Ashaway 100% Zyex monofilament

Shroud · Jun 20, 2015

drak said:
I don't get what you mean by"not nearly enough"?

2 things:

1. Not nearly enough time to have it fully stretch
2. The mains limit the stretching.

I'll do it manually with my body weight for 2-5 minutes, and then with the stringer pulling 25% higher using the prestretch function. And waiting to clamp.

You can get a ft or more permanent stretch on zx if you do it right....

elkwood · Jun 20, 2015

Shroud said:
2 things:

1. Not nearly enough time to have it fully stretch
2. The mains limit the stretching.

I'll do it manually with my body weight for 2-5 minutes, and then with the stringer pulling 25% higher using the pre stretch function. And waiting to clamp.

You can get a ft or more permanent stretch on zx if you do it right....

Seems like over kill for the poor string. It needs a certain amount of elasticity i would think. Pre stretching it then pulling it with a 25% over pull most make it cry uncle !!

Shroud · Jun 20, 2015

elkwood said:
Seems like over kill for the poor string. It needs a certain amount of elasticity i would think. Pre stretching it then pulling it with a 25% over pull most make it cry uncle !!

yeah there are some posters I see here that I respect that are in the school of wanting the string to be elastic. Unorthodoxstring comes to mind as one in that camp.

In this instance think of WHY the prestretch. Its for tension maintenance. That elasticity you mention eventually ends up as tension loss. ZX has a huge initial loss but then is super stable. Prestretching minimizes tension loss. Its one reason the kev/zx string bed can last soooo long and play unchanged. But you dont get there unless you prestretch.

FWIW I stretched the zx today with my manual method and managed to get 16inches of permanent elongation in 2 min of pulling. Think of the kind of tension loss that represents, and this is why I am hassling poor Drak

Also I love a dead string bed and this probably helps. And FWIW zx is still elastic after I stretch the crap out of it....

drak · Jun 20, 2015

Shroud said:
yeah there are some posters I see here that I respect that are in the school of wanting the string to be elastic. Unorthodoxstring comes to mind as one in that camp.

In this instance think of WHY the prestretch. Its for tension maintenance. That elasticity you mention eventually ends up as tension loss. ZX has a huge initial loss but then is super stable. Prestretching minimizes tension loss. Its one reason the kev/zx string bed can last soooo long and play unchanged. But you dont get there unless you prestretch.

FWIW I stretched the zx today with my manual method and managed to get 16inches of permanent elongation in 2 min of pulling. Think of the kind of tension loss that represents, and this is why I am hassling poor Drak

Also I love a dead string bed and this probably helps. And FWIW zx is still elastic after I stretch the crap out of it....

LOL, if that was "hassling" I got off easy! I get what you are saying but am happy with the tension I end up with per the method I use

Shroud · Jun 20, 2015

drak said:
LOL, if that was "hassling" I got off easy! I get what you are saying but am happy with the tension I end up with per the method I use

All that matters!!!

Though are you happy with how long it lasts??

racket king · Jun 21, 2015

Shroud said:
FWIW I stretched the zx today with my manual method and managed to get 16inches of permanent elongation in 2 min of pulling.

That's only 3.4% of elongation.

16" = 40.64cm

40.64cm / 1200cm packet = 3.4% elongation.

That's less than pulling the string to tension.

Unless you're talking about a half set?

I experimented by pulling an unimpeded main to 60lbs reference and got a 6% elongation. Another pull of the same piece resulted in a another 2-3% (8-9% total). After 10 mins of resting the string, it only shrunk back by 1% giving a total of ~8% elongation.

Mimicking a machine prestretch (ie tension overshoot) of 10% at a reference of 60lbs, I get 8% in total elongation.

It would be a lot simpler if they produced a lower powered or pre-stretched version from factory....

Shroud · Jun 21, 2015

racket king said:
That's only 3.4% of elongation.

16" = 40.64cm

40.64cm / 1200cm packet = 3.4% elongation.

That's less than pulling the string to tension.

Unless you're talking about a half set?

