5.0 Players, what are your strings of choice?

LOBALOT

Hall of Fame
I am not knowledgeable enough about strings to know the answer and I searched for posts to see if anyone talks of round polys that last more than 10 hours - but, I couldn’t easily find any. I tried ALU Power in a hybrid and it lasted only 7-8 hours and I asked my stringer for other round polys that would last longer. He said that most round polys will not last longer than 10 hours for me before they go dead and if they did, they would not provide as much power/bite as ALU Power - he is usually a knowledgeable, honest guy and so, I assumed this was the case. Just wanted to ask here to see if some other players had some suggestions that I could ask my stringer about in the future. Otherwise, I’ll keep stringing VS/HyperG and get about 12-15 hours out of the hybrid. I’m also planning to try a Volkl set that I bought that has 17g Volkl gut and Cyclone.

The TWU string specs database doesn’t specify if a poly is round or not and many of their string descriptions don’t even specify this. So, if I do a search of poly strings with good tension maintenance, I don’t know if they are round or not unless I do a separate google search on each string.

Playability is an interesting topic. ALU Power is not great at holding tension.

If you want an example of a round poly that holds tension better than a shaped poly and like Lux then 4G is a round poly that holds tension way better than hyper G.
 

John Z.

Semi-Pro
This question is directed to the advanced players here, which strings do you prefer and how long do they last?

I use a Pure Aero Tour 16x19 leaded to 350g / 345 SW and my favorites are:
Tourna Big Hitter Silver7 Tour 17 / 1.25 - 6-8h before breaking
Luxilon ALU Power 1.25 - 8-10h before breaking

Been considering switching to the 16 / 1.30 gauge of the Tourna because I do get some premature breakage sometimes at the top of the hoop on a big serve although I do prefer the feeling of the 1.25.

What are your favorites?

Mains: Tonic+, HyperG (both 1.30)
Crosses: Proline 2 1.25, SPPP 1.23/1.28 dep on frame, Hawk 1.25.

Tried *many* other strings/combos over the years, i keep getting back to those few.
 

John Z.

Semi-Pro
@Toby14

my .02 Please return the VCT 1.18 and exchange it for 1.30 VCT, or simply throw it in the trash. Do not string it in your frame. VCT is only playable in the 1.30mm version if you are a 3.5+ rated guy and hit with any topspin whatsoever. The 1.25mm loses tension so quickly it is like a completely different string compared to the 1.30mm VCT. I can imagine how quickly the 1.18mm version would lose tension.

I have been using VCT 1.30mm since 2014 and have bought/strung over 20 reels of VCT since then. I had a friend purchase it against my advice then asked me to swap his 1.25mm reel for a reel of my 1.30mm when he complained of the tension loss and string movement. I told him to throw is reel of VCT 1.25mm in the garbage as I had absolutely no use for it whatsoever. People don't seem to get it, so they buy the 1.25mm VCT version thinking it plays like other 1.25mm strings.

VCT 1.30 works well for three now 5.0 players with a history of TE. (SC, AH, and PC have all had issues with their elbows and don't like stiff strings/frames) Saw AH last night after hitting with a bunch of 4.5 & 5.0 guys. AH uses VCT 1.30mm in Pure Strike 2nd Gen 16x19 frames, after using Head Velocity 1.30mm in his Babolat Pure Controls for the past year. He has no issue with VCT 1.30mm and he is coming from a multifilament.

g4, i'm curious how you would compare VCT and Sidewinder... if you tried them both?
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Playability is an interesting topic. ALU Power is not great at holding tension.

If you want an example of a round poly that holds tension better than a shaped poly and like Lux then 4G is a round poly that holds tension way better than hyper G.
Thanks. I think my stringer mentioned that I wouldn’t get the power from 4G that I get with HyperG and ALU Power. I’ll ask him about it again,

I notice more the poly going dead and getting harsher in feel/lower in comfort first rather than lowered tension causing decreased control in the hybrid. With HyperG, I can play with it for 15 hours or slightly longer without control/comfort issues and usually I break the hybrid by then.
 

Sardines

Hall of Fame
My stringer wants me to try Poly Tour Fire next instead of Poly Tour Pro or Poly Tour Strike because he knows I like the extra comfort. Any thoughts on PTF compared to PTS?

