How Long does Natural Gut / (co)Poly Hybrid Last?

LaZeR

Professional
Hi folks, I tried searching > sorry if this has been asked & answered but just wondering > if I have cheap, 16 gauge Natural Gut on the Mains @ ~52 lbs, and 1.2mm gauge, smooth/soft (co)Poly on Cross @ ~48 lbs, do you know for how long, or how many hours, I can play without having to re-string?

Lots of professional stringers say if you can still hear the PING when you use your fingers to flick the strings they're still "fresh".

Plz also note that I am NOT a (huge) string breaker, spin serve, and usually brush/sweep up on my shots, so in other words, so I'm never really sure when I should re-string, and keep the same stringbed either until it snaps, or for tons of matches, and even after months the same string job still plays great.

THANKS!!
 
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CopolyX

Hall of Fame
mmmmmmmmmmm-crystal-ball-fortune-teller-demotivational-poster-1271395065.jpg



the stringbed (even with any n gut) with only last as long as the copoly lasts..and thinner gauges will normally go quicker 10-14 hrs...per my crystal ball above..
want longer...do a full bed of n gut and see how long it last on its own...
 
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LaZeR

Professional
the stringbed (even with any n gut) with only last as long as the copoly lasts..and thinner gauges will normally go quicker 10-14 hrs...per my crystal ball above.. what longer...do a full bed of n gut and see how long it last on its own...
By "lasts" do you mean "breaks" or "goes dead"? THANKS AGAIN!!
 

Moveforwardalways

Hall of Fame
Hi folks, I tried searching > sorry if this has been asked & answered but just wondering > if I have cheap, 16 gauge Natural Gut on the Mains @ ~54 lbs, and 1.2mm gauge, smooth/soft (co)Poly on Cross @ ~50 lbs, do you know for how long, or how many hours, I can play without having to re-string?

Plz also note that I am NOT a (huge) string breaker, spin serve, and usually brush/sweep up on my shots.

THANKS!!

If you are a 4.0 or maybe slightly higher and not a huge string breaker, you can probably get 4-6 weeks out of that set up before the gut breaks. Longer at 3.5, shorter at higher levels. It depends on what kind of ball is coming in to you and what you are hitting back.
 
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graycrait

Legend
I know I shouldn't say this but OP if you don't know the answer to this try a set fullbed Ashaway Zyex at 56-60lbs.
 

graycrait

Legend
ZX Pro 17g

Not to disparage but this crazy string works pretty well in place of expensive nat gut. I suspect Fed knows his Nat But x Poly string bed, and have tried this myself numerous times but after trying Nat gut x Zyex and fullbed Zyex I prefer fullbed Zyex. Nat Gut x Poly is limited to how long poly lasts and with Fed it only lasts 7 games or so.
 

LaZeR

Professional
ZX Pro 17g Not to disparage but this crazy string works pretty well in place of expensive nat gut. I suspect Fed knows his Nat But x Poly string bed, and have tried this myself numerous times but after trying Nat gut x Zyex and fullbed Zyex I prefer fullbed Zyex. Nat Gut x Poly is limited to how long poly lasts and with Fed it only lasts 7 games or so.
OK thanks - will try it - but many pro reviews say ZX Pro 17g has way too much power. But, I guess that can be toned down with Poly crosses.

Anyway the next time I was going to try leaving the Natural Gut Mains and re-stringing only the Poly X.

PS >>> Federer uses his stringbed ONLY ONCE for ALL his rackets.
 

BretH

Semi-Pro
Last fall - I think September - I strung 2 racquets with Klip Legend and a soft round poly - 54/48 lbs or so. They are nowhere near wearing out and to me they still play fine. I play 1-2x per week - maybe 3-4 hrs/week.
 

LaZeR

Professional
Last fall - I think September - I strung 2 racquets with Klip Legend and a soft round poly - 54/48 lbs or so. They are nowhere near wearing out and to me they still play fine. I play 1-2x per week - maybe 3-4 hrs/week.
@ BretH, I am in exactly the same boat except: a) your Natural Gut is better, and b) I play a little bit more.

