From what I personally experienced when testing both in my buddy's EZ98 (with one Wilson Pro over grip and 1g of lead @ 10 and 2 each), I thought both M8 and DF played better than Tour Sniper, but to Sniper's credit, it was one of our first tests, and I think we strung it too high, something like 52/50, when we probably should have strung it in the upper 40's, at the most. So the fact that it felt a little too boardy and harsh probably came down to that, more so than the string itself. Given a re-do, I think it would be a much more even result, probably closer to DuraFluxx in overall performance.
Ezone 98 string setup
- Thread starter yessir
- Start date
What made the tour m8 better than the tour sniper and DF and was it stiff or soft in the ezone 98?
M8 just unifies the string bed with the racquet like not other poly on the market. It's firm, but it does have a suppleness to it that other firm strings don't really have. You have to try it, at least once.
DF just felt like a more comfortable version of TS in the EZ98, but as I said, some of that probably came down to tension.
All three are worth trying, for sure.
DF just felt like a more comfortable version of TS in the EZ98, but as I said, some of that probably came down to tension.
All three are worth trying, for sure.
InsideOut12
New User
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kreative
Hall of Fame
This is my current setup and I love it. It did take a bit to adjust to the additional power and springiness of the gut, but it's defiitely more comfortable on the arm. Tension maintenance is great too and plays well until it snaps.
How much of a difference does it make having gut in the mains compared to a full bed of ptp? Definitely will be more comfortable on the arm. How’s the control?
kreative
Hall of Fame
Made a huge difference for me. Held tension much better, softer, a lot more pop. As I mentioned earlier, the extra springiness will take some time to get used to if you're used to playing with polys and you may find yourself spraying lots of balls long at first. The other thing is to increase your tension on the gut by ~10%, eg. I was stringing PTP, Hyper G, Hawk Touch around 46 lbs, I string the gut at 50 lbs (and PTP at 46 on the crosses).
I seen ATP stringers sheets for some tournament and I seen gut poly hybrid strung at 40/39 pounds and another at 42/40... even gut tensions are dropping on tour
Will have to keep that in mind when stringing gut into the ezone next with ptp. Sounds very intriguing with that extra pop and tension maintenance. Making sure it stays in the court will be quite tricky to begin with then. Never thought to put gut and ptp together in a hybrid. What gut do you use?
kreative
Hall of Fame
Babolat Touch VS 1.30. If you're a big hitter and/or prefer durability this is what I could go with especially when going from all poly setup. If you're more of a crafty touch player you may want to try 1.25. I'm somewhat inbetween and liked the 1.25 but it was just snapping too soon for my liking (especially since it's pricey).
Black or blue VS , WHICH Was the one that was slick?
Was looking at babolat vs touch and hoping it was the one you had tested to give us an insight into how the hybrid worked together. Will be looking at giving this a go once the weather starts getting better.
kreative
Hall of Fame
I've mostly played with natural and only tried one set of blue so far. Didn't really feel a noticeable difference between the two, but snapped the blue (in a hybrid) recently. Not sure whether I should restring the gut hybrid or Hawk Touch in that frame to play in potentially more wet conditions.
Hi ezone 98 users.
Has anyone used or is currently using hyper g in the ezone 98? If so, how would you compare it to strings like ptp and pt rev?
Currently trying out pt rev and finding it to be a decent string. Holds tension pretty well but doesn’t have that liveliness ptp has which makes ptp so good to play with for the first few hours after restring. Wondering if hyper g would play well in an ezone 98 or if to go to alu power and vs touch instead? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Has anyone used or is currently using hyper g in the ezone 98? If so, how would you compare it to strings like ptp and pt rev?
Currently trying out pt rev and finding it to be a decent string. Holds tension pretty well but doesn’t have that liveliness ptp has which makes ptp so good to play with for the first few hours after restring. Wondering if hyper g would play well in an ezone 98 or if to go to alu power and vs touch instead? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
ClownCar96
Professional
I would recommend Tour bite (1.2) over hyper g in the ez98. Hyper g is too muted in the muted ez98. It’s nice with PTP in cross as well as full bed. My current favorite string is head Lynx tour in the grey 1.2 size (hard to find in U.S). Amazon has packs sometimes. I bought a reel from Amazon Germany.
The one time I used hyper g (in a head gravity) I found it to be muted as well which wasn’t what I was after. You have used ptp and tourbite together? How did that work for you? I have used lynx tour champagne in the ezone 98. Offered a lot on groundstrokes as well as great feel and good control on volleys. However, when hitting serves I would start to notice the stiffness on the arm so I had to stop using it.
ClownCar96
Professional
Awesome combo! ~TB 50/PTP 48
Not too stiff on the arm and the racket holds tension ok?
