EasternRocks
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Really could use some help/direction on which poly could potentially be my next string of choice.
Level of play: Collegiate player
Frame being used: Yonex AI 98
List of strings I've tried up until now and my general thoughts regarding each.
1. Cyclone
Power: Slightly above RPM Blast, less than BHB7. Would call it slightly about average for a polyester.
Control: Very good control, never felt like the ball would sail on me.
Spin: Above average spin compared to other poly's.
Feel: This is where the string kind of let me down. Off the stringer, it was crisp but it quickly turns into a string that does not have a very crisp feel. I would call it more plush and dampened once it is broken in. It has a medium stiffness, my arm never felt anything from it.
Edit 12/27/14: The string has the best ball pocketing and feel out of the 3 that have been competing with each other (Focus Hex/BHB7). The power level sits in between Focus Hex and BHB7, a little closer to FH. Its stiffness is also in the middle of FH and BHB7, softer than FH but stiffer than BHB7. I had the best results with this string today in my match in comparison to FH and BHB7. My problems with those 2 strings will be documented below in their respective summaries. My only qualm with Cyclone is the fact that it doesn't have as crisp of a feel and power as I'd like. I am trying the yellow which I heard will not be as crisp, but has more power. I'm curious to know if the yellow will make any difference whatsoever. I also am thinking about bumping my tension from 51 to 54 to possibly get the crisper feel from tightening the string bed.
2. Cyclone Tour -
Power: Very high. One of the highest I've hit with.
Control: Lacking. Balls would sail on me more than usual. This was the deal breaker for me.
Spin: Didn't find spin to be fantastic. Maybe at an average, maybe slightly more. Not enough to get balls to drop inside the lines instead of flying on me.
Feel: Extremely comfortable feel. Low stiffness. Can't pinpoint if it was a crisper or dampened feel. I can't remember. It might have been in the middle between crisp and plush/dampened.
3. V-Star
Power: Very high. Near CT level.
Control: Lacking. Ditto to what I wrote with the CT
Spin: Slightly more than CT, but wasn't able to get enough grab
Feel: Very arm friendly, this string and CT are very similar IMO in terms of feel. I found this to be a little crisper than CT and overall I think I'd take this over CT.
4. BHB7
Power: High, in the realm of CT, V-Star, Tour Bite Soft, etc
Control: Average. Control is accessed through the edges on the string and the overall extreme profile. See Spin section
Spin: One of the best, maybe the best string in spin I've tested. Easy access to spin and I get more of that drop feeling than any other string. I feel like I can swing faster with this string and the ball will still land inside the lines.
Feel: Arm friendly, soft string. Very crisp feel. Some would describe it as plasticky and I can see where they are coming from. It does feel a bit plasticky, but the shape of the string really gives it good feel and connection to the ball IMO.
Edit 12/27/14: This string has a lot of strengths, but I almost feel like in competitive play it just isn't as responsive as I would like. The string just simply does not perform consistently. Even with a fresh string bed, I found that there would be times I wouldn't have a good idea where my balls would go. This would happen mostly when I wanted to drive the ball. It was extremely unpredictable today and I'm really disappointed with this string right now. I thought it was going to be my go-to string, but it didn't hold up. I've also noticed that it's harder to get dialed in on my serve with this string, primarily my flat serve. It still beats a lot of the softer poly's I've tried, but I'm just hesitant to make the switch to it.
5. Focus Hex
Power: Average, slightly around Cyclone level, maybe a tiny bit less.
Control: Above average. Never found myself overhitting with this string. Instead as I've hit with it more, I've realized I'm hitting with less depth and pace.
Spin: Average. Found it to be a tiny less than Cyclone.
Feel: One of the stiffer poly's I've hit with. Has a crisp feel which I prefer over a muted/dampened feel (Cyclone). However, both strings were neck and neck because they had their strengths and weaknesses. The weakness of MSV was the high stiffness causing a lack of feel and ability to get additional dwell time on the string bed. I thought I wasn't able to manipulate the ball as well as I'd like.
Edit 12/27/14: Another disappointing outing with this string. The biggest weakness here is simply the lack of ball pocketing and feel. It just feels too stiff and it results in a lack of connection to the ball. I feel like the ball never really sits on the string bed, rather it just hits my string bed and leaves without any time to manipulate direction or spin of the ball. The power and spin are acceptable, but the big weakness with this string is just the feel. It's crisp and stiff, and not very forgiving.