Apparently, if you flick the stringbed and can still hear a high pitch or tonal "PING" the strings are OK. If not, it's time to re-string.

The next time I string I'm going to try leaving the Natural Gut Mains and re-stringing only the Poly crosses.
 

mark b.

Rookie
Depends on too many variables to give you a direct timeframe. The gauge of the copoly. The tension of the copoly. The playability duration of the copoly. The string pattern. The racquet stifness......on and on.....
For me? Three weeks max. After that,, every day feels different because the copoly is dying.
For two weeks, I'm in tennis holy grail bliss with the gut poly setup.
Now if I could just find a poly that lasts as long as the gut. It doesn't exist. Going to try Kevlar in place of the poly.
 

LaZeR

Professional
... For two weeks, I'm in tennis holy grail bliss with the gut poly setup. Now if I could just find a poly that lasts as long as the gut. It doesn't exist. Going to try Kevlar in place of the poly.
@ mark b please try Golden Set Power Cord or Discho Iontec. You will remain in the holy grail bliss quite a bit longer!! :)
 
Depends on too many variables to give you a direct timeframe. The gauge of the copoly. The tension of the copoly. The playability duration of the copoly. The string pattern. The racquet stifness......on and on.....
For me? Three weeks max. After that,, every day feels different because the copoly is dying.
For two weeks, I'm in tennis holy grail bliss with the gut poly setup.
Now if I could just find a poly that lasts as long as the gut. It doesn't exist. Going to try Kevlar in place of the poly.

Hi Mark, you are thinking about Kevlar instead of poly. Which brand of kevlar you wanna use and what is the difference in tension you gonna use..
 

mark b.

Rookie
I was considering using aramid/kevlar from Forten that is 18 gauge at 48lbs.
I might, as an initial change, trying poly again, but with a serious pre-stretch at about 46lbs.
 

CopolyX

Hall of Fame
By "lasts" do you mean "breaks" or "goes dead"? THANKS AGAIN!!
lasts period, copolys are good for about 10 / 12 hrs....then they are dead jim.
I seen n gut last 3x longer (full bed) but players mileage will always vary.
 

BretH

Semi-Pro
Longevity of poly very much depends on initial tension and whether its tension is allowed to fully settle on each row while stringing.
 

stephenclown

Professional
ZX Pro 17g

Not to disparage but this crazy string works pretty well in place of expensive nat gut. I suspect Fed knows his Nat But x Poly string bed, and have tried this myself numerous times but after trying Nat gut x Zyex and fullbed Zyex I prefer fullbed Zyex. Nat Gut x Poly is limited to how long poly lasts and with Fed it only lasts 7 games or so.

Doesnt really only last 7 games. He can easily get 2-3 times longer as you can see him showing his strings after practicing on youtube. They swap out racquets for new string jobs like this every 7 games due to the new balls. Fresh strings and new balls go well together and much easier to adjust to than new balls and a string that may have been used 25 minutes or 1 hour.

We also do not face the same balls that federer does so using 7 games a comparison is kind of silly. Most players should get a couple weeks out of a gut hybrid, more if they dont break strings.
 

graycrait

Legend
Most players should get a couple weeks out of a gut hybrid, more if they dont break strings.
So rec league folks use Nat Gut mains and poly crosses for a couple of weeks or more? Wouldn't any Nat Gut x poly hybrid be limited to the life of the poly, say <12hrs? Just wondering, not trying to be snarky.

Thanks for the clarification about changing to new strings with new balls. I didn't know that. I hear you not facing the same balls as the pros. That is why I am slightly bemused with many trying to use the rackets and strings the pros use. Hanging out at the practice courts at a couple of big tournaments convinced me that the game I play on a tennis court isn't the same game the pros are playing. Back in the wood racket days the gulf between pro and rec players didn't seem quite so wide. I do like watching these youngsters clobber the ball though.
 

