TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Is there anyone out there that has tried both 4g and 4G Soft as a cross with Natural Gut? I'd like to hear comparison opinions from those who have tried each.
4G as opposed to 4G Soft as a cross with Gut
- Thread starter TennisManiac
- Start date
FIRETennis
Professional
4G Soft is softer and more plush. Delays that "Luxilon" stiff feeling by a couple hours too...
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
What frame are you using 4G in? And at what tension are you playing with it?
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
I’ve tried both as a more durable alternative to ALU rough. The best advice I can give is to stay away from both.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
Both were unbelievably stiff. Compared to ALU there was no feel and no pocketing. Coming off the racquet I couldn’t tell you where the ball was going, not muted or dampened, simply disconnected. Spin was worse because of the lack of ball pocketing and feedback. The stringbed just seemed to never grab the ball, so spin and pace were mutually exclusive. Just an unpleasant experience on court and unpleasant feelings in my arm the next day.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Were you using a full bed of it or using it as a cross in a gut/poly hybrid? Also, what frame were you using and at what tension? I planned on trying it as a cross with gut mains. The reason I became interested with this string is because of it's tension maintenance. I tried Revolve and loved it as a cross but it completely bagged out after about 5 hours. I then tried Max Power as a cross and found that it was unbelievably stiff, and even with gut in the mains... the string bed felt like a board. So in search of a string that sits in the middle of those two I decided to try 4G Soft. But your opinion seems like the exact opposite of what I've been reading everywhere else. Confusing to say the least.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
VS touch 16g mains, poly crosses. Strung at 48/45 in a PS90 and 58/55 in a PT57A.
I tried 4G, 4G soft, 4G rough, Max Power, Max Power Rough, BBO Rough, and RPM Blast, and found them all to feel too harsh/boardy/plasticy, with the 4G family being the worst. I’ve never used Wilson polys but it sounds like you want tension maintenance + ball pocketing. That’s pretty similar to what I was looking for. My favorites were Luxilon Element 1.25, Yonex PTP, RS Lyon, Isospeed Cream, Signum Poly Pro Plasma, and Isospeed Grey Fire. Of those SPPP and Grey Fire had the best tension maintenance. I’d definitely try any of that list over 4G.
I tried 4G, 4G soft, 4G rough, Max Power, Max Power Rough, BBO Rough, and RPM Blast, and found them all to feel too harsh/boardy/plasticy, with the 4G family being the worst. I’ve never used Wilson polys but it sounds like you want tension maintenance + ball pocketing. That’s pretty similar to what I was looking for. My favorites were Luxilon Element 1.25, Yonex PTP, RS Lyon, Isospeed Cream, Signum Poly Pro Plasma, and Isospeed Grey Fire. Of those SPPP and Grey Fire had the best tension maintenance. I’d definitely try any of that list over 4G.
FIRETennis
Professional
Similar experience here. The only cross I enjoyed from the Luxilon family with VS gut was actually Element/Element Rough. The rest are just 'ok' but all get very stiff around 3-4h even with gut. I get way less spin visually with any of the 4Gs than any other Luxilon string. I prefer ALU Power in full bed at low tensions, and that plays similarly comfortable as gut/poly in a soft Blade v7 16x19.
Other great crosses with VS: Yonex Poly Tour Fire, Tourna Black Zone, Signum Pro Firestorm, Wilson Revolve (great for a few hours but not so great tension maintenance). I couldn't stand Isospeed Cream weird metallic feel/ping and for some reason it didn't play so soft for me. My favorite is now Tourna Black Zone but I have a set of Yonex Poly Tour Air coming.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I noticed that according to TW University Tourna Black Zone is a little softer than Wilson Revolve, but supposedly has slightly better tension maintenance. I'm not sure how that's possible. But in your experience... approximately how many hours do you think Black Zone lasts as a cross with gut mains before the Black Zone bags out? I get about 3 to 4 hours when using Revolve. I'd like to find a cross that will give me a couple more. Which is why I tried Max Power and am now considering 4G.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
Cream is hit or miss. I like it as a cross with gut mains, It’s the softest gut poly bed I’ve tried and has good durability. I haven’t tried a full bed. You reminded me about tourna big hitter silver, I forgot to mention it’s a cheap ALU clone with just a little less durability. All the Yonex polys I’ve tried have good feel and are soft. Never tried air, but fire was a nice string too.
FIRETennis
Professional
I use Black Zone 16 which is strangely 1.25mm. This one (Stiffness (lb/in) 197) is slightly firmer than the Wilson Revolve (Stiffness (lb/in) 192) but with a lot more pop. It sounds like a gunshot when you hit the sweet spot. The Revolve feels like it's much softer than this but control is not as good. I get more deflection errors when I use Revolve as a cross. I get 6-7h with the BHBZ before I feel I need to replace crosses but you can push it a few more hours without much stiffness or tension loss, just not as 'crisp'. My advice is try both. I found regular Max Power incredibly stiff. Haven't tried the Rough version which seems softer but looks as if it might cut through the gut quicker due to the sharp pattern.
Dartagnan64
G.O.A.T.
This was my experience. Not enough difference to matter to anyone's game at the rec level.
The over-analysis of poly strings on this forum never ceases to amaze me. Cheap ass plastic and we are trying to min-max everything about it.
antony
Hall of Fame
Well if you're buying a reel of something, you want to make sure it's something that will fit your game as you will be with that reel for awhile.
I know this post is 6 years old , I just put on vs gut 16 and 4g crosses 16l and I love it so far 52/49 curious what you play with these daysWere you using a full bed of it or using it as a cross in a gut/poly hybrid? Also, what frame were you using and at what tension? I planned on trying it as a cross with gut mains. The reason I became interested with this string is because of it's tension maintenance. I tried Revolve and loved it as a cross but it completely bagged out after about 5 hours. I then tried Max Power as a cross and found that it was unbelievably stiff, and even with gut in the mains... the string bed felt like a board. So in search of a string that sits in the middle of those two I decided to try 4G Soft. But your opinion seems like the exact opposite of what I've been reading everywhere else. Confusing to say the least.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I've been playing with X-One Biphase mains and Alu Power crosses for a few weeks now. Might stick with it. Natural Gut is way too expensive.
What tensions do you use. I have 16 g mains and 4g and when I am done with it want to try something else. 4g is meh to me
LOBALOT
Legend
usually 53 mains and 48 crosses.
