Wilson 99S string experiences

tennis_nut · Jan 25, 2013

JackB1 said:
You guys should try Solinco Outlast in the 99s. It's a perfect string for it!

Hi Jack, I just cut Outlast 16g out of my frame because of tension loss. Before the big drop in tension, it played great. Spin was excellent, feel was good, and not too high powered. However, around the 6-7 hour mark, the tension fell dramatically and it lost all its' good qualities. It started making a very annoying buzzing sound upon contact also. I feel as though this racquet causes tension loss to be more rapid. Maybe it's the string pattern? I don't know. I got it restrung with Silverstring 1.25 and am waiting to try it out

My other frame with 16g Prince gut/RPM blast 16g plays amazing. The spin is ridiculous. The mains seem like they are sliding a lot smoother than with 4G crosses. A little more powerful than gut/4G but not overly so. The only downside I see to this is the durability. There is heavy fraying and unraveling of the gut in the sweetspot and it looks like the gut won't last much longer. This is after about 4 sets of doubles and 2 sets of singles.

I think I am done with the gut/poly experiments. It's getting too darn expensive. I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

Buford T Justice · Jan 25, 2013

tennis_nut said:
I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

If you find it....please tell us!

Ross K · Jan 25, 2013

tennis_nut said:
I'm going to start my search for a 16 or 17 gauge poly that can retain most of its playability till it breaks.

Yes, keep us all posted on how this search progresses.

You may consider Solinco Tour bite 16g. I've found the spin and power to be better than ALU plus Solinco usually last around 25% longer than ALU and the 16g is particularly robust.

PED, do let us know asap how it goes with TB in the 99s... hmm, maybe I should just look in this direction for the next string-job?

PED · Jan 25, 2013

Ross K said:
Yes, keep us all posted on how this search progresses.

PED, do let us know asap how it goes with TB in the 99s... hmm, maybe I should just look in this direction for the next string-job?

I figure why reinvent the wheel. I've got the 16l tb in there ATM and it plays great but the lifespan is not going to be very long.

I'll go with the 16g on my next restring.

Buford T Justice · Jan 25, 2013

And heres what this Steam 99S frame does to strings after ~3hrs of use!

Buford T Justice · Jan 25, 2013

As much as I dislike the string wear, I do like this frame enough to buy another one (which I did today). But, I also bought a reel of Gosen Polylon as well, so I can restring these things for like 2 bucks a piece. That seems to be what is required for this frame.

tlm · Jan 25, 2013

Buford T Justice said:
As much as I dislike the string wear, I do like this frame enough to buy another one (which I did today). But, I also bought a reel of Gosen Polylon as well, so I can restring these things for like 2 bucks a piece. That seems to be what is required for this frame.

It is a string eating machine.

tennis_nut · Jan 25, 2013

Wow! You guys must be big hitters! It took me roughly six hours to break 17g Tornado.

Buford T Justice · Jan 25, 2013

tennis_nut said:
Wow! You guys must be big hitters! It took me roughly six hours to break 17g Tornado.

In my case, I think it is just that I am genetically incapable of hitting a flat ball :-(

Ross K · Jan 25, 2013

PED said:
I figure why reinvent the wheel. I've got the 16l tb in there ATM and it plays great but the lifespan is not going to be very long.

I'll go with the 16g on my next restring.

Indeed. :wink: I'm also aware how TB generally lasts well time-wise compared to other polys (Alu, etc.) Maybe I'm just overthinking it a bit as the 99s seems to be garnering such anxious string related posts/discussion.

fibonacci888 · Jan 26, 2013

anybody considered the Pacific Xcite? I have a full bed in my tecnifibre and tension is holding great.

When i have a 99s finally to demo i'll put in a bed.

Buford T Justice · Jan 26, 2013

Has anyone tried string savers in these frames?

Buford T Justice · Jan 26, 2013

Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

Buford T Justice · Jan 26, 2013

Buford T Justice said:
Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

Im going to try this (60 mains/30 crosses) just for yucks.......I am hoping the crosses will actually move a little bit so the mains wont "ride" the same spot on them over and over (which is what causes the notching). In the very least, it has to reduce the friction between the mains and the crosses as the crosses will be more deformed (i.e. not as straight) when crossing each main. I guess the question is...will it make enough of a difference.....

tlm · Jan 26, 2013

Buford T Justice said:
Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

I tried it with kevlar main at 60 and poly x's at 65 lbs. and it still had bad control and this string set up puts super control into any racket that I have used.