LaZeR

Professional
...Most players should get a couple weeks out of a gut hybrid, more if they dont break strings.
I think most 5.0 and LESS natural gut players - on this forum anyway - get much more longevity than that, especially if hybrid with round-smooth-soft crosses, and even more so using string savers. Any more comments on this??
 

mark b.

Rookie
I string a gut/poly hybrid after hurting my elbow with a full bed of poly. It's wonderful for a limited amount of time. The problem is I don't know which match my poly is going to suck and needs a restring. Thankfully I have three frames. Thankfully I string racquets.
Just tried a gut/kevlar racquet alongside a freshly strung gut/poly. The difference is not enormous. The ball pockets batter in the loose kevlar. I think I'd opt for the gut/poly all things being equal....but their not, are they? No. That gut/kevlar setup is going to last well over 7 to 8 weeks and playing with the confidence that this isn't going to be the day the poly turns to sh*t. And I also think the poly changes slightly from match to match. Not a huge change but one I can feel after the third week.
 

LaZeR

Professional
Holy Moly :eek: there's tons of players on this forum getting much more longevity and playability with NaturalGut/Poly hybrids than what's being stated in this thread.

Are you guys hybriding round/soft/smooth (co)Poly? Try Golden Set Power Cord, Discho Iontec, soft Signum Pro Poly Plasma!!

If you want to save lotsa moola $$$ from the greater expense of Natural Gut, install string savers, or as a final resort just cut out and re-string the cross strings.
 

mark b.

Rookie
LaZeR. Exactly what I do. I cut out the bad round poly and replace it with a new round poly (Revolve 17g)....but here's my point. You show up for a match on week three and your poly strings SUCK BAD. My quest is to find a control oriented "dead" string to put in my crosses with my gut that doesn't have as many moods as Serena. Poly just changes slowly until you realize you can't keep the ball in. Too late. You just lost.
 

stephenclown

Professional
I think most 5.0 and LESS natural gut players - on this forum anyway - get much more longevity than that, especially if hybrid with round-smooth-soft crosses, and even more so using string savers. Any more comments on this??

I honestly think 4.0 players or below with slower and flatter strokes would get the most benefit out of full gut with string savers (babolat elastocross). I used it in my 90 and it has surprising longevity when you flatten your strokes. I guess I am serving around 190-200 atm with my 90 and it still holds up well, dont quote me on specific speed as I havent been radar'd since I was 16 and I was hitting 170 at that stage. Feel is outstanding and it only takes a little bit of adjustment for control. The major benefit is that it has a very similar comfort level across the entire tension range.

I am unsure of my rating as we do not have such a thing in Australia. I would guess closer to 5.0 and above if it wasnt for my injury forcing long breaks.

The major obstacle with these players is that they have to overcome years of marketing BS that has forced the community away from natural gut and onto short life strings for huge profit margins.

As for the hybrid option I agree, the longevity isnt that much of an issue. people play full poly well beyond its life and the major factor imo is the mains ability to slide and snap to prevent injury. There is very limited lateral movement of the cross strings and as gut is the softer string the bed should not lock up (notched crosses). Due to the limited impact of the cross on the bed and it is only there to enable the main to slide and snap for control, the longevity isn't as impacted due to the usual poly life span.


So rec league folks use Nat Gut mains and poly crosses for a couple of weeks or more? Wouldn't any Nat Gut x poly hybrid be limited to the life of the poly, say <12hrs? Just wondering, not trying to be snarky.

Thanks for the clarification about changing to new strings with new balls. I didn't know that. I hear you not facing the same balls as the pros. That is why I am slightly bemused with many trying to use the rackets and strings the pros use. Hanging out at the practice courts at a couple of big tournaments convinced me that the game I play on a tennis court isn't the same game the pros are playing. Back in the wood racket days the gulf between pro and rec players didn't seem quite so wide. I do like watching these youngsters clobber the ball though.