I experimented by pulling an unimpeded main to 60lbs reference and got a 6% elongation. Another pull of the same piece resulted in a another 2-3% (8-9% total). After 10 mins of resting the string, it only shrunk back by 1% giving a total of ~8% elongation.

Mimicking a machine prestretch (ie tension overshoot) of 10% at a reference of 60lbs, I get 8% in total elongation.

It would be a lot simpler if they produced a lower powered or pre-stretched version from factory....

Amen to that!!! But Julian said no

It's a half set. Only use zx as a cross.

If those numbers are right it's scary because no one is doing zx at 60lbs. I am but that's just because of a recent switch to a 110"

Was this on a crank or cp?

racket king · Jun 21, 2015

Shroud said:
Amen to that!!! But Julian said no

It's a half set. Only use zx as a cross.

If those numbers are right it's scary because no one is doing zx at 60lbs. I am but that's just because of a recent switch to a 110"

Was this on a crank or cp?

That's on a crank - I do poly / ZX at 58/60.

On a constant pull, I do 53/55.

How are you pre-stretching yours? Can you describe the method?

Shroud · Jun 21, 2015

racket king said:
That's on a crank - I do poly / ZX at 58/60.

On a constant pull, I do 53/55.

How are you pre-stretching yours? Can you describe the method?

Here is a link where I detail it:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=516705&highlight=Prestretch

It could be better. But think about the tension loss over a 1ft of elongation produces. Broken crosses are a few inches at best and you see what it does

Ramon · Jun 21, 2015

Shroud said:
Amen to that!!! But Julian said no

It's a half set. Only use zx as a cross.

If those numbers are right it's scary because no one is doing zx at 60lbs. I am but that's just because of a recent switch to a 110"

Was this on a crank or cp?

I was doing ZX at 66 lbs when I was playing with a 16x16 ESP racquet, and I was using ZX in the mains. It holds tension great even at that tension. I used a drop weight machine with a ratchet, holding it for at least 30 seconds for each pull with no pre-stretch. I used 16g natural color. I tried the red color but it broke more often than not.

Shroud · Jun 21, 2015

Ramon said:
I was doing ZX at 66 lbs when I was playing with a 16x16 ESP racquet, and I was using ZX in the mains. It holds tension great even at that tension. I used a drop weight machine with a ratchet, holding it for at least 30 seconds for each pull with no pre-stretch. I used 16g natural color. I tried the red color but it broke more often than not.

Cool. The package says don't go above 60 so I figured people would stop there

Now I can go higher!!

Thanks

racket king · Jun 21, 2015

Shroud said:
Here is a link where I detail it:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=516705&highlight=Prestretch

It could be better. But think about the tension loss over a 1ft of elongation produces. Broken crosses are a few inches at best and you see what it does

All that stuff sounds like a lot of trouble, especially having to build a weights and pulley device!

I haven't tried it, but surely, it would be simpler to twice pull the string being tensioned or alternatively get a old 18x20 type racket and use that to stretch a half set of the strings (avoid weaving them in that racket). With the 2nd option, you could just leave it in the racket for a day or so and take it out for restringing when needed.

ricardo · Jun 21, 2015

racket king said:
All that stuff sounds like a lot of trouble, especially having to build a weights and pulley device!

I haven't tried it, but surely, it would be simpler to twice pull the string being tensioned or alternatively get a old 18x20 type racket and use that to stretch a half set of the strings (avoid weaving them in that racket). With the 2nd option, you could just leave it in the racket for a day or so and take it out for restringing when needed.

I tried this.

I strung a racket (just the mains) at my regular tension (50 lbs).
Left it clamped on the stringer for 24 hours.

Result
No permanent elongation.

I measured the permanent elongation after 24 hours.
Not even an inch.

I waited 24 hours to measure permanent elongation because
as soon as you remove a string from a load, it will shrink.
A string is elastic. It will attempt to return to its original lenght.

Nostradamus · Jun 21, 2015

how does it compare to X-1 biphase or Babolat Origin in Power and control ?

