Dustin's poly reviews

DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Here are my poly reviews! I enjoy reading reviews from other members, so I thought I should contribute. I find it difficult to give a rating to strings on their playing characteristics, so my reviews are just a general overview of my thoughts on the string. If you want any more details on a particular string, please ask.

I've been bouncing around trying different shaped polys for a while (Tour Bite, BHB7, Cyclone, V-Torque, Spikey Shark, etc). I've enjoyed almost all of them, but the characteristics I enjoy only last a few hours. Therefore, I've mostly been playing round polys lately, so that's what I will be reviewing.

About me:
4.5 singles and doubles player. In general, I like crisp polys strung in a full bed in stiffer frames. Some of these strings may be great for you, but maybe I didn't like them just because they weren't crisp enough. Nothing against multis, but I don't like them for some reason and I've never hit a poly/multi hybrid that I've liked.

Here are links to all reviews in this thread, and they are in order from best to worst from top to bottom.

Played on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro or Graphene Radical MP: (current frame)
1. Hyper-G 16L
1. Kirschbaum Max Power 17
2. Luxilon 4G 16L
3. Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 16
4. Gama Moto 17
5. Head Sonic Pro Edge
6. YTex Quadro Twist 16L
7. Luxilon ALU Power
8. Solinco Tour Bite 17
9. Head Lynx 16
10. Solinco Tour Bite Diamond Rough 16
11. Tourna Big Hitter Silver Rough 17
12. Solinco Revolution
-- Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable 17

Played on a weighted Dunlop Bio 500 Tour: (before July 2014)
1. Wilson Ripspin 16
2. Tecnifibre Razor Code 16
3. Signum Poly Pro Plasma 16L
4. Weiss Cannon Scorpion 1.33
5. Genesis Typhoon 16L
6. Topspin Cyberflash 16
7. Weiss Cannon Scorpion 1.28
8. Volkl Cyclone 17
9. Prince Beast XP 16
10. Tourna Black Zone 16
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Wilson Ripspin 16 (white)

Wilson Ripspin 16 (white)
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

Nice and crisp. Good linear response. Really good on spin. For the first few hours, I found it to be lower powered than what I'm used to, and also not as comfortable as something like Cyberflash or SPPP.

But... this one seems to get better over time. After about 5 hours, it seems more comfortable and has a bit more pop than when it was fresh. It isn't feeling springy or dead yet, and spin is still great. Over time, this string maintained it's snapback better than anything I've played with.

Summary: crisp, medium power, good spin, long lasting
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Tourna Black Zone 16

Tourna Black Zone 16
Strung at 53# in a Wilson Six.One 95 16x18

Really disappointed in this one. From the first hit, it was low powered and muted and just blah. Good comfort, but that's about the only good thing I can say about it. And this one only got worse for me over time.

Summary: low-powered, soft, comfortable, average spin
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Signum Poly Pro Plasma 16L

Signum Poly Pro Plasma 16L
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

This one was a pleasant surprise. The string I find it most similar to is Scorpion, and my one complaint about Scorpion is its muted feel, because I tend to like a more crisp feel. The SPPP gave me the response of Scorpion with that more crisp feel that I was looking for.

Power: Scorpion > SPPP
Spin: SPPP > Scorpion
Control: Scorpion = SPPP (both fantastic)

The one knock on SPPP is that it can feel a bit harsh outside of the sweetspot, but it's not a deal breaker for me. The spin, predictable response, and crisp feel are just fantastic on the SPPP.

I enjoy a somewhat lively poly, but I found myself holding back a bit with Scorpion. But with SPPP, there is a bit less power, more spin, and a lot more feel... so I felt like I was able to take a bigger cut at the ball.

Summary: average power, good spin, great control, long lasting
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Weiss Cannon Scorpion 1.33 and 1.28

Weiss Cannon Scorpion 1.33 and 1.28
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

I have to say that Scorpion 1.33 is one of the best strings I've hit in a long while. And IMO, it far out-performs the 1.28 version. The 1.33 is a thick string and to me it felt more like a 15L gauge.

Scorpion 1.33 was great... crisp feeling but not harsh like Tour Bite, good power, control is fantastic, good touch, and good spin. Best of all, I'm at 8 hours and it is still going strong. If anything, there has maybe been a slight drop in power. For me, the softer copoly strings like Cyclone and BHB7 get springy and lose control after a few hours. But I didn't feel this at all with Scorpion.

