Kevlar/Poly hybrid... Liking this better than gut.

[pyrokid]

I've been using an 18g ashaway kevlar mains/17g Cyberflash crosses hybrid for the last month or so, strung at 40/46. I occasionally switch the CF with WC SS if I'm feeling classy. (I use a fairly tight 18x20, so this isn't too much of a breakage problem at all.)

I absolutely love everything about it.
The spin is incredible, it has amazing touch at the net, you can flatten the heck out of the ball and still control it completely, it bites like crazy on slices, and it lasts forever compared to polys. And the cost is great too... About $6 for a full job.

Heck, I tried a gut/SS hybrid today... And hated it!
I just love the crisp feeling I'm getting from the strings coupled with the flex of the racquets with the kevlar.
The gut just felt too mushy, and even pingy. And then it broke, after only 3 sets. Thank god I wasn't playing anyone terrific, I felt pretty handicapped. I came to the net on almost every point because my groundies were frighteningly random.

Anyway, J011y's posts about his rig turned me onto this. I tweaked it pretty severely, and love it now. If you're up for a lowish-powered setup with great spin and durability, try this stuff out. The feel took some adjusting to, but I can't imagine anything else now.

Not to mention, my wrist used to bother me on some backhands... Never anymore. Weird, but true. Not the arm killer you'd think if you string low.

 

[kiteboard]

It's a soft rope like string. I have a half reel of cf if you want it. 1.20mm I think. At one time I had 18, 17, 16g reels of ash. kev.

 

[pyrokid]

Sure, I just got another reel of kevlar recently and need another one of CF...
Adam.l.boldt@gmail.com

 

[DevilsChildXD]

Can you send me a link to buy the CF and Ashaways?? Please and thank you =)

 

[pyrokid]

Actually TW stocks boy of them.
Cyberflash is under the topspin brand, and the Kevlar is under ashaway.

 

[Power Player]

So kevlar at 40 and your poly at 46 and you are having no control issues? Nice. I take this more serious because you have been hitting with the setup for a month, so I'd imagine you would know by now if it was a honeymoon.

 

[pyrokid]

So kevlar at 40 and your poly at 46 and you are having no control issues? Nice. I take this more serious because you have been hitting with the setup for a month, so I'd imagine you would know by now if it was a honeymoon.

Control goes away at the end of its life, but for the majority it's fine and better than with just CF because of the added spin and lack of power.

And I didn't really notice much of a lack of control at all, because Kevlar doesn't stretch much more at 70 lbs than 40, so it's not as weird as you'd think.

 

[Power Player]

Cool.. I may try this out. I am stringing my Hexonic poly at 52#s, and just trying to figure out a good tension..may just go with yours if I try it.

 

[pyrokid]

Cool.. I may try this out. I am stringing my Hexonic poly at 52#s, and just trying to figure out a good tension..may just go with yours if I try it.

You might wanna up either the gauge or tension if you have an open pattern though.

 

[Power Player]

ooo...good call, this pattern is very open. What do you think...44/48 or so?

 

[pyrokid]

ooo...good call, this pattern is very open. What do you think...44/48 or so?

Maybe, but if you break strings a lot you might just want a higher gauge. I broke this same setup in about 1/10th the amount of time in an extreme pro, so it seems like something about the closed pattern is making it last exponentially longer. If breakage isn't a big problem then just up the tension.

I actually have no idea how much you should up it, I switched it up about 6 times before I decided on my tension. But what you suggested sounds good for what I'd imagine.

And something I read on these boards that seems from experience to be true: You can string the crosses much higher that the mains with kevlar because it just doesn't stretch, so the frame doesn't elongat. It might lose tension, but when that happens it doesn't stretch. So you can go higher on the crosses so that if you don't like the feel of low tensions you can get some of the tighter feel back, but still leave the kevlar mains loose for comfort reasons.

I didn't really know what tension or gauge would be best for me though until I just tried a lot of stuff.

 

[wrxtotoro]

I am currently using 18g kevlar hybrid at 45/50 with WC Silverstring in the cross. Control is alright but I might go 1-2 lb higher in my next string job. But it's a VERY low power setup so you might have to swing harder.