Centerforward71 · Jan 26, 2013

Buford T Justice said:
Im going to try this (60 mains/30 crosses) just for yucks.......I am hoping the crosses will actually move a little bit so the mains wont "ride" the same spot on them over and over (which is what causes the notching). In the very least, it has to reduce the friction between the mains and the crosses as the crosses will be more deformed (i.e. not as straight) when crossing each main. I guess the question is...will it make enough of a difference.....

Your gonna warp and/or break the frame on a shot. Bad idea BTJ.

Buford T Justice · Jan 26, 2013

Centerforward71 said:
Your gonna warp and/or break the frame on a shot. Bad idea BTJ.

That is a very valid concern my friend!

Perhaps it would be best if I just tried the low tension all around.

JackB1 · Jan 31, 2013

so has anyone found a better option than 16g 4g in the 99s? It seems pretty great to me. Nice plush feel and durability seems pretty good. The string also slides very well against itself in a full job. Only negative is that the middle mains are often getting out of place and you have to straighten now and then.

quest01 · Jan 31, 2013

Well after around 5 hours of hitting with the 99s the strings snapped. Literally after 2 hours of hitting the strings were moving all over the place. I had it strung with Luxilon ALU Power at 59/60 pounds and even at that tension, the strings still didn't last very long. I had my other 99s strung with 60/61 pounds with the same string so hopefully they last longer.

I'm definitely moving to another string and going to try out the 4G stuff in either the 16 or 15g. The 16L 4G probably won't last much longer than the ALU Power 16L.

The only thing I'm concerned with is that I might generate a lot less spin with a 15g.

Rabbit · Jan 31, 2013

I just finished stringing Lux 4G 15G in a guys racquet. It looks wicked in there. I'm afraid I'm headed toward the 4G for mine as well. The 4GS is kinda cool since it was designed for the Wilson frames.

tlm · Jan 31, 2013

quest01 said:
Well after around 5 hours of hitting with the 99s the strings snapped. Literally after 2 hours of hitting the strings were moving all over the place. I had it strung with Luxilon ALU Power at 59/60 pounds and even at that tension, the strings still didn't last very long. I had my other 99s strung with 60/61 pounds with the same string so hopefully they last longer.

I'm definitely moving to another string and going to try out the 4G stuff in either the 16 or 15g. The 16L 4G probably won't last much longer than the ALU Power 16L.

The only thing I'm concerned with is that I might generate a lot less spin with a 15g.

Well thats great a high priced poly moving all over after 2 hours and breaking after 5. Who would not want this racket? Wilson hit a homerun alright but it is more like the string companys hit the jackpot. Maybe you should see if you can find some 14 gauge kevlar maybe it will last 6 hours.

I had a vortex spin racket a few years ago and this wilson is nothing more than a wilson vortex. What I ended up doing after having the same problems that you are having is use a 15 gauge low powered cheap syn. main with a cheap first generation poly 15 L. x's and string it in the high 60's and just have 2 rackets and plan on stringing often.

I was using cheap leona 66 main and it played very good and is very cheap with babolat duralast x's and they played great together. I liked the leona main because that with the poly cross gave it even better control.

JackB1 · Feb 1, 2013

Since the biggest issue with the 99s seems to be poly tension loss, maybe the optimum setup for it is natural gut mains and copoly cross? Nat gut is the BEST string for retaining tension and will help to "mask" the copoly when it starts losing tension. The key then is to find the best tension for this hybrid, since it will have a lot of power.
I am thinking around 64/58? Has anyone else tried a nat gut/copoly setup and what were your results?

jk175d · Feb 1, 2013

drak said:
guess I'd be a little concerned that with a gut/mains Poly hybrid strung at lower tensions (45-50 lbs) that power would be too high and hence control too little - Drakulie or JackB any comments on this?