I also tried Scorpion 1.28, but to me it felt very different... less power, less control, less crisp, less touch. And after only a few hours, it just kept going downhill from there. The only thing it did better than the 1.33 version is in the spin category, but that didn't bother me at all since I'm using a pretty open string pattern.

I know people tend to gravitate toward the 17 and 17L gauges, but don't miss out on this 1.33 version if you are a big hitter looking for a comfortable poly that lasts.

Summary (1.33 version): above average power, crisp, great control, long lasting
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Volkl Cyclone 17 (black)

Volkl Cyclone 17 (black)
Strung at 52# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

Felt good for a few hours. A little soft and springy but still good. After about 5 hours, it just went to crap. The mains had huge notches in them, and I lost all spin and depth control... and it just got mushy. I know a ton of people around here and at TW love this string, but I'm not a fan.

Summary: non-linear response across string bed, changes drastically over time
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Prince Beast XP 16

Prince Beast XP 16
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

Interesting string. The best way I can sum it up is it felt like a stiff multifilament. It had the stiffness of poly, but the launchability of a multi. But... I wouldn't call it springy like some of the softer copolys out there. Definitely unique.

Power was above average for a poly, but it wasn't predictable. If I hit the sweetspot, it gave a nice, crisp, powerful response (sometimes too powerful). If I was just a bit outside of the sweetspot, I really had no idea where it was going and it had a very harsh feel. There was definitely a non-linear response across the string bed.

Spin was about the same as Scorpion, but Scorpion has a much more plush and muted feel... opposed to the crisp (and sometimes harsh) feel of Beast.

I played with the Beast twice (about 3 hours total), and then moved on to the next string. The green was cool, but I wasn't a fan of it's playability.

Summary: above average power, crisp, uneven response across string bed
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Topspin Cyberflash 16

Topspin Cyberflash 16
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

This one is similar to SPPP, but lower powered and a bit firmer. Not mushy, but less crisp and less feel than SPPP. I felt like this one took some time to break-in while SPPP did not. Good string, but not my favorite... just average all around.

Summary: very average in all categories
 
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DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Genesis Typhoon 16L

Genesis Typhoon 16L
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

Wow... tons of power. Good crisp feel with power and pop. The extra pop on serves was awesome, but depth on groundstrokes was sometimes hard to control. Overall, this probably isn't a good fit for this frame, but I would like to try it again in a lower powered frame. Cut out after one doubles session. Note: this is a twisted string.

Summary: crisp, high power, good spin
 
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R

RetroSpin

Hall of Fame
Yes, good stuff. I think that Scorpion is underappreciated on TT and Cyclone is way overrated. I would rather use Blast with 20+ hours of hard hitting on it than fresh cyclone.
 
D

Deleted member 120290

Guest
RetroSpin said:
Yes, good stuff. I think that Scorpion is underappreciated on TT and Cyclone is way overrated. I would rather use Blast with 20+ hours of hard hitting on it than fresh cyclone.
Click to expand...

I'll send you 660' worth of RPM with 20+ hours and you send me a fresh reel of Cyclone. Win win for both of us.
 
mrc

mrc

Rookie
I don't like Cyber Flash but love Cyber Blue. I have reccomended it to some others and they love it as well. Cyber Blue has great spin and excellent comfort.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
RetroSpin said:
Yes, good stuff. I think that Scorpion is underappreciated on TT and Cyclone is way overrated. I would rather use Blast with 20+ hours of hard hitting on it than fresh cyclone.
Click to expand...

The funny thing is that I've tried Cyclone multiple times because I keep thinking I'm missing something. And every time I try it, my opinion about it stays the same.
 
Chotobaka

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
DustinW said:
Signum Poly Pro Plasma 16L
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

This one was a pleasant surprise. The string I find it most similar to is Scorpion, and my one complaint about Scorpion is its muted feel, because I tend to like a more crisp feel. The SPPP gave me the response of Scorpion with that more crisp feel that I was looking for.

Power: Scorpion > SPPP
Spin: SPPP > Scorpion
Control: Scorpion = SPPP (both fantastic)

The one knock on SPPP is that it can feel a bit harsh outside of the sweetspot, but it's not a deal breaker for me. The spin, predictable response, and crisp feel are just fantastic on the SPPP.

