Discho strings/Black mamba??

Ok you guys have me sold to give this string a try a lower tension. I'll string up a stick at about 46lb. tonight and give it a go and see how I like it. I have to admit I'm highly sceptical but I don't mind using a pack of this string to try this out in the interest of potentially finding a new choice in string.
 
Strings broke this morning. Lasted me about 5 hours. Played pretty well throughout. This (black mamba) is a very good string if you like stringing lower (<45 pounds). Personally, once I went back to my bhbr/gut, it felt more comfortable, simply because of the tension.

Overall, at the right tension, I'd give it a 9/10. I would like to keep my tension the same, so it's not the string for me personally. However, if you string low, I highly recommend this string.

Thanks again Ray for letting me playtest. I really enjoyed it.
 
So far I've played with Mamba Gear Twisted for 2 hours. It's stiff, and low powered, but it's got great spin. I'll give it another three hours or so before I post a full review. But so far, it's not too bad...
 
Played with it for another two hours today. First thirty minutes were unenjoyable. The racquet felt like it was at 50 pounds already, but after a little while, it stiffened back up, and played well. Still lost some tension compared to the first hour, but nothing unbearable, though I think the next time I string it, I might go 63-64. Still has good control despite the tension loss, and still generates good spin. More notching, I think this string will break at 6, maybe 7 hours. Not as impressive as when new, but what poly is? Overall, still played well.

Everything_went_better_than_expected.png
 
Played with it for another two hours today. First thirty minutes were unenjoyable. The racquet felt like it was at 50 pounds already, but after a little while, it stiffened back up, and played well. Still lost some tension compared to the first hour, but nothing unbearable, though I think the next time I string it, I might go 63-64. Still has good control despite the tension loss, and still generates good spin. More notching, I think this string will break at 6, maybe 7 hours. Not as impressive as when new, but what poly is? Overall, still played well.

Everything_went_better_than_expected.png

This is going to be my last report on this string, as I'm about to cut it out. Have used it for 4 1/2 hours, and it's close to breaking, so it's time to try Iontec Hexa. Black Mamba played very well once it settled in after used when fresh. It played consistently well, still offering great control, great spin, and a lot of confidence to my string. If you get the chance to play with it, do. Very good string, still highly recommended! :mrgreen:
 
Alright, I have played with Black Mamba Gear Twisted for five hours, and a review is now in order...

Stringing: It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but weaving crosses was still somewhat of a pain. It took longer than usual for a full poly job, but not by much. It took me around 40 minutes on a drop weight. I give it a 6/10

Groundstrokes: It's crisp and solid without being too stiff. It combines the spin potential of ALU Rough with the softness of Polyfibre Black Venom. Groundstrokes were jumping and getting 4-5 foot bounces without losing pace or landing short. In the end, 9/10

Volleys: It doesn't have a lot of feel, but compared to other polys, it's not bad. I felt like I could place the ball well, and I had control for both deep volleys and drop shots. I give it a 7/10

Serves: I couldn't dial in my first serves with this, but any time I put spin on the ball, it had plenty of net clearance and even the most spinny serves were aggressive. That said, the fact that I couldn't seem to dial in a flat serve means that I have to lower the score: 8/10

Overall: In the end, I think that this string is a great value, considering the cost. After five hours this string is holding tension well. That said this is a rather subjective review, my opinion isn't necessarily going the be the same as yours, the best option would be to try it for your self. In the end, 8/10...
 
Part of the great package Ray from Discho sent was was "Thunderstrings Qu4ttro". Has anyone tried these? If so, any advice for setting them up?

By the way, thanks Ray. I really like the way I've been treated by the company thus far.

20zoby1.jpg
 
Black Mamba

Ray was extremely friendly and offered me some samples of black mamba 17g. Their customer service is first class. I strung up a Vantage 100" racket with black mamba at 42 lbs on a drop weight machine. I've read that some posters felt the coil memory was hard to handle. It felt like most polys to me and strung up pretty easily. No problems with coil memory nor securing knots. i would say it's easier to handle compared to PHT & BG and about the same as Cyberflash or SPPP. The stiffness is about the same as SPPP not as soft as Cyber Pure.

I played a couple sets of doubles and didn't get a lot of chance for baseline rallies except during warm up. Spin was easy and fairly comfortable setup at 42 lbs. It wasn't a rocket launcher and still had good control but there was plenty of power. My serves had a lot more action specially on 2nd serves. I was pleasantly surprised with this string expecting it to be stiff with no feel and so far has exceeded my expectations. The low price is a big plus for what this strings offers. I'll have to play a set of singles or an extended singles rally to rate the groundstrokes but from what I've experienced it should be all good.

I have some other strings such as quattro and evolution to try out and will provide my feedback.
 
