optic yellow
Legend
What does he think he is protecting them from? This makes very little sense to me. I read what you say and still don't get it.
Introducing Grapplesnake USA!!!
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Other manufacturers.
optic yellow
Legend
How does this protect him from other manufacturers?
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
It gives other manufacturers an objective stiffness target they can use to try to copy the string. Even though this number doesn't fully represent the string, it's a good starting point. They can, from there, more easily create prototypes and get closer to a replica. That's his concern. You might or might not see it, agree with it, or fully understand it. That's ok and totally normal. Even I am in partial disagreement, since in my view, the data not being publicly available certainly won't stop other big manufacturers from trying to replicate Tour M8, Alpha, etc by running them through their own labs. Why making it easier is the reply to that. If you have more questions about manufacturing strings, the struggles and breakthroughs we've had, feel free to write and then even call me personally. I love talking about our journey over the phone with people that are truly interested.
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optic yellow
Legend
Are you saying you want me to respond to this in PM rather than here?
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
No, no. You should reply wherever you prefer. I have tried to explain this predicament here to the best of my ability, but it naturally hasn't been satisfactory to everyone and I don't have much more info to add. Sometimes a phone conversation between two humans is a better medium compared to text on a screen. Just an idea.
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Me, too. I feel it has the potential to not only be different, but to provide added strengths in some areas where "normal" polys find their boundaries. And thanks for choosing Sniper!Man, I'm excited to try this! Even after I recently got a reel of Tour Sniper
Curtennis
Hall of Fame
Take a chill pill. He’s being as up front and honest as he can in the situation. Play the string yourself. If you like it great, if you don’t great. A single number attributed to it isn’t going to help you decide if you like it or not.
optic yellow
Legend
I thought that response was fairly calm. He said something that could be interpreted as insinuating he did not want me to keep questioning him in this thread dedicated foremost to marketing his company's products, so I respectfully asked him if that was the case or not before proceeding. Maybe you are looking for tone that isn't there? Don't project your own prejudices so hastily onto a blank canvas.
How much easier does he really think he's making it on them? I am not an expert on this specific industry, but generally if an organization is a major operation run with at least moderate level of professionalism any recognition of a competitor product that intrigues them as a candidate for imitation will met with resource and committed intent, so not having a few numbers that can be obtained quickly in a preexisting lab setup would feel like the resistance of a gnat. Surely he could be made to see that the best defenses against his fears are the personal artistic touch he puts into his products - something which cannot be easily imitated by anyone - and the strong brand loyalty of a healthy core customer base that feels deeply they are being treated right.
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
I agree with your last statement.
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
So many different characters found in a public forum. Just reading what someone writes leaves a lot to interpretation, and some people ultimately have a hard time communicating effectively. I also felt that my communication with that user was perhaps on different wavelengths, but best we can do is to continue being cordial and offer help. I appreciate all of you here!
This forum and all of the ideas, suggestions, overall feedback coming from it is still super important to us after starting with very little some years ago. Regarding suggestions, sometimes I can take immediate action and fix a problem, do what you guys ask. Sometimes, I can't make it happen, or a decision is made by us in a direction that won't suit you. It's normal and part of life. Thanks!
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Tried again Game Changer (in grey) in my TF40 315 at 23kg this time...
This string is really amazing and a great fit with this frame. Add just a bit of pop, massive spin and remains super comfy even at this tension... could almost bump 1kg more as initial tension drop is significant.
This string is really amazing and a great fit with this frame. Add just a bit of pop, massive spin and remains super comfy even at this tension... could almost bump 1kg more as initial tension drop is significant.
Curtennis
Hall of Fame
I just don’t get it. Do you like the string or do you not like it?
You could play with a blacked out racquet that’s secretly a Babolat pure drive and absolutely love it for years. Find out it’s a Babolat pure drive and then say ahh, my elbow feels destroyed. Meanwhile you didn’t know the whole time you were playing it with no problems.