I don't know this frame but it's a misconception that dropping poly into the 40's will be more power than poly in the 50s. imo poly is the most powerful and trampoline-y in the low-mid 50's. Get it into the mid low 40's and it is actually less powerful, imparts more spin and thus easier to control.

Gut on the other hand feels more powerful in the mid 40's to mid 50's than higher tensions, BUT that is mitigated when crossed with poly in the low 40's. Perfect combo imo.

PED · Feb 1, 2013

jk175d said:
Get it into the mid low 40's and it is actually less powerful, imparts more spin and thus easier to control.

Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

Ross K · Feb 1, 2013

PED said:
Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

What exact tension(s) would you play though if the weather was very cold and sometimes windy/damp, as it is here in the UK?

PED · Feb 1, 2013

Ross K said:
What exact tension(s) would you play though if the weather was very cold and sometimes windy/damp, as it is here in the UK?

42/41 or 41/40 usually does the trick.

It was 38 degrees and windy today at it worked fine.

Buford T Justice · Feb 1, 2013

PED said:
Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

I tried 35 lb (Head Sonic Pro 17) in the 99S and I couldnt do much with it. I know that racquets are not "rocket launchers" but people are.....but holy smokes I could hardly keep the balls from flying. And, the strings moved from the first hit and didnt return. I really really wanted to like the low tension, as the frame played pillow soft with easy easy power.

Maybe another test at slightly higher tension?

PED · Feb 1, 2013

Buford T Justice said:
I tried 35 lb (Head Sonic Pro 17) in the 99S and I couldnt do much with it. I know that racquets are not "rocket launchers" but people are.....but holy smokes I could hardly keep the balls from flying. And, the strings moved from the first hit and didnt return. I really really wanted to like the low tension, as the frame played pillow soft with easy easy power.

Maybe another test at slightly higher tension?

I've never gone as low as the 30's and Sonic 17 is a powerful string. I think the Sonic would be great at 45ish but it also won't last very long since it's so soft.

When I used tour bite 16L last week, I did 45/44 and it was great but it popped too early. TB is powerful as well but it bites harder than Sonic IMO.

I moved up to the 16 gauge tour bite the last few days and kept the tension roughly the same.

The problem is that the 16g isn't as powerful and it also got colder so I wasn't getting the action I wanted from it.

I will say that it takes time to groove in the lower tensions but they're effortless once you get your timing sorted out. The 16g TB is also not notching nearly like the 16L did last week.

I'm going with 41/40 for next week.

CrispyFritters · Feb 2, 2013

JackB1 said:
Since the biggest issue with the 99s seems to be poly tension loss, maybe the optimum setup for it is natural gut mains and copoly cross? Nat gut is the BEST string for retaining tension and will help to "mask" the copoly when it starts losing tension. The key then is to find the best tension for this hybrid, since it will have a lot of power.
I am thinking around 64/58? Has anyone else tried a nat gut/copoly setup and what were your results?

I've got some hitting plus 5 sets of doubles with this setup:
Tonic Longevity Mains (15g) at 58 pounds
Scorpion 17g cross at 55 pounds

First 60 minutes were probably the best. Good spin, good control, strings snap back. Ball went where I wanted.

After that, the power level really picked up. It's become very pillowy and I tend to hit long more often. The strings still snap back.

I think it's a decent setup, except for my wallet. Gut is noticeably notched already, and I expect to get about 10 hours total out of it. At that price, I think I'd rather play with a cheap full poly job and just restring more often.

Ross K · Feb 2, 2013

PED said:
I've never gone as low as the 30's and Sonic 17 is a powerful string. I think the Sonic would be great at 45ish but it also won't last very long since it's so soft.

When I used tour bite 16L last week, I did 45/44 and it was great but it popped too early. TB is powerful as well but it bites harder than Sonic IMO.

I moved up to the 16 gauge tour bite the last few days and kept the tension roughly the same.

The problem is that the 16g isn't as powerful and it also got colder so I wasn't getting the action I wanted from it.

I will say that it takes time to groove in the lower tensions but they're effortless once you get your timing sorted out. The 16g TB is also not notching nearly like the 16L did last week.

I'm going with 41/40 for next week.