I mentioned before that I was going to give this a go at low tension per the suggestions of a number or play testers and also Ray. I strung it up in a BLX Blade at 45 mains and 47 crosses. I was very skeptical about this and based on my previous experiences with stringing in the low 50's with various strings I thought that this would be absolutely uncontrollable.
I have now hit with this for about 4.5 hours over 2 hitting sessions and the results are really great! I am so surprised at the amount of action that I get on the ball with this set up. I find that my ground strokes have good depth and power but still drop in with great spin. I can flatten the ball out well too and still control the ball. Volleys were fine for me too but that is not really an area that I find any difference in with strings. The area that this string didn't really shine at this tension was in serves. I had great success with the kicker and could hit that harder that normal. I had a bit of trouble finding the range on the flat serve but when I did it really had that pop. That is not the string though it is the operator.

I have to say that this string really shines at lower tension and I will be contacting Ray first thing on monday to order some more and continue trying this out. I am really happy I listening to the suggestions and tried this. Thanks to all.
 
That's cool to hear Blade. I wish other companies were more forth coming in advising optimal string tensions as Ray at Mamba tennis does. Seems to me there are thousands of users and stringers who are trashing string unknowingly. If the packages noted - "Best used from X to Y", at least we'd have something to go by. Unfortunately it will never happen. The manufacturers have little incentive. They don't want to alienate large numbers of customers.
 
Last edited:
Based on my own experiences I would say somewhere around 45.
pvaudio, I'm completely with you on this. I have been one to string in the upper 50's and even lower 60's always. I couldn't believe that this string plays as well as it does at low tensions. I have not in my life had success stringing low before this.
I have to let anyone trying this string out that you have to go lower for it to shine.
 
Black Mamba Gear Twisted Review
47# full bed

First I'd like to thank Ray for letting me test strings and for the nice stickers and dampeners.

Anyway Ill just jump into it

Groundstrokes
Excellent - great spin control and decent power. stiff yet comfortable similar to big hitter silver in that aspect.

9.5/10

Volleys
OK- feel wasn't too bad but still it was a bit jarring here

7/10

Serve
Great- Easy to hit flat serves unlike Doubles' comment maybe has to do with the lower tension i used. 2nd Kick Serve really jumped

9.25/10

Touch Shots
OK- Slice was a beauty and I went to it on my backhand side often and hit many dropshots. The slice would just float over the net and drop but still overall the touch was not anywhere near a multi but for a poly I liked it

7.5/10


Overall
8.75/10
 
Strung up some "3volution", it is from Thunderstrings. first twisted poly ive strung, but i must say it was way easier than polylon and even Pro Hurricane. i strung at 18k for the mains and crosses on a klippermate. one thing i notice that ive never seen before is that the crosses seem loose and slide up and doen easier, the trianglular structure acts like a railroad and the cross just glides with ease.
i am really hoping my friend doesnt bail on me.

Okay so i finally got to play. now keep in mind the string has been strung since this last post. Because of the heat wave, other people didnt want to play, and i cut my knee open, its been about a month. So just keep in mind, i am rusty, and these are old-ish strings.

Power:
I am a softer hitter so i dont really have that much power, and the strings def dont help. I kept hitting the balls shorts.
6/10

Spin:pretty dang good. i do have to say that the balls i hit they may be short but they did jump pretty good, now if only i good hit with depth.
8/10
Feel:
It felt pretty good on the arm, nothing discomfiting. Drop shots and volleys were pretty good. 9/10

one thing is that when i hit on top of the string bed i could hear a little pining noise it sounded funny.

i have a penta edged string and the black mamba. With one i will put nxt control in the mains and then again in the crosses. and then the other string with Genesis nylon-i happen to really like that tourny nylon.

i def would need it to give me some power.

also thanks ray for that get well email :~D
 
The Black Mamba Penta Twisted plays really nice from the baseline.

Excellent spin, soft feel, average power.

The texture gives a player a nice bite on the ball, not just the topspin but it is really noticeable when hitting slice backhands. It turned my slice into a weapon, allows me to hit a penetrating slice that stays really low.

I used to rarely hit slice backhands unless I was on the defensive but with this string hitting slice can become an addiction.

The penta twisted shape seems just right to reduce the friction between the mains and crosses, this shape allows a smaller contact area
between the strings. The strings move freely and snap back increasing spin.

The strings character doesn't change drastically as it loses tension no sudden trampoline effect.

One of the better polys I have play tested this year, a confidence inspiring string from the baseline.
 
Ray was kind enough to send me a couple of sets of strings to playtest. i received a set of Black Mamba Penta Twisted 1.28 (17g) poly and a set of Black Mamba TechnoAce NX 1.30 (16g) multi.

I just finished stringing up my Vantage BC20 w/ the Penta Twisted. It had quite a bit of coil memory but was easier to string up than any other stiffer poly i've strung. the cross weaves were actually a little easier to pull than i expected. i plan to hit with it tomorrow so i'll be back to add my playtest impressions...

to be continued...
 