Shroud · Jun 21, 2015

racket king said:
All that stuff sounds like a lot of trouble, especially having to build a weights and pulley device!

I haven't tried it, but surely, it would be simpler to twice pull the string being tensioned or alternatively get a old 18x20 type racket and use that to stretch a half set of the strings (avoid weaving them in that racket). With the 2nd option, you could just leave it in the racket for a day or so and take it out for restringing when needed.

No pulley here. Just a dowl rod. I have an electric so I would avoid the 2nd option

racket king · Jun 22, 2015

Has anyone else noticed that the reel price of this string makes no sense?

It costs as much, if not more, to buy a reel than a load of individual sets.

Shroud · Jun 22, 2015

racket king said:
Has anyone else noticed that the reel price of this string makes no sense?

It costs as much, if not more, to buy a reel than a load of individual sets.

Yep!

I bought like 10 sets at the sale price because you could get more string that way for less.

comeback · Jun 22, 2015

racket king said:
Has anyone else noticed that the reel price of this string makes no sense?

It costs as much, if not more, to buy a reel than a load of individual sets.

I think you save more with a reel because you can cut much less(due to stretching) than buying an individual package which wastes much more. ie: I only use 12 ft 8 inches for my crosses

Hnefi · Aug 27, 2015

I still can't for the life of me get a handle on this string... Originally I had it in a full bed on one of my [K] 6.1 Tour 90's and totally hated it. Felt stiff, crispy, and pingy particularly on hard groundstrokes, so I basically wrote it off.

I've since sold my Tour 90's, and I decided to put some strings in my Prestige Classic 600 to bring out in recreational play. I wanted something that was soft and had the tension maintenance to sit in my bag for 3 weeks or more in between getting any playtime... So I had a set of ZX Pro (red) sitting around and I figured I'd get rid of it... Strung it @ 48lb CP with long 10+ second pulls, and took it out last night for three practice doubles sets, this time with the classic Samp damp to get rid of the ping sound.

And I LOVED it....

The stringbed felt super powerful, I was crushing some BIG first serves (for me) and hitting some really heavy kicks up around the shoulders. Didn't sacrifice any control on the volleys. Felt like an interesting mix between gut and syngut to me... I felt the pocketing at net like you do not get with poly or full syngut, but Zyex had this really interesting crispy feeling on groundstrokes and returns of serve. If I had to describe my experience with it I'd say it was like gut on serves and at the net, and like syngut from the baseline, with way more string stability and snapback than both.

comeback said:
I think you save more with a reel because you can cut much less(due to stretching) than buying an individual package which wastes much more. ie: I only use 12 ft 8 inches for my crosses

You are right. Packs are 40ft no matter what but if you are very smart you can conserve string a lot by using a reel, particularly because this string has crazy stretch. I only pulled 17ft for the crosses on my PC600 which is 20 crosses, and with a midplus 16x19 you could probably get away with even less.

Shroud · Aug 27, 2015

Hnefi said:
I still can't for the life of me get a handle on this string... Originally I had it in a full bed on one of my [K] 6.1 Tour 90's and totally hated it. Felt stiff, crispy, and pingy particularly on hard groundstrokes, so I basically wrote it off.

I've since sold my Tour 90's, and I decided to put some strings in my Prestige Classic 600 to bring out in recreational play. I wanted something that was soft and had the tension maintenance to sit in my bag for 3 weeks or more in between getting any playtime... So I had a set of ZX Pro (red) sitting around and I figured I'd get rid of it... Strung it @ 48lb CP with long 10+ second pulls, and took it out last night for three practice doubles sets, this time with the classic Samp damp to get rid of the ping sound.

And I LOVED it....

The stringbed felt super powerful, I was crushing some BIG first serves (for me) and hitting some really heavy kicks up around the shoulders. Didn't sacrifice any control on the volleys. Felt like an interesting mix between gut and syngut to me... I felt the pocketing at net like you do not get with poly or full syngut, but Zyex had this really interesting crispy feeling on groundstrokes and returns of serve. If I had to describe my experience with it I'd say it was like gut on serves and at the net, and like syngut from the baseline, with way more string stability and snapback than both.