Wow, nearly dipping into the 30's here. I'm not sure I've heard about TB strung that low before.

wmilas · Feb 5, 2013

JackB1 said:
Since the biggest issue with the 99s seems to be poly tension loss, maybe the optimum setup for it is natural gut mains and copoly cross? Nat gut is the BEST string for retaining tension and will help to "mask" the copoly when it starts losing tension. The key then is to find the best tension for this hybrid, since it will have a lot of power.
I am thinking around 64/58? Has anyone else tried a nat gut/copoly setup and what were your results?

Tried that. Tension maintenance is great.. till you snap the gut. I snapped it fairly fast... was not able to last past 4.5 hours.. as bad as 30 minutes when an frame snapped it at the tieoff.

ricardo · Mar 27, 2013

String savers (Babolat elastocross)

Has anybody used string savers (babolat elastocross) on your Wilson 99S racquet?

Are the string savers falling off?
How does it affect the spin?
Does is prolong the life of your strings, especially the mains?

Thanks...

tommynguyen101 · Mar 29, 2013

I tried it with the 4G. Feels amazing. My forehands improved significantly.

Rabbit · Mar 31, 2013

tommynguyen101 said:
I tried it with the 4G. Feels amazing. My forehands improved significantly.

I have to agree, without reservation. I got a bad response from one of my clients on 4G and thought "Oh well, it's not the first time I've thrown money out the window." Then, being "frugal", I couldn't bear not stringing it. Boy was I glad I did. I also installed it at low tension, 47/44. It plays great, pockets the ball, control and spin is off the charts. The other big bonus is no soreness at all at that tension and no loss of any playability.

I have a lot of less expensive polys that I'll try for comparison, but I'm about convinced on 4G.

Nostradamus · Mar 31, 2013

Rabbit said:
I have to agree, without reservation. I got a bad response from one of my clients on 4G and thought "Oh well, it's not the first time I've thrown money out the window." Then, being "frugal", I couldn't bear not stringing it. Boy was I glad I did. I also installed it at low tension, 47/44. It plays great, pockets the ball, control and spin is off the charts. The other big bonus is no soreness at all at that tension and no loss of any playability.

I have a lot of less expensive polys that I'll try for comparison, but I'm about convinced on 4G.

It isn't coutoured or textured but produce a lot of spin ? how is this ? how does it compared to pro hurricane tour ?

D-money · Mar 31, 2013

I've tried 4G, pro hurricane tour, volkl cyclone and tour bite soft all in 1.30 and so far my favorite is the tour bite soft. It's got a slightly muted feel, great controllable power and spin of course. I've logged about six hours on he set I've got in and it's holding up ok too.

Nostradamus · Mar 31, 2013

D-money said:
I've tried 4G, pro hurricane tour, volkl cyclone and tour bite soft all in 1.30 and so far my favorite is the tour bite soft. It's got a slightly muted feel, great controllable power and spin of course. I've logged about six hours on he set I've got in and it's holding up ok too.

did 4G have more or less power than Pro hurr tour?

john hempel · Mar 31, 2013

has anyone tried a hybrid with poly in the mains and a different poly in the crosses. an example might be 4G mains and polylon in the crosses to save money, but still gain the poly spin benefit.

Rabbit · Apr 1, 2013

D-money said:
I've tried 4G, pro hurricane tour, volkl cyclone and tour bite soft all in 1.30 and so far my favorite is the tour bite soft. It's got a slightly muted feel, great controllable power and spin of course. I've logged about six hours on he set I've got in and it's holding up ok too.

A hitting partner is a recent Tour Bite devotee. He raves about it. It's definitely on my list to try.

D-money · Apr 1, 2013

Nostradamus said:
did 4G have more or less power than Pro hurr tour?

4G had noticeably more power that PHT

D-money · Apr 1, 2013

Rabbit said:
A hitting partner is a recent Tour Bite devotee. He raves about it. It's definitely on my list to try.

I must specify that it's tour bite soft. I haven't tried the original tour bite in the 99s

naturallight · Apr 2, 2013

Does anyone here use the 99s in a full multi, or is that just a nonstarter due to durability concerns?