Yes I think rec players can get great longevity out of the gut poly hybrid, but it depends on the specific poly that you use to cross your bed and whether it is going to get rigid with age. The major issues with full poly is that the mains will lose elasticity and the crosses may notch, the elasticity of the main is the most important because it is allowing the ball to sink further down and to generate the spin and control. As the mains are softer than the crosses the crosses shouldn't notch the same, the bed maintains its playability for a long time. The gut naturally has a very long life span in the mains because of its unmatched ability to continuously stretch and retract without major tension loss and loss of elasticity. Elastocross make this bed last even longer and even nicer to play imo.
 

BretH

Semi-Pro
I play literally months with gut mains / round poly crosses. But I'm only a 3.5 and don't cream the ball or try to excessively spin it. I swear I can't tell if they play worse or not - suppose I ought to bite the bullet and restring one of the 2 and see what sort of difference I can feel because I may just be adjusting to the tension loss as I go...
 

LaZeR

Professional
I play literally months with gut mains / round poly crosses. I swear I can't tell if they play worse or not - suppose I ought to bite the bullet and restring one of the 2 and see what sort of difference I can feel because I may just be adjusting to the tension loss as I go...
@ BretH save your Natural Gut moola $$$, try cutting out & re-stringing only the crosses, and report back here how it is.

... I'm only a 3.5 and don't cream the ball. ...
Also always avoid creaming my balls :cool:
 

aaron_h27

Hall of Fame
My honest opinion is gut/poly is a waste of money. The poly drops so much in tension long before the gut breaks therefore making it a waste of gut because the racket becomes uncontrollable due to the tension loss from the poly. I'd say just go full soft poly at a low tension or full gut.
 

LaZeR

Professional
My honest opinion is gut/poly is a waste of money. The poly drops so much in tension long before the gut breaks therefore making it a waste of gut because the racket becomes uncontrollable due to the tension loss from the poly. I'd say just go full soft poly at a low tension or full gut.
@ aaron_h27 - 1) are you speaking purely from an economic/finance perspective, and 2) do you not appreciate nor like the unique Feel & Playability of a Natural Gut HYBRID setup? i.e. you get the plush comfort, feel, & playability of NG (which poly doesn't offer), and (co)Poly adds firmness to the stringbed (which NG doesn't offer), resulting in your shots feeling way more controlled, solid, & powerful. IMO the latter points is the strongest justification & reasoning for hybrid because it's a drastic & dramatic difference.
 
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ONgame

Semi-Pro
Gut lasts 10-14 weeks for me, playing 2 days a week with 2-3 hour sessions. 3.5-4.0 level
My experience with gut poly on poly tension loss was the poly stayed at the same tension until the gut pops. So I only restring when that happens

TC95 with mains at 59lbs 16g volkl gut, crosses at 54lbs with 17g head hawk
I recently purchased kirschbaum max power 17g so I expect the poly to go even longer.

It is true that after a while there is an increase in power until the poly settles down, but never to the point where it becomes uncontrollable. In fact, I like the increase in power, or at least it hasn't bothered me.

I would also love to hear some people's definition of "uncontrollable".
 
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mark b.

Rookie
A gut/poly hybrid is not a waste of money if you know how to simply replace the tired Poly in the crosses only. A full bed of Poly is going to bag out before a gut/poly hybrid, so a full bed of a soft poly doesn't get you closer to saving any money or getting the playability of a gut/poly hybrid. Some of us have to go gut/poly hybrid to save our arms, not just money.
While a full bed of poly plays very controlled, it doesn't have the shared qualities of the gut/poly hybrid.
 

LaZeR

Professional
A gut/poly hybrid is not a waste of money if you know how to simply replace the tired Poly in the crosses only.
With a Gamma Progression dropweight with only a 2 Point Mounting System do you just normally mount the racquet (Top / Bottom) before cutting out the Crosses, and then re-stringing? I think some people said to mount it on each side at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock.
 