 

[pyrokid]

I actually didn' t think it was all that low powered for some reason.
Maybe it's just because he extra spin let me swing harder to compensate.

 

[J011yroger]

Glad you are having success with it.

J

 

[Carolina Racquet]

I actually didn' t think it was all that low powered for some reason.
Maybe it's just because he extra spin let me swing harder to compensate.

I imagine the lower tension adds a little more power without trampoline effect.. yes? We all know how board-like it is at higher tensions.

I've experimented with ultra low tension with a geared poly with a very open 16/19 pattern, stringing a 110 prince at 37#. I'm considering the kevlar for the mains to hopefully to change the feel while keeping the other benefits of extra spin and great ball pocketing.

How "stiff" is cyberflash compared to other polys?

 

[pyrokid]

I imagine the lower tension adds a little more power without trampoline effect.. yes? We all know how board-like it is at higher tensions.

I've experimented with ultra low tension with a geared poly with a very open 16/19 pattern, stringing a 110 prince at 37#. I'm considering the kevlar for the mains to hopefully to change the feel while keeping the other benefits of extra spin and great ball pocketing.

How "stiff" is cyberflash compared to other polys?

Yeah, I have to say though, it doesn't really feel 'trampoline-y' at all. Just has nice pocketing, along with a feeling that you're just flattening the ball.

And Cyberflash is fairly stiff for a co-poly, I believe. I haven't tried more than ten polys though, so I'm not exactly an expert in the category...

 

[pyrokid]

Glad you are having success with it.

J

I'm just afraid it'll start doing to my frames what it did to yours, yikes.

 

[J011yroger]

I'm just afraid it'll start doing to my frames what it did to yours, yikes.

I have always flexed out frames pretty quickly even when I used full poly.

Worse with the Kevlar.

Inelastic strings don't absorb any of the impact, and transfer all of it to the frame.

I think it is worse if you hit the ball more squarely than if you cut it more.

J

 

[pyrokid]

I have always flexed out frames pretty quickly even when I used full poly.

Worse with the Kevlar.

Inelastic strings don't absorb any of the impact, and transfer all of it to the frame.

I think it is worse if you hit the ball more squarely than if you cut it more.

J

I think the weight of your racquet would have to have some effect on it too.

But how do you flex them out so quickly? The number one for our div. 1 university has been using the same 2 speed MPs for over a year and a half, and he smacks the crap out of every ball. Do the strings make that much of a difference?

 

[Larrysümmers]

Jolly, whats the avg time from snapping to string removing? could that also be a cause of flexing out? since you break em quite a bit?

 

[J011yroger]

I think the weight of your racquet would have to have some effect on it too.

But how do you flex them out so quickly? The number one for our div. 1 university has been using the same 2 speed MPs for over a year and a half, and he smacks the crap out of every ball. Do the strings make that much of a difference?

No idea. I know others who also flex out/crack frames.

J

 

[J011yroger]

Jolly, whats the avg time from snapping to string removing? could that also be a cause of flexing out? since you break em quite a bit?

I usually drop them off for restringing weekly.

So on Sat I will drop off all the frames for that week, and pick up the frames from last week.

J

 

[Larrysümmers]

I usually drop them off for restringing weekly.

So on Sat I will drop off all the frames for that week, and pick up the frames from last week.

J

do you or someone else remove the strings when they break or do you leave in the broken strings until you're done with a match/hitting session? What I'm thinking is if you leave them in for a while then maybe the uneveness caused by snappage could hurt the frame??

 

[J011yroger]

do you or someone else remove the strings when they break or do you leave in the broken strings until you're done with a match/hitting session? What I'm thinking is if you leave them in for a while then maybe the uneveness caused by snappage could hurt the frame??

I doubt it, especially since they cave where the strings break, and there is zero or nearly zero tension there. Obviously since that is where the strings break, that would also be where the most trauma from hitting would be.

So that leads me to think the damage is caused by hitting.

J

 

[Dominik]

Just wondering, are you using recently-purchased reels of CF?

I recall something about them changing the formula a few months/year ago, that's why I'm asking.