6. Sonic Pro Edge
Power: Above average, good amount of power.
Control: Average for a poly, decent control. Nothing extraordinary
Spin: Average, around an MSV Focus Hex
Feel: This is a tricky one to write about. I didn't find it was soft, but I didn't find it overly stiff. However, I still found that the string gave me the feedback I usually get when I play stiffer strings. I found that the string bed was a tad unforgiving and when I wasn't striking the sweetspot, I lost a lot of connection to the ball. Dwell time wasn't fantastic with this string. It is a crisp string, which was a plus. If there's such a thing as a demanding string I think this would be slightly demanding. My consistency suffered because of the lack of connection to the ball.
7. RPM Blast
Power: Below average, no free power with this one.
Control: Above average, nothing flew on me.
Spin: Average-slightly above average. Wasn't able to access the spin potential that everyone raves about.
Feel: Didn't like it all too much. Very stiff, similar to an MSV. Lack of connection to the ball. Didn't feel like the string softened up even when I was applying topspin. Harsh wouldn't be a bad word to describe the string. Has a similar feel to Cyclone. Crisp initially, but turns into a dampened/muted string quick.
8. Tour Bite (Played on a Pro Staff 97)
Power: Below average, no free power with this one either.
Control: Very high
Spin: Above average (Couldn't really tell how much extra spin I was getting because I was so annoyed by the feel and lack of power)
Feel: Hated it. Dead and the feeling and was stiff. Had absolutely no feel and touch. Can't recall if it was more crisp or dampened. I'd say in between. Think this string works best for people who have the ability to swing real big and for ones that have the power and spin already in their game.
9. Tour Bite Soft (Have about 10 minutes of hitting with it, so I can't call these opinions/thoughts finalized)
Power: Very high
Control: Below average
Spin: Average-slightly above average
Feel: Did not love it. Feels like a V-Star. Decent spin, but not enough to curtail the liveliness of the string. Very arm friendly. Has more of a crisp feel to it than a dampened one.
10. ALU Power (Pro Staff 97)
Power: Average
Control: Above average
Spin: Average-below average
Feel: Did not like the metallic feel of the string. Average power, but not a ton of spin potential on this one. Felt like it was hitting with a string that lacked feel and comfort. Didn't think it was overly stiff though. Think this is another one of those strings where the player needs to bring a certain game style to the table to reap the rewards of it.
11. ALU Power Fluoro
Power: Average-slightly above average
Control: Average
Spin: Average-below average
Feel: Again, a metallic feel I do not care for. It causes a loss in connection with the ball IMO and it was very similar to ALU Power. Maybe a tiny bit softer, but not to the point that it was a big difference maker. Not overly soft. Spin production was mediocre at best.
12. ALU Power Spin
Power: Average-slightly above average
Control: Average-slightly above average
Spin: Good
Feel: Favorite Lux out of the 3. Metallic feel is still there, but the response is much better. More connected to the ball, can feel the extra spin potential. Feel like the profile of the string serves to act as a buffer between the ball and the harshness of the polyester material. Still thought it was a bit too metallic for my taste, but I thought this was not a bad string. A little loss of connection and slight lack of liveliness IMO.
13. Quadro Twist
Power: Average
Control: Good
Spin: Can't really comment, didn't hit with this one for too long. From what I remember it was average-above average.
Feel: First thing I can think of with this string is its muted and dampened. Does not have a crisp feel to it. I didn't really feel that great of spin potential but maybe I didn't give it long enough of a chance. The string was incredibly soft, very arm-friendly. The power level also didn't wow me.
14. Firestorm
Power: Above average
Control: Mediocre/average
Spin: Not great, not awful. Not surprised because its a round poly
Feel: Didn't get a crisp feel out of this one. Muted/dampened for sure. Soft and arm friendly. Didn't care for this particular string. Good power, lack of feel and connection to the ball.
15. Black Widow
Power: High
Control: Below average-low
Spin: Pretty good. Thought this string possessed spin potential, more than Cyclone Tour and V-Star as well as Tour Bite Soft and Quadro Twist. I'd say #2 in spin potential in terms of soft strings behind BHB7. However, the feel wasn't crisp enough for me. I compared this directly to BHB7 and found that the BHB7 was an overall better string. Black Widow also possessed a little less control than what I like.