Okay so i finally got to play. now keep in mind the string has been strung since this last post. Because of the heat wave, other people didnt want to play, and i cut my knee open, its been about a month. So just keep in mind, i am rusty, and these are old-ish strings.

Power:
I am a softer hitter so i dont really have that much power, and the strings def dont help. I kept hitting the balls shorts.
6/10

Spin:pretty dang good. i do have to say that the balls i hit they may be short but they did jump pretty good, now if only i good hit with depth.
8/10
Feel:
It felt pretty good on the arm, nothing discomfiting. Drop shots and volleys were pretty good. 9/10

one thing is that when i hit on top of the string bed i could hear a little pining noise it sounded funny.

i have a penta edged string and the black mamba. With one i will put nxt control in the mains and then again in the crosses. and then the other string with Genesis nylon-i happen to really like that tourny nylon.

i def would need it to give me some power.

also thanks ray for that get well email :~D

i played some doubles with it today with 2 former number 1s from our team and our old coach. its been in my racket for a while, but it isnt dead.
i still stand my it for being really spin friendly yet lower powered.

ima give it a few more hits to test more of its durability. but so far its one of my faves and is in consideration for long term string in the future.
 
i played some doubles with it today with 2 former number 1s from our team and our old coach. its been in my racket for a while, but it isnt dead.
i still stand my it for being really spin friendly yet lower powered.

ima give it a few more hits to test more of its durability. but so far its one of my faves and is in consideration for long term string in the future.

Try hybriding their Iontec 17g with their TechnoAce 16g multi! It is very powerful and pockets the ball tremendously! You can thank me later. ;)
 
Iontec and genesis tourny nylon at 18k.

Ive only practiced serves with it and it is mighty powerful. Also getting some more action on it, loving the sound of it and cant wait to actually play with it!!
 
From the Iontec description on Mamba Tennis - "This is a new era of tennis strings that sets new standards for what players can expect from a co-polyester string."

It's a co-poly. When polys (polyester strings) first came on the market, they were simply that - single chemical polyesters. In developing higher performance poly strings, later generations got more sophisticated, mixing different chemical polyesters and other additives to enhance different play characteristics such as softness, tension maintenance, power, etc. Most popular current polys are co-polys, and the terms are exchanged loosely.
 
^^ thanks...glad you read more carefully than me! i somehow managed to miss it and it was at the beginning of the description! :oops:
 
Iontec and genesis tourny nylon at 18k.

Ive only practiced serves with it and it is mighty powerful. Also getting some more action on it, loving the sound of it and cant wait to actually play with it!!

Yes, Iontec is very powerful. I am trying the hybrid again but going up 4 lbs. However, I am starting to like it as is!
 
its very soft, im going to try it in my prestige mid, for in my blx 95 16/18 it is too powerful.

Okay it took me a while to figure out how to tame the monster power of this string, but now with modding my grip a light semi-western and changing my swing path, I was hitting some really powerful forehands(they were spinny but penetrated the courts with ease). Touch was really great, i felt like it had a lot of pocketing. my only problem with it is on serves, i cant control the power.

Next week, or when they break, im going to up the tension to 45lbs
 
I decided to try Black Mamba Gear since I saw no feedback. Its currently strung at 47lbs in a full bed. Looking forward to hitting with it soon!
 
Okay it took me a while to figure out how to tame the monster power of this string, but now with modding my grip a light semi-western and changing my swing path, I was hitting some really powerful forehands(they were spinny but penetrated the courts with ease). Touch was really great, i felt like it had a lot of pocketing. my only problem with it is on serves, i cant control the power.

Next week, or when they break, im going to up the tension to 45lbs

Welp after about 3 hitting sessions, and 2, 2 set matches and a 3 set match, i can say that they are dead, i was getting no free spin today.

one of my favorite combos so far.
 
I finally played with Black mamba gear and it went really well! I had another racquet strung with a poly at the same tension of 46lbs and Black mamba gear performed better overall. A really great string for the price/performance
 
First time dealing with Mamba Tennis, shipping was quick and efficient, customer service was great, very nice first impressions. I will be testing their co-poly offerings Black Mamba 1.23, Black Mamba Gear Twisted 1.27mm, Black spin 1.24, Thunder Strings Quattro 1.25, Technoace NX 1.35 (multifilament)
 
Black Mamba Penta 1.25mm (17g) string

Racquet: Vantage BC20 95 sq in.
Tension: 52 lbs mains / 47 lbs crosses
Machine: Babolat Sensor

Stringing Impressions:
Not unlike most poly and copoly strings. harder to string than Multi or Syn gut, but not any harder than other poly.

