tribunal4555
Semi-Pro
The name says it all. This is a review of the cheapest hybrid on the market I've tried so far. I used Isospeed Baseline Spin 17L mains at 56 # and Gosen Micro OG 17 crosses at 58# in a Boris Becker 11 Special Edition 98 racquet. The Isospeed is a polyester, and the Gosen is a synthetic gut (in case you don't know that).
--------------------------------Playability---------------------------------
Spin Potential:
The combination has excellent spin potential. The rough textured mains really bite well into the ball, while in the nature of polyester, one can take huge cuts at the ball and still have it drop into the court. I was hitting a very, very heavy ball, similar to how I played with Luxilon ALU Rough- although not as heavy as the Luxilon. But for the price I got it at, I was pleasantly surprised.
Control:
Once again, incredible for the price. As I said before, even the hugest of cuts still dropped into the court. I could place the ball very well all around the court, running my opponent everywhere. I made sure to keep a 3X3 ft box away from the sidelines however, as I was unable to paint the lines to the extent that I would with Luxilon, Genesis Black Magic, or a similar high quality polyester.
Power:
The Isospeed has decent power on it's own, but here, the Gosen definitely assisted it. It really made the string bed a lot more lively, with easy access to power. My shots were crackling with nice pace.
--------------------------------Durability----------------------------------
Tension Loss:
Not exceptional. The combo maintained tension fairly well; I got around 4 hours of hard hitting play before the strings started feeling deader. The strings did move more than I had hoped for, although at the price, I suppose I should have expected that.
Fraying:
The strings frayed at a reasonable pace for a 17 gauge. Not really disappointed here. It took about 2-1/2 hours to start fraying, but it was only noticeable around the 4 hour mark.
Breakage:
I broke a main in 4-1/2 hours. I was reasonably happy here as well- for comparison, it takes me about 1-1/2 hours to break a synthetic gut like Gosen on it's own, and around 3-4 hours to break Luxilon ALU Rough.
--------------------------------Other-------------------------------------
Comfort:
The Gosen helped very much in this aspect. It softened up the string bed, so there was no wrist or arm pain at all, even after 4-1/2 hours of play with a heavy racquet like the Boris Becker. I was very, very happy here; I can just focus on hitting the ball w/o any twinges of pain like I sometimes get using a polyester string.
Price:
I can get almost 17 sets per 660' reel of any string, so considering it's a hybrid string job, I get approximately 33 string jobs out of a reel each of the Isospeed and the Gosen. Considering it's $39.99 for one reel of the Isospeed, and $29.99 for the Gosen, that comes out to $69.98. That means that per "set" of the hybrid string job, I pay $69.98/33=$2.12. For the performance I get, and considering that fact that I string my own racquets, this is the best bargain I've ever seen, even better than Genesis polyester strings.
So overall, I recommend a demo to anyone who wants a cheap hybrid that plays as well as a more expensive combo. Just don't expect ALU Rough-quality performance. It plays more like Pro Supex Big Ace does in a hybrid.
~Disclaimer~ Just my personal opinion.
--------------------------------Playability---------------------------------
Spin Potential:
The combination has excellent spin potential. The rough textured mains really bite well into the ball, while in the nature of polyester, one can take huge cuts at the ball and still have it drop into the court. I was hitting a very, very heavy ball, similar to how I played with Luxilon ALU Rough- although not as heavy as the Luxilon. But for the price I got it at, I was pleasantly surprised.
Control:
Once again, incredible for the price. As I said before, even the hugest of cuts still dropped into the court. I could place the ball very well all around the court, running my opponent everywhere. I made sure to keep a 3X3 ft box away from the sidelines however, as I was unable to paint the lines to the extent that I would with Luxilon, Genesis Black Magic, or a similar high quality polyester.
Power:
The Isospeed has decent power on it's own, but here, the Gosen definitely assisted it. It really made the string bed a lot more lively, with easy access to power. My shots were crackling with nice pace.
--------------------------------Durability----------------------------------
Tension Loss:
Not exceptional. The combo maintained tension fairly well; I got around 4 hours of hard hitting play before the strings started feeling deader. The strings did move more than I had hoped for, although at the price, I suppose I should have expected that.
Fraying:
The strings frayed at a reasonable pace for a 17 gauge. Not really disappointed here. It took about 2-1/2 hours to start fraying, but it was only noticeable around the 4 hour mark.
Breakage:
I broke a main in 4-1/2 hours. I was reasonably happy here as well- for comparison, it takes me about 1-1/2 hours to break a synthetic gut like Gosen on it's own, and around 3-4 hours to break Luxilon ALU Rough.
--------------------------------Other-------------------------------------
Comfort:
The Gosen helped very much in this aspect. It softened up the string bed, so there was no wrist or arm pain at all, even after 4-1/2 hours of play with a heavy racquet like the Boris Becker. I was very, very happy here; I can just focus on hitting the ball w/o any twinges of pain like I sometimes get using a polyester string.
Price:
I can get almost 17 sets per 660' reel of any string, so considering it's a hybrid string job, I get approximately 33 string jobs out of a reel each of the Isospeed and the Gosen. Considering it's $39.99 for one reel of the Isospeed, and $29.99 for the Gosen, that comes out to $69.98. That means that per "set" of the hybrid string job, I pay $69.98/33=$2.12. For the performance I get, and considering that fact that I string my own racquets, this is the best bargain I've ever seen, even better than Genesis polyester strings.
So overall, I recommend a demo to anyone who wants a cheap hybrid that plays as well as a more expensive combo. Just don't expect ALU Rough-quality performance. It plays more like Pro Supex Big Ace does in a hybrid.
~Disclaimer~ Just my personal opinion.