I enjoy a somewhat lively poly, but I found myself holding back a bit with Scorpion. But with SPPP, there is a bit less power, more spin, and a lot more feel... so I felt like I was able to take a bigger cut at the ball.

Summary: average power, good spin, great control, long lasting
Click to expand...

No *****' way this ludicrous statement can be a reflection of this or any other string. Moreover, your reviews are a sea of empty sameness. They are superficial, trite and communicate nothing of substance. Stupid snippets.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Chotobaka said:
No *****' way this ludicrous statement can be a reflection of this or any other string. Moreover, your reviews are a sea of empty sameness. They are superficial, trite and communicate nothing of substance. Stupid snippets.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. I can tell you enjoyed my string reviews. :)
 
mrc

mrc

Rookie
Dustin,
I think these reviews are pretty good and I agree with you on most of them. Keep em coming.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
mrc said:
Dustin,
I think these reviews are pretty good and I agree with you on most of them. Keep em coming.
Click to expand...

I just strung up some BHB7 in my Six.One 95 so that will be next. After that, I have Razor Code, Barb Wire, and Typhoon (again) on the way.
 
Adles

Adles

Rookie
I use Cyclone 16 and have often been tempted to try 17, but I was always worried that it would go dead too quickly. Thanks - now I'll stick to 16.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Tecnifibre Razor Code 16

Tecnifibre Razor Code 16 (carbon)
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

This was great from the first hit... absolutely no break-in required here. Two things that really stood out to me were higher than normal power and really good touch.

This definitely has a crisp feel that you find in the stiffer polys, but it also had some extra power and dwell time that you find in the softer polys. I really enjoyed the mix of characteristics.

Overall, I thought this played very similar to Genesis Typhoon... a clean, crisp feel with tons of power. Although I found the power to be more controllable with Razor Code.

I played twice with it for 3 hours total and played both singles and doubles. Toward the end of the 3 hours, I felt like it was maybe starting to get a little more springy but not bad at all.

This has been one of my favorite polys to play with, but the price at $16/set is probably a deal breaker for me.

If I try it again in this frame, I will probably bump the tension up close to 60# to tame the power a bit.

Summary: above average power, above average touch, crisp feel
 
ricki

ricki

Hall of Fame
Hi, If you rate these strings only in terms of long-time consistency - which will be best to get used with? I cant deal with strings which change playability over time :-/
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
ricki said:
Hi, If you rate these strings only in terms of long-time consistency - which will be best to get used with? I cant deal with strings which change playability over time :-/
Click to expand...

Definitely Ripspin and SPPP, and then Scorpion 1.33 isn't far behind. I can easily hit into the 10-15 hour range with all three of these. Over time, SPPP eventually loses crispness and power, but its a very gradual change. I find that Ripspin actually gets better with time. It gains a bit more pop and feel while remaining nice and crisp.
 
ricki

ricki

Hall of Fame
DustinW said:
Definitely Ripspin and SPPP, and then Scorpion 1.33 isn't far behind. I can easily hit into the 10-15 hour range with all three of these. Over time, SPPP eventually loses crispness and power, but its a very gradual change. I find that Ripspin actually gets better with time. It gains a bit more pop and feel while remaining nice and crisp.
Click to expand...

thanks! have to try this Ripspin, heard about it first time last week here on forums :)
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
I strung up Solinco Barb Wire last night, but haven't played with it yet. What a PITA to string... it coiled, twisted, and kinked on every pull.
 
M

MixedMaster

Semi-Pro
DustinW said:
Tecnifibre Razor Code 16 (carbon)
Strung at 54# in a Dunlop Bio 500T

This was great from the first hit... absolutely no break-in required here. Two things that really stood out to me were higher than normal power and really good touch.

This definitely has a crisp feel that you find in the stiffer polys, but it also had some extra power and dwell time that you find in the softer polys. I really enjoyed the mix of characteristics.

Overall, I thought this played very similar to Genesis Typhoon... a clean, crisp feel with tons of power. Although I found the power to be more controllable with Razor Code.

I played twice with it for 3 hours total and played both singles and doubles. Toward the end of the 3 hours, I felt like it was maybe starting to get a little more springy but not bad at all.

This has been one of my favorite polys to play with, but the price at $16/set is probably a deal breaker for me.

If I try it again in this frame, I will probably bump the tension up close to 60# to tame the power a bit.

Summary: above average power, above average touch, crisp feel
Click to expand...