TTW convinced me to try gut/round poly hybrids instead of gut/shaped poly hybrids (I like VS/HyperG) as the round poly is supposed to not cause notching as much and last longer before breaking. But, the round poly always goes dead within 8-10 hours in hybrids while I typically don’t break VS/HyperG hybrids before 12-15 hours. So, I am thinking that I should be like the Bryan bros and stick with gut/HyperG.
I have only used them as crosses with other polys and gut. PTF is feels as stiff but plays more elastic (powerful) than PTS, but loses tension slightly more dramatically too. PTS feels like soft prestretched poly and has good tension maintenance. It's a good if stiffer feeling round cross. PTF gives more power and also significantly better snap from gut due to the SIF coating, and that coating lasts the life of the string, unlike RPM Rough, Poly Red Code Wax and Revolve etc. I liked it a lot but had to up my tension. Yonex claims it is heat prestretched, but I only tried 4-5 sets before I chose PRCW as my cross.
 

Sardines

Hall of Fame
No prob. I did forget to add that if you're happy with HyperG, stay with it. I chose PRCW because it's interchangeable as a cross for gut and poly mains. The wax coating gives added durability and extends my gut to almost 10+ hrs life. If you are getting 15+ hours of life with hyper g, and are happy with the performance, keep using it. I did try hyper g and didn't like it as a cross. The square profile makes it thicker and heavier than a round string of the same diameter.
 

g4driver

Legend
g4, i'm curious how you would compare VCT and Sidewinder... if you tried them both?

Sorry I have never hit with Gosen Sidewinder.

if you want something similar to VCT 1.30, Try TIerOne's prepackaged Boost (1.25mm FireWire mains / 1.22mm Ghostwire crosses). It is a bit stiffer and holds tension longer than VCT 1.30mm.

Ghostwire is the cross string of Tier One's Boost and sold as a separate string in packs and reels. It softens up stiffer strings. I use GW crosses with several stiffer shaped polys (Hyoer G & Revolution), natural gut mains, and YPTA.. Black Knight / GW is a setup I am asking several 5.0 guys to try thanks to @TierOneSportsOfficial help and advice. I wish FireWire came in black or grey but that is a small cosmetic request. The strings work well. I have about 14 hours on a frame and the mains began sticking out of place last night.
 

g4driver

Legend
One of the 5.0 guys wants Black Knight in a full bed, so will let him try that first. He's been a Hyper G 1.25mm guy for years. Will get the BK/GW in the frames of a few other 5.0 guys
 

harsh_alive

New User
Looks like the folks replying in this question have tried several different strings. I had a follow up question and wanted to know your thoughts. When you use hybrids is there a perception that thicker gauge goes on mains and thinner on crosses? Or is it vice versa? Or it total depends on string type? I myself have not tried any hybrids and so wanted to know what you guys think. Thanks.
 

Chezbeeno

Professional
My ideal setup when I was playing college tennis was Volk Cyclone 16g. There was a brief period of time when I used Luxilon 4G (got a bunch of sets when I got new racquets) and I really liked it too. When I wasn't using one of those two then the free string I had access to was Tecnifibre Poly Code, which I believe has since been discontinued. I occasionally did a hybrid of Poly Code and some cheap synthetic gut, but the full bed of Poly Code actually felt better, even if it didn't last longer than about 5 hours.
 

John Z.

Semi-Pro
Looks like the folks replying in this question have tried several different strings. I had a follow up question and wanted to know your thoughts. When you use hybrids is there a perception that thicker gauge goes on mains and thinner on crosses? Or is it vice versa? Or it total depends on string type? I myself have not tried any hybrids and so wanted to know what you guys think. Thanks.

I never put a thicker string in the cross - i need mains to be relatively thick for good feel, decent plow through and durability... and since the mains dominate the string bed going a bit thinner on crosses allows for additional spin and comfort without much downside. I rarely play with less than 1.30mm mains and 1.25 in cross, sometimes 1.30 both ways.
 

harsh_alive

New User
Thanks @John Z. When you put thicker strings on mains and thinner on crosses, how do you determine the tension? Will you keep the tension same or vary it between mains and crosses? Thanks.
 

JustTennis76

Hall of Fame
I use Babolat VS Touch 16 and Prince XC 15L. Lasts very long time. Only change strings 2 times a year thru 2 rackets, so average about 4 string jobs per year. Cost comes to around $90 per year and strings play like new throughout.
 

crash

Rookie
I use Volkl Cyclone 16 at 53 lbs. Lasts around 3h in my APD. Might try 15L to see if I can get a bit more durability without affecting playability too much. Any Cyclone 15L users here who can comment?
 
Last edited:
Top