Best overall string brand
- Thread starter Fletch
- Start date
SCRAP IRON
Professional
Tech
I second the Technifibre motion. You can get any type of string for any type of player. The difference is that their product is noticeably better in most categories.
I second the Technifibre motion. You can get any type of string for any type of player. The difference is that their product is noticeably better in most categories.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Babolat. IMO, they make the most quality strings and I would gladly spend the money on them because, in my eyes, nothing else compares.
darklore009
Hall of Fame
i would go for several small brands or not so well known like topspin, isospeed, mamba, and pro's pro. at least they can make some quality strings with a reasonable price compared to the bigger companies like wilson, babolat, head, etc
Interesting.
As a newb to stringing, I've been applying the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) method and limiting myself to one, well-respected brand...Wilson. I actually started with some Wilson string that was given to me and didn't see a need to change.
On the other hand, from what I've read, multi's are the next step up from syn-gut. With Wilson, the price jump is significant. However, the Tecnifibre multi's compare well to the Wilson syn-gut on price. May have to give it a try.
phishbiscuits
Rookie
In THEORY, I support small companies trying to make it in the soft goods business. Solinco, Pro's Pro, Tier One, Genesis, L-TEC, WeissCANNON, Klipper, etc (and the number seems to constantly increase!).
In PRACTICE, if you're asking OVERALL, I'm inclined to identify brands with full string ranges (gut, multi, poly, nylon).
So, I'd have to say Wilson because of its ties to Luxilon in addition to their own full line.
I've tried 15+ string brands and have reluctantly come to this conclusion.
Individually:
GUT- Babolat VS Touch Black (I know BT7 "ruined it" for many, not me)
MULTI- Solinco Tru Feel or Technifibre X-One Biphase
NYLON- L-TEC
POLY- BB ALU Power
In PRACTICE, if you're asking OVERALL, I'm inclined to identify brands with full string ranges (gut, multi, poly, nylon).
So, I'd have to say Wilson because of its ties to Luxilon in addition to their own full line.
I've tried 15+ string brands and have reluctantly come to this conclusion.
Individually:
GUT- Babolat VS Touch Black (I know BT7 "ruined it" for many, not me)
MULTI- Solinco Tru Feel or Technifibre X-One Biphase
NYLON- L-TEC
POLY- BB ALU Power
phishbiscuits
Rookie
We could also ask:
High-End Brand
Budget/Clone Brand
High-End Brand
Budget/Clone Brand
I like Natural Gut, so if I was actually picking a brand that I had to play with for the rest of my days, I might very well have to go with one of the few that offer a gut option.
Off the top of my head I'd probably go with Babolat as they've got a pretty good selection - VS Gut, N.VY, XCel, RPM - all high-quality and gives you an option for every type of string.
Despite their obvious ties, I view Wilson and Luxilon as separate brands.
Pacific might be an option, as they also offer all types.
All that said, I'll stick with my original post and still say Tecnifibre is the best string brand. I really wish they made a gut string. Everything else I've tried of theirs is top notch product. Yes, it is on the high end of the price range, but so far, it hasn't disappointed me.
Off the top of my head I'd probably go with Babolat as they've got a pretty good selection - VS Gut, N.VY, XCel, RPM - all high-quality and gives you an option for every type of string.
Despite their obvious ties, I view Wilson and Luxilon as separate brands.
Pacific might be an option, as they also offer all types.
All that said, I'll stick with my original post and still say Tecnifibre is the best string brand. I really wish they made a gut string. Everything else I've tried of theirs is top notch product. Yes, it is on the high end of the price range, but so far, it hasn't disappointed me.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Spinny, I would invite you to try PHT in your extreme pro. I thong it would be a great matchup and it would look sweet lol.
You'll have to forgive me as I haven't got all the abbreviations down yet. So, PHT?
In any case, I sold my Extremes, so alas, I won't be trying that. Yellow Cyclone looked pretty sweet in that racquet though - and played even sweeter.
babyhagrid
Rookie
PHT is Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour. A great string before it drops off, its all downhill from there.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
You'll have to forgive me as I haven't got all the abbreviations down yet. So, PHT?
In any case, I sold my Extremes, so alas, I won't be trying that. Yellow Cyclone looked pretty sweet in that racquet though - and played even sweeter.
Pro hurricane tour. Whaaaaaat?! I thought you liked your extremes a lot
rodrigoamaral
Hall of Fame
best for what? for performance? value? overall selection? very general question
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
I would go with Tecnifibre, due to the range of strings they make that I like and the fact that they, with a few others, do their own extensive R&D and actually manufacture their own strings (as well as some of those of other companies like Wilson). Amazing how many "favorites" are for brands that have zero capability/facilities to manufacture strings. Go figure.
o0lunatik
Professional
Technifibre all of the way. I work in the medical field, and not only does Technifibre make tennis strings, they also make a lot of fiber strands that go into medical supplies of all sorts. R&D and quality are superb. So, it's nice to have a connection between some of my strings like black code and red code and that to my medical well-being.
