18g ProHurricane/18g NG... Noob Impressions

[Superman1272]

I rencently received a Klippermate for my birthday after about 20 years of wanting one. My fiance' bought it for me! She is just as sweet to me as she is beautiful! Ahhhh....

But I digress...

I only recently started stringing my own racquets. All string jobs have been nylon up to now. This Saturday, I strung up my yonex RQS-33 with a hybrid of Babolat Pro Hurricane 18g mains and KLiP Legend Natural Gut 18g crosses (@ 49 lbs and 54 lbs, respectively).

I thought that other noob stringers (or those that have yet to string, or play these particular brands) would like to get another's impressions of them.

My first impressions of the Pro Hurricane was how much of a bird's nest it was right out of the package! Holy Crap! This string had an incredible coil memory. Just getting all straightend out and cut in half was a chore. It seemd to come close to kinking if one was not careful in the handling of it. I am not sure how much of a problem that would result in if it did, but i was not really ready to find out. This coil memory problem seemed to plauge the entire process of stringing up the mains. The string always seemed to be in its own way. It did however string up nicely other than that. If you are used to stringing nylon or multi-filaments (especially on a drop-weight machine) you will find a learning curve on how much string to feed into the jaws of your machine as this string does not have almost any stretch to it at all. Just something to adjust to, but did not affect the string or the ability to string it up. In fact, there was very little string left over at the end of stringing the mains. Usually the string has stretched with the stringing process and you end up with about 12 - 16 inches of string left over on both sides (I am stringing a 107 in2 frame so take that into account). The knots were a little harder to pull tight with this string compared to the nylon that I have used earlier. I think this is due to the tendency to "kink" instead of creating a soft bend in the string. Again, it did not affect the string process... just annoying.

(SEE THE NEXT POST FOR THE NATURAL GUT AND MY THOUGHTS ON HOW THE HYBRID ACTUALLY PERFORMED ON THE COURTS.)

 

[Superman1272]

My first impression of the Natural Gut was how different it was from the Pro Hurricane. It seemed pliable and didn’t feel like plastic. It did not bird nest up on me and straightening it out was no problem at all. I noticed that if the string was bent too far that it would turn from a glossy, almost translucent, appearance to a dull milky look to it. As this is my first time stringing up a natural gut string, I was a little nervous at first. As I really got into stringing it, I realized that any type of manipulation of the string would result in this change. I am sure there is some molecular level explanation for this, but suffice it to say, it seemed a normal part of the process for gut strings (at least I hope it is! If someone with a little more experience can help me out here, I would appreciate it). The NG string was a breeze to string up. Even though it had to be woven through the mains, it was still easier to manipulate than the poly string. Only thing to note was that pulling tension on the crosses created a “violin” type of reaction from the mains (mostly during the 1st half of the crosses… it wasn’t as dramatic after that). A little un-nerving at first, but again, I am sure it is something that those with more experience have seen from time to time. The NG string stretched more in accordance with the nylon string I have been using which made it a little easier for me to estimate how much string to feed into the jaws. Near the end of the crosses, I noticed the NG string was very pliable from all of the handling that it had been put through. It was a lot easier to weave like this and I did not experience any problems pushing it trough holes, shared or open. The knots pulled tight and looped around the tie-off string easily. No problems there. All in all, the NG was a pure pleasure to string up.

 

[Superman1272]

I was able to take the newly strung racquet right out and play with it. I say it had about 45 minutes between the cutting the last bit of NG from the knot until I hit the first ball. I had to really hit out on the ball to get the same sort of depth from my 2nd racquet that has a full Natural Gut 16 (@55lbs) string bed. This extra effort put more spin on the ball and I finally understood why people use poly strings to begin with. It is not the fact that they like to really hit out on all their shots, it’s just that lack of power in the strings allows to keep the ball in the court while still swinging hard to generate the spin they are looking for. As I am NOT a top spin aficionado, this is not as big a selling point as it might seem for others. I do however, see the benefits with my second serves. I am able to really put some force on the ball and still allow my self plenty of control due to the spin generated (whether that be a slice or kick serve). Volleys were not a “touchy” as the full NG bed, but I believe it would be a learned feel. I did like the slice on the backhand side. It kept the ball low and allowed for a deep penetration of the court.

I will give this hybrid some more time and answer any questions about how I think it performs if anyone is interested.

 

[GPB]

cool.. I've been scared to string up NG myself, being a noob on a SP Swing, but I'm glad to see you got nice results!

 

[Superman1272]

Truthfully... I was a little over careful with the NG just because it was 18 gauge and it was "NATRUAL GUT". Oooooooooo!

After all was said and done, I would have rather strung the NG than the poly. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE the way the hybrid plays, and I will string my other RQS-33 the same way. It's just the poly was more difficult to work with.