Why you need a string stiffness number is beyond me. If it doesn’t bother your arm and you like the way it plays what good will additional numbers do it?
There’s 400 hp cars that are far slower than 300 hp cars. These numbers are meaningless for understanding actual real performance. Read reviews, use the product yourself and formulate your own opinion. Which leads me back to my original statement. If you like it great, if you don’t like it that’s great too.
There’s no need to keep harassing the guy when he said the numbers aren’t going to get published. You made your point, he accepted it.
I personally have tried dozens of different polys and I do like the GS TS and M8. Is it god tier? No. But I like playing with them and they feel good. No published number will possibly change how I play the strings or feel for arm health.
g4driver
Legend
Hope my post gives some balance to the folks who want more information and highlights why Grapplesnake might have chosen to not publish the data. I prefer seeing the data, as a stringer, but I respect the choice not to send your string to Racketpedia. Transparency is something that opens information to all. When companies and people aren't transparent, they have their reasons and we as individuals have choices. It's a calculated decision on everyone's part. There are hundreds of string companies out there. How many small companies make polys? Well, that number begins to narrow. You know your competition better than anyone on a forum or at least, I hope you do for your sake.
Just yesterday, a player comes up to me with one of your Grapplesnake strings in his frames and asked me if I had heard of it. I knew your company, but not the string in question. The player in question strings his own frames. So when he was having issues with your string, I asked him several questions to gauge his knowledge of stringing. Let's just say, he left the court, understanding while he could string his frame and while he strung a frame with one of your strings, he most certainly knew his knowledge of strings and stringing were the just tip of the iceberg. He had a learner's permit to string if you will. I tried to get him to understand that perhaps he should give your strings a second chance and try two frames side by side AOTBE. Sure he would know the Grapplesnake String and I would tell him the other ones, but he could compare two frames on the court and try to remove the bias in his head. I am dropping off some free strings to him today and gave him a few suggestions. This isn't a knock on Grapplesnack. I have repeatedly preached "It's the archer, not the arrow " and how using a blind playtest can help a player find a string they truly love. I can't stock 100 different polys, but I do stock 25+ or so and hit with every string I stock in a full bed so I get 90 mins plus of hitting with a string minimum. Lux 4 G, well no, it didn't get 90 mins. My elbow was yelling "uncle" much quicker.
Like @TennisJrDad and as a guy who never used a calculator for any Calculus classes in college despite being allowed to do so, numbers are a great starting point for stringers. Some clients need less information and to spend more time finding a knowledge stringer who will help them, so your point is understood. If a company publishes data, great, if they don't, I don't dismiss them. TierOne is one of your competitors and they don't have data published either. But I get great feedback on their strings and stock two of their polys. One of their polys is in my personal frames.
The problem with publishing numbers for the masses is you risk exactly what you and the owner don't want. Some people will look at numbers and dismiss a string. Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30mm is the very string that is beaten down as a softer poly by 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 players who write the tension loss is too great. I've published the names, frames and tensions of 4.5C and 5.0C men (more than once) not only using VCT 1.30mm but winning the SC Mens' 18+ Championship with 6 teammates using that very string. So much for the numbers for VCT 1.30mm. I have invited several forum members who can't play with VCT 1.30mm to play Steven Cohen in singles when they visit Charleston, SC but known have taken me up on that invite.
@TennisJrDad makes a valid point below
In the end, we have to accept that not all companies are going to publish data. When that happens, simply contact the company and give them a string and ask them to recommend one of their string to compare. That's fair enough for me. It allows one to playtest their strings without bias.
@Grapplesnake USA Official
My one request to your company and others. Will you kindly start marking the middle of your individual packs of a string with a visible mark, as Luxilion does for their Natural Gut? Why? A stringer can hold a pack with one hand, and cut the pack in half with the other hand, rather than loop the string and find the center. Lux NG is the only string doing this and it's much appreciated by stringers.