You are right. Packs are 40ft no matter what but if you are very smart you can conserve string a lot by using a reel, particularly because this string has crazy stretch. I only pulled 17ft for the crosses on my PC600 which is 20 crosses, and with a midplus 16x19 you could probably get away with even less.

The 1st time you strung it, did you do the 10sec pulls?

and what tension was it?

Hnefi · Aug 27, 2015

Shroud said:
The 1st time you strung it, did you do the 10sec pulls?

and what tension was it?

First time I strung at 50#, and I actually did WAY longer pulls the first time... Tried to let the tension head on the Star 5 completely settle and stop moving before clamping it. Second time I didn't care too much since I was only intending to play recreational with it, just counted to ten (or five or three) in my head and clamped.

The different tension I'm not thinking about too much, since I strung a completely different frame and string pattern. The K90 is also much stiffer than a Prestige Classic 600 (it's noted as one of the stiffer Tour 90s from my reading on other threads).

Ballr · Sep 25, 2015

I hit with a full bed of ZX last night for the first time on my Ai 98. I asked my stringer to do a pre-stretch and string at 58 lbs.

Wow I loved it. Almost as spinny as the Cyclone 18 I cut out the other day because it had died and was bothering my arm but with more power and vastly more comfort. I think I'm going to love this set up.

Of course as a tinkerer I want to experiment with some hybrid set ups. Has anyone used ZX as a hybrid with a spin-friendly multi like Yonex Tour Super 850 Pro?

ricardo · Sep 25, 2015

comeback said:
I think you save more with a reel because you can cut much less(due to stretching) than buying an individual package which wastes much more. ie: I only use 12 ft 8 inches for my crosses

I only use 12 ft 8 inches for my crosses

A set is at least 40ft.
So you get 3 crosses from 1 set (13 ft x 3).

moonballs · Sep 25, 2015

Ballr said:
I hit with a full bed of ZX last night for the first time on my Ai 98. I asked my stringer to do a pre-stretch and string at 58 lbs.

Wow I loved it. Almost as spinny as the Cyclone 18 I cut out the other day because it had died and was bothering my arm but with more power and vastly more comfort. I think I'm going to love this set up.

Of course as a tinkerer I want to experiment with some hybrid set ups. Has anyone used ZX as a hybrid with a spin-friendly multi like Yonex Tour Super 850 Pro?

I use synthetic gut for crosses. The spin is less than full bed but not bad. The string bed feels better with the syn gut. The ZX will scrap off the outer layer of the SG but I manage to replace the crosses only for 3 times before the main breaks.

Ronaldo · Sep 25, 2015

moonballs said:
I use synthetic gut for crosses. The spin is less than full bed but not bad. The string bed feels better with the syn gut. The ZX will scrap off the outer layer of the SG but I manage to replace the crosses only for 3 times before the main breaks.

How long will the mains last before breaking?

moonballs · Sep 25, 2015

Ronaldo said:
How long will the mains last before breaking?

A long time, 50-60 hours.

Ronaldo · Sep 26, 2015

moonballs said:
A long time, 50-60 hours.

That is longer than most use the same racquet on this site.

moonballs · Sep 26, 2015

Yes, it was longer than full bed ZX too.

graycrait · Sep 26, 2015

I've tried to like Zyex strung lower, but can't. I string Babolat Gut or Ashaway Kevlar in the mains at 58-59 and prestretched Zyex in the crosses at 62lbs. I've used full bed Gut and full bed Zyex in various rackets at various tensions. I can't seem to break Kevlar x Zyex. I am 60yrs old though. After a while (months) I think it starts to lose its "magic" and change it out. I stretch Zyex half sets clamping one end in a wood vice and making a wrap around a thick dowel and leaning back until I think it is "right." I string on a Neos 1000.

Sander001 · Oct 10, 2015

I'm going to try this string again. I plan to use the 16 in the mains with a poly cross. I know they definitely need to be pre stretched. I always like low tensions these days in my full Polyester and other setups but Zyex is a different beast and needs to be strung tighter. I'm wondering if higher tensions are still the way to go with Zyex and generally what tensions people are using. And if Zyex still remains popular!

