Anyone play with Gut / Kevlar hybrid

[NLBwell]

Any informed opinions on gut/kevlar hybriids? I played ProBlend and other kevlars for many years, but have moved to polys. I'm getting tired of messing with them because of the tension drops, but I do appreciate the spin.
I hit with my old Pro Staff (SV 85") with Forten thin blend in it and was hitting very well. Looking at PVAudio's posts about gut crosses with polys and started wonderingg about using gut with kevlar.
Since the kevlar is so stiff, is there anything to be gained by gut crosses? Would you sting the gut higher? How would you rate the spin between multis and polys - closer to multis, closer to polys?
Also, anyone ever tried gut mains and kevlar crosses. It seems it would stiffen up the stringbed and reduce power - would it get spin like a gut/poly hybrid?
What tensions would you use for these compared to your tensions for other setups?
Thanks for any info.

 

[Larrysümmers]

i cant speak on the behalf of using gut crosses, but i have used forten ultra thin and i loved the spin i was getting with my rds mid. i would say 45-50lbs should be as high as you go, my opinoin and many will disagree. the gut will soften up the string bed and give you a lot more feel(from what i have heard).either way i think you should try it out

 

[McLovin]

I played with a Gut/Kevlar blend for over 15 years, using Gamma Extreme Spin 19 (a very thin Kevlar blend) with 17g Gut crosses, stringing 58lb mains & 62lb crosses in a mid+ racket (first Yonex RD Power 10 Long, then Hyper Carbon PS, then Babolat Pure Control +).

They discontinued the Extreme Spin 19, so when I switched rackets 3 years ago, I went to a Gut main / Poly cross mix. What I noticed was more spin, more feel and more power, however the 'more power' may have been due to stringing @ 56lbs.

As far as the difference between Gut crosses and Synthetic crosses, here is what I recommend:

String 2 identical rackets at the same tension, both with Kevlar mains, and one with Gut crosses and one with Synthetic or Multi crosses. Go out on the court with both and without looking, grab one at random. Hit with it for a few minutes, then walk back & grab the other. Hit with that for a few minutes. If you can tell which is the Gut racket, and you like that one better, then its worth it. If not, don't waste your $.​

I did this test years ago and found the Gut stringbed to be a tad softer and more powerful, so I stuck with it. And, since it is used as a cross, you can use lesser-quality guts (e.g., Titan) and still be better off than a Multi.

As far as tension, I would start with a number (say 60lbs), drop the Kevlar 2 lbs and bump the Gut 2lbs, so I had 58 & 62. I string for a guy who uses the MicroGel Radical Mid + (18x20 pattern) and 18g Kevlar @ 60 and 17g Gut @ 64. Arguably the best serve & volley player at my club.

Hope this helps.