Best wishes to you
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Thank you for this. I will pass along the request for the marking at the halfway point. Natural gut, makes a lot of sense, since people typically cut the set in half for main duty on two frames. Polys, if preparing for a two piece job, you wouldn’t really want the exact halfway point, in my opinion, you would be around 15 inches heavy on the Main piece, especially when dealing with 18 mains. Still, it would be useful to have that half way marking and go from there. Now, we don’t have the machines to really print anything on the strings, which is not a good starting point for adding this lol. But I like it a lot.Hope my post gives some balance to the folks who want more information and highlights why Grapplesnake might have chosen to not publish the data. I prefer seeing the data, as a stringer, but I respect the choice not to send your string to Racketpedia. Transparency is something that opens information to all. When companies and people aren't transparent, they have their reasons and we as individuals have choices. It's a calculated decision on everyone's part. There are hundreds of string companies out there. How many small companies make polys? Well, that number begins to narrow. You know your competition better than anyone on a forum or at least, I hope you do for your sake.
Just yesterday, a player comes up to me with one of your Grapplesnake strings in his frames and asked me if I had heard of it. I knew your company, but not the string in question. The player in question strings his own frames. So when he was having issues with your string, I asked him several questions to gauge his knowledge of stringing. Let's just say, he left the court, understanding while he could string his frame and while he strung a frame with one of your strings, he most certainly knew his knowledge of strings and stringing were the just tip of the iceberg. He had a learner's permit to string if you will. I tried to get him to understand that perhaps he should give your strings a second chance and try two frames side by side AOTBE. Sure he would know the Grapplesnake String and I would tell him the other ones, but he could compare two frames on the court and try to remove the bias in his head. I am dropping off some free strings to him today and gave him a few suggestions. This isn't a knock on Grapplesnack. I have repeatedly preached "It's the archer, not the arrow " and how using a blind playtest can help a player find a string they truly love. I can't stock 100 different polys, but I do stock 25+ or so and hit with every string I stock in a full bed so I get 90 mins plus of hitting with a string minimum. Lux 4 G, well no, it didn't get 90 mins. My elbow was yelling "uncle" much quicker.
Like @TennisJrDad and as a guy who never used a calculator for any Calculus classes in college despite being allowed to do so, numbers are a great starting point for stringers. Some clients need less information and to spend more time finding a knowledge stringer who will help them, so your point is understood. If a company publishes data, great, if they don't, I don't dismiss them. TierOne is one of your competitors and they don't have data published either. But I get great feedback on their strings and stock two of their polys. One of their polys is in my personal frames.
The problem with publishing numbers for the masses is you risk exactly what you and the owner don't want. Some people will look at numbers and dismiss a string. Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30mm is the very string that is beaten down as a softer poly by 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 players who write the tension loss is too great. I've published the names, frames and tensions of 4.5C and 5.0C men (more than once) not only using VCT 1.30mm but winning the SC Mens' 18+ Championship with 6 teammates using that very string. So much for the numbers for VCT 1.30mm. I have invited several forum members who can't play with VCT 1.30mm to play Steven Cohen in singles when they visit Charleston, SC but known have taken me up on that invite.
@TennisJrDad makes a valid point below
In the end, we have to accept that not all companies are going to publish data. When that happens, simply contact the company and give them a string and ask them to recommend one of their string to compare. That's fair enough for me. It allows one to playtest their strings without bias.
@Grapplesnake USA Official
My one request to your company and others. Will you kindly start marking the middle of your individual packs of a string with a visible mark, as Luxilion does for their Natural Gut? Why? A stringer can hold a pack with one hand, and cut the pack in half with the other hand, rather than loop the string and find the center. Lux NG is the only string doing this and it's much appreciated by stringers.
Best wishes to you
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Very happy to read this. Feel is the key concept when it comes to Game Changer.
