I have have of a set of head rip control lying around, and I need a recommendation on what to hybrid it with. I want to use it in the mains, but I am unsure of what to use in the crosses. Should I use poly, or syn gut? Help would be appreciated. Thanks.
I've tried RIP Control mains with poly crosses. It lasted about 7 hours. Full bed RIP lasts me 12-18 hours. Syngut will also shorten it's life, but it will still last longer than the poly hybrid. Multi will last the longest. My favorite cross was Dunlop Hexy Fiber. Prince Premier Attack was also pretty good.
Hi Ramon, Can you give some more details about the full bed of RIP Control. Was it easy on your arms/tennis elbow & how did it play? Thinking of trying these out next, thanks ;-) Some reviews here: http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/feedback-RCON16.html
I thought RIP Control felt muted, harsh, and stiff for a multi. I was surprised when it didn't hurt my arm. It's more arm-friendly than it feels. Compared to your typical multi, it has more spin and control. Volleys were very crisp. Touch was a bit of a problem for me because they would tend to land short, but using a multi cross like Hexy or PPA solves that problem completely. It tends to get mushy after about 10 hours. It's still playable at that point, but cutting it is a viable option. Most multis would have broken on me by that time anyway.
For what it's worth, I would use a multifilament first, or a soft syngut if not - I've found once the outer layer of RIP Control has shredded, you're pretty much done for. I use the 17g RIP Control, and took a try with a poly cross - 2 hours, give or take. With syngut, it was a reasonable lifetime, and with a multifilament it seems to really hold out. At least with the thinner gauge string, I could not use it with a poly (smooth).
I hybrid Rip Control 1.30 mains, with Sonic Pro 1.25 crosses on Prestige IG MP (25/24kg). This set up last for me only 3-4 hours but it plays phenomenally. With this set up you get plenty of feel, lots of spin (not as much as full poly), you can flatten it out, great for offense and even better on the defense, volleys, slices and touch shots are superb. Basically I didn't find any downside to this set-up except the durability.
Would love to try Hexy mains and RIP on cross. One of the things I wish RIP could do better in was have more power and bite like Hexy. But Hexy has alittle more power than I like. I'll try it in my next setup with 17g and see what happens. I think it's going to be a good hybrid. But i think one of the issues I'll be having is tension lost will be pretty fast as both are not as good in that area.
Is your evaluation of tension loss subjective or based on measurements? Based on my measurements using RacquetTune, RIP Control has great tension maintenance (even better than Klip Legend natural gut, believe it or not). Hexy loses a little more, but it's still quite good for a multi. Maybe your strings aren't tight enough? I know there are a lot of places that rush through their string jobs and can be off by 10 pounds or more. I've seen that with my own measurements. If you're a string breaker, you might want to reconsider putting Hexy in the mains. It's by far the less durable of the two.
Personal feel mainly on RIP. But I do agree that Hexy does lose alot faster. Thanks for the idea on hexy/RIP hybrid. Looking forward to trying it out.
I like this thread. Two strings I'm probably planning on playing with for a while. How does the 17g hexy feel compared to the 16? is it as dramatic as comparing HRC 16 vs 17? Seeing as I tried both strings in 16, i've been really wanting to try the 17. My next reel will probably one of three: BHBR17, DHF 17, or HRC 17.
I ended up stringing up the half set with bhbr crosses at 57/52. It is great for volleys, and hits a beautiful flat ball. Not great for topspin. It might be a bit too low powered, but that can be solved by lowering the tension.
I tried my 2 favorite strings for a hybrid---Rip Control 17 and Mantis Comfort. For some reason, it felt lousy. Never again.
I tried that hybrid with RIP 16 mains/MCS crosses and it was bad. Then I tried it in reverse and it was good but only lasted 2 sets.
I use Solinco Tour Bite 18 on the mains and RIP 17 on the crosses at 52# and easily get 10-12 hours on the string. The RIP crosses always break first. Lots of spin with plenty of comfort. I have had TE in the past and my elbow feels fine with this hybrid.
My experience with Rip Control in hybrids is that it works much better in the mains. As a cross string it tends to get sawed through and once those outer ribbon wrappings are gone the string is toast. Even with full bed Rip Control 17, this tends to happen after about 8-10 hours to me in a IG Rad Pro at 55 lbs. One other thing with using Rip Control in hybrids with poly mains is that as the poly is dying, if you don't cut it out and cut your losses, the muted aspect of Rip Control makes the stringbed feel completely dead to the extent that hitting a ball is just not a good feeling at all. My last few string jobs have been Rip Control 17 mains and C3 Rocket 17 cross both at 55 lbs. The C3 Rocket adds a little crispness, a little more power and a little more spin vs. Full bed Rip Control and string movement is less as well. C3 rocket, like the Intellitour cross Rip Feel, utilizes ribbon construction, but unlike Rip Feel has a monofilament core, so the above hybrid plays like a slightly stiffer version of Intellitour. I'm sure the same effect could be had with a similarly constructed cross string.
Having said that, I must concur with coloskier's Tour Bite/Rip Control hybrid. Amazing spin, especially that late breaking diveball spin that seemingly makes your every shot somehow find the court. My arm/shoulder just wasn't made for poly strings, unfortunately.
so I have played with full bed of Rip Control 17 (natural). I have been using it since I have had elbow problems before but I like the control and spin of poly/syngut..or poly/multi hybrids...I decided to try out Rip Control in the mains with a poly.. any suggestions? I want to avoid stiff polys.. thanks!
I tried Rip/BHS at 58/45 in an MP frame, was ok, but not to crazy about it. My 2nd attempt was Rip/Sonic Pro at 60/40 in an M frame, like it a lot.
my racket i forgot to mention my current racket... POG 100 Standard customized to 326Grams 10pts Hl Unstrung w leather grip and lead.. what gauge and color of sonic pro did you use? and gauge for rip?
a few strings worth a look: Tourna Black Zone Topspin Cyber Blue Pro's Pro Red Devil Kirschbaum Pro Line II
They should work quite well. Also, they will be softer on your arm than stiff polys (obviously) and will have a response closer to a full bed of Rip Control, which you seem to be accustomed to now. Give it a try, it's worth it.
I have been playing with Monogut ZX/RIP which was very arm friendly but with a little more poly feel. Recently I swapped out the ZX for Black Widow, get a lot more spin and control. Also volleys are better which was surprising and the string bed still feels comfortable enough.
so I am starting to not like the launch angle from the full bed of rip control..I like that the string is arm friendly my arm isn't as sore if i use poly hybrid...to increase the launch angle.. where should i put the soft poly? mains or crosses?
I think you could also firm things up if you went to a full set of 16 ga. RIP Control. I'd expect the tension to hold up better with the thicker alternative and the multi on multi would probably wear at a slower rate than a multi against a harder string like a poly. I've been comparing my racquets; one set up with full 16 ga. multi against another with the same multi mains and syn. gut crosses (also 16 ga.). The full multi was very comfortable in the colder weather, but when I tried the hybrid, it didn't seem to offer significantly different feel or performance. What I did notice in a hurry was that the syn. gut crosses were wearing on the multi mains at a much higher rate that the frame strung with full multi. The full 16 ga. RIP Control should give you a string bed with a little more backbone than the 17 ga. option, but it should also still be a very arm-friendly layout. The multi I've been experimenting with is Volkl Power Fiber II, which has been fine, but not as strong a performer for me as RIP Control has been for me in the recent past.
