Mikeler's Multis

Lukhas · Apr 14, 2013

mikeler said:
Everything you wrote seems to confirm my theory. Thanks for sharing the info with the rest of us. I'd be interested in what kind of durability you get.

For me, the durability is tension maintenance (even if it isn't what people usually thinks when talking about durability), since I don't break strings. So if I can still talk about it in a month or two, that's fine for me. Mind that I put ElastroCross, so the result might be a bit biased. Especially since it's getting warmer now all of sudden. Don't know if it will last, but for the moment it does.

Slight error on the last line of my previous post. The string I didn't hit with is of course the Hexy Fiber, not the Hex Multi.

mikeler · Apr 15, 2013

Nostradamus said:
I am into 8-10 hours of Microfiber, still performing well and no breakage yet. but I am losing some control little bit. Not sure if it is mainly due to tension loss on polyester or just drop in performance from Microfiber ?? Oh and power on this is dropping some too. Very odd since as the string loses tension, it should gain power not lose it ? Once again, not sure if this is due to tesion loss or going dead on the poly ?

Most likely due to the poly. Microfiber is pretty consistent until it gets really frayed and then it loses a little bit of the magic.

mikeler · Apr 15, 2013

Played 2 more sets of doubles yesterday with the gut/multi setup after using the Tour Bite Soft/NVy setup for 2 sets of singles. The gut just refuses to break.

ls206 · Apr 15, 2013

I logged a couple more hours with the RIP control.

The half court warmup was much better, the uncontrollable liveliness was gone. Still the same great response from the baseline and drop volleys are still best left alone for now.
Can see only slight wear on the strings and minimal notching after 2hrs doubles, 2hrs singles.

mikeler · Apr 15, 2013

ls206 said:
I logged a couple more hours with the RIP control.

The half court warmup was much better, the uncontrollable liveliness was gone. Still the same great response from the baseline and drop volleys are still best left alone for now.
Can see only slight wear on the strings and minimal notching after 2hrs doubles, 2hrs singles.

I cut out RIP Control but it looked barely used after 6-8 hours of play if I remember correctly.

Lukhas · Apr 16, 2013

Played a bit today and yesterday with hex Multi. Either the balls are heavier, either it really became more rigid. Lost a bit of its nice muted feeling. Nothing on the arm, still good pop and spin, that didn't change. Although I had put Elastocross too, might explain it. It's not slick at touch, never was, and I have many ball threads on it. Still spins. Next time, higher tension but no pre-stretch so it drops after the stringing.

mikeler · Apr 16, 2013

Lukhas said:
Played a bit today and yesterday with hex Multi. Either the balls are heavier, either it really became more rigid. Lost a bit of its nice muted feeling. Nothing on the arm, still good pop and spin, that didn't change. Although I had put Elastocross too, might explain it. It's not slick at touch, never was, and I have many ball threads on it. Still spins. Next time, higher tension but no pre-stretch so it drops after the stringing.

I mentioned it a few weeks ago in this thread, but after my experiment with prestretched X1, I don't think I'll ever prestretch multis anymore.

sstchur · Apr 16, 2013

mikeler said:
I mentioned it a few weeks ago in this thread, but after my experiment with prestretched X1, I don't think I'll ever prestretch multis anymore.

I COMPLETELY agree with this. Prestretching multis might sound like a good idea, but in my experience, it completely ruins all the great qualities of the string.

hmd · Apr 17, 2013

My 13 yo son been playing with ppa ( thanks to this thread) for the last 18 months. As his topspin stroke develops we notice the ppa moves like crazy just after 1 hour of hitting. He break the string in about 15 hours.

Any other string suggestion? Or just live with the string movement?

Thanks.

ASH1485 · Apr 17, 2013

Question to Mikeler ( or any one who can help ),

any thing plays like Tecnifibre NRG2 but with more spin potential ?

i like the strings alot but i am not getting any spin out of it, its great for hitting flat though.

thanks,

finalfantasy7 · Apr 17, 2013

ASH1485 said:
Question to Mikeler ( or any one who can help ),

any thing plays like Tecnifibre NRG2 but with more spin potential ?

i like the strings alot but i am not getting any spin out of it, its great for hitting flat though.

thanks,

biphase - also has more power

mikeler · Apr 17, 2013

hmd said:
My 13 yo son been playing with ppa ( thanks to this thread) for the last 18 months. As his topspin stroke develops we notice the ppa moves like crazy just after 1 hour of hitting. He break the string in about 15 hours.

