Lilguy1456
Semi-Pro
At 3 bucks, I gotta wonder how good this string is. Is it a great poly, or just great for being only $3? Is polylon at 3 dollars a better deal than Cyclone at 8?
Polylon: Just a good value, or a great string?
- Thread starter Lilguy1456
- Start date
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Personally, I really like this string.i know some guys have noted very fast tension lost, but tracking with RT this doesn't seem to be the case any more than other polys. Perhaps what they mean is it has a fast initial tension loss, which may very well be true. In my frame (99S) if I measure the stringbed right after stringing at 65 lb (within first hour) it's around 48, an hour or so hitting with it and its around 45 and it will slooooooooowly drop down from there. After about 12 sets, it will be 40-41, which I find too loose so it's time to restring. I don't consider the RT readings necessarily numerically accurate, but they definitely show stringbed changes.
As noted in other threads, I use hand lotion on the strings to get them to last longer as the strings will break sooner without it.
TW reviewed this string last month and gave it pretty high marks. So, IMO, this is a good string regardless of price. But, at $34.95 a reel, it has to be one of the very best values out there.
As noted in other threads, I use hand lotion on the strings to get them to last longer as the strings will break sooner without it.
TW reviewed this string last month and gave it pretty high marks. So, IMO, this is a good string regardless of price. But, at $34.95 a reel, it has to be one of the very best values out there.
Last edited:
EastAngels2014
Rookie
I just got a stringer and have some friends who wanted me to string for them and don't care what they use so i bought this and some syn gut. I haven't hit with it myself but it did get some good comments from TW and my from friends.
loosegroove
Hall of Fame
In my opinion it's neither. It was the first poly I tried when I got back into playing tennis, so I didn't know any better and played with it for a while. Then I realized my wrist was really starting to hurt (didn't help I didn't restring frequently either). It's stiff as a board, with no feel or liveliness. I really hate the stuff. There are plenty of inexpensive new generation co-polys that play and feel much better in my opinion.
maxpotapov
Hall of Fame
I still have a reel of Polylon 17 to finish, now I use it for cross only with synthetic gut mains. Very plasticy crisp feeling, no power/no elasticity from day one. At this price point it might still be better than some other much more expensive polys after they go dead
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
TW's summary really does "sum it up" IMO-----
"Gosen Polylon is a good old-fashioned polyester string. Unlike the emerging crop of high tech co-polys, it isn't loaded with extravagant chemical additives. Nor does it have a cadre of professional players who swear by it. What it does have, according to our playtesters, is remarkable control, especially at the highest swing speeds. It also has tremendous spin potential. This is partly because Polylon's response is so predictable and low powered that it enables big hitters to attack the ball at extreme upward angles. As for comfort, this string surprised our team by offering a feel commonly found in more elastic (and more expensive) co-polys. Of course this doesn't mean that Polylon is for everybody. It's a firm string designed for advanced players. Ultimately, though, once you factor in the price, which is less than a couple of vibration dampeners, Gosen Polylon is one of the all time best options for big hitters on a budget."
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/reviews/GPLY17/GPLY17Review.html
"Gosen Polylon is a good old-fashioned polyester string. Unlike the emerging crop of high tech co-polys, it isn't loaded with extravagant chemical additives. Nor does it have a cadre of professional players who swear by it. What it does have, according to our playtesters, is remarkable control, especially at the highest swing speeds. It also has tremendous spin potential. This is partly because Polylon's response is so predictable and low powered that it enables big hitters to attack the ball at extreme upward angles. As for comfort, this string surprised our team by offering a feel commonly found in more elastic (and more expensive) co-polys. Of course this doesn't mean that Polylon is for everybody. It's a firm string designed for advanced players. Ultimately, though, once you factor in the price, which is less than a couple of vibration dampeners, Gosen Polylon is one of the all time best options for big hitters on a budget."
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/reviews/GPLY17/GPLY17Review.html
Lilguy1456
Semi-Pro
I appreciate the cut and paste. Clearly, I saw what TW had to say prior to coming to the forums. I come to the forums to get a view from people not in the business of selling the product i'm inquiring about...
themitchmann
Hall of Fame
I think he's just saying he agrees with the TW review.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Yes.....My experience was identical to that of TW is all.
But.....I love the snarkiness of internet forums! You just dont get this stuff in real life!
But.....I love the snarkiness of internet forums! You just dont get this stuff in real life!
Polylon Comfort 16 surprisingly outperformed a bunch of new, expensive copolys in spin generation in TWU's most recent testing: http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/spinpatterns.php
It's one of the worst in terms of tension maintenance though.