Torps
Rookie
Can I take you up on that offer next time I’m in Charleston and craving Lewis BBQ?Hope my post gives some balance to the folks who want more information and highlights why Grapplesnake might have chosen to not publish the data. I prefer seeing the data, as a stringer, but I respect the choice not to send your string to Racketpedia. Transparency is something that opens information to all. When companies and people aren't transparent, they have their reasons and we as individuals have choices. It's a calculated decision on everyone's part. There are hundreds of string companies out there. How many small companies make polys? Well, that number begins to narrow. You know your competition better than anyone on a forum or at least, I hope you do for your sake.
Just yesterday, a player comes up to me with one of your Grapplesnake strings in his frames and asked me if I had heard of it. I knew your company, but not the string in question. The player in question strings his own frames. So when he was having issues with your string, I asked him several questions to gauge his knowledge of stringing. Let's just say, he left the court, understanding while he could string his frame and while he strung a frame with one of your strings, he most certainly knew his knowledge of strings and stringing were the just tip of the iceberg. He had a learner's permit to string if you will. I tried to get him to understand that perhaps he should give your strings a second chance and try two frames side by side AOTBE. Sure he would know the Grapplesnake String and I would tell him the other ones, but he could compare two frames on the court and try to remove the bias in his head. I am dropping off some free strings to him today and gave him a few suggestions. This isn't a knock on Grapplesnack. I have repeatedly preached "It's the archer, not the arrow " and how using a blind playtest can help a player find a string they truly love. I can't stock 100 different polys, but I do stock 25+ or so and hit with every string I stock in a full bed so I get 90 mins plus of hitting with a string minimum. Lux 4 G, well no, it didn't get 90 mins. My elbow was yelling "uncle" much quicker.
Like @TennisJrDad and as a guy who never used a calculator for any Calculus classes in college despite being allowed to do so, numbers are a great starting point for stringers. Some clients need less information and to spend more time finding a knowledge stringer who will help them, so your point is understood. If a company publishes data, great, if they don't, I don't dismiss them. TierOne is one of your competitors and they don't have data published either. But I get great feedback on their strings and stock two of their polys. One of their polys is in my personal frames.
The problem with publishing numbers for the masses is you risk exactly what you and the owner don't want. Some people will look at numbers and dismiss a string. Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30mm is the very string that is beaten down as a softer poly by 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 players who write the tension loss is too great. I've published the names, frames and tensions of 4.5C and 5.0C men (more than once) not only using VCT 1.30mm but winning the SC Mens' 18+ Championship with 6 teammates using that very string. So much for the numbers for VCT 1.30mm. I have invited several forum members who can't play with VCT 1.30mm to play Steven Cohen in singles when they visit Charleston, SC but known have taken me up on that invite.
@TennisJrDad makes a valid point below
In the end, we have to accept that not all companies are going to publish data. When that happens, simply contact the company and give them a string and ask them to recommend one of their string to compare. That's fair enough for me. It allows one to playtest their strings without bias.
@Grapplesnake USA Official
My one request to your company and others. Will you kindly start marking the middle of your individual packs of a string with a visible mark, as Luxilion does for their Natural Gut? Why? A stringer can hold a pack with one hand, and cut the pack in half with the other hand, rather than loop the string and find the center. Lux NG is the only string doing this and it's much appreciated by stringers.
Best wishes to you
Edit: I agree numbers aren’t the end all be all. No one likes RPM Power on these forums, but objective data has it as one of the top performing round strings on the market for spin, control and tension maintenance. I personally love razor code soft, rpm power and pro line evolution as my top 3 right now and it’s so close. My main concern with string performance is predictable response off the string bed and razor code soft does that in spades, PL Evo second. I don’t find either underpowered, or lacking in spin either. At the moment, I’m stringing my second frame with pro line evolution because it’s pre-stretched and my match frame fresh with razor code soft. This changes depending how my elbow protests, as I have a reel of polytour rev waiting to give my arm a break. I will also say I don’t prefer any of Grapplesnake’s offerings. Tour M8 was great for a bit, but I couldn’t find any consistency with it at the net when I was playing doubles. Tour Sniper was a hot mess in my VC98. One of the few strings I cut out after a few hours because it just didn’t do anything good. These were my preferences.
