How arm friendly is Gut/Cream Hybrid?

[TheStrenuousLife]

I have Babolat VS 17g gut and I also have Isospeed Cream 17g. I have been using multifilaments and would like a bit more spin potential and control, without hurting my arm.

I have heard a full bed of gut is hard to tame and doesn't have the highest spin potential or control. I really want to protect my arm, but would like some more spin and control potential out of my strings.

If I were to do a 57/52 hybrid of gut/cream, would it be arm friendly? Or is there a good chance I could get tennis elbow or shoulder problems from this setup? How well does the gut mask the poly? I plan to play 5 days a week, about 1-2 hours per session.

At this point, I am going to forgo full beds of multis, and will either do full gut or a gut hybrid.


Should I try the hybrid? Or is the stringed still too harsh? Should I go with the hybrid, or would it be better to do full gut and learn to spin and control it?

 

[vdsp]

Eager to hear what others think... I believe gut/cream has similar/equal arm-friendliness as multis (e.g., velocity, multifeel) at similar tension

 

[tele]

cream crosses still loses tension and get harsher, albeit less than stiffer polys. whether that will get to your arm before it breaks or you cut it out is going to depend on your arm. people on this forum have reported different results.

if you want to play until breaking it and you are not a string breaker, or relatively new to tennis fb gut might be a better alternative. you could also try gut with monogut zx crosses to boost spin, though power will remain at fb gut level. it can be a pain(hopefully not literally!) to find the right setup, but experimenting for yourself is key.

 

[ey039524]

I've tried it, not w Vs but w Klip. My elbow is sensitive and it felt fine. I never noticed a spin difference between cream (or other soft polys) compared to ZX crossed w gut, so I've been staying w ZX, just bc it's softer and still slick.

Noticeable difference w a full bed gut or multi, though.

 

[Knife]

I do some stringing myself and tried out gut mains with Cream crosses for a while, I can tell that a full bed of e. g. Velocity is noticeably softer on the elbow and wrist. Cream has an undeserved reputation here on TW boards as a "soft" and "armfriendly" poly. It might be less harsh than the stiffer polys but still far too jarring for a sore arm, it will never be a cure for tennis elbow.

 

[stapletonj]

I am an over 65 player and I string this combo at 62 lbs. Mains and 55 Crosses. No arm problems whatsoever. (Klip 16 ga.)

 

[veelium]

I string gut/poly with stiffer poly in the crosses and I find it as comfortable as a full bed of multi. But you'll have to try yourself to be sure.