Any other string suggestion? Or just live with the string movement?

Thanks.

Deal with the string movement. PPA is fairly resistant to string movement for a multi.

ASH1485 said:
Question to Mikeler ( or any one who can help ),

any thing plays like Tecnifibre NRG2 but with more spin potential ?

i like the strings alot but i am not getting any spin out of it, its great for hitting flat though.

thanks,

Check out post #1 of this thread for links to all my reviews. I agree that NRG2 16 just has no spin potential but feels great on flat shots.

finalfantasy7 said:
biphase - also has more power

Or try this.

Mister drool · Apr 17, 2013

Mikeler, would you say that micronite is on par with x1 for spin ?

mikeler · Apr 17, 2013

Mister drool said:
Mikeler, would you say that micronite is on par with x1 for spin ?

I'd give a slight edge to X1 in terms of spin potential.

Ramon · Apr 17, 2013

hmd said:
My 13 yo son been playing with ppa ( thanks to this thread) for the last 18 months. As his topspin stroke develops we notice the ppa moves like crazy just after 1 hour of hitting. He break the string in about 15 hours.

Any other string suggestion? Or just live with the string movement?

Thanks.

It's probably too loose. Some places string racquets so quickly, if you ask for 60 pounds you'll get 45. You can check the tension with RacquetTune if you have an iPhone. The default string factor setting works fine with PPA. I'll bet it's in low 40's or lower.

mikeler · Apr 17, 2013

Ramon said:
It's probably too loose. Some places string racquets so quickly, if you ask for 60 pounds you'll get 45. You can check the tension with RacquetTune if you have an iPhone. The default string factor setting works fine with PPA. I'll bet it's in low 40's or lower.

Definitely check tension. I just reread the thread and saw it was moving after 1 hour. PPA is pretty good about not moving around much until it gets close to death.

hmd · Apr 17, 2013

Ramon said:
It's probably too loose. Some places string racquets so quickly, if you ask for 60 pounds you'll get 45. You can check the tension with RacquetTune if you have an iPhone. The default string factor setting works fine with PPA. I'll bet it's in low 40's or lower.

I strung it at the lowest recommend tension on the head racquet at 52lb.
May be will go up a couple of lbs. Thanks Ramon you definitely know your PPA

djNEiGht · Apr 17, 2013

I've had a great time with PPA. For me, I string my multi/gut at the top end of recommended tension. Syn gut I do the same or 2#s less.

PPA for me holds tension for a good amount of time.

ricki · Apr 18, 2013

I dont know what special kind of PPA you are takling about? It was same to me as PSGDF, same feel, same moving around, 2x more expensive

mikeler · Apr 18, 2013

ricki said:
I dont know what special kind of PPA you are takling about? It was same to me as PSGDF, same feel, same moving around, 2x more expensive

I used to own a reel of PSGD that I used for several months 4 or 5 years ago. The texture is similar but the feel is not quite the same for me. PSGD would break very quickly on me where PPA does not.

mikeler · Apr 19, 2013

Decided to pull X1 full job out of the bag last night. Had the exact same scoreline against the exact same player as a week earlier with gut/Thb. It was very hot yesterday afternoon but the X1 felt pretty good, albeit a little too powerful at times.

NLBwell · Apr 19, 2013

hmd said:
My 13 yo son been playing with ppa ( thanks to this thread) for the last 18 months. As his topspin stroke develops we notice the ppa moves like crazy just after 1 hour of hitting. He break the string in about 15 hours.

Any other string suggestion? Or just live with the string movement?

Thanks.

Might try NXT Max. Lasts a lot longer than any other multi I've tried. Two to three times longer for me.

RadicalMPfan · Apr 20, 2013

Mikeler,

I'm really enjoying your thread. Thanks for all you do. I have recently switched from poly to multi strings. I love the first couple days of poly, but can't stand the playability after a few days. I can enjoy a a full bed of multi for it's entire life (with the exception of string movement).

My current set-up is a full bed of Addiction. I enjoy the price, playability, lack of string movement, and tension stability.

After reading your threads, you seem to like Prince PPA. How do these two compare? Why do you prefer it over Addiction?

mikeler · Apr 20, 2013

RadicalMPfan said:
Mikeler,

I'm really enjoying your thread. Thanks for all you do. I have recently switched from poly to multi strings. I love the first couple days of poly, but can't stand the playability after a few days. I can enjoy a a full bed of multi for it's entire life (with the exception of string movement).

