Inexpensive polys/co-polys with lots of "pop"

[AeroPro Staff]

I've been demoing some frames recently and I came upon a Juice 100 and Pure Strike 16x19. When I tried out both of the racquets they had strings in them that had a lot more "pop" than I'm used to with my current setup of Cyberflash and OG Sheep Micro. It turned out that the Juice had a string called Spin Cycle, which I had never heard of before, and the Strike had some Black Widow in it. After these demos I thought of experimenting with strings that have that "pop" off the stringbed.
Any suggestions? Im looking for the string to be relatively inexpensive, around $12 is my limit per set, and its gotta have lots of "pop."

 

[mikeler]

Genesis Black Magic and Weiss Cannon Scorpion come to mind.

 

[dct693]

You may want to consider the role of string tension in your perception of pop. I have STB @ 50lbs now in my 16x19 frame (Head Graphene Instinct MP). I got my spare strung with Revolve at 46. The thing feels like a rocket launcher by comparison. I've used Revolve in a Steam 99s in the mid-50s and I never had the rocket launcher feel, even though that frame has plenty of power.

 

[AeroPro Staff]

You may want to consider the role of string tension in your perception of pop. I have STB @ 50lbs now in my 16x19 frame (Head Graphene Instinct MP). I got my spare strung with Revolve at 46. The thing feels like a rocket launcher by comparison. I've used Revolve in a Steam 99s in the mid-50s and I never had the rocket launcher feel, even though that frame has plenty of power.

I've had that thought as well. I usually use lower string tensions than the majority of people I meet. Usually I never string my frames more than 52lbs. I've thought about going down to 48 for a lower tension test. Would you recommend going even lower? I also use the hybrid that I mentioned earlier, so should I be concerned about the syngut feeling too mushy at the lower tension and just use full poly? What do you reccomend?

 

[dct693]

To be honest, I don't have much experience stringing lower than 50. The 46 was my first attempt. My guess is that Revolve is softer than STB in generally, and that added to the difference in the feeling between the two racquets. I hit with the 46 racquet for a bit but haven't picked it up since. It was a huge difference from my 50, and I couldn't immediately adjust. Given my own experience, I wouldn't go too far too fast from your normal 52.

 

[AeroPro Staff]

To be honest, I don't have much experience stringing lower than 50. The 46 was my first attempt. My guess is that Revolve is softer than STB in generally, and that added to the difference in the feeling between the two racquets. I hit with the 46 racquet for a bit but haven't picked it up since. It was a huge difference from my 50, and I couldn't immediately adjust. Given my own experience, I wouldn't go too far too fast from your normal 52.

Alright, Ive been stringing at 50 for the past few months. I might try 48 for my next stringjob. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Tennisist]

Isospeed Baseline is cheap and stretchy. It definitely has more power than most other polys, including very expensive ones.

In my experience, if a poly is low powered, it remains low-powered -- at all tensions.

In other words, if you lower tension -- it will still be low-powered. I am talking about operating in the "goldylock zone" of tension.
I find that starting at about 50 lbs, all polys feel about the same, produce the same response (which I call "no power" at all), and all play new as if they are 1 year-old string jobs.
Between 40 and 50, you will feel a very pronounced increase in power and pocketing, and differences between strings will become very apparent.
Below 40, they all start feeling the same again -- with low power and mostly unpredictable response.

For high-power polys, you'll need to find the optimal tension. I wish they would publish this information, but I could not find any...

 

[kiteboard]

I've been demoing some frames recently and I came upon a Juice 100 and Pure Strike 16x19. When I tried out both of the racquets they had strings in them that had a lot more "pop" than I'm used to with my current setup of Cyberflash and OG Sheep Micro. It turned out that the Juice had a string called Spin Cycle, which I had never heard of before, and the Strike had some Black Widow in it. After these demos I thought of experimenting with strings that have that "pop" off the stringbed.
Any suggestions? Im looking for the string to be relatively inexpensive, around $12 is my limit per set, and its gotta have lots of "pop."

Pro supex big ace 16g.

 

[Muppet]

If you don't mind some stiffness, Pro Red Code would be a good choice. It has that lively feel and it lasts a long time. It has a plasticky feel. For a more metallic feel, try Big Hitter Silver.

 

[georgiahank]

Weiss Cannon Red Ghost has lots of pop. Just picked up a reel for $90....around $5 per strong job.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[SpinToWin]

Consider me confused...

The term pop is commonly used in two ways:

1) the feeling of how fast the ball leaves the stringbed/how immediate the response is. Many connect this with good directional control. An example would be Kirshbaum Max Power, as it has a very immediate response since the ball "pops" off the stringbed rather quickly. A polar opposite would be something like Black Widow I suppose, it pockets the ball an awful lot.

