Mikeler's Multis
- Thread starter mikeler
- Start date
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
I love Excellerator -- a great string that really flies under the radar. I always use the 18g in my Rossignol F250. And I am still working my ass off to get depth. Looking forward to using it in my Black Ace 90 which a much easier and even more rewarding racquet to wield.
I emailed Ray around 3 weeks ago to check the availability of DM reel which he replied shortly that it might be coming in a week's time from then. So far, no news on its arrival yet
mikeler
Moderator
An 18g string in the Exo might last through the warm up.
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
That's for sure. The Rossi with it's tiny head and lack of built-in power is definitely at the opposite end of the spectrum.
mikeler
Moderator
Hit at McLovin's home courts this afternoon with the Discho Microfibre and played pretty darn well. I can't blame a string for framing forehands 100 feet into the air! Please don't tell the viewing audience how many times I framed the ball over the fence McLovin OK? So the Excellerator won't get tested until next Thursday.
D-money
Rookie
I liked excellerator as a cross it played well with a few different polys. I don't think I've tried it in a full bed. Let us know. I'm glad to hear the micronite/multifibre situation is sorted out that would be a tragedy if that were discontinued. Can't TW get a lead on that? There's got to be a big enough demand for it.
McLovin
Legend
Deal, just so long as you don't tell them how many break points I failed to convert on the ensuing points...
mikeler
Moderator
Deal! Strange match for sure. One break in the first 13 games and then 5 breaks in a row. That one super long deuce game on my serve gave us both some serious cardio.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Very interested in this string!!! Please do share how it goes, buddy.
parasailing
Legend
Just be careful stringing it as it tends to be like natural gut and can kink pretty easily. I remembered when I used it a while back and it was a pain but maybe they fixed it since I purchased it when it first came out over a year ago.
I think it's just slightly above average and X1 Biphase still beats it in my opinion.
mikeler
Moderator
Thanks for the info. I'll make sure to handle the string with care. If the hurricane squalls hold off, I'll try out Klip Excellerator tonight.
sansaephanh
Professional
at least your kick serve will hop over the fence. probably into the next city over though. I'd play through a hurricane =P lol jk. Home grown californian kids can't imagine how a hurricane must be like.
You get earthquakes, Mike gets hurricanes, we get tornadoes. It all balances out
mikeler
Moderator
Kind of hard to play on a flooded court. A hurricane is really windy and rainy. Not much lightning. All the action is in the squalls. In the non-rainy areas it is just breezy.
You get earthquakes, Mike gets hurricanes, we get tornadoes. It all balances out
They get fires, riots and mudslides too.
mikeler
Moderator
I forgot to mention that I strung up the Volkl Gripper last night. I used the 50/50 method for starting the crosses which made life much easier. Did the old ball bounce test and this one seems like it will have some serious pop on serves. I forgot to test out the spin but I did get a RacquetTune reading this time right after stringing. Interestingly, it matched exactly with the tension of the Klip Excellerator I strung up 8 days earlier.
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Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
V-Twist or Gripper?
mikeler
Moderator
Oops, I meant to say Gripper. I edited my post. Thanks for pointing that out.
mikeler
Moderator
Warmed up with the Excellerator this morning and played 3 games with it. After losing all 3 games easily, I put it back in the bag and used the Gripper the rest of the match. Gripper had much more pop to it. Excellerator just felt dead but I'll give it another go tomorrow. Gripper had much better touch as well. Overall I think Gripper is a nice string but it looks like durability may be an issue.
PPA prone to shanks
I mentioned last week that I broke PPA on a shank after less than 4 hours. It was on the throat. This morning I just broke PPA again on shank after less than 1 hour. It was on the top of the frame.
PPA is one of the most durable multis I've tried when it doesn't break in the first few hours from a shank. However, it's getting more obvious to me that it is prone to shanks. I still have another set of PPA in my basket, but I think I might try another string to see if it won't be as prone to shanks. Mikeler will laugh, but the only other multi in my basket right now is Kirschbaum Touch Multifiber.
I mentioned last week that I broke PPA on a shank after less than 4 hours. It was on the throat. This morning I just broke PPA again on shank after less than 1 hour. It was on the top of the frame.
PPA is one of the most durable multis I've tried when it doesn't break in the first few hours from a shank. However, it's getting more obvious to me that it is prone to shanks. I still have another set of PPA in my basket, but I think I might try another string to see if it won't be as prone to shanks. Mikeler will laugh, but the only other multi in my basket right now is Kirschbaum Touch Multifiber.
