Highest and lowest tension loss per string type

[Centered]

Organized by material:

Kevlar:
Ashaway Kevlar 1.22mm & Klip Atomic Kevlar 1.29mm — 28 lb loss
Forten Aramid Gear 1.42mm — 10 lb loss

Poly:
Polyfibre Poly Hightec, 1.24mm — 27 lb loss
Topspin Titan Fibre 1.39 & Gamma Dura Blast 1.30mm — 13 lb loss

Nylon multi:
Toalson Bio Logic Soft 1.31mm — 21 lb loss
Tecnifibre NRG2 1.31mm — 8 lb loss

Nylon:
Ashaway MonoGut 1.27mm — 19 lb loss
Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 1.26mm & Gamma Dura Spin (w and w/o Wearguard) — 9 lb loss

Polyolefin:
Isospeed Platinum (Cross) 1.27mm — 17 lb loss
Isospeed Professional and Professional Classic 1.27mm — 15 lb loss

Vectran*:
Ashaway Composite XT Pro 1.30mm — 14 lb loss

Zyex*:
Ashaway Dynamite 1.24mm — 14 lb loss
Ashaway Dynamite WB 1.37mm — 13 lb loss

Technora*:
Wilson Hyperlast (Main) 1.41mm — 13 lb loss

Gut:
Grand Slam Gut Black Knight 1.32mm — 12 lb loss
Pacific Prime Gut 1.28mm — 6 lb loss

Organized by tension loss:

Kevlar: Ashaway Kevlar 1.22mm & Klip Atomic Kevlar 1.29mm — 28 lb loss
Poly: Polyfibre Poly Hightec, 1.24mm — 27 lb loss
Nylon multi: Toalson Bio Logic Soft 1.31mm — 21 lb loss
Nylon: Ashaway MonoGut 1.27mm — 19 lb loss
Polyolefin: Isospeed Platinum (Cross) 1.27mm — 17 lb loss
Polyolefin: Isospeed Professional and Professional Classic 1.27mm — 15 lb loss
Vectran*: Ashaway Composite XT Pro 1.30mm — 14 lb loss
Zyex: Ashaway Dynamite 1.24mm — 14 lb loss
Zyex: Ashaway Dynamite WB 1.37mm — 13 lb loss
Technora*: Wilson Hyperlast (Main) 1.41mm — 13 lb loss
Poly: Topspin Titan Fibre 1.39 & Gamma Dura Blast 1.30mm — 13 lb loss
Gut: Grand Slam Gut Black Knight 1.32mm — 12 lb loss
Kevlar: Forten Aramid Gear 1.42mm — 10 lb loss
Nylon: Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 1.26mm & Gamma Dura Spin 1.39mm — 9 lb loss
Nylon multi: Tecnifibre NRG2 1.31mm — 8 lb loss
Gut: Pacific Prime Gut 1.28mm — 6 lb loss

*Only one example given, because only one string with this material was in the test list. Also, it is unfortunate that Klip Zyex was not tested so I had to use Dynamite twice. The erstwhile Pro Kennex Zyex strings have the same tension loss characteristics as the Ashaway.

You can see tension loss numbers here:
http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2010/01/string_selector_2010.html

Keep in mind that some string types hold their tension over the long run better than others.

 

[Centered]

The polyester strings with the best tension holding are:

1. Topspin Titan Fibre 15L, 1.39, 232, 12.65
2. Gamma Dura Blast 16, 1.3, 303, 12.68
3. Pacific Poly Force 17, 1.24, 294, 13.41
4. Toalson Rencon 125, 1.26, 274, 13.42
5. Klip Optic Nerve 16, 1.28, 242, 13.58
6. Pacific X Force 17, 1.25, 262, 13.47
7. Babolat Pro Hurricane 16 , 1.31, 241, 13.61
10. Tecnifibre Promix* 17, 1.27, 199, 13.72

Note that the string with the best tension retention also has the lowest stiffness (Promix doesn't count since it has more nylon in it than poly).