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aaron_h27

Hall of Fame
@ aaron_h27 - 1) are you speaking purely from an economic/finance perspective, and 2) do you not appreciate nor like the unique Feel & Playability of a Natural Gut HYBRID setup? i.e. you get the plush comfort, feel, & playability of NG (which poly doesn't offer), and (co)Poly adds firmness to the stringbed (which NG doesn't offer), resulting in your shots feeling way more controlled, solid, & powerful. IMO the latter points is the strongest justification & reasoning for hybrid because it's a drastic & dramatic difference.

I'm speaking from a economic perspective and playability...I tried gut/poly many times and the poly always died around the 8-10 hour mark making the stringbed extremely hard to control. I'd put the gut in the mains and the poly in the crosses.

it costs me $29 a string job ($20 for half set of gut, $9 for a half set of good poly) to do a gut/poly hybrid, that only lasts 10-15 hours.

You can find poly's that last 10-15 hours that only cost $10-15, just string it loose and use a soft co-poly.

I dont see a reason a rec player should use gut/poly, you don't get the benefits of using gut and you don't get the benefits of using poly. It's a waste of money. You'll have to cut it out in 10-12 hours which is the same as with normal poly, but now you've just wasted good gut.

If you break the gut/poly hybrid in less than 10 hours and you like how it plays then it may not be a waste of money.

My recommendation is to not use gut/poly, but if you must then just use 17 gauge natural gut because the poly will die before the LONG before the gut breaks (atleast for me)

A gut/poly hybrid is not a waste of money if you know how to simply replace the tired Poly in the crosses only. A full bed of Poly is going to bag out before a gut/poly hybrid, so a full bed of a soft poly doesn't get you closer to saving any money or getting the playability of a gut/poly hybrid. Some of us have to go gut/poly hybrid to save our arms, not just money.
While a full bed of poly plays very controlled, it doesn't have the shared qualities of the gut/poly hybrid.

And not everyone has access to stringing machines, plus who wants to re-string crosses all the time? If you don't mind always having to re-string crosses every 7-10 hours then yeah by all means use gut/poly but a majority of people aren't going to do that...
 
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esgee48

G.O.A.T.
With a Gamma Progression dropweight with only a 2 Point Mounting System do you just normally mount the racquet (Top / Bottom) before cutting out the Crosses, and then re-stringing? I think some people said to mount it on each side at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock.

Yes. If it is your frame, you need to mount the frame normally at 6/12 before cutting out the crosses. If you plan to do this, make sure your mains tie off on mains. If possible, tie your crosses off on crosses. Make sure that your restring cross go over a main if the prior string job's cross went under and vice versa. You may also want to tension the crosses a few # tighter to account for lost tension in the mains.
 

LaZeR

Professional
Yes. If it is your frame, you need to mount the frame normally at 6/12 before cutting out the crosses. If you plan to do this, make sure your mains tie off on mains. If possible, tie your crosses off on crosses. Make sure that your restring cross go over a main if the prior string job's cross went under and vice versa. You may also want to tension the crosses a few # tighter to account for lost tension in the mains.
danke schön !! :cool:
 

agradina

Rookie
I'm speaking from a economic perspective and playability...I tried gut/poly many times and the poly always died around the 8-10 hour mark making the stringbed extremely hard to control. I'd put the gut in the mains and the poly in the crosses.

it costs me $29 a string job ($20 for half set of gut, $9 for a half set of good poly) to do a gut/poly hybrid, that only lasts 10-15 hours.

You can find poly's that last 10-15 hours that only cost $10-15, just string it loose and use a soft co-poly.

I dont see a reason a rec player should use gut/poly, you don't get the benefits of using gut and you don't get the benefits of using poly. It's a waste of money. You'll have to cut it out in 10-12 hours which is the same as with normal poly, but now you've just wasted good gut.

If you break the gut/poly hybrid in less than 10 hours and you like how it plays then it may not be a waste of money.