2) the liveliness of the string. Calling it this really is a misunderstanding of the term, but it is common enough to consider it a viable definition I suppose. In this case we have the opposite to the above. Max Power is not lively and Black Widow is very lively.

So... What is it that you want? Pop or liveliness?

 

[AeroPro Staff]

Consider me confused...

The term pop is commonly used in two ways:

1) the feeling of how fast the ball leaves the stringbed/how immediate the response is. Many connect this with good directional control. An example would be Kirshbaum Max Power, as it has a very immediate response since the ball "pops" off the stringbed rather quickly. A polar opposite would be something like Black Widow I suppose, it pockets the ball an awful lot.

2) the liveliness of the string. Calling it this really is a misunderstanding of the term, but it is common enough to consider it a viable definition I suppose. In this case we have the opposite to the above. Max Power is not lively and Black Widow is very lively.

So... What is it that you want? Pop or liveliness?

I guess I'm willing to experiment? I come from using strings that are not lively and/or do not have a lot of pop

 

[SpinToWin]

I guess I'm willing to experiment? I come from using strings that are not lively and/or do not have a lot of pop

I was asking you what you mean by pop, I wasn't criticising you or anything.

 

[AeroPro Staff]

I was asking you what you mean by pop, I wasn't criticising you or anything.

Np it's fine. I guess I haven't got a definition for exactly what I mean by "pop" since I haven't used many strings with it.

 

[SpinToWin]

Np it's fine. I guess I haven't got a definition for exactly what I mean by "pop" since I haven't used many strings with it.

Ok, then try the following strings:

Yonex Poly Tour Pro (little pop and not lively)
Tourna BHB7 (little pop and lively)
Kirschbaum Max Power (good pop and not lively)
Head Sonic Pro Edge (good pop and lively)

 

[fuzz nation]

Isospeed Baseline is cheap and stretchy. It definitely has more power than most other polys, including very expensive ones.

In my experience, if a poly is low powered, it remains low-powered -- at all tensions.

In other words, if you lower tension -- it will still be low-powered. I am talking about operating in the "goldylock zone" of tension.
I find that starting at about 50 lbs, all polys feel about the same, produce the same response (which I call "no power" at all), and all play new as if they are 1 year-old string jobs.
Between 40 and 50, you will feel a very pronounced increase in power and pocketing, and differences between strings will become very apparent.
Below 40, they all start feeling the same again -- with low power and mostly unpredictable response.

For high-power polys, you'll need to find the optimal tension. I wish they would publish this information, but I could not find any...

I rather agree with this.

I've been getting great results among my "clients" with Isospeed Baseline, both in the 1.20mm and 1.25mm gauges. The 1.20mm can produce a rather comfortable hybrid - one slugger likes this in his mains at 47 lbs. paired with Forten Nylon crosses at 54 lbs. A couple other stronger players I know are liking the 1.25mm in a full bed and switched into this poly from RPM Blast.

If you want to keep your costs down, this poly sells through TW at $40/reel. It's inexpensive, but it's also rather decent.

 

[monfils is my homeboy]

Try Pros Pro Blackout. Great string and only 40.00 a reel.

 

[Devil_dog]

I've been using a copolymer from Clarke's Tennis called Poly Power Pro. Soft, good pocketing and pop especially on serves. Sells for $3.50 set or $33 for a reel.

 

[dct693]

Alright, Ive been stringing at 50 for the past few months. I might try 48 for my next stringjob. Thanks for your feedback!

I switched to my racquet strung at 46 with Revolve this weekend. This time I had no issues transitioning. I still skied some balls (I'm sure due to poor technique) but I got dialed in pretty quickly. Strings felt more comfy. My first serves had a bit more pop to them. I like the feel better. Less jarring, though I got more power so I had to swing less "through" the ball.

 

[Doc Hollidae]

Big Hitter Blue and Big Hitter Black

 

[AeroPro Staff]

I tried 48 lbs this weekend and it was awesome from the baseline. It felt much easier to generate the spin and power but it was harder to hit approach shots well, gotta dial it in there.

 

[dct693]

I tried 48 lbs this weekend and it was awesome from the baseline. It felt much easier to generate the spin and power but it was harder to hit approach shots well, gotta dial it in there.

Same for me. I was hitting a bunch long until I spun the ball more and hit through it less.

 

[ReopeningWed]

Polystar Energy has lots of power, almost too much power at times for me. 400m reel from Germany shipped to CONUS came out to be $112 for me, which was around $3 a set. String of choice for former #3 Nikolai Davydenko.

 

[RetroSpin]

Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough 17 has plenty of pop.

 

[powerrangers]

try signum pro hyperion!