Shroud · Oct 10, 2015

Sander001 said:
I'm going to try this string again. I plan to use the 16 in the mains with a poly cross. I know they definitely need to be pre stretched. I always like low tensions these days in my full Polyester and other setups but Zyex is a different beast and needs to be strung tighter. I'm wondering if higher tensions are still the way to go with Zyex and generally what tensions people are using. And if Zyex still remains popular!

I would still be using it if I could string past 65lbs with it

Personally I'd put the poly in the mains

ricardo · Oct 10, 2015

Shroud said:
I would still be using it if I could string past 65lbs with it

Personally I'd put the poly in the mains

I would still be using it if I could string past 65lbs with it

Why don't you try it.
Somebody in this forum strung it over 65lbs no problem.
I pre-stretched it for 12 hours at 75lbs and no problem either.
The only problem I had is that it broke when tying off the knot.

ricardo · Oct 10, 2015

racket king said:
That's only 3.4% of elongation.

16" = 40.64cm

40.64cm / 1200cm packet = 3.4% elongation.

That's less than pulling the string to tension.

Unless you're talking about a half set?

I experimented by pulling an unimpeded main to 60lbs reference and got a 6% elongation. Another pull of the same piece resulted in a another 2-3% (8-9% total). After 10 mins of resting the string, it only shrunk back by 1% giving a total of ~8% elongation.

Mimicking a machine prestretch (ie tension overshoot) of 10% at a reference of 60lbs, I get 8% in total elongation.

It would be a lot simpler if they produced a lower powered or pre-stretched version from factory....

That's only 3.4% of elongation.

I think Shroud is referring to permanent elongation as opposed to stretch.
There is a big difference.

When you stretch a string briefly, it returns to its original lenght when you remove the tension.
When you stretch a string at a high enough tension (i.e 80 lbs) for a long time (i.e 10 hours), the string deforms and permanently elongate.

16 inches is a significant permanent elongation.
For poly, I normally get from 2 to 10 inches permanent elongation.
For Monogut ZX, I get about 2 ft permanent elongation.

FYI...

racket king · Oct 10, 2015

ricardo said:
That's only 3.4% of elongation.

I think Shroud is referring to permanent elongation as opposed to stretch.
There is a big difference.

When you stretch a string briefly, it returns to its original lenght when you remove the tension.
When you stretch a string at a high enough tension (i.e 80 lbs) for a long time (i.e 10 hours), the string deforms and permanently elongate.

16 inches is a significant permanent elongation.
For poly, I normally get from 2 to 10 inches permanent elongation.
For Monogut ZX, I get about 2 ft permanent elongation.

FYI...

Yep, good point. From memory, I can't remember how long I let the string 'rest' before measuring it after the stretch. I think I measured it after it came out of the dummy racket, so I'm not sure how permanent that 3.4% is. I'll take a few measurements over the course of 24 hours next time to see if there are any changes.

ricardo said:
I would still be using it if I could string past 65lbs with it

Why don't you try it.
Somebody in this forum strung it over 65lbs no problem.
I pre-stretched it for 12 hours at 75lbs and no problem either.
The only problem I had is that it broke when tying off the knot.

It should be testable fairly easily. Just find a spare / leftover piece and pull to 65lbs or whatever directly from the clamp to the tension head and see what happens. I've tensioned at 66lbs (albeit on a lockout machine) on my tie offs but not sure if Shroud is referring to a 65lbs on a constant pull / drop weight machine.

Shroud · Oct 10, 2015

ricardo said:
I would still be using it if I could string past 65lbs with it

Why don't you try it.
Somebody in this forum strung it over 65lbs no problem.
I pre-stretched it for 12 hours at 75lbs and no problem either.
The only problem I had is that it broke when tying off the knot.

I did!!! It just flew compared to it at 60 lbs. prestretched manually and with the machine stringing at 66. Long pulls and all I know is that it was super springy compared to it at 60 lbs.

