Conflicted on String choice VCT 98

z00

Rookie
I'm a new member, back to tennis after a 15Y hiatus. Intermediate level, chose 2023 VCT 98 as my racket. Tried with Alu power as a start with mid 50s tension, it feels boardy and causes shoulder discomfort on power fast forehands (my form needs work).

What string setup do you recommend from below for an all court player (singles) on above frame with bias toward spin, comfort/arm friendly and durability (I play 4-6 hours/week, 25+ play hours at least before restringing is ideal)?

1- Cyclone Tour 16 on the mains at 52lbs (accounting for high tension loss), Gosen Sheep 17 on the crosses at two pounds higher.
2- Techni Triax full bed at 52lbs
3- Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable 17 full bed @50lbs
4- Hyper G 18 in mains @50lbs, and Gosen sheep 17 or Head velocity MLT in crosses at two pounds higher (18 gauge won't last long with VCT that wears strings).
5- Something else?

My stringer uses below strings but I can buy my own if needed, but cheaper and easier if I use what he has in stock:

BrandNameQualityTypeGaugeColor
YonexPoly Tour ProPremiumPolyester17Flash Yellow
SolincoHyper-GPremiumPolyester17Green
HeadLynx TourPremiumPolyester17Black, Grey, Orange, Champagne
TecnifibreIce CodePremiumPolyester18White
KirschbaumBlack SharkPremiumPolyester17Black
KirschbaumHelixPremiumPolyester17Blue
SolincoRevolutionPremiumPolyester17Blue
VolklV-TorquePremiumPolyester17Green
VolklCyclone TourPremiumPolyester17Gray
VolklCyclonePremiumPolyester17Orange
HeadSonic Pro EdgePremiumPolyester16Gray
HeadHawk TouchPremiumPolyester17Gray
Tier One / TRU PROBlack KnightPremiumPolyester17Black
Tier One / TRU PROFirewirePremiumPolyester17Red
Tier One / TRU PROGhost WirePremiumPolyester17White
Tier One / TRU PRODurafluxxPremiumPolyester17Gray
Tier One / TRU PROStrike Force RipPremiumPolyester17Gray
YTexHexagon-XPremiumPolyester16LRed
Weiss CANNONTurboTwistPremiumPolyester17LWhite
HeadRIP ControlPremiumMultifilament16Natural
HeadVelocity MLTPremiumMultifilament17Black, Natural
HeadVelocity MLTPremiumMultifilament16Black, Yellow, Blue, Pink
HeadFXP TourPremiumMultifilament16Gray
HeadFXP TourPremiumMultifilament16Blue
GosenOG Sheep MicroPremiumSynthetic Gut17Black, White
GosenOG Sheep MicroPremiumSynthetic Gut16Black
SolincoPro StackedPremiumSynthetic Gut16White
PrinceSyn Gut w/ DuraflexPremiumSynthetic Gut17Natural
DunlopS-GutPremiumSynthetic Gut16White
 

Trip

Legend
Hi @z00, welcome.

On any current Yonex, especially the VCores, IMHO, you want to go as crisp as possible, to drive as much feel through to the handle as you can (as they're all pretty muted). For the VCT in particular, I'd also use a gauge that's at least in the low-mid 1.20's mm caliper, to close up and calm down that fanned out upper string bed as much as reasonably possible. Also, to get 25+ hours, you're going to want to exclude most multi's and/or unbraided syn-guts, as well as any poly's with mediocre or worse tension maintenance.

All of that considered, from what you listed above, here's what I'd narrow down to straight away:

BrandNameQualityTypeGaugeColor
SolincoHyper-GPremiumPolyester17Green
HeadLynx TourPremiumPolyester17Grey, Champagne
HeadHawk TouchPremiumPolyester17Gray
Tier One / TRU PRODurafluxxPremiumPolyester17Gray
GosenOG Sheep MicroPremiumSynthetic Gut17Black, White
GosenOG Sheep MicroPremiumSynthetic Gut16Black
PrinceSyn Gut w/ DuraflexPremiumSynthetic Gut17Natural

For an all-court intermediate, I would suggest a bit of extra pop from the string bed, namely via a hybrid. If you want more control and grip, and don't mind (or even prefer) a more static, locked-up string bed, put the poly in the mains and syn-gut in the crosses. If you want more pop, snap and dynamism from the bed, and like deriving your spin more from snapback than static grip, put the syn-gut in the mains, poly in the crosses. For tension, on a p/syn-gut hybrid, I'd go 50-ish, for a s-g/poly hybrid, I'd go low 50's.

