung at 50lbs. CP full set
  [*]Your regular string set up
  Spiky Shark 50lbs. full set
  [*]String pattern of your racquet
  Pure Storm Ltd. 18x20
  [*]Power (or lack there of)
  Similarly powerful to my regular setup. At times I did get a bit more pop than expected, but nothing out of the ordinary for this type of string.
  [*]Feel
  I was surprised by the lack of feel from this string. This is even more mute than most of the polys I've tried. I was tempted to put it down just for this reason alone, but I kept playing with it and did notice that it got a little better after a break in period. I would still say this is one of the most muted strings I've played.
  [*]Tension maintenance (how long it holds its tension)
  So far so good. Don't have a lot of time on it yet, but not much tension loss so far.
  [*]Overall comments and feedback
  So far the most notable thing about this string is how muted it plays. I'm curious to read more about how it feels to others at different tensions and in other frames. Performance of the string was decent. It performed similar to my normal setup with maybe a little bit less spin. It does move around a bit, so I think durability will be less, but so far it's holding up well. Really my only complaint so far is the lack of feel. Hopefully I'll get a chance to play with it in warmer temperatures to see if that helps. It's been quite cool recently, and that could have something to do with it.

Virgilio said:

Any other posters that will be selected for this string?

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Mine arrived today. I'll get Geoff to string it up this weekend, then report! BHBH

LPShanet said:

I'm not disagreeing that it may feel that way, but Head RIP Control is NOT considered a stiff multi objectively speaking. It clocks in at around 185, which is quite soft, and well below a lot of strings that are considered to be soft multis.

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I've been using real soft multis. Don't even bother with the RSI on Mantis Comfort. At 175 it feels like 125.

TW Staff said:

We recently selected some Talk Tennis members to participate in a blind string test. We ask that those playtesters please post their feedback in this thread.

Guidelines for your review:

• 
  [*ments and feedback

Thanks,
TW Staff

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thanks for picking me TW! going to string it up this weekend. review to follow.

brownbearfalling said:

The stretchiest string I have every strung with are the Gamma live wires. But I can't remember how much n.vy stretches.

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What is "n.vy:?

December 2010 String Test

* I strung a full set of the test string at 56# (no hybrid)(NEOS 1000 with Wise Tension Head at constant pull setting). Very easy and unremarkable to string.
* My string set up for a long time was Signum Pure Pro Poly Plasma 1.18 mm mains with Gosen OG Sheep 18 gauge (1.15 mm) crosses at 56#. I am in the midst of trying out many strings, looking for a polyester with power, spin and comfort to hybrid with either a synthetic gut or a multi-filament, depending on the poly. Signum Tornado and MSV Hex are promising candidates for main strings.
* My racquet is the Youtek Prestige Pro (16 x 19), with about 5 grams of lead distributed evenly between 3 and 9 o’clock, for a total strung weight of 340 grams and about 6 points HL.
* Power.
The string had nice power without overdoing it.
* Feel
It seemed to have more depth than most multifilaments, with great comfort and dwell time off the ground. The sweetspot was expanded and forgiving. I had trouble sticking volleys, however.
* Tension maintenance (how long it holds its tension)
After hitting groundies for one session and a set of doubles, I had to cut this string out, so I don’t have any long term tension information. In the time I played it, however, it did not seem to lose any tension.
* Overall comments and feedback
The string color is shades of brown and tan, with obvious twisting of whatever fibers make up this string. The surface is textured, but without any sharp edges. It is a multi-filament of unknown materials. It appears to be in the 16 gauge size range. I usually play with thinner gauge strings, but I was pleasantly surprised by the grip for spin these strings provided on groundstrokes. On groundstrokes, it was easy to get the groove, but for return of serve and volleys, this string had too much trampoline for me. Serving was not ideal, but I am sure a little more time with the string would have brought the fine tuning needed to serve well consistently.
Bottom line: interesting and very comfortable, but I would not buy it or recommend it.

After reading some other reviews, I thought I'd mention that I played gut for over 10 years before finding a poly that was comfortable. So I know gut and this string is not like gut.

BreakPoint said:

What is "n.vy:?

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http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babolat_NVY_16_String/descpageACBAB-BNV16.html

BreakPoint said:

What is "n.vy:?

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A synthetic string made by Babolat with IMS Technology (integrated micro spheres). Supposably, the IMS prevents premature notching that can lead to strings breaking, even though they still have plenty of life left.
On top of that, N.VY is probably one of the best synthetics in my opinion. Very soft, easy on the arm, nice crisp feel, and actually a bit more durable than other synthetics! Really good stuff!