It's one of the worst in terms of tension maintenance though.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Im starting to believe
I think this string (Polylon 16) loses the lion' share of its tension almost immediately.
Examples using Raquet Tune----
Strung at 59, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 65, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 67, an hour or less later it reads 48.
In all of these cases, not a ball was struck.
Hmmmmm.......me thinks me sees a pattern here!
I dont take the strung tension to be a numerical match with the RT tension, but just to be used as a tool to judge drop. Who know....maybe it does drop 15+ lb in a hour!
My desire to string higher has been to experiment with tension maintenance (such that if I start higher, it will presumably play longer in the desired range). For me, I seem to like this string in the 99S frame when it reads 44-45. This string will play a decent amount of time in that range, as in my RT measurements at least, it is a slow drop down from the initial big drop. I think I got ~12 sets out of the last stringbed before it was ~40 on RT, which starts to feel a little too mushy to me.
john hempel
Rookie
has anybody used polylon in the wilson steam 99s or 105s? if so, i'd be interested in your comments. thanks.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
All the info Ive posted above is with a Wilson 99S.
maxpotapov
Hall of Fame
Yes the pattern shows it's dead by design. Zero elasticity after it deformed under tension. Now you can cut in the middle and see very little movement, like if you cut electric wire.Im starting to believe
I think this string (Polylon 16) loses the lion' share of its tension almost immediately.
Examples using Raquet Tune----
Strung at 59, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 65, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 67, an hour or less later it reads 48.
In all of these cases, not a ball was struck.
Hmmmmm.......me thinks me sees a pattern here!
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
That will be a good test. If I cut these out before they break, Ill take a note of how much the string moves after being cut.
Larrysümmers
Hall of Fame
ive been playing with it for like 5 years now over a variety of rackets. i love the feel and dead power from this older poly string.
maxpotapov
Hall of Fame
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Im starting to believe
I think this string (Polylon 16) loses the lion' share of its tension almost immediately.
Examples using Raquet Tune----
Strung at 59, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 65, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 67, an hour or less later it reads 48.
In all of these cases, not a ball was struck.
Hmmmmm.......me thinks me sees a pattern here!
This string was down to 46 on RT four hours after stringing at 67 and no play.
I think this is about where the drop stops and hangs out and displays small drops with playtime.
diredesire
Adjunct Moderator
I used to stock polylon as a low cost durability string, and I no longer stock it.
It's an OK value, but it's dead even for a first gen poly, IMHO. I've never really felt that a string plays "hollow," but this is about as close as it gets. The higher end polylon line, however, is pretty darn good.
It's an OK value, but it's dead even for a first gen poly, IMHO. I've never really felt that a string plays "hollow," but this is about as close as it gets. The higher end polylon line, however, is pretty darn good.
For those of you posting racquettune numbers here you say what you strung it at but not what it read immediately after stringing. Unless you give that, the number 4 hours later (or however much time) is pretty meaningless.
Now for my Polylon thoughts - I bought a reel of the clear version (17 guage) after seeing it in the bag of a Div I player I know. I have used several polys including Lux ALU power, BHBR, Pro Hurricane Tour. I found Polylon to be very stiff and a bit harsh. It was also very durable ... I break my BHBR17 in a little less than a month so while I'm not a huge hitter I'm not a weak hitter either. The Polylon I have been using is hardly notched and I doubt I'd break it in less than 2-3 months (which is a guess because I'd cut it out before that). Considering that it costs about $2 per string job and it is playable it does have a place for big hitters on a budget.
I haven't tried hybriding it as I don't have any syn gut handy.
I have done maybe 5 stringjobs with it and I am going back to my BHBR 17 which I feel has more pop and a softer feel.
I didn't hate the polylon and if I didn't have the money to buy another reel of BHBR I would absolutely use it.
If there is anyone here that wants to trade a set of any other string for a 40' set of Polylon I'd be happy to do that since I have over half a reel left which I will probably not use.
Now for my Polylon thoughts - I bought a reel of the clear version (17 guage) after seeing it in the bag of a Div I player I know. I have used several polys including Lux ALU power, BHBR, Pro Hurricane Tour. I found Polylon to be very stiff and a bit harsh. It was also very durable ... I break my BHBR17 in a little less than a month so while I'm not a huge hitter I'm not a weak hitter either. The Polylon I have been using is hardly notched and I doubt I'd break it in less than 2-3 months (which is a guess because I'd cut it out before that). Considering that it costs about $2 per string job and it is playable it does have a place for big hitters on a budget.