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TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I can wait. I'd love to see it in "black". Please... no silly colors. Silly colors don't go well with a lot of frames. But black goes with everything.
FrankyRelax
Semi-Pro
Edit. Updated post below
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thecatch33
New User
One thing to note (and perhaps a middle ground approach that could be adopted by Grapplesnake) is that Tier One does have lab-tested stiffness and tension loss numbers for all their strings, they are just not "publically" available or widely published. But if you search these boards you can find them. This way, the hardcore data nerds can have their cake, but the 95% of consumers who don't care to research everything to the nth-degree won't be influenced by unnecessary numbers.Hope my post gives some balance to the folks who want more information and highlights why Grapplesnake might have chosen to not publish the data. I prefer seeing the data, as a stringer, but I respect the choice not to send your string to Racketpedia. Transparency is something that opens information to all. When companies and people aren't transparent, they have their reasons and we as individuals have choices. It's a calculated decision on everyone's part. There are hundreds of string companies out there. How many small companies make polys? Well, that number begins to narrow. You know your competition better than anyone on a forum or at least, I hope you do for your sake.
Just yesterday, a player comes up to me with one of your Grapplesnake strings in his frames and asked me if I had heard of it. I knew your company, but not the string in question. The player in question strings his own frames. So when he was having issues with your string, I asked him several questions to gauge his knowledge of stringing. Let's just say, he left the court, understanding while he could string his frame and while he strung a frame with one of your strings, he most certainly knew his knowledge of strings and stringing were the just tip of the iceberg. He had a learner's permit to string if you will. I tried to get him to understand that perhaps he should give your strings a second chance and try two frames side by side AOTBE. Sure he would know the Grapplesnake String and I would tell him the other ones, but he could compare two frames on the court and try to remove the bias in his head. I am dropping off some free strings to him today and gave him a few suggestions. This isn't a knock on Grapplesnack. I have repeatedly preached "It's the archer, not the arrow " and how using a blind playtest can help a player find a string they truly love. I can't stock 100 different polys, but I do stock 25+ or so and hit with every string I stock in a full bed so I get 90 mins plus of hitting with a string minimum. Lux 4 G, well no, it didn't get 90 mins. My elbow was yelling "uncle" much quicker.
Like @TennisJrDad and as a guy who never used a calculator for any Calculus classes in college despite being allowed to do so, numbers are a great starting point for stringers. Some clients need less information and to spend more time finding a knowledge stringer who will help them, so your point is understood. If a company publishes data, great, if they don't, I don't dismiss them. TierOne is one of your competitors and they don't have data published either. But I get great feedback on their strings and stock two of their polys. One of their polys is in my personal frames.
The problem with publishing numbers for the masses is you risk exactly what you and the owner don't want. Some people will look at numbers and dismiss a string. Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30mm is the very string that is beaten down as a softer poly by 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 players who write the tension loss is too great. I've published the names, frames and tensions of 4.5C and 5.0C men (more than once) not only using VCT 1.30mm but winning the SC Mens' 18+ Championship with 6 teammates using that very string. So much for the numbers for VCT 1.30mm. I have invited several forum members who can't play with VCT 1.30mm to play Steven Cohen in singles when they visit Charleston, SC but known have taken me up on that invite.
@TennisJrDad makes a valid point below
In the end, we have to accept that not all companies are going to publish data. When that happens, simply contact the company and give them a string and ask them to recommend one of their string to compare. That's fair enough for me. It allows one to playtest their strings without bias.
@Grapplesnake USA Official
My one request to your company and others. Will you kindly start marking the middle of your individual packs of a string with a visible mark, as Luxilion does for their Natural Gut? Why? A stringer can hold a pack with one hand, and cut the pack in half with the other hand, rather than loop the string and find the center. Lux NG is the only string doing this and it's much appreciated by stringers.
