Increasing tension when using soft strings?

[Frankauc]

I used to use wilson sensation nylon strung at 55lbs. Now i tried isospeed control poly at same tension and it feels really soft and 100X more powerfull. Do i have to string my isospeed poly at higher tension to compensate for power? I mean, it's way too powerfull.

 

[ronalditop]

when you say it feels soft you mean the dwell time is long, or you feel too much ball pocketing?

 

[Frankauc]

yeah......i mean, is there another way to describe softness? I feel like the trampolin effect is really high. Muted sound at impact also

 

[ronalditop]

i had the same problem but the other way around. i was stringing my racquet with psgd at 58 and it feels good, nice feel and ball pocketing, but i wanted a little less power, so i string it at 60. now is very different. its feels nothing like it used to, feels like hitting with a board, and i dont like that at all, so im gonna go back to string at 58.
To answer your question, yes you have to string softer strings at high tensions, just like polys have to be string at low tension because of its high stifness. i suggest you string it at 57 or 58 next time, cause if you string too high you might lose feel.

 

[Frankauc]

but that poly (isospeed control) is really soft. So the "rule" that poly have to be string at low tension doesnt apply here. Anyway, next time i'll try near 60lbs. I should feel a difference.

 

[ronalditop]

isospeed control is not exactly a poly, its a Polyolefin. and from what i've seen Polyolefin is less stiff than most syn guts.

 

[Frankauc]

yeah you're right. I didnt realized that it wasnt actually a real poly.

So what is polyolefin exactly ? what are the properties?

 

[Valjean]

According to the USRSA, Isospeed Control registered a stiffness of 158 lb./sq.in. in their testing.

In addition, it is sold as an arm protection string, which accounts for a muted, softer feel it has.

Wilson's Sensation, for its part, comes in at 209 lbs./sq.in., which is high for a multifilament, and it plays like it.

I don't know if you strung the Isospeed yourself, or brought it up to the one who did, but no one should have recommended the old tension to you. And I'm not sure how satisfied you can be even at the new, higher tension, given the discrepancy and the difference in construction. It depends on you, too.

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/issues/200709/stringmap_nylon.html

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2008/09/the_right_plotline.html

 

[Frankauc]

i string it myself (i bought a dropweight machine recently) with little knowledge about strings so this explain why i string it at same tension.

But i'm not necessary trying to replicate the wilson sensation feell. But isospeed control at 57 lbs is all about power, and absolutely no control. Stringing it at 60-62 lbs should change that i think