Playtest Impressions:
Let me start off by saying, I like Black Mamba Penta. It's a soft, comfortable poly, but not so soft that there's no feel ie. feels like mush. From a comfort standpoint, it feels similar Head Sonic Pro. Basically, it does everything you want from a good poly string. From the baseline, I was able to get good spin and pace on my shots. I didn't get crazy spin like I got from Solinco Tour Bite, but i got plenty of spin where i was able to get my topspin drives to drop in close to the baseline. Slices stayed low. I really enjoyed the control Penta offers. The ball goes where I wanted it to go. I'd rate power as average to above average as far as polys are concerned. If you're looking for lots of power, you probably shouldn't be playing with poly anyway. The purpose of playing w/ poly is for spin and control. I'd rate Penta 8/10 for control, 7/10 for spin and 7/10 for feel. I could still get good feel on half volleys and volleys where as some poly stringbeds feel numb at the net. Where Penta shines is value. I've only played w/ Penta for ~2 hours so far so I can't comment on the durability or tension maintenance, but for less than ~$60 a reel, you can afford to string often if needed. I highly recommend trying Penta out.
 
Last edited:
I have a super flexy Prince EXO coming to me and am healthy enough to where I may be able to try these polys finally.

Is 48#s good for them? I have the penta and regular Black Mamba..don't like full poly super low. but maybe someone else here who uses the EXO100Tour with them can chime in.
 
I have a super flexy Prince EXO coming to me and am healthy enough to where I may be able to try these polys finally.

Is 48#s good for them? I have the penta and regular Black Mamba..don't like full poly super low. but maybe someone else here who uses the EXO100Tour with them can chime in.

Hey Power Player. I've got the 100 18x20. I tried the Penta Twisted and at 52 it created a very firm feeling stringbed, so be careful with your elbow. You might try the Iontec at a full bed at 52. Didn't try the regular Mamba. Hope this helps. For reference, I use Tour Bite in a full bed at 58!
 
Discho Poly Premium

Stringing: The string is like any other poly. It had some coil memory, but not as bad as Luxilon. It didn’t stretch that much while stringing.

Spin: The spin I got with these strings was pretty good. Not as much as Big Hitter Blue Rough or RPM Blast, but perfectly fine to play with. The balls I was hitting went deeper into the court than with those strings.

Power: When I hit the ball on the sweet spot, the ball was an automatic winner. Plenty of controllable power. a nice crisp feel

Volleys: Volleys were excellent. This is because of the amazing feel and touch that these strings gave me. I really felt that the racket was an extension of my arm with these strings.

Verdict: These are definitely string that I would buy myself. For the price, they are unbeatable. They play very similar to Big Banger Original.
 
Black Mamba / Iontec

I’ve been playing with a poly hybrid consisting of Black Mamba 1.23 mains with Iontec 1.20 crosses for the past two months. Here are my thoughts and observations.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my first set up was strung at 48/48. Given Mamba’s recommendation to start at 40, and my experiences with other polys strung in the low to mid 50’s, this seemed reasonable. I was surprised by the firm low powered response at this tension, especially for a 1.23/1.20 combination. I was fine with the over all performance, but it was less than optimal. Seeking a touch more pop, additional comfort, feel, and a larger sweet spot, I went with 44/44 on the second go round, and soon after a 42/42 on one of my other sticks.

What I seek in a string bed is fairly low power, but not Kevlar-like dead. I provide plenty of my own power and want a predictable, controlled response. Comfort, feel, and sweet spot size are all tied to one another, so give me as much of all that as possible. While you’re at it, give me 8-10 hours of steady performance and I’ll have a set up I can stick with.

As you see by my signature, I am very happy with the over all characteristics of this set up. Power and control are just where I like them, and the low tension really enhances comfort, feel, and sweet spot size. Tension maintenance has been excellent, right up there with SPPP and WC products which have been some of my favorites. As the strings accumulate hours, the feel gets softer but power and control are maintained. After 8-10 hours, the outer mains become sloppy and I know it is time to restring, but trampoline effect is still minimal. The strings stay straight and exhibit excellent snap back throughout their life. As to spin potential, there is plenty and it is predicable. I imagine there are other strings that would emulate or slightly improve on this combo for me, but doubt they would sell for anything close to $50-70 per reel.

If you decide to try these strings, and I encourage you to, factor in your racket specs compared to mine when choosing tension. Ray at Mamba will help you get it right. He has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to customer service by all accounts.
 
Last edited:
Hey Power Player. I've got the 100 18x20. I tried the Penta Twisted and at 52 it created a very firm feeling stringbed, so be careful with your elbow. You might try the Iontec at a full bed at 52. Didn't try the regular Mamba. Hope this helps. For reference, I use Tour Bite in a full bed at 58!

Yes it does thanks. I will probably wait a few more weeks and then try them in the 40s.
 
Back
Top