That's too bad. I was hoping Excellerator would be a good string. A lot of people seem to like Gripper. Maybe I'll give that a go sometime.
mikeler
Moderator
To be fair, I have not played in 8 days and I was rusty starting out. There was also a variable wind between 10 and 25 MPH with no sun. Not the easiest conditions to test new strings. Tomorrow will also be very windy, but I should have a better idea about it then.
mikeler
Moderator
I hit a few more serves with the Excellarator this afternoon and it was better but still lower powered. I was working on my kick serve and man when I get all the elements together, the Exo3 can really put some action on the ball. But I hardly ever put all the elements together. :?
sphinx780
Hall of Fame
Just an aside, the foil on gripper starts looking frayed immediately. For me, the main part of the strig won't begin to fray for another 6-8 sets, then it's a plush ride til it breaks 2-4 sets after.
mikeler
Moderator
Good to know. Some of the crosses look bad but the mains look OK. I'm probably going to have to add a durability asterik to my reviews when it comes to the Exo3 Tour. It just beats up string. I'm curious to see how long my Discho lasts in it. I've never broken it before except on a shank. It still looks pretty good with 6 sets on it. I can't say the same for any other multi string to date.
I bought a set of Sensation Control at the local store today. I cut out my sets tonight, who knows, I may need it tomorrow. It looks sturdy and has that gluey goodness I love. I like NXT Control much more than NXT. So I'm hoping I like Sensation Control much more than Sensation. I do like Sensation more than NXT which is more expensive.
mikeler
Moderator
With the Discho Microfibre the answer is NO. Other multis, I'd say yes. I don't know why I keep testing strings, the Microfibre just works for me. I'm Mikeler and I approve this message.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
DM holds its tension very well with no fraying. Use it in an i.Radical mp, not a string-eater.
mikeler
Moderator
DM is a frayer for me and drops a lot of tension. With that being said, I've found that if I use a starting tension of 54 pounds, even when it drops 20% I can still control it. I'm not concerned about tension loss so much as how the string performs over time.
Got some string testing to do early AM, I'll report back in the PM.
sphinx780
Hall of Fame
Good to know. Some of the crosses look bad but the mains look OK. I'm probably going to have to add a durability asterik to my reviews when it comes to the Exo3 Tour. It just beats up string. I'm curious to see how long my Discho lasts in it. I've never broken it before except on a shank. It still looks pretty good with 6 sets on it. I can't say the same for any other multi string to date.
I bought a set of Sensation Control at the local store today. I cut out my sets tonight, who knows, I may need it tomorrow. It looks sturdy and has that gluey goodness I love. I like NXT Control much more than NXT. So I'm hoping I like Sensation Control much more than Sensation. I do like Sensation more than NXT which is more expensive.
I'm wondering how the open pattern will fare with gripper compared to my 18x20. With that and your view on the 3xo beating up strings, your mileage on Gripper will defintiely be less than mine.
mikeler
Moderator
How much life do you get out of Gripper?
That would be a big mistake. Gripper is much better.
sphinx780
Hall of Fame
10-12 sets of singles. It's lifespan is pretty consistent for me.
mikeler
Moderator
I got 4 more games on Excellarator and decided to end my experiment with it. Bottom line is I'm too inconsistent with it. So I played the rest of the way with Gripper. It looks pretty beat up after a 3 setter today but I think it will last another 2 matches or so for me. I'm hoping to string up Wilson Sensation Control tonight.
mikeler
Moderator
Mutli versus Poly in a nutshell
Power versus Control
Touch versus Spin
Comfort versus Stiffness
2ManyAces
Rookie
thanks. Are you saying that spin on a multi is not very much?
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Depends on the multi. Mikeler is definitely the guy to talk with about multis
mikeler
Moderator
Polys give you more spin than multis although there are a few multis that come close.
mikeler
Moderator
Head RIP Control and Dunlop Hexy Fiber give the most spin of the multis I've tried. RIP Control is very muted and I had problems with random springiness. Hexy Fiber has a little more pop but is not very durable.
mikeler
Moderator
A mini review of KLIP Excellerator 16 String
I only used this string for 2 warm ups and 7 games. Both warm ups I was having problems keeping the ball in play. The same held true for the games I played. I think I only won 1 game out of the 7 and that was on my serve after multiple deuces. This string lacks pop even strung up at 54#. The ball just seems to fall off the strings resulting in many net balls for me. I could not find any redeeming qualities in this string.
I only used this string for 2 warm ups and 7 games. Both warm ups I was having problems keeping the ball in play. The same held true for the games I played. I think I only won 1 game out of the 7 and that was on my serve after multiple deuces. This string lacks pop even strung up at 54#. The ball just seems to fall off the strings resulting in many net balls for me. I could not find any redeeming qualities in this string.
mikeler
Moderator
I tried the Wilson Gut 16 at beginning of the year and I think I got 11 or 12 sets out of it which is comparable to DM. I've got a set of Klip Legend at the house that I may string up next.
Klip Legend lasted me about 30 hours. What also amazed me was that I let it sit in the closet for 2 months while my shoulder was healing, and I didn't notice the kind of drop off in playability that I normally feel with multi after 6-10 hours.
I was probably lucky. I suspect I won't be as lucky next time around. Typical multis like NXT will last me 5-8 hours. More durable ones like PPA and DM will last me 10-12 hours with a noticeable change in character near the end. Lately, I've been in the habit of shanking balls, and my last 2 sets of PPA lasted me 1-4 hours before they broke along the grommets (the bottom grommets the 1st time, the top grommets the 2nd time).