My recommendation is to not use gut/poly, but if you must then just use 17 gauge natural gut because the poly will die before the LONG before the gut breaks (atleast for me)



And not everyone has access to stringing machines, plus who wants to re-string crosses all the time? If you don't mind always having to re-string crosses every 7-10 hours then yeah by all means use gut/poly but a majority of people aren't going to do that...
i dont care about poly dies because this setup has 75% of playability coming from main strings so i can keep playing with it for long time.
 

aaron_h27

Hall of Fame
i dont care about poly dies because this setup has 75% of playability coming from main strings so i can keep playing with it for long time.

I switched to 18x20 frames and now I like gut/poly. 16x19 doesn't really suit my game, but If I must use 16x19 I need something with a low launch angle, gut/poly has a high launch angle but 18x20 keeps it from going crazy.
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
with Fed it only lasts 7 games or so.
One should keep in mind that it is not performance as much as it is Federer will break a string job in 30 minutes. He posted to, I believe, Twitter showing 3 string jobs he went through in one practice playing until each broke. They lasted 20 - 30 minutes.
 

graycrait

Legend
They lasted 20 - 30 minutes.
I wish I could have been able to hit like that even back in the day:) While Fed was being honed to become a tennis champion at the same age I was hitting rocks out of the tennis courts with Dayton steel rackets strung with twisted steel "string." That is only one example of my misspent youth.
 

agradina

Rookie
I switched to 18x20 frames and now I like gut/poly. 16x19 doesn't really suit my game, but If I must use 16x19 I need something with a low launch angle, gut/poly has a high launch angle but 18x20 keeps it from going crazy.
I also use hybrid gut/poly in both 18x20 and 16x19 and indeed i have a exagerated high angle sometimes but only after a good amount of hours played when probably both strings becams more loose.Until then the launch angle is pretty good not too high at all not to low also.
 

LOBALOT

Legend
I am not the biggest hitter in the world and my strokes are pretty flat. I strung up a my racquet with VS Gut/Isospeed Cream on 9/3/20 and played Wednesday (11/4/20) and thought to myself the strings are shot. So that is 2 months play 3-4 times a week. It cost me $17+$3 to string it up. Not a bad price per performance ratio for me. Yes, the poly was long gone but I really don't notice any ill effect and it is pretty nice cold weather setup.

My other racquets I have strung up with Volkl Cyclone Tour and Rainbow Duraflex (Just for kicks when I am goofing around).

I am debating if it is worthwhile to string up 2 racquets with gut/poly. I have not done it in the past as it is a pretty pricy setup to leave sitting in the bag dropping tension. I could setup a 2 racquet rotation I suppose.
 

SlvrDragon50

Semi-Pro
I am not the biggest hitter in the world and my strokes are pretty flat. I strung up a my racquet with VS Gut/Isospeed Cream on 9/3/20 and played Wednesday (11/4/20) and thought to myself the strings are shot. So that is 2 months play 3-4 times a week. It cost me $17+$3 to string it up. Not a bad price per performance ratio for me. Yes, the poly was long gone but I really don't notice any ill effect and it is pretty nice cold weather setup.

My other racquets I have strung up with Volkl Cyclone Tour and Rainbow Duraflex (Just for kicks when I am goofing around).

I am debating if it is worthwhile to string up 2 racquets with gut/poly. I have not done it in the past as it is a pretty pricy setup to leave sitting in the bag dropping tension. I could setup a 2 racquet rotation I suppose.
That is my same hesitation with stringing up multiple racquets. It usually takes me like 1.5-2 months to break my strings which is a lot of time to lose tension. While the strings definitely feel shot towards the end, it is still very playable IMO.
 

agradina

Rookie
I am not the biggest hitter in the world and my strokes are pretty flat. I strung up a my racquet with VS Gut/Isospeed Cream on 9/3/20 and played Wednesday (11/4/20) and thought to myself the strings are shot. So that is 2 months play 3-4 times a week. It cost me $17+$3 to string it up. Not a bad price per performance ratio for me. Yes, the poly was long gone but I really don't notice any ill effect and it is pretty nice cold weather setup.