Thumbs up to Wilson as well.
I did. They were/are great sticks. I just liked the Tecnifibres better.
I held on to them for a while, but when it became obvious that I liked the Tecnifibres better, and more importantly, played better with them, and it wasn't just a honeymoon, I saw no point in having them lie around collecting dust. So, off they went. I wouldn't have minded keeping one, but I needed the money to buy my Tecs.
o0lunatik
Professional
What's up with them Frenchies, Europe in general, making quality strings? This probably is in correlation to Europe being the main center for polymer science research in the world.
Anyways, I'll have to shout out a YAY to Ashaway for it being USA and making the most durable string out there... kevlar. USA! Thanks to DuPont as well. USA!
Shangri La
Hall of Fame
Weiss CANNON.
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
Even though NRG2 makes it into my top 5 favorite strings of all time of all types, I can't say that Tecnifibre is better overall than Babolat. I, however, have my own tastes of course. Here's why I say this broken into subcategories:
Synthetic Gut
TF: TF Syn Gut
Bab: Nvy, Addiction, Bab Syn Gut
All three are superior, with Nvy, IMO, being the best cross string you can buy (not best value by far though)
Multifilament
TF: NRG2, X-1 Biphase, Multifeel
Bab: Xcel iterations
Of course, I feel NRG2 wins here, but Xcel is superior to the others IMO
Natural Gut
TF: N/A
Bab: VS, Tonic
Best natural gut on the market....at least before BT7
Polyester
TF: A bunch of stuff, all of which I think feels like plastic
Bab: Hurricane iterations, RPM
Bab easily wins here for me, because while NRG2 is 4th on my all time favorite strings list, PH18 is 5th with the other poly spots taken only by WeissCANNON offerings.
Basically it's like this: I think that in every category, Babolat has something top tier to offer in each class. TF, while high quality and excellent, only does in their multifilaments.
This is, again, my opinion only.
eidolonshinobi
Professional
WeissCannon by a mile when it comes to poly. And with me that's all I use.
tistrapukcipeht
Professional
Yonex and Luxilon for polys.
For gut I think Babolat.
For others I don't know, I don't use anything but poly, or poly hybrid.
For gut I think Babolat.
For others I don't know, I don't use anything but poly, or poly hybrid.
mikeler
Moderator
Thank the Germans.
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
Through their "cordage" subsidiary, Counsin Freres, they also happen to be *the* fiber optic company in Europe -- especially big in the aircraft industry with Airbus.
What most people don't get is the fact that the geometry and composition of the string is only part of the equation. What is done with the string at different phases of the process and at different temperatures has a huge effect on how the string behaves. The monkey-see, monkey-do Asian knock off artists (Japan excepted) do not research and make strings in anywhere close the same fashion.
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
Ashaway is another company with a long history before making tennis strings. Like Gosen, they got their start with manufacturing fishing line. Zyex can be misleading, though. It is the trademark of a UK firm that makes PEEK products for many applications. Numerous strings have been made with the exact same material -- it is not proprietary to Ashaway.
Shroud
G.O.A.T.
Ok. But they seem to have them and advertise that it is Zyex. Outside of Prince years ago I havent seen anyone else with offerings.
Who has them now?
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
Try Volkl with Catapult Power years ago, just to name one 100% PEEK string.
PEEK is nothing special material-wise, Ashaway is simply leveraging the trademark Zyex from the company of the same name. PEEK is not a new or special material. If you want, you can buy spools of PEEK directly from Zyex from the UK or their New Jersey sales office.
You don't know what you don't know. That is why snake oil and advertising works.
Muppet
Legend
Gamma has used Zyex in their Revelation string for a long time. I believe it came out in the 1990s. It's still being sold by TW.
The opinion portion apart, this is 100% true. Ashaway just marketed it brilliantly.
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
Oh, yeah, they were extremely clever to leverage the Zyex trademarked name to "differentiate" it from the generic descriptive term PEEK. Very, very good marketing indeed.
Smasher08
Legend
Best overall doesn't exist.
IsoSpeed, Unique/Tourna, Gosen, Pacific . . . hell, even Wilson and Head are all excellent. Pro's Pro probably has the best value for money ratio of any brand out there, but that said if you're willing to pay more money there are some individual strings out there that truly are better.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what string characteristics you like and work for your game.
IsoSpeed, Unique/Tourna, Gosen, Pacific . . . hell, even Wilson and Head are all excellent. Pro's Pro probably has the best value for money ratio of any brand out there, but that said if you're willing to pay more money there are some individual strings out there that truly are better.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what string characteristics you like and work for your game.