I haven't tried hybriding it as I don't have any syn gut handy.
I have done maybe 5 stringjobs with it and I am going back to my BHBR 17 which I feel has more pop and a softer feel.
I didn't hate the polylon and if I didn't have the money to buy another reel of BHBR I would absolutely use it.
If there is anyone here that wants to trade a set of any other string for a 40' set of Polylon I'd be happy to do that since I have over half a reel left which I will probably not use.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
I have actually measured within a few minutes after stringing and the values are pretty much the same as after an hour. So, either the string instantaneously loses tension, or the RT reading and the string machine reading just don't match. It doesn't matter much to me either way as all I care about is a relative number, if you know what I mean.
diredesire
Adjunct Moderator
Relative... to what?
That was gmatheis' point, to a certain degree. The second data point is important if you want to compare it to anything.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Relative to how the stringbed feels as I play with it and how the RT number changes with time.Relative... to what?
If RT reads 48 and it was strung to 67 a couple of minutes prior...the string either lost 19 lb in 2 minutes or the two measurements are not comparable directly. I don't think I'll be able to know which it is. In the final analysis it doesn't matter as the end result is a desired performance out of the stringbed. In the case of these strings, when RT says ~40, the stringbed feels lousy to me. So, I have about an 8 lb window for its life. What the final actual tension is when RT reads 40......heck it could be an actual 40 or something far higher.
john hempel
Rookie
Im starting to believe
I think this string (Polylon 16) loses the lion' share of its tension almost immediately.
Examples using Raquet Tune----
Strung at 59, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 65, an hour or less later it reads 48
Strung at 67, an hour or less later it reads 48.
In all of these cases, not a ball was struck.
Hmmmmm.......me thinks me sees a pattern here!
I dont take the strung tension to be a numerical match with the RT tension, but just to be used as a tool to judge drop. Who know....maybe it does drop 15+ lb in a hour!
My desire to string higher has been to experiment with tension maintenance (such that if I start higher, it will presumably play longer in the desired range). For me, I seem to like this string in the 99S frame when it reads 44-45. This string will play a decent amount of time in that range, as in my RT measurements at least, it is a slow drop down from the initial big drop. I think I got ~12 sets out of the last stringbed before it was ~40 on RT, which starts to feel a little too mushy to me.
i didn't see the reference to 99S. thanks.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
I did a crude pseudo elasticity testing with this string today.
Before applying any load to the string, I mearked off 36" on the string (my apologies to the metric folks). I applied a 52 lb load to the string and then watched for elongation.
Immediately after the load was applied, the string had stretched to 37 3/8" and 15 minutes later was very slightly longer at 37 1/2". Readings taken at 30 and 45 minutes after load applocation showed the same 37 1/2" length.
I removed the 52 lb load at the 45 minute mark and watched to see how much of the elongation of the string was permanent. It was almost all of it, as the string slightly shortened back to 37 3/8".
I then applied the 52 lb load again, and the string once again measured 37 1/2".
High level results seem to indicate that in this test the string elongated ~4% and once set, it does not approach any sort of return back to its original length.
Has anyone else ever made a similar assessment of other polys? Or nat gut? Id be curious if gut would return almost to its original length?
Before applying any load to the string, I mearked off 36" on the string (my apologies to the metric folks). I applied a 52 lb load to the string and then watched for elongation.
Immediately after the load was applied, the string had stretched to 37 3/8" and 15 minutes later was very slightly longer at 37 1/2". Readings taken at 30 and 45 minutes after load applocation showed the same 37 1/2" length.
I removed the 52 lb load at the 45 minute mark and watched to see how much of the elongation of the string was permanent. It was almost all of it, as the string slightly shortened back to 37 3/8".
I then applied the 52 lb load again, and the string once again measured 37 1/2".
High level results seem to indicate that in this test the string elongated ~4% and once set, it does not approach any sort of return back to its original length.
Has anyone else ever made a similar assessment of other polys? Or nat gut? Id be curious if gut would return almost to its original length?
diredesire
Adjunct Moderator
Out of curiosity, how are you applying the load? Is it just a weight hanging by the string with a fixed end on the other side? 3 feet is a long length to be tensioning on a stringing machine. Just curious what your setup looks like.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Yes....I hung the weight vertically down. I wanted a fairly long string length as my ability to measure string length changes is of limited resolution (i.e. a tape measure)!
The actual string was ~4 ft long, but I marked off a 3 ft section away from either end to eliminate any possible effects from the anchor point or load application point.