My current set-up is a full bed of Addiction. I enjoy the price, playability, lack of string movement, and tension stability.

After reading your threads, you seem to like Prince PPA. How do these two compare? Why do you prefer it over Addiction?

Addiction is just too stiff for my liking.

mikeler · Apr 22, 2013

So I've played my last 5 sets with full X1, the prestretch experiment. I have to say that it may have taken the previous 2 sets to feel the magic. It is playing quite nicely. The best part is that the tension is not falling off a cliff as confirmed by RacquetTune. Now I'm thinking my initial inclination not to prestretch X1 (or any multi for that matter) was wrong.

Nostradamus · Apr 22, 2013

mikeler said:
So I've played my last 5 sets with full X1, the prestretch experiment. I have to say that it may have taken the previous 2 sets to feel the magic. It is playing quite nicely. The best part is that the tension is not falling off a cliff as confirmed by RacquetTune. Now I'm thinking my initial inclination not to prestretch X1 (or any multi for that matter) was wrong.

what about power ? was there a huge drop in power ?

mikeler · Apr 22, 2013

Nostradamus said:
what about power ? was there a huge drop in power ?

Hard to tell because I'm playing with a lower power frame than when I last used it. It still has good pop.

ced · Apr 22, 2013

mikeler said:
So I've played my last 5 sets with full X1, the prestretch experiment. I have to say that it may have taken the previous 2 sets to feel the magic. It is playing quite nicely. The best part is that the tension is not falling off a cliff as confirmed by RacquetTune. Now I'm thinking my initial inclination not to prestretch X1 (or any multi for that matter) was wrong.

Ummmmm, as a matter of course I pre-stretch every multi, always have.

marsh · Apr 22, 2013

Ok, so I had one of my racquets strung with Discho Microfiber in 17 at 58 lbs. I really don't care for it, should I have gone with a looser tension? I also noticed white streaking in the natural colored string, was this the result of a bad string job? Maybe over stretching/ pulling?

Let me know if you need any more details.

mikeler · Apr 22, 2013

ced said:
Ummmmm, as a matter of course I pre-stretch every multi, always have.

Just as a matter of course or do you have a reason?

marsh said:
Ok, so I had one of my racquets strung with Discho Microfiber in 17 at 58 lbs. I really don't care for it, should I have gone with a looser tension? I also noticed white streaking in the natural colored string, was this the result of a bad string job? Maybe over stretching/ pulling?

Let me know if you need any more details.

Are you coming from poly strings? If so, it will be quite different. This string is prone to ghosting from the clamps of the machine. Nothing you can do about it.

marsh · Apr 22, 2013

I am coming from poly, but my multi comparison so far is to Rip Control. this string just seemed very stiff and unresponsive, even compared to a poly.

Any ideas?

mikeler · Apr 22, 2013

marsh said:
I am coming from poly, but my multi comparison so far is to Rip Control. this string just seemed very stiff and unresponsive, even compared to a poly.

Any ideas?

If you don't like Micronite at 58, it probably is not the string for you.

Korso · Apr 22, 2013

marsh said:
I am coming from poly, but my multi comparison so far is to Rip Control. this string just seemed very stiff and unresponsive, even compared to a poly.

Any ideas?

When I come from a poly to a multi, I string mine in the low 60's. I achieve very good control and spin in that range. I can play with multi in the 50's if I am playing a lot with them but for me the transition from poly must be in the low 60's.

Slitch · Apr 23, 2013

Yesterday I've played with a friend's O10 325 with PPA. All I can say is wow! That string is crisp, powerfull, spinny and the strings barely move. It played so much better than the Xplosiv in my Magnetic Tour.

Thanks for your reviews Mikeler. My friend was really pleased with the string. It played exactly how described and he loved it!

mikeler · Apr 23, 2013

Slitch said:
Yesterday I've played with a friend's O10 325 with PPA. All I can say is wow! That string is crisp, powerfull, spinny and the strings barely move. It played so much better than the Xplosiv in my Magnetic Tour.

Thanks for your reviews Mikeler. My friend was really pleased with the string. It played exactly how described and he loved it!

Let's hope Prince stays in business and keeps producing that string.

Ronaldo · Apr 23, 2013

mikeler said:
Let's hope Prince stays in business and keeps producing that string.

Now if Prince will bring back their balls.

TennisCJC · Apr 23, 2013

Ronaldo said:
Now if Prince will bring back their balls.