Level of play: Collegiate player
Frame being used: Yonex AI 98
List of strings I've tried up until now and my general thoughts regarding each.
1. Cyclone
Power: Slightly above RPM Blast, less than BHB7. Would call it slightly about average for a polyester.
Control: Very good control, never felt like the ball would sail on me.
Spin: Above average spin compared to other poly's.
Feel: This is where the string kind of let me down. Off the stringer, it was crisp but it quickly turns into a string that does not have a very crisp feel. I would call it more plush and dampened once it is broken in. It has a medium stiffness, my arm never felt anything from it.
Edit 12/27/14: The string has the best ball pocketing and feel out of the 3 that have been competing with each other (Focus Hex/BHB7). The power level sits in between Focus Hex and BHB7, a little closer to FH. Its stiffness is also in the middle of FH and BHB7, softer than FH but stiffer than BHB7. I had the best results with this string today in my match in comparison to FH and BHB7. My problems with those 2 strings will be documented below in their respective summaries. My only qualm with Cyclone is the fact that it doesn't have as crisp of a feel and power as I'd like. I am trying the yellow which I heard will not be as crisp, but has more power. I'm curious to know if the yellow will make any difference whatsoever. I also am thinking about bumping my tension from 51 to 54 to possibly get the crisper feel from tightening the string bed.
2. Cyclone Tour -
Power: Very high. One of the highest I've hit with.
Control: Lacking. Balls would sail on me more than usual. This was the deal breaker for me.
Spin: Didn't find spin to be fantastic. Maybe at an average, maybe slightly more. Not enough to get balls to drop inside the lines instead of flying on me.
Feel: Extremely comfortable feel. Low stiffness. Can't pinpoint if it was a crisper or dampened feel. I can't remember. It might have been in the middle between crisp and plush/dampened.
3. V-Star
Power: Very high. Near CT level.
Control: Lacking. Ditto to what I wrote with the CT
Spin: Slightly more than CT, but wasn't able to get enough grab
Feel: Very arm friendly, this string and CT are very similar IMO in terms of feel. I found this to be a little crisper than CT and overall I think I'd take this over CT.
4. BHB7
Power: High, in the realm of CT, V-Star, Tour Bite Soft, etc
Control: Average. Control is accessed through the edges on the string and the overall extreme profile. See Spin section
Spin: One of the best, maybe the best string in spin I've tested. Easy access to spin and I get more of that drop feeling than any other string. I feel like I can swing faster with this string and the ball will still land inside the lines.
Feel: Arm friendly, soft string. Very crisp feel. Some would describe it as plasticky and I can see where they are coming from. It does feel a bit plasticky, but the shape of the string really gives it good feel and connection to the ball IMO.
Edit 12/27/14: This string has a lot of strengths, but I almost feel like in competitive play it just isn't as responsive as I would like. The string just simply does not perform consistently. Even with a fresh string bed, I found that there would be times I wouldn't have a good idea where my balls would go. This would happen mostly when I wanted to drive the ball. It was extremely unpredictable today and I'm really disappointed with this string right now. I thought it was going to be my go-to string, but it didn't hold up. I've also noticed that it's harder to get dialed in on my serve with this string, primarily my flat serve. It still beats a lot of the softer poly's I've tried, but I'm just hesitant to make the switch to it.
5. Focus Hex
Power: Average, slightly around Cyclone level, maybe a tiny bit less.
Control: Above average. Never found myself overhitting with this string. Instead as I've hit with it more, I've realized I'm hitting with less depth and pace.
Spin: Average. Found it to be a tiny less than Cyclone.
Feel: One of the stiffer poly's I've hit with. Has a crisp feel which I prefer over a muted/dampened feel (Cyclone). However, both strings were neck and neck because they had their strengths and weaknesses. The weakness of MSV was the high stiffness causing a lack of feel and ability to get additional dwell time on the string bed. I thought I wasn't able to manipulate the ball as well as I'd like.
Edit 12/27/14: Another disappointing outing with this string. The biggest weakness here is simply the lack of ball pocketing and feel. It just feels too stiff and it results in a lack of connection to the ball. I feel like the ball never really sits on the string bed, rather it just hits my string bed and leaves without any time to manipulate direction or spin of the ball. The power and spin are acceptable, but the big weakness with this string is just the feel. It's crisp and stiff, and not very forgiving.