Best wishes to you
FrankyRelax
Semi-Pro
| String | Stiffness (lbs) | Tension loss (lbs) |
| Grapplesnake Alpha 1.25 | 292 | 14.75 |
| Grapplesnake Tour m8 1.30 | 301 | 17.0 |
| Grapplesnake Tour Sniper 1.25 | 284 | 16.49 |
Not sure how racketpedia's testing compares but Tennis Industry magazine has done testing and stiffness/tension numbers are there to view (for Alpha, M8, and Tour Sniper)
thecatch33
New User
Not to beat a dead horse, but I think those of us who prefer having the data (myself included) would say it's not that published numbers are the be all, end all, it's just more information to make an informed decision and narrow what is a very crowded field. The numbers don't always tell the whole truth, that is definitely true, but they generally point in the right direction and can save you from a useless $20 string job that you need to cut out after one session. I rely on reviews and word of mouth to find the exceptions to those numbers, the ones that are "stiffer than the numbers" or "softer than the numbers" to venture outside my preferred comfort zone.
Conversely, for a manufacturer, being able to do market research and actually quantify what people's preferences are is a godsend, too.
But as I mentioned earlier in this thread, in the end manufacturers should do what they think is right for their customers and themselves, and the customers will decide if that strategy is good or not. I think @optic yellow 's feedback is valid, and I think Grapplesnake is gracefully accepting the criticism, which is great.
optic yellow
Legend
Or just mask them in the marketing materials so that the only people who find them are the ones that go looking for them.
optic yellow
Legend
I've never tried the string. But I don't need to try the string to know that having numbers like that can help provide a useful sense of relative context to qualitative factors, especially within the product domain of a single manufacturer.
legcramp
Semi-Pro
Is there a tennis industry magazine stiffness rating of something common like Yonex Poly Tour Pro string to compare against?
FrankyRelax
Semi-Pro
Yes they have a whole bunch and are easily searchable. They have YPTP at:
| Yonex | Poly Tour Pro 125 16L | Polyester | 1.24 | 217 | 20.90 |
thecatch33
New User
Thanks for sharing. Besides the already stated competition reasons, it also makes sense to me that the owner may be concerned that people will look at those stiffness numbers and rule them out, because they are on the stiffer side on a measured basis.
[Edited for accuracy]
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JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Keep in mind that the USRSA uses a different tension as reference as well, which will affect stiffness numbers. I think it’s 61lbs.
thecatch33
New User
Fair point. I edited my post to be more accurate. The most comparable "popular" string to Grapplesnake, at least on a measured stiffness basis, seems to be Hyper-G 1.25, which has a USRSA stiffness rating of 290. I personally consider Hyper-G to be a pretty stiff string, but it is certainly comfortable enough for many on these boards.
As mentioned many times, numbers are not the only determinant of comfort, so Grapplesnakes may play softer than their stiffness indicate (and the feedback certainly seems to indicate they are comfortable), but as a starting point of comparison I think Hyper-G is a useful benchmark.
OK let's talk about future... solinco did it...
Oh no I'm not talking about rackets yet... BUT
Some Grapplesnake bags would be great?
Do the brand has any plan outsider of strings in the near future? More apparels ? Accessoires? (Bags, wrist bands,...)
Curious about future brand développent
Oh no I'm not talking about rackets yet... BUT
Some Grapplesnake bags would be great?
Do the brand has any plan outsider of strings in the near future? More apparels ? Accessoires? (Bags, wrist bands,...)
Curious about future brand développent
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Of course. These are all personal projects of mine. Shirts first, already available. Hats, hopefully a nice selection of apparel. I think we have a very cool logo, and, as long as the apparel is of good quality, I believe it would go well. Goal isn't really to profit a lot out of this, but to spread our name. It really does make me happy and proud when I see folks wearing our shirts. I get emails from players with photos, and that to me is amazing. We've received good feedback on them. As we grow, and even though we are spending a lot of money developing the new string, we are also starting to have more funds we can allocate into this. As @mctennis just mentioned, these would all be complementary to the strings and by no means a huge operation. Strings are what we do and where we spend our time focused on, which is why I am finally checking this thread again after a few days, at 01:45am lolOK let's talk about future... solinco did it...