 

[pyrokid]

Just wondering, are you using recently-purchased reels of CF?

I recall something about them changing the formula a few months/year ago, that's why I'm asking.

I have ne f the new and one of the old, I am currently using the old one because I hate the way it strings compared to the new one and want to get rid of it.
They changed cyberblue too.

 

[user92626]

I also realy dig Kevlar and Polylon when the shop owner took the liberty to prescribe it on my request for tougher, harder to break string. He strung it at 55#. I was thoroughly impressed by non-string movement, little wear and the spin. Sadly I play too many days/week and too many hours/day, like 4-5, and hitting with kevlar started to take a toll on my arm.

Recently I sold one set of this to my friend and he loves it. The control and spin. hehe.

Right now I'm using ALU flouro/polylon @ 50# and loving it. I can hit at 80% my strength and still got 110% of power, and no irritation on the arm.

 

[maxplymac]

Anyone with any experiences with using kevlar as the CROSS...and a multi or synth in the mains.

Would it be practical to string the kevlar crosses really low like 35# and have the multi mains at 55#? I've never done a "reverse" kevlar job before, just curious about anybody's experiences.

 

[Larrysümmers]

Anyone with any experiences with using kevlar as the CROSS...and a multi or synth in the mains.

Would it be practical to string the kevlar crosses really low like 35# and have the multi mains at 55#? I've never done a "reverse" kevlar job before, just curious about anybody's experiences.

i wouldnt do that. thats 20 pounds difference on the mains/crosses. i think, ive been told, 5lbs should be the max difference tween mains and crosses

 

[maxplymac]

Yes true, I ask because kevlar is such a unique beast.

 

[J011yroger]

Anyone with any experiences with using kevlar as the CROSS...and a multi or synth in the mains.

Would it be practical to string the kevlar crosses really low like 35# and have the multi mains at 55#? I've never done a "reverse" kevlar job before, just curious about anybody's experiences.

There would be no reason to do that...

It would play worse than full synth, and the Kevlar cross would just obliterate the synth main if you have any kind of batspeed at all.

It would be like asking if anyone has ever tried to hammer in a nail with a jelly donut.

J

 

[Dominik]

I tried this setup today and it felt fairly nice. Strung it at 45/45. It makes the ball penetrate a *lot* on ordinary strokes and has a lot of inherent power which I like.

However, the ball had very little dwell time (ie/ no "pocketing") so it was hard to control a lot of the time, let alone put any kind of different trajectories on the ball. It was very "point-and-shoot" but forget about doing any kind of touch shots/angles with it. I went back to my regular setup, 19 gauge kevlar x 16 gauge soft multi and the control/dwell time/spin all came back.

Perhaps it will be better on the 2nd/3rd hit after it has broken in a bit. I find that this is often the case with kevlar.


EDIT: Although, I can see this playing really well on a heavier frame than the AG100, like a leaded up k90.

 

[maxplymac]

wow 19g kevlar crosses and 16g multi mains is a very interesting setup.

I wonder what a full bed of 19g kevlar at 37# would be like. It would drop to like 29 pounds almost immediately and settle there.

 

[sansaephanh]

I also realy dig Kevlar and Polylon when the shop owner took the liberty to prescribe it on my request for tougher, harder to break string. He strung it at 55#. I was thoroughly impressed by non-string movement, little wear and the spin. Sadly I play too many days/week and too many hours/day, like 4-5, and hitting with kevlar started to take a toll on my arm.

Recently I sold one set of this to my friend and he loves it. The control and spin. hehe.

Right now I'm using ALU flouro/polylon @ 50# and loving it. I can hit at 80% my strength and still got 110% of power, and no irritation on the arm.

Try this setup again with tension between 30-40. Seems to be getting great results for other players.

 

[J011yroger]

wow 19g kevlar crosses and 16g multi mains is a very interesting setup.

I wonder what a full bed of 19g kevlar at 37# would be like. It would drop to like 29 pounds almost immediately and settle there.

Full bed of Kevlar bites the big salami.

J

 

[J011yroger]

^^^ That is a technical term for all you newcomers.

J