Thinking of trying out a solinco string. Looking at confidential and tourbite as hyper g seems like it won’t be the next string to test. Have you tested out gut and alu together in the ezone 98 by any chance? Looking at these 2 combos as the next to try out.
jmysun
Rookie
So 1.20 in TB main and what guage are you using in the PTP cross? Want to try this out.
ClownCar96
Professional
You can go 1.2 PTP or 1.25 on the cross, doesn’t seem to matter much. I’ve also tried 1.15 TB crossed with 1.2 PTP which is amazing, but doesn’t last quite as long.
ClownCar96
Professional
Confidential is great string but very muted. Some people don’t mind that but I like to get feedback to fine tune my strokes, so TB is preferred by me in EZ98. I have not used gut in EZ98, too powerful for me. I haven’t had any arm discomfort in the 1.2 size or even 1.25 with just about any poly as long as it’s strung 50 and below. Only 1.30 has given me issues.
Depends on personal preference but I would imagine in an ezone that is already quite muted compared to other rackets, players would prefer a string that is a bit more livelier and gives better feedback. I guess that’s why a lot of people use ptp. Ezone has a lot of controllable power but feels like it needs either more control and spin or power and spin.
patrickluvsoj
Rookie
I experienced something similar where Tour Sniper freshly strung was boardy. But I picked back up later after tension loss and it played a lot better. I prefer Tour Sniper over M8 since Tour Sniper felt crisper. M8 is thuddier and felt a bit less spin.
Mayami Tour Hex is another one I like.
What other string setups have you found to be great in the ezone 98?
patrickluvsoj
Rookie
Those are my best so far.
I’ve tried Grapple Snake Alpha, hyper-g 1.20, Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour and Poly Tour Pro.
PTP feels great but it doesn’t last long and you don’t get much help in spin. Hyper G 1.20 also good but again when fresh.
Tour Snipe and Tour Hex performance last longer
All personal opinions
Did you find a way to make ptp last that bit longer. Same as you in that the first few hours of using ptp is amazing but drops tension very quickly which is a huge problem. Wanting to find a string similar to ptp or a way to make ptp last longer. Any suggestions perhaps? Which did you prefer out of hyper g and ptp?
patrickluvsoj
Rookie
Did you find hyper g to be better than confidential (if you have tried confidential of course)? Ezone is quite muted but the feel of the racket is actually ok which surprised us at first.
patrickluvsoj
Rookie
@Alex7778 I haven't tried Confidential in ezone 98 but in other rackets it feels muted. It holds performance longer in my experience compared to hyper-g.
I did realize that originally you were looking for something similar to ptp. I don't think any of the Solinco strings are similar.
@ClownCar96 does Tour Bite last longer than hyper-g? If so sounds like a better option than hyper-g.
I did realize that originally you were looking for something similar to ptp. I don't think any of the Solinco strings are similar.
@ClownCar96 does Tour Bite last longer than hyper-g? If so sounds like a better option than hyper-g.
VanDerVaart23
Semi-Pro
I've used hyper G at 54# on the EZOne 98. It played good for about 4 hours then tension dropped bad (it was summer and a couple of 90+ degree days). You get good spin, and yeah muted feel (which I like)
PTP 1.2 was then my preferred string, I think you get more time with the good characteristics of the string, then after the 6-7 hour it could be a totally different string. Turned a little unpredictable and too mushy. Still I think it's one of the best combos EZOne + PTP you can string from 45 to 54 depending what you like. You'll get a blend if power/spin/comfort while it's in its prime time.
I ended up switching to Mayami Tour Hex, i usually hybrid it with something soft in the crosses. I like the muted soft control of this string.
Hope that helps
What are you hybriding tour hex with?
ClownCar96
Professional
Probably about the same. Confidential has the best tension mx of the Solinco strings. TB is most crisp feeling for those who like that feeling vs the more muted/quiet confidential and hyper g
A lot of people say it’s a great string but is very muted and stiff. A muted string with a muted racket I can’t imagine to work imo but because ptp drops tension so much very quickly, it becomes tricky to use after 10 hours. I can’t think of many, if any, strings that are similar to ptp but hold tension better.
When the ezone and ptp is in prime time, there are no other strings better to match with the ezone. It’s just that the prime time doesn’t last that long like you said which is the frustrating thing for us ezone users. When using hyper g in a head racket, the muted feeling from the string didn’t feel great to me and was changed very quickly. Does confidential offer that same muted feeling as hyper g?
VanDerVaart23
Semi-Pro
VanDerVaart23
Semi-Pro
I really like Confidential. And I would say that yes it is also muted as it is really stiff string.
I wouldn't string it above 50#s ; I also wouldn't call it lively which I think you're looking for.
I feel hyper g and confidential are from the same tree with Confi having more stiffness for more control and much better tension maintenance.