Poly strings with at least 24 lbs of loss:

Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.24, 27
Gamma Monoblast, 1.28, 25 1/2
Polyfibre HighTec Premium 1.29, 25
Babolat Duralast, 1.31, 25
Polyfibre Viper 1.31, 25
Babolat Duralast, 1.26, 25
Pacific Poly Power, 1.33, 25
Polyfibre Cobra, 1.29, 25
Polyfibre TCS, 1.29, 25
Polyfibre Viper 1.24, 25
Polyfibre Cobra 1.26, 25
AM Sports Viper V2, 1.25, 24 1/2
Wilson Enduro Tour 1.3, 24 1/2
Isospeed Pyramid Spin, 1.3, 24 1/2
Super String Terminato V1, 1.27, 24 1/2
Polyfibre TCS Rapid, 1.29, 24 1/2
Polyfibre Viper 1.21, 24 1/2
Polyfibre Cobra 1.21, 24 1/2
Prince Tournament Poly 1.24, 24
Isospeed Pyramid, 1.28, 24
Prince Tournament Poly, 1.29, 24
Polyfibre TCS 1.19, 24
Signum Pro Poly Fiber Titan, 1.26, 24
Isospeed Hybrid Spin, 1.3, 24
Polyfibre HighTec Premium 1.24, 24

 

[Centered]

In case it's not clear, the first number in the second post is the width of the string in millimeters, the second number is the stiffness, and the third is the tension loss.

 

[Irvin]

Pardon me, but I don't see where you are going here. Kevlar is THE stiffest string and loses the most tension, poly is the second stiffest and comes in second. Even though the tension is lost the string bed is still stiff because of the nature of the strings. I think even though the kevlar and poly lose there tension fast they still have their stiff characteristics. There should be a measure of how dead the string gets after use. That might mean something. IMHO poly would be at the top of the list.

Irvin

 

[Centered]

Pardon me, but I don't see where you are going here. Kevlar is THE stiffest string and loses the most tension, poly is the second stiffest and comes in second. Even though the tension is lost the string bed is still stiff because of the nature of the strings.

The first post details:

1. The string with the highest tension loss for its material type
2. The string with the lowest tension loss for its material type.

In the case of multi-filament nylon, it's material and construction.

The second post details polyester strings with the least tension loss and makes the point that the one with the lowest tension loss also has rather low stiffness for a poly.

And, if you look at the numbers, the common generalizations about tension loss don't completely hold up. As you can see, a Kevlar string had only around 10 lbs of tension loss while numerous nylon strings had higher tension loss. I'm not sure why that Forten string lost so little tension, but that's what the numbers show.

 

[Centered]

..................

 

[Centered]

Added much nicer organization by material type. Added list of poly with 24 lb of loss or more. Reorganized best tension retention for poly strings.

 

[Centered]

What these numbers don't say, though, is whether or not tension loss is linear over time or whether certain strings lose more tension than others after or during use. Are there strings that lose more tension just from sitting in a racquet than others?

Test Procedure. We tensioned each string to 62 pounds and allowed it to sit for 200 seconds. We then struck each string five times with a force equivalent to hitting a 120 mph serve. The tension loss represents the total amount of the relaxation over both time and impact.

 

[Sizz]

I questioned this data in another thread but still haven't figured out what exactly their tension lost test is. Their stiffness numbers seem reasonable but the tension loss data is questionable. Gosen OG Sheep Micro has less tension loss than SPPP? I use both strings a lot and while this may be true in their test it's not true when strung up in a racket. Something is off and as I stated before, it's either too much striking force during the tests and/or not breaking the string in. We want to know the tension difference between the 50th stroke and the 200th stroke. Not freshly strung vs 5 strokes.

 

[TW Professor]

All this information (and much more) is now available at TWU on the new tool just posted (see New TWU tool thread):

http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter.php

Click on the link in the instructions to see a brief outline of the testing method.

 

[bsandy]

All this information (and much more) is now available at TWU on the new tool just posted (see New TWU tool thread):

http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter.php

Click on the link in the instructions to see a brief outline of the testing method.

It desn't appear this has been tested.

 

[Centered]

It desn't appear this has been tested.

What do you mean?

I hope more strings will be added to the database.

 

[TW Professor]

What do you mean?

I hope more strings will be added to the database.

Many more will be added.

 

[Centered]

That's good.