Oh no I'm not talking about rackets yet... BUT
Some Grapplesnake bags would be great?
Do the brand has any plan outsider of strings in the near future? More apparels ? Accessoires? (Bags, wrist bands,...)
Curious about future brand développent
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mpournaras
Hall of Fame
Any testing or desire to make Alpha in other colors?
Why stop with Gamechanger!?
Why stop with Gamechanger!?
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
There are no plans to make Alpha in additional colors as of now. Possible in the future if demand increases to Sniper/M8/Game Changer levels.
mpournaras
Hall of Fame
Foolish customers. Alpha is life
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
I love it. Use it all the time in the Blade v8, iPrestige, H19, Ultra Tour. It wakes those frames up.
Damn I just realized Alpha was a shaped string!! LOL alors thought tmit was round!! Might try this one as well...
How does it compare to Excellent Purple +? Both are supposed to be arm friendly... would you say Alpha is more powerful and soft and EP+ is stiffer, holds tension better and is more control oriented?
Would Alpha be too soft for a soft frame like Gravity Tour Auxetic?
How does it compare to Excellent Purple +? Both are supposed to be arm friendly... would you say Alpha is more powerful and soft and EP+ is stiffer, holds tension better and is more control oriented?
Would Alpha be too soft for a soft frame like Gravity Tour Auxetic?
You definitely need a light blue string in your lineup
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Hall of Fame
Why is alpha better than M8?
mpournaras
Hall of Fame
Most importantly for me:
- it is *crisper* feeling while being slightly softer. It just gives so much great feedback and sounds amazing in my Gravity.
- M8 is dense. I would say using 17g in both the SW is 3-4pts higher with M8.
I literally have one strung up with each Tour m8 and Alpha. I always come back to Alpha for matches. Tour M8 really opens up with racket head speed... but if you can swing like that Alpha is gonna *CRACK* at contact and still give a great ball as well. I just dont see the need for M8 for anyone not playing at a 5.0 level unless you break Alpha too fast or just NEED the cool grey color on your sticks. I must say, aesthetics have affected many of my buying choices... which is sorta why I was determined to make M8 work. But I will stick to Alpha.
Just my thoughts on colors. As long as the string does what I need it to do- control, feel, comfort, and longevity , I do not really care what color it is.
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Because M8 is definitely NOT arm friendly... felt some pain each time I used it... and it was at 20kg!
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
Which frame, if I may ask? This is good info, since throughout testing and development, we are always focused on performance with comfort. To us, M8 is comfortable, but not everyone will always have the same perception, and some string/frame combinations simply don't work well.
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
I don't think it would be too soft. The direct, soft but non-muted feel of the Gravity frames work well with Alpha. I would probably string it at 50 to 52, depending on temperature.
I used it in my TF40 and in my Wilson Pro Staff v14 X
It's not RPM Blast uncomfortable let's be honest but I feel a bit of something... I definitely have to test it on my Gravities
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Hall of Fame
M8 confused the crap out of me super contradictory... Tried in PS97 v13 42 lbs it was very good and comfy even kinda gummy but months later came back to same tension and racquet again freshly restrung and it was launching balls long lost control, felt bad at contact this time like wiry/metallic feeling or something unpleasant.
Tour m8 befuddled, confused, and hoodwinked me. I should try alpha
mpournaras
Hall of Fame
YES! Good.... very good....
Grapplesnake USA Official
Semi-Pro
haha I don't know what to say to this. Sounds like a good tension if you like lower end, but I would also consider close to 48 or 50 lb if you want more control. Alpha is also a very good option, and to me Sniper also shines in the Pro Staff. I wouldn't string Alpha that low (42), since you might get too much power.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Hall of Fame
M8 probably just depends on weather conditions for me is my guess. When its responding well its amazing