Also with confidential you need to be patient as it has a break in period if you string high (low 50s for this string I would consider high)
Feel like for the price of confidential as well, it’s excellent. Not many other strings better value for the quality you are getting. Fortunately don’t play above 50lbs anymore which would help with confidential but I would need to probably change the gauge to reduce the stiffness on the arm. Have you by any chance tried out natural gut in the ezone?
ClownCar96
Professional
Head Lynx Tour 1.2, 18g, is the best alternative to PTP if you don’t want to restring every couple hits. It’s mildly shaped, similar pocketing feel and has pop. Excellent tension maintenance… I measure with ERT 300. It plays consistent for a long time I’ve found. I string at 52/50 in EZ98. It settles in at 47/48 lbs and just keeps going. Money string!
VanDerVaart23
Semi-Pro
I haven't used gut in the EZOne. I feel the gut power levels could unbalance my game.
But it could work, just with a poly cross, I've read a lot of people liking gut+PTP event if PTP drops tension early. Or gut + ghost wire, not specifically in the EZOne but in general
Lynx tour is a very good string. Have also used it in the ezone and found the control and feel to be great with it. Found the stiffness to be a problem for me so changed back to ptp. Preferred lynx tour to poly tour rev.
Yeah I think that also with putting gut in the ezone. The power you would get with that setup would be potentially too much. Would be worth giving it a try to see how it performs, gut and ptp but that could be one lively setup.
Brian11785
Hall of Fame
How does a natural gut mains/MSV Swift (soft poly) cross @ 53/49 setup STILL make my wrist sore? I've been playing with the Ezone Tour 98 for about a month.
Is it the stiffness of the frame? (meaning would the same setup in a, say, Percept racquet be less harsh?)
I'm going to try full bed natural gut with string savers and pray it isn't a total rocket launcher.
Is it the stiffness of the frame? (meaning would the same setup in a, say, Percept racquet be less harsh?)
I'm going to try full bed natural gut with string savers and pray it isn't a total rocket launcher.
It's probably the weight or
SW..gut n swift in a pure drive shouldn't hurt nevertheless ezone
Bxb
Rookie
I've been considering this specific combo for my Ezone 98 2020. Nearly pulled the trigger already. Have never tried natural gut before and was interested not only in just seeing how it would feel and perform, but also because of the longer playability natural gut AFAI understood provides. What's your (or anyone else's for that matter) impression / two cents... how many playing hours does one get out of this combo? And does the choice of the cross impact that and is PTP a good option in this regard?
delosalpes
Rookie
I'm thinking of revisiting my EZ98 and just picked up a reel of M8 from someone on this forum. I tried it in my P97H last night @21kg and it was a disaster. Maybe the 1.25 drove up the SW a bit too much for me. I usually play a 1.20 at 22 or 23kg in that racquet depending on the string--caviar is great in it by the way--it's going back in. Since I have a reel, I'd like to see if I could make some use of the M8. I plan to try it in my P97, maybe at a lower tension, but I'd also like to give it a spin in my EZ98 based on your recommendation (and the reel sitting next to my stringer). Based on above, do you think maybe a lower tension with the M8 in the EZ could work? If I usually string at around 22kg, I'm thinking perhaps 20 or as low as 18 might work based on feedback I see here. And maybe same in P97? Thank you in advance.
@ClownCar96 are you still using tourbite and ptp in your ezones? Still looking for a string that betters ptp and has similar comfort levels. Is there a way to reduce the stiffness of lynx tour without dropping the gauges too much? Testing out restring zero, sync, toroline wasabi, wasabi x right now but none are bettering ptp but will probably last longer in quality.
ClownCar96
Professional
I’m playing with a blade now but still using Lynx tour or tour bite. PTP notches a little too easy so I’m now using Hawk touch as my go to cross. Adds a nice pocketing feel as well. Try crossing Lynx tour with head Hawk touch and string a little lower tension maybe if you are concerned about comfort. Which color LT have you tried? Stay away from black, grey or champagne best. If you can find LT 1.2, it’s more comfortable as well.
What made you change to the blade? I assume v9? So how do you set up hawk touch and lynx tour together, hawk touch as the cross and lynx tour as the main? Saw a thread on here that discussed this set up with a few suggesting it’s a good set up. Ptp is excellent for the first few hours and then tension drops off a cliff. That’s the only real problem I have with ptp. Tried the champagne version in a 17 gauge but found it particularly stiff when hitting flat serves. Wondered if there was a way to reduce the stiffness of lynx tour without losing the quality as the feel was on par with ptp.
ClownCar96
Professional
thinner gauge and/or lower tension!
wanted more feel and precision. Using V8 Noir. v9 actually feels pretty similar to an ezone, it's muted.
