anyone play babolat syn-gut?

wallymann

Semi-Pro
i'm not really a string guy...still play prince syn-gut since the '80s...and havent waded into polys.

went messing about with the TW string tools, it seems the babolat syn-gut is essentially the same as prince with even more spin potential.

i'm debating making the change on my gamers...i bought a few sets to try out...curious if anyone's tried it?
 
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Josaya

Rookie
It's @fuzz nation 's syn gut for customers I think?
The major difference between Syngut's is mainly if they feel firm or soft. I generate about the same spin between the 3 that I've tried recently (~8 months)
Multi has less power, and probably the same spin if in the same gauge (I say this because the most recent multi I tried was 17G Head Velocity and I had less spin).
I recently asked a question about seniors and a few are still using poly (50-70yo) but I'd say you'd need to be sure your arm is healthy (no TE or wrist issues)

I should have asked first... what are you trying to achieve by changing your tried and true setup?
 

wallymann

Semi-Pro
I should have asked first... what are you trying to achieve by changing your tried and true setup?

being a dinosaur that started with wood racquets, my swing mechanics have a foundation firmly rooted towards the flat end of the spectrum -- i'm "spin curious" to see what different strings might offer.

i have a backup frame getting strung up with shaped poly -- lynx tour, my 1st venture into the poly realm -- which may be extreme, so thinking a less radical syn-gut with more spin potential will be a nice compromise?
 

Fairhit

Hall of Fame
I played Babolat syn gut for a while, a little firm for my taste and with not a great spin potential, just par for the course for any sun gut.

The one I found to be a little more spin friendly is Yonex Dynawire.
 

wallymann

Semi-Pro
The one I found to be a little more spin friendly is Yonex Dynawire.

i can see dyna is alot softer than prince and better tension retention. curious what makes it more spin friendly...?

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Fairhit

Hall of Fame
i can see dyna is alot softer than prince and better tension retention. curious what makes it more spin friendly...?

qgGKYlg.png
I´ve been looking for more spin in my game and that´s why it is at the to of my list of things to keep an eye on, second only to comfort. I doný know if it is its softness or the snap back but it is a little more spin friendly.
 

Josaya

Rookie
For poly... read through https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/comfortable-poly-for-mainly-flat-hitting.662607/
Poly has a limited playability lifespan before it loses elasticity and potentially hurts your arm, some as low as 2hrs to 10hrs (or 20hrs according to a few). As someone resisting the temptation to imitate Kyrgios/Delpo when the ball is at shoulder high, my inner demon prefers "Round Alu Poly blends" as there's noticeably more "zing"(skid) through the court, hurts my arm really quick too.
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
being a dinosaur that started with wood racquets, my swing mechanics have a foundation firmly rooted towards the flat end of the spectrum -- i'm "spin curious" to see what different strings might offer.

i have a backup frame getting strung up with shaped poly -- lynx tour, my 1st venture into the poly realm -- which may be extreme, so thinking a less radical syn-gut with more spin potential will be a nice compromise?
Dinosaur?... I'd say more like gifted with divine insight of a bygone era. 8-B

I was a pure serve and volleyer as a kid using wood racquets on grass courts in the summertime. It was magical. I always used syn. gut (SG) in my racquets back then and I never trended away from it later on. Poly never did anything for me (other than annihilating my arm a few years ago), but multis have always underwhelmed - they're soft and arm-friendly for those who need that, but they just degrade too fast in my book.

Even though I play with 97" or 98" frames now at age 58, I'm still home-sweet-home with a semi snug bed of syn. gut. I like a 16 ga. option for a more open pattern like a 16x19, but a thinner 17 ga. seems to be better in a dense 18x20 pattern. Are they all the same? I say no.

Babolat seems to be a terrific general purpose syn. gut that's moderately soft. I've used this in 16 ga. and 17 ga. Other syn. guts that seem to also play moderately soft for me include Prince Original SG (without Duraflex), Volkl Classic SG, and probably one or two more that I'm not remembering right now (perhaps Head and Wilson SG Power).

My favorite SG these days is from Kirschbaum. It seems to be just a bit softer than the moderate SG's I mentioned above. You can go even softer with Forten Sweet, which is about as plush as some multis, at least in my book.

A couple SG's that are more firm and durable are Gosen OG Sheep Micro and Prince SG with Duraflex. These are too stiff for my taste, but they're pretty good for some folks in some racquets.

I appreciate the curiosity in terms of seeking spin. In my experience, I get more RPM's on the ball with the right racquet and not from a certain string setup. SG is firm enough to give me decent control and soft enough to allow me to slug with the high school kids I coach nearly every day when we're in season. It's affordable enough to replace whenever I want and I think its performance is great for my all-court game.

If you have to scratch that itch and sample a poly layout, I'd say stick with a hybrid (not a full bed of poly) and use a lighter gauge of poly that shouldn't be as inherently stiff as a thicker string. Locals who use me for stringing have found great success with a hybrid of Isospeed Baseline 1.20mm mains combo'ed with Gosen OGSM 16 as a cross. This layout is about as firm as a full bed of 16 ga. syn. gut. You might like this sort of hybrid, but you might also find that it simply plays a bit more dead than a full bed of either syn. gut or multi.

And if you sample a poly and then start to feel some grumpy-ness in your arm, get rid of that stuff right away. The right SG at the right tension might just give you a better balance of everything you need than any other string out there.
 

FBL

New User
Based on the numbers, there is nothing like Babolat SG. I have never tried it, but I got curious. It seems to be as slicky as a poly. Has anyone tried it in a hybrid with poly? Does the string provide the snap back that the numbers suggest?

PropertyBabolat Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25)Gosen OG Sheep Micro 17Difference %
MaterialNylonNylonNA
Stiffness (lb/in)1621631
Tension Loss (%)172335
Energy Return (%)92931
Spin Potential6.03.2-47
String to String Friction (COF)0.070.12376
String to Ball Friction (COF)0.4220.399-5
 

dragoncino

New User
Yesterday I played an hour with a Pk Q+20 stringed with Babolat Syn Gut Force 1.30, 2 knots, at an apparent tension of 23 or 24 kg. At first, I didn’t like that it seemed stiff, string move and do not come back in the original position. But after a while I managed to hit quite powerful forehands and flat services.
Since I do not know how many hours they have done on that racquet, I wonder how can I know when it is time to restring it? Can I keep it until it breaks? Thx
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
Yesterday I played an hour with a Pk Q+20 stringed with Babolat Syn Gut Force 1.30, 2 knots, at an apparent tension of 23 or 24 kg. At first, I didn’t like that it seemed stiff, string move and do not come back in the original position. But after a while I managed to hit quite powerful forehands and flat services.
Since I do not know how many hours they have done on that racquet, I wonder how can I know when it is time to restring it? Can I keep it until it breaks? Thx
First indicator is inconsistency in your play. Is it harder to hold serve, missing long. I always found that synthetic gut played well until it broke.
You can always check to see how notched the mains are.
 
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