Yea, the prince tour balls were top notch - not too lively, not too slow, kept their bounce and fuzz longer than any others. Really liked 'em but they are gone now.

mikeler · Apr 23, 2013

The Pro Penn Marathon regular duty are almost as good as the Prince balls and are a little bit brighter.

Ronaldo · Apr 23, 2013

mikeler said:
The Pro Penn Marathon regular duty are almost as good as the Prince balls and are a little bit brighter.

Used one-day old Pro Penns yest still in great shape, no fluff. Looked so good that the guys on the next court tried to palm our balls.

mikeler · Apr 23, 2013

Ronaldo said:
Used one-day old Pro Penns yest still in great shape, no fluff. Looked so good that the guys on the next court tried to palm our balls.

I'm a fan of the no fluff balls. Towards the end of Prince's run with making balls, their regular duty balls would get fuzzy during the warm up. That was when I started looking for other brands.

Ronaldo · Apr 23, 2013

mikeler said:
I'm a fan of the no fluff balls. Towards the end of Prince's run with making balls, their regular duty balls would get fuzzy during the warm up. That was when I started looking for other brands.

We thought the club that supplied the Prince balls were using seconds. Then they switched to the Wilson US Open ball. Those balls would fluff and all three balls would vary in bounce. Had to exchange cans to find good balls.

mikeler · Apr 23, 2013

Ronaldo said:
We thought the club that supplied the Prince balls were using seconds. Then they switched to the Wilson US Open ball. Those balls would fluff and all three balls would vary in bounce. Had to exchange cans to find good balls.

The US Open balls do appear to be getting worse in terms of fluffing up. Dunlop balls seem to be suffering from that as well.

Ronaldo · Apr 23, 2013

mikeler said:
The US Open balls do appear to be getting worse in terms of fluffing up. Dunlop balls seem to be suffering from that as well.

Back to the plain Penn regular duty balls. Don't fluff but covers do not last long.

Slitch · Apr 23, 2013

Try babolat french open balls, either the team or claycourt. Love those things. This year I bought some cheaper dunlop balls but they've already disappointed me.

mikeler · Apr 23, 2013

Ronaldo said:
Back to the plain Penn regular duty balls. Don't fluff but covers do not last long.

I can't talk to you anymore. Those balls are terrible.

Slitch said:
Try babolat french open balls, either the team or claycourt. Love those things. This year I bought some cheaper dunlop balls but they've already disappointed me.

I've tried the all court Babolat balls. They are pretty good but the most expensive balls in our area.

mikeler · Apr 24, 2013

Played 2 sets of singles last night followed by 3 sets of doubles. I broke the X1 at the top hoop on a shank in the 2nd game of my singles. Took the Solinco Tour Bite Soft/NVY out for a spin and a few games later broke it on a top hoop shank! So I was down to my gut/Thunder Blast setup. I pulled out the string savers since I've probably got 20 hours or so on the setup. It made it through the night without breaking but the Thunder Blast is starting to show off the white underneath.

So I strung up B5E/NVY last night at 48/52. I'll update in my Mikeler's Polys thread.

djNEiGht · Apr 24, 2013

Mikeler - test request. Technifibre TGV. I'm hitting with it now in a full bed. Only x1 set of doubles (so really not much court time) and the strings seem pretty durable but comfy yet the same. Will know more through out the week.

mikeler · Apr 24, 2013

djNEiGht said:
Mikeler - test request. Technifibre TGV. I'm hitting with it now in a full bed. Only x1 set of doubles (so really not much court time) and the strings seem pretty durable but comfy yet the same. Will know more through out the week.

Perhaps I'll get to it 1 day.

coloskier · Apr 25, 2013

Ronaldo said:
Back to the plain Penn regular duty balls. Don't fluff but covers do not last long.

Might as well play with ping pong balls if you play with Penn or Wilson Championship balls. They should be banned from USTA tournaments, but they are cheap so are used frequently. All tournaments should be played with ATP rated balls only.

mikeler · Apr 25, 2013

coloskier said:
Might as well play with ping pong balls if you play with Penn or Wilson Championship balls. They should be banned from USTA tournaments, but they are cheap so are used frequently. All tournaments should be played with ATP rated balls only.

The USTA tournaments I've played always had ATP level balls. My local club tournament (non-USTA) is always Penn Championship. This also includes an Open level tournament. I can't think of the guys name who won it one year, but he ended up playing Djokovic in the Round of 16 at the Aussie Open. Funny thinking of those guys using the El Cheapo balls while playing for money.

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