I've been trying some different string jobs and strung the Crosses with Razor Code and Gamma Professional in the mains. This was a really comfortable combo. Very controllable with enough power and spin to be usable. Oh, this was strung on a Strike 100 @ 63lbs.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Sorry I've let this thread slip. I switched racquets and didn't feel like I could do string reviews during a racquet change. The good news is that I've tried a lot of strings in my new frame (Graphene Prestige Pro). What I've found out is I don't necessary like strings in this frame that I did in my old one.

My current favorite is Head Sonic Pro Edge, so a review coming on that soon. Others I have tried are Tour Bite, ALU Power, Revolution, Lynx, Big Hitter Silver Rough... and currently strung up Pro Hurricane.
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
DustinW said:
Sorry I've let this thread slip. I switched racquets and didn't feel like I could do string reviews during a racquet change. The good news is that I've tried a lot of strings in my new frame (Graphene Prestige Pro). What I've found out is I don't necessary like strings in this frame that I did in my old one.

My current favorite is Head Sonic Pro Edge, so a review coming on that soon. Others I have tried are Tour Bite, ALU Power, Revolution, Lynx, Big Hitter Silver Rough... and currently strung up Pro Hurricane.
Click to expand...

It's interesting how the perfect string in 1 frame can become just average in another.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Luxilon ALU Power 16L

Luxilon ALU Power 16L
48# on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro

I have avoided this string because of the cost, but I finally caved in and bought a set.

If this string was less expensive and lasted longer, I would never use anything else. I LOVED the feel and response of this string for the first few hours. Power, control, feel, touch... it's all there. And no break-in period required. Spin was just average but good enough.

By my 3rd session (about 3 hours of court time), it had lost it's crispness and the playing characteristics were starting to change. It still played ok, but really it was just an average string after the first few hours.

I have always read that BHS and Cyberflash are similar to ALU Power, and that's just crazy talk. Maybe after ALU Power dies, then it is similar to those other strings. The only other string that I thought was similar to ALU Power is Genesis Typhoon.

If I use this again, I would string it about 5 pounds higher.

Summary: crisp, slightly above average power, high cost, short duration
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Solinco Revolution 17

Solinco Revolution 17
50# on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro

This was such a strange string for me. I couldn't find the court on groundstrokes to save my life, but I was serving absolute bombs all day... such a strange combination. Maybe I was having an off day, but I don't think so. I cut it out after one session.

The good:
Really great feel. It was crisp but still comfortable and no break-in period required.

The really bad:
I had no control over depth, direction, or spin on groundstrokes. Seriously... when it left my racket, I had absolutely no idea where it was going or how much spin was on it. So weird.

Summary: great feel, bad results (for me)
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
DustinW said:
Luxilon ALU Power 16L
48# on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro

I have avoided this string because of the cost, but I finally caved in and bought a set.

If this string was less expensive and lasted longer, I would never use anything else. I LOVED the feel and response of this string for the first few hours. Power, control, feel, touch... it's all there. And no break-in period required. Spin was just average but good enough.

By my 3rd session (about 3 hours of court time), it had lost it's crispness and the playing characteristics were starting to change. It still played ok, but really it was just an average string after the first few hours.

I have always read that BHS and Cyberflash are similar to ALU Power, and that's just crazy talk. Maybe after ALU Power dies, then it is similar to those other strings. The only other string that I thought was similar to ALU Power is Genesis Typhoon.

If I use this again, I would string it about 5 pounds higher.

Summary: crisp, slightly above average power, high cost, short duration
Click to expand...

Dustin , thank you.
how did the Razor code compare to this string, in power and control and spin ?
and what about pro hurr tour ?
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Nostradamus said:
Dustin , thank you.
how did the Razor code compare to this string, in power and control and spin ?
and what about pro hurr tour ?
Click to expand...

I haven't tried Pro Hurricane Tour. I am trying Pro Hurricane 17 (non-tour) now.

I would definitely say Razor Code is similar to ALU Power and Typhoon. Unfortunately when I tried Razor Code, it was in a different frame and it was a while ago. From what I remember, they both have that really nice comfortably crisp feel.

Power: Typhoon > Razor Code = ALU Power
Control: ALU Power > Razor Code > Typhoon
Spin: Razor Code > Typhoon > ALU Power

Power was similar between the three with a slight edge to Typhoon.