6. Sonic Pro Edge
Power: Above average, good amount of power.
Control: Average for a poly, decent control. Nothing extraordinary
Spin: Average, around an MSV Focus Hex
Feel: This is a tricky one to write about. I didn't find it was soft, but I didn't find it overly stiff. However, I still found that the string gave me the feedback I usually get when I play stiffer strings. I found that the string bed was a tad unforgiving and when I wasn't striking the sweetspot, I lost a lot of connection to the ball. Dwell time wasn't fantastic with this string. It is a crisp string, which was a plus. If there's such a thing as a demanding string I think this would be slightly demanding. My consistency suffered because of the lack of connection to the ball.
7. RPM Blast
Power: Below average, no free power with this one.
Control: Above average, nothing flew on me.
Spin: Average-slightly above average. Wasn't able to access the spin potential that everyone raves about.
Feel: Didn't like it all too much. Very stiff, similar to an MSV. Lack of connection to the ball. Didn't feel like the string softened up even when I was applying topspin. Harsh wouldn't be a bad word to describe the string. Has a similar feel to Cyclone. Crisp initially, but turns into a dampened/muted string quick.
8. Tour Bite (Played on a Pro Staff 97)
Power: Below average, no free power with this one either.
Control: Very high
Spin: Above average (Couldn't really tell how much extra spin I was getting because I was so annoyed by the feel and lack of power)
Feel: Hated it. Dead and the feeling and was stiff. Had absolutely no feel and touch. Can't recall if it was more crisp or dampened. I'd say in between. Think this string works best for people who have the ability to swing real big and for ones that have the power and spin already in their game.
9. Tour Bite Soft (Have about 10 minutes of hitting with it, so I can't call these opinions/thoughts finalized)
Power: Very high
Control: Below average
Spin: Average-slightly above average
Feel: Did not love it. Feels like a V-Star. Decent spin, but not enough to curtail the liveliness of the string. Very arm friendly. Has more of a crisp feel to it than a dampened one.
10. ALU Power (Pro Staff 97)
Power: Average
Control: Above average
Spin: Average-below average
Feel: Did not like the metallic feel of the string. Average power, but not a ton of spin potential on this one. Felt like it was hitting with a string that lacked feel and comfort. Didn't think it was overly stiff though. Think this is another one of those strings where the player needs to bring a certain game style to the table to reap the rewards of it.
11. ALU Power Fluoro
Power: Average-slightly above average
Control: Average
Spin: Average-below average
Feel: Again, a metallic feel I do not care for. It causes a loss in connection with the ball IMO and it was very similar to ALU Power. Maybe a tiny bit softer, but not to the point that it was a big difference maker. Not overly soft. Spin production was mediocre at best.
12. ALU Power Spin
Power: Average-slightly above average
Control: Average-slightly above average
Spin: Good
Feel: Favorite Lux out of the 3. Metallic feel is still there, but the response is much better. More connected to the ball, can feel the extra spin potential. Feel like the profile of the string serves to act as a buffer between the ball and the harshness of the polyester material. Still thought it was a bit too metallic for my taste, but I thought this was not a bad string. A little loss of connection and slight lack of liveliness IMO.
13. Quadro Twist
Power: Average
Control: Good
Spin: Can't really comment, didn't hit with this one for too long. From what I remember it was average-above average.
Feel: First thing I can think of with this string is its muted and dampened. Does not have a crisp feel to it. I didn't really feel that great of spin potential but maybe I didn't give it long enough of a chance. The string was incredibly soft, very arm-friendly. The power level also didn't wow me.
14. Firestorm
Power: Above average
Control: Mediocre/average
Spin: Not great, not awful. Not surprised because its a round poly
Feel: Didn't get a crisp feel out of this one. Muted/dampened for sure. Soft and arm friendly. Didn't care for this particular string. Good power, lack of feel and connection to the ball.
15. Black Widow
Power: High
Control: Below average-low
Spin: Pretty good. Thought this string possessed spin potential, more than Cyclone Tour and V-Star as well as Tour Bite Soft and Quadro Twist. I'd say #2 in spin potential in terms of soft strings behind BHB7. However, the feel wasn't crisp enough for me. I compared this directly to BHB7 and found that the BHB7 was an overall better string. Black Widow also possessed a little less control than what I like.
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