If you think you want to go full-bed poly, I'd point you to the poly's that are more modern and supple, with a good balance of power-to-control, so either full bed DuraFluxx, DuraFluxx crossed with Hawk Touch, or full-bed Hawk Touch. For a full bed of DF, I'd string around 50-ish to low 50's. For DF/HT, upper 40's to 50 ish. For full-bed HT, upper 40's. Additionally, ask your stringer if he can order some Tru Pro Atomos 17 (1.25); quite possibly TP's best string yet; definitely worth a try in the VCT (I'd string it mid-upper 40's, not much higher).

Abide by the above, and I think you'll get the best feel and general behavior out of the VCT, for a good 25 hours, maybe a bit more.

Hope that helps. Any questions, feel free.
 
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z00

Rookie
Thank you for the detailed excellent response @Trip! I'll look into Tru Pro Atomos. Any reasons why none of Tru pro strings show up in TWU string database? And where to order it on TW site?

Would Restring Zero be a good option in VCT? My stringer will have access to it.
 

dmtree

Rookie
I played with a syngut/poly hybrid (Gosen OG/Ice Code) when I was coming back. It's a more forgiving setup and has a familiar feel, with some of the benefits of poly, namely spin and control, As my arm strength and footwork improved, I transitioned to a full poly bed. I went low-mid 50s on the syngut and 3-4lbs lower on the poly cross.
 
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Trip

Legend
Thank you for the detailed excellent response @Trip! I'll look into Tru Pro Atomos. Any reasons why none of Tru pro strings show up in TWU string database? And where to order it on TW site?
Very welcome. Sounds like a plan re- Atomos.

As for the lack of presence of Tru Pro (of Tier One, as they were formerly known) in the TWU database, I'm pretty sure it's quite simply because TW has never sold Tru Pro (Tier One) strings. Further, I don't think they have any intention to as this point, just judging from the amount of boutique poly strings that they've let dwindle to nearly nothing over the past couple/few years (ie. Genesis, Weiss Canon, YTEX, etc.). I would have to attribute this simply to the fact that they just don't move enough of that type of product in general. All things considered, kind of understandable. Unfortunately, this means that Tru Pro and the like are probably going to remain direct-to-consumer for the foreseeable future, at least in most markets.

Would Restring Zero be a good option in VCT? My stringer will have access to it.
Full-bed Zero might play well, but I'm not sure it will feel all that great, as it's pretty widely regarded to be more on the muted, plasticky side of things. That said, though, I'm not everyone, and sometimes that most muffled, dampened contact feel is actually enjoyable to some. So, perhaps give it a shot. There's also Sync, which is apparently a bit more crisp, and perhaps hybriding Zero and Sync might be an option, too.

Hope that helps again!
 
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smithie

Professional
Thank you for the detailed excellent response @Trip! I'll look into Tru Pro Atomos. Any reasons why none of Tru pro strings show up in TWU string database? And where to order it on TW site?

Would Restring Zero be a good option in VCT? My stringer will have access to it.
I have played with it in my VC95 (see my avatar) and I really enjoyed it for what its worth (although currently trying other strings). It has a little more power than most polys but in the VC95 I find that a positive.
 
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Fed_Ex

Rookie
Wanting to use poly and expecting to get 25h out of it is simply wrong...

Poly goes dead relatively fast - some last longer time, some shorter but definitely not 25h. Your best bet for long playability duration is 4G, but you'll get mixed opinions about its comfort. It's a contrasting string as it's stiff but at the same time dampened and soft at high swingspeeds, I use it in a leaded VCore 98 and find it very comfortable (more so than ALU power that is theoretically softer), albeit a little bit muted (which I don't mind really).

Anyway, if budget is a problem, I think you would be better off chosing a cheap poly and restringing it more frequently rather than paying for a premium one and keeping it in your racket for 25h. Poly was created for competitive tennis and really enhances control and spin, but it is meant to be played for a relative short time. I wouldn't play pretty much any poly for more than 10-12h

A good advice I got from a good stringer is that you should play with a string/gauge that you are able to break in 10-12h at most (which only holds true if you are at least an intermediate and play with some sort of spin), polys can last forever on a beginner.
 
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z00

Rookie
My stringer has additional string options including most of Toroline strings. Taking the feedback from this thread, I went with Prince sync gut 16g in mains @54lbs, and wasabi-x 17g in crosses @50lbs. My stringer recommended 56 (M) & 52(C) but I went a bit lower to be on the safer side with stiffness, keep string bed calmer on VCT. Hopefully I made the right call on string tension. I'll provide an update later this week.
 

z00

Rookie
The sync gut feels great on shoulder, but spin & control ok, not great. I still have a low launch angle. I noticed with dampener the VCT feels really crisp, but I feel more of vibrations in shoulder.
Now I may just try a rubber band to see if it can dampen a bit less than current dampener I have.

Anyone uses dampener on VCT? What string tension for prince guts on main & wasabi-x to use on VCT? I did not realize few lbs make this much of a difference, should have listened to my stringer
 
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