Hi I'm Ray
Professional
I didn't really like it much. Very stiff, not much feel, and a weird "boing" or "bong" sound on impact. It was loads better in a syn gut hybrid which improved the feel and comfort. Spin is decent and control is good though. The major negative is that it was going dead in about 5 hours, and this was when I was still getting back into tennis and not hitting so hard! I can't imagine restringing that often.
You guys might have better luck trying the black and natural color variety, the two I tried were yellow and ice, both were transparent and played the same.
You guys might have better luck trying the black and natural color variety, the two I tried were yellow and ice, both were transparent and played the same.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
This string is one of the harder ones to break IMO. Another poster compared it to "electric wire", and that may not be far off!
zapvor
G.O.A.T.
yea its pretty darn stiff. tough to string too. this kid is breaking it every day!
so today i told him to switch to 1.30 next time
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
I tried it today in a Steam 99s strung at 67......way too harsh.
On RT right before play it measured 44 (the same as my other Steam with the same string but strung lower), but it was like hitting with a paddle.
So, my only conclusion is that stringing this stuff high causes exacerbation of the already dominant trait of loss of elasticity.
Now, I still think this string is decent (bang for the buck is there) but I am definitely going to keep the tension around 60.
Also, it is very very low powered IMO, which may or may not be a good thing depending on the player. I would prefer a little more pop so as to not have to swing full out so much.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Yes....1.30 is the Polylon I use.
He breaks it in a day? I wouldn't think DelPotro with that big sweeping TTTTWWWWWHACK could break this stuff that fast.....it is literally like wire! Even shanked balls don't seem to faze it.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
IMO it is worth trying. It is a cheap experiment.
zapvor
G.O.A.T.
hes using black code, 1.24. i am going to suggest he go to polylon 1.30. but yea hes breaking black code every day
SteveI
Legend
It is crap.. and has been since it was introduced. I have played it a few times and have to stock it for a few diehards. Isospeed Spin.. whatever version is much better if you are looking low end. The Black is cool...
Skip the polylon, save the money, your play and your arm.
rodrigoamaral
Hall of Fame
It is a good value but try Topspin Polytech Evo string and it was way better and in the same price range!!
anubis
Hall of Fame
If you want to start stringing for people and you get customers that say "just give me any old poly" then it's a GREAT value. It works out to be less than $2 per string job.
You get a reel of Polylon and a reel of OGSM and you've got yourself a very inexpensive starting inventory. If anyone else wants "high end" strings, then you can order them piecemeal as you need them.
You get a reel of Polylon and a reel of OGSM and you've got yourself a very inexpensive starting inventory. If anyone else wants "high end" strings, then you can order them piecemeal as you need them.
john hempel
Rookie
Have to say that I've tried Polylon in my 99S in the mains of a hybrid and as a full poly. In both cases, the string has played quite well. It did take a settling in period with the full poly, but after a couple of hours it was working fine. No arm problems and minimal notching. I suspect that I'll continue to use the hybrid setup for my second or third rackets and count on the syngut strings breaking as my cue to restring. Good value string.
Buford T Justice
Semi-Pro
Yes...this stuff does not break. One poster compared it to "wire"....not far off!
I strung it as high as 67 lb......it will be harsh.
As much as I like cheap strings, Ive since switched to Golden Set Power Cord. Its still cheap, but 2x the cost of Polylon. My arm has already started thanking me (and the gratuities have gotten louder as I have now also started only using poly in the crosses).
I'll chime in here even though most of the comments reflect my experience with it, too. It is a super stiff string with not a lot of feel at higher tensions. Good for those looking to reign in their power a bit. It really comes alive at low tensions, though. I had it at 30lbs in a PK Silver Ace 110 (both full bed and as a cross), and it was pretty awesome. Tons of spin, solid feel and durable (I've always cut it out). IMO, it is one of the best crosses for spin at low tensions. Really slick and stiff so the mains slide with ease. The only thing I didn't like was a buzz after hitting the ball. I don't like dampeners, so I just put up with it.
On another note, though, Isospeed produces some very nice mono polys at about the same price. I now use their 17g almost exclusively in place of Polyon. Softer, no buzz and cheap. Still have my original real of Polyon that I string up crosses with once in a while, but I've moved on.
On another note, though, Isospeed produces some very nice mono polys at about the same price. I now use their 17g almost exclusively in place of Polyon. Softer, no buzz and cheap. Still have my original real of Polyon that I string up crosses with once in a while, but I've moved on.