I had a couple other strings behave that way when stringing over 75 lbs but they were polys

fgs · Oct 17, 2015

as the regular natural coloured monogut zx lasted me a rather lomg time as a mains with multi crosses and i really liked the way it played, i decided to give the thinner monogut zx pro a ride. as many reported that they have been using them as crosses i did first string it up as a cross to my regular kirschbaum helix 1,20 and hit the courts.

i knew it would play different and what basically to expect, therefore i was pretty soon able to dial in and find my stride. i strung the mains at my usual 21,5kg and the zx pro at 22,5 in the crosses, as i knew that it had to be tighter and it will have a rather big settling loss, even with my prestretching it with my bodyweight for some 5 minutes. the stringbed was pretty fine although i will most probably go down on the crosses by 0,5kg the next time.

power and control were very good and the spin i got on the ball too, but nothing "out of this world", nevertheless in the top ranks. comfort was no issue as expected but the wake-up call came when after some 75minutes the mains broke. we did some intensive rallying practice going through the standard shots and had quite a high number of repetitions in this time span, but this simply happened too quick.

with the isospeed professional classic it takes me about 5-6 hours to "work through" a set of mains and with my regular mcs/htmf crosses i still get around 4. the crosses look almost new, there is little abrasion to be observed, both from mains sliding as well as from ball contact. usually the poly crosses that i have tried so far show much more thinning out (mostly) from ball contact.

i will sometime soon reuse the crosses with another set of mains and i also plan to be using the other halfset as a mains, eventually with poly crosses. stringing the zx pro lower will surely increase the durability of the mains by some time, but definitely not enough to be making this an economically viable option for me.

Ramon · Oct 17, 2015

Shroud said:
I did!!! It just flew compared to it at 60 lbs. prestretched manually and with the machine stringing at 66. Long pulls and all I know is that it was super springy compared to it at 60 lbs.

I had a couple other strings behave that way when stringing over 75 lbs but they were polys

My experience at high tensions was different. I was using a Prince Tour 98 ESP 16x15 at the time. 60 lbs with my ZX/Syngut hybrid was too springy, had control issues. I was able to string this hybrid at 66 lbs on my drop weight machine, letting it stretch for at least 30 seconds each pull. Control was fine and it was very comfortable compared to poly at 56, so it was my go to setup. It lasted an average of about 10 hours of singles, which was more than double I was getting with full poly, and there was no significant drop in playability. I recommend using the 16 gauge natural color if you're going above 60 lbs. Red was the worst because it would break during stringing more than 50% of the time.

Shroud · Oct 17, 2015

Ramon said:
My experience at high tensions was different. I was using a Prince Tour 98 ESP 16x15 at the time. 60 lbs with my ZX/Syngut hybrid was too springy, had control issues. I was able to string this hybrid at 66 lbs on my drop weight machine, letting it stretch for at least 30 seconds each pull. Control was fine and it was very comfortable compared to poly at 56, so it was my go to setup. It lasted an average of about 10 hours of singles, which was more than double I was getting with full poly, and there was no significant drop in playability. I recommend using the 16 gauge natural color if you're going above 60 lbs. Red was the worst because it would break during stringing more than 50% of the time.

Pretty sure it was the 17g

Wish they had a 15 g

Sander001 · Oct 18, 2015

Shroud said:
Pretty sure it was the 17g

Wish they had a 15 g

Yeah, why don't they have a 15g version??

Ramon · Oct 18, 2015

Sander001 said:
Yeah, why don't they have a 15g version??

I wouldn't want a 15g version. I think the 16g version more than durable enough, and I break strings regularly. By the time it breaks, I'm usually ready for a fresh one.

Sander001 · Oct 18, 2015

Ramon said:
I wouldn't want a 15g version. I think the 16g version more than durable enough, and I break strings regularly. By the time it breaks, I'm usually ready for a fresh one.

How regularly do you break strings?