My other racquets I have strung up with Volkl Cyclone Tour and Rainbow Duraflex (Just for kicks when I am goofing around).

I am debating if it is worthwhile to string up 2 racquets with gut/poly. I have not done it in the past as it is a pretty pricy setup to leave sitting in the bag dropping tension. I could setup a 2 racquet rotation I suppose.

I think the best solution is one racquet with hybrid and the other one with the poly from hybrid .The racquet with poly can be used in matches when control is required vs hard hitters or when weather is not good for gut etc, the hybrid at practice,matches.In this combination i think u are fully covered for all the posibile situation and also avoid the every day usage of poly which is bad and tiring for ur arms
 
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LOBALOT

Legend
I think the best solution is one racquet with hybrid and the other one with the poly from hybrid .The racquet with poly can be used in matches when control is required vs hard hitters or when weather is not good for gut etc, the hybrid at practice,matches.In this combination i think u are fully covered for all the posibile situation and also avoid the every day usage of poly which is bad and tiring for ur arms

You sound like my tennis instructor back when I was playing full poly!!!

I only play dubs and really benefited from the poly only when I served. He suggested that I have a serving racquet with Poly I used every 4 games. The other 3 games he suggested something softer for reel around the net.

Anyway, what you suggest is basically what I have been doing. I have 1 strung up with my gut/poly hybrid which I use 90% of the time. When it is warmer or when I really want to leverage the spin and don't care so much about the finesse I get form the gut/poly I string up a racquet with VCT and use that.

Thanks for the suggestion!
 
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socallefty

G.O.A.T.
If you are an advanced player and big-hitter, it depends on how soon you break the gut in the hybrid. Supposedly, the top ATP guys will break multiple hybrid string jobs in one practice session. College players might break the gut within a few hours and most 4.5+ players will break it within 10-15 hours.

For other levels, it is likely that the poly will ‘go dead’ and start feeling harsh within 5-15 hours even if you don’t break the strings. If you have a sensitive elbow, you likely have to cut it out and restring at that point. ALU Power will be closer to the 5-hour mark while soft polys might be closer to 15 hours.

If you don’t hit hard enough to break strings and don’t sense the harsh feel with your elbow/wrist once the poly goes dead, you are probably a younger guy who can likely play with the hybrid until the poly tension drops enough to feel a clear loss of control. Depending on the poly, this might take anywhere from 5-30 hours. But, then you probably shouldn’t be playing with poly if you are not hitting hard enough to break strings in less than 30 hours and you might be better served by playing with full gut or a good multi. The tension and playability of gut lasts for a much longer time than any other string if you are not a string-breaker and it can be a surprisingly good bargain because of that.
 
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tonylg

Legend
I keep two sticks strung with gut/poly in my bag and rotate them until I break a string or the poly feels bad. As above, ALU I have to cut out after only a few hours .. Cream I generally play until breakage (which is usually the gut) at around 10-12 hours.

I love the way ALU feels when fresh, but can't bear to cut out gut that is only a couple of hours old (and have never restrung half a racquet).
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
But, then you probably shouldn’t be playing with poly if you are not hitting hard enough to break strings in less than 30 hours and you might be better served by playing with full gut or a good multi. The tension and playability of gut lasts for a much longer time than any other string if you are not a string-breaker and it can be a surprisingly good bargain because of that.

The issue is that full bed of gut doesn't last as long as a hybrid. The string-string friction of full bed gut leads to breakage in half the time of a gut/poly hybrid. And full gut is more expensive than gut/poly. Gut/poly hybrids offer the goldilocks combination of spin, longevity and playability at a reasonable cost over a premium multi.

The key is to use a soft resilient co-poly like Cream or YPTA. It lasts a good while before it loses that resilience and you can pretty much keep it in until it breaks with only modest loss of control over time. For a lower level player it will also offer a bit more free power allowing them to invest in a more low powered flexible frame.
 
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