Control was good with all three but none were great. Typhoon seemed the most erratic to me, but I typically don't get along well with twisted strings... so that might have been why.

I thought all had good access to spin but nothing crazy like Tour Bite.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
One of the Greatest string reviews in TW

DustinW said:
I haven't tried Pro Hurricane Tour. I am trying Pro Hurricane 17 (non-tour) now.

I would definitely say Razor Code is similar to ALU Power and Typhoon. Unfortunately when I tried Razor Code, it was in a different frame and it was a while ago. From what I remember, they both have that really nice comfortably crisp feel.

Power: Typhoon > Razor Code = ALU Power
Control: ALU Power > Razor Code > Typhoon
Spin: Razor Code > Typhoon > ALU Power

Power was similar between the three with a slight edge to Typhoon.

Control was good with all three but none were great. Typhoon seemed the most erratic to me, but I typically don't get along well with twisted strings... so that might have been why.

I thought all had good access to spin but nothing crazy like Tour Bite.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I always thought Alu power had very good control for powerful poly, much better than other polys out there. With Pro hurr tour, you get better control but you sacrifice a lot of power with that one. so it is a give and take, I suppose.

And You have GREAT poly reviews by the way. Could rival mike as GOAT. Are you also going to have multi reviews too ?
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Tourna Big Hitter Silver Rough 17

Tourna Big Hitter Silver Rough 17
48# on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro

The bottom line on this string is that it is just a very average poly. Not good at anything but nothing bad about it either. It was just average and blah for me.

In the short time I spent with it, I thought it had really good control but was lacking in the feel department. The texture on the string wore out really fast... after just a few hours, it was a smooth string.

I hate to lump all Tourna strings in together, but I'm not really a fan of any of them. For me personally, they play pretty good for a session or two, but then they lose the characteristics that they started with. Black7 and the Blues get springy and lose control, and the Silvers lose their crispness and feel.

Summary: all-around average, "roughness" didn't last long at all
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Solinco Tour Bite 17

Solinco Tour Bite 17
50# on a Head Graphene Prestige Pro

The ultimate grinder's string. I could just sit back and spin groundstrokes in all day with this string... but that's not really my game.

This one surprised me because I found it to be nothing like Tour Bite 16. Tour Bite 16 is very crisp (on the verge of being harsh on some frames) and has some good pop to it. Tour Bite 17 is low on power, only marginally crisp (almost soft), and has really good feel and touch. What they both do have is tons of control and tons of spin.

The most disappointing aspect of this string for me was the lack of power on serve. I felt like I had to swing extra hard to get anything on my serve.

On groundstrokes, this string is a grinder's dream.... topspin, topspin, topspin and I could put the ball wherever I wanted. The other thing I noticed on groundstrokes was the added dwell time that you don't usually get with most polys. However, I struggled a bit when I wanted to flatten it out for the put-away shot. It was possible to flatten it out, but it took a lot of effort and still didn't always have the pop on it that I wanted.

The touch and feel at the net was fantastic.

This lasted really well for a 17 gauge poly. I cut it out in the 6-8 hour range, but it was still playing well and notching was minimal. The more I played with it, the less power it had... but the change was gradual.

Summary: great spin, great control, low power, above average comfort and feel
 
R

RetroSpin

Hall of Fame
DustinW,

Spot on with the TB17 review. It's a great string with a powerful racquet like a PDR. I was really surprised by how great it felt and how long it lasted.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
RetroSpin said:
DustinW,

Spot on with the TB17 review. It's a great string with a powerful racquet like a PDR. I was really surprised by how great it felt and how long it lasted.
Click to expand...

I used to use the PDR with TB16. Now that I have used TB17, I actually think it would have been a better fit for that racket.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
I strung up a multi/poly and had my first hit tonight. I have never been a fan of poly/multi, so I thought I would switch it around and try to see what all the fuss is about for gut/poly. Mine is obviously the cheap version, and I'm sure you will tell me its not the same. But I wanted to try it anyway.

Gamma Live Wire XP 16 in the mains and Head Sonic Pro Edge in the crosses.

First impressions were very positive. I definitely liked it more than poly/multi, but not sure if it will beat out full poly for me.

It is still early, but for now I'd say: (compared to full Sonic Pro Edge)
more power
same control
same spin
more comfort
more dwell time
slightly less crisp (I like crisp, so this might be deal breaker for me)
 
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