I liked demoing the 99s, but I'm worried that if it requires poly mains it will be too tough on the arm. My Bab with a hybrid has melted my arm, although I'm not sure if that's due to the poly or the Bab. The 99s did feel softer during the demo than some other comparable racquets, maybe because if the more open string pattern?

john hempel · Apr 2, 2013

naturallight said:
Does anyone here use the 99s in a full multi, or is that just a nonstarter due to durability concerns?

I liked demoing the 99s, but I'm worried that if it requires poly mains it will be too tough on the arm. My Bab with a hybrid has melted my arm, although I'm not sure if that's due to the poly or the Bab. The 99s did feel softer during the demo than some other comparable racquets, maybe because if the more open string pattern?

i have the 99s and have played polylon/syn gut hybrid, ALU power/hybrid, cyclone full poly and will be trying dunlop ice this week in a full poly. i also did the demo with 4G.

everyone is different, however, i can say that i've not had any elbow problems with poly in the 99s. i tried poly hybrids and full poly in my previous racket, k six one 95 (18x20) and i didn't like the feel of poly in that racket. the 99s with poly feels entirely different and plays more like a muti in terms of arm and elbow comfort.

don't see the value of the 99s unless your taking full advantageof the increased spin and minimizing the increased string breakage by using poly. full bed i the best formula for me, however, hybrid wasn't bad and is cheaper.

Ross K · Apr 2, 2013

Rabbit said:
A hitting partner is a recent Tour Bite devotee. He raves about it. It's definitely on my list to try.

FWIW I always find it a bit stiff but the power/spin/grab/lift/life etc, well, it stands out in my poly experiences. I also think it suits the 99s. That said, I'm still keen to check out Xcite and 4GS.

naturallight · Apr 3, 2013

john hempel said:
i have the 99s and have played polylon/syn gut hybrid, ALU power/hybrid, cyclone full poly and will be trying dunlop ice this week in a full poly. i also did the demo with 4G.

everyone is different, however, i can say that i've not had any elbow problems with poly in the 99s. i tried poly hybrids and full poly in my previous racket, k six one 95 (18x20) and i didn't like the feel of poly in that racket. the 99s with poly feels entirely different and plays more like a muti in terms of arm and elbow comfort.

don't see the value of the 99s unless your taking full advantageof the increased spin and minimizing the increased string breakage by using poly. full bed i the best formula for me, however, hybrid wasn't bad and is cheaper.

Good stuff, thanks for the feedback.

CrispyFritters · Apr 3, 2013

Tried Pro Line X in the 99s and thought it was pretty good. Better than full job of SPPPP but more control than Gut / poly.

Anyone else tried Pro Line X? What do you think?

x-Luke-x · Apr 3, 2013

My friend gave me his 99s to demo for a couple weeks. What tension should I play it at? I currently play an APD at 55lb signum pro poly megaforce 1.34 mains / Isospeed black fire 1.25 crosses. I am a open level aggressive baseliner. Thanks.

Rabbit · Apr 4, 2013

john hempel said:
i have the 99s and have played polylon/syn gut hybrid, ALU power/hybrid, cyclone full poly and will be trying dunlop ice this week in a full poly. i also did the demo with 4G.

everyone is different, however, i can say that i've not had any elbow problems with poly in the 99s. i tried poly hybrids and full poly in my previous racket, k six one 95 (18x20) and i didn't like the feel of poly in that racket. the 99s with poly feels entirely different and plays more like a muti in terms of arm and elbow comfort.

don't see the value of the 99s unless your taking full advantageof the increased spin and minimizing the increased string breakage by using poly. full bed i the best formula for me, however, hybrid wasn't bad and is cheaper.

Amen......

rnrd001 · Apr 9, 2013

D-money said:
I've tried 4G, pro hurricane tour, volkl cyclone and tour bite soft all in 1.30 and so far my favorite is the tour bite soft. It's got a slightly muted feel, great controllable power and spin of course. I've logged about six hours on he set I've got in and it's holding up ok too.

how long did those set-ups eventually last for you?

v-verb · May 27, 2013

I'm using Luxilon Monotec SuperPoly 16L at 45 lbs. With silicone spray.

After 6 hrs of hard hitting I barely have any indents in the string. I can try to get pics of the string tomorrow in daylight.

I'm looking forward to trying gut/poly though

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