Anton · Oct 19, 2015

Sander001 said:
I'm going to try this string again. I plan to use the 16 in the mains with a poly cross. I know they definitely need to be pre stretched. I always like low tensions these days in my full Polyester and other setups but Zyex is a different beast and needs to be strung tighter. I'm wondering if higher tensions are still the way to go with Zyex and generally what tensions people are using. And if Zyex still remains popular!

I strung Zyex Monogut 16 mains (natural color) at about same tension as natural gut, with no pre-stretch and liked the result with poly cross.

Since poly doesn't notch Zyex it lasts basically until you cut it out because the cross string gets worn out and doesn't slide as well. I was well into 20 hours before I cut it out. Multi mains last me an hour or two, Natural gut 10-14 hours.

Ramon · Oct 22, 2015

Sander001 said:
How regularly do you break strings?

I break my 16g ZX/syngut hybrid about every 10-12 hours of singles. The 17g version of ZX is lucky to go one match for me, so the difference is huge. Most 16g multifilaments will last 5-10 hours for me depending on the string.

drak · Oct 22, 2015

Ramon said:
I break my 16g ZX/syngut hybrid about every 10-12 hours of singles. The 17g version of ZX is lucky to go one match for me, so the difference is huge. Most 16g multifilaments will last 5-10 hours for me depending on the string.

Ramon, you still using an ESP frame or other?

Ramon · Oct 22, 2015

drak said:
Ramon, you still using an ESP frame or other?

No. Went back to my 16x20 Pro Kennex Ki 5x. I need the plow. I discovered the ZX/syngut hybrid combination because I needed something durable enough for the ESP racquet, but I like it enough to use it on a traditional frame too. Extra spin and durability helps there too.

racket king · Oct 24, 2015

ZX is a great cross string, no doubt, but it needs the right pre-stretch for playing longevity. The problem with pre-stretching it using traditional methods is that thins out the slippery coating that they have on it, which makes the mains (particularly shaped poly mains) stick a bit more, resulting in the overall stringbed not playing as well as it could do.

Ashaway should offer a pre-stretched version.

Also a tip for those who are breaking knots - make sure you pulling in the direction of the string when tightening rather than pulling directly back on itself. It creates less stress of the string and reduces the likelihood of it disintegrating at the point where it bends. You still get a tight, non-slipping knot.

Sander001 · Nov 9, 2015

I like Zyex in the mains. Strung it up with a thick poly cross to tame the power[Prince Tour XC 15G 1.40mm] and I am enjoying it. 2hrs of intense doubles and only a little notching.

Attila_the_gorilla · Nov 9, 2015

I've gone back to using gut/ZX instead of gut/ALU. The reason is that Gut/ALU became uncontrollable too quickly, I felt like after the strings loosening up, the difference in stiffness between mains and crosses was good for spin, but it was a disadvantage for everything else, especially control, touch and feel. With gut/ZX, I still have very good spin but as the mains and crosses have similar elasticity, the ball pocketing is much more consistent, so when you want to hit volleys, and flat shots, the ball is not gonna slide all over the place on the stringbed, much easier to control depth and direction.

drak · Nov 9, 2015

Ramon said:
No. Went back to my 16x20 Pro Kennex Ki 5x. I need the plow. I discovered the ZX/syngut hybrid combination because I needed something durable enough for the ESP racquet, but I like it enough to use it on a traditional frame too. Extra spin and durability helps there too.

you may want to try the Kevlar mains (1.10)/ZX crosses using TJ's 15-20 lb differential between mains and crosses. I kid you not it is amazingly comfortable and creates as much or more topspin than a spin designed racket. I have rediscovered an Organix 7 I just couldn't get enough control from and that racket has a 74 stiffness and I strung it at 60/41, shoulder so far not bothering me at all,, nice pocketing, in a Kennex it would likely be very comfy

fibonacci888 · Nov 11, 2015

This string sounds really interesting. Especially on it not notching as a cross.

In terms of spin and durability, what would you guys recommend as a main string? The gut is not an option due to the wet weather in the Netherlands.

Cyclone? TB?

Ashaway 100% Zyex monofilament

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