Durable poly string

[soulfree914]

I just started to string for my friend and he’s a former college player from a foreign country, similar level to D1 college in the U.S.. He is in his early 40s. He still hits the ball hard and pretty clean. He likes to rally with some high-level high school players.

I strung his Head Speed Pro 2024 with Mayami Tour Hex (1.23mm) last week thinking it should hold up for a while. He broke it in 2-3 hours.

I am not sure what to try next. Most of my other friends who are club players don’t share this same concern about string durability. Should I just string it with a thicker gauge poly, e.g. 1.30mm? I usually don’t carry anything thicker than 1.25mm. I do have Alu Power and RPM Blast, Ice Code, Razor Code, Wilson Revolve, Mayami Big Spin, Magic Twist, Lynx Tour, Poly Tour Drive, Hyper-G, all in 1.25 gauge. I have no idea where these stand in terms of durability. I would guess RPM Blast would be durable but then he wants to avoid asking me to string for him too often (i.e. less tension loss). Any recommendations?

 

[akish23]

lynx tour pairs extremely nice with a speed, and it has above average durability. I would consider trying that or 4G if you have that.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

D1 level straight rallying? He's probably hitting equivalent of like 4 matches in a single rallying session. 2-3 hours sounds reasonable.

More importantly, is he asking for something more durable? Asking because I figured he's expect as much given his skill level.

 

[soulfree914]

D1 level straight rallying? He's probably hitting equivalent of like 4 matches in a single rallying session. 2-3 hours sounds reasonable.

More importantly, is he asking for something more durable? Asking because I figured he's expect as much given his skill level.

I haven’t thought about the rallying in that aspect. Good point.

He hits with anything (any racquet, any string) that he can get. He never asks for money for hitting with him, so he gets some free used racquets from his hitting partners as a friendly gesture and they are all of different spec, strings, etc. He did say Hyper-G lasted very long for him in a weighted up Blade v9 18x20, but I only have half set of that left. I could buy some more but I am trying to utilize what I have first.

 

[esgee48]

Give him any poly that is 1.30mm or thicker. Most 4.5+ will break 1.25mm strings in less than 8 hours, which is 2-3 sessions of hitting. All of my higher level clients use 1.30mm. With 1.30mm, they get at least 5-10 hitting sessions. BTW, 1.23mm when strung up is probably around 1.18-1.15mm.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

But is he complaining though? I mean if he's D1 equivalent, I'm sure he knows he goes through strings fast...

 

[soulfree914]

But is he complaining though? I mean if he's D1 equivalent, I'm sure he knows he goes through strings fast...

Former D1 equivalent - doesn’t compete anymore. He’s not “complaining” since I’m stringing for him for free lol, but since he’s not sensitive about the strings that he uses, he just wants something that last longer without breaking easily during rallies. As long as the string doesn’t break, he continues to play with it even when the strings become pretty loose - he basically just adjusts to the tension drop.

Some other strings in his other racquets have lasted much longer for him although I do not know the exact gauge and names of all of them. I’m guessing they are at least 1.30mm.

 

[JK208]

It’s well known that LT plays thicker than it is- I’d start with that, and if needed, move him up to the 1.30, which may play more like a 1.35+ string

 

[esgee48]

Shaped strings go by equivalent round cross section. For example, 3, 4, 5 and 6 sided strings all can be labeled 1.30 mm. They have cross sections that are all the same area. Their perceived ‘diameters’ are not. For tension maintenance, a 1.30 mm cross section is the same no matter their shape.

If one wants to do the calculations for 1.30 mm shaped strings,
3 sided is 1.42
4 sided is 1.37
5 sided is 1.34
6 sided is 1.33