kevlar question for those in the know

[swizzy]

i have been playing a long time and it is pretty rare to try something new after years of experimentation.
i bought a racquet [ps90] and it came strung with kevlar mains and a multi in the crosses.. never had any elbow problems in 30 years of playing.. i tried an aero pro drive last summer and within a week i did.. it lingered for a month and never returned since switching back.. i have read that kevlar is arm deadly.. but i absolutely loved it.. played great until it finally snapped.. i am 40 and don't want to put myself in harms way but i really want to pick up a spool of ashaway 17g.. sorry for the wait, but the question is.. is this a good string, gauge, and what tension would someone suggest.. i have 4 spools of wilson sensation 17g that i use for my tennis team.. if they want a free string job. i am thinking to use the sensation with the kevlar for my own racquets since i have so much of it laying around. thanks

 

[Irvin]

It is not the best string for your elbow that is for sure. Sooner or later your elbow problems may come back. You may buy a reel and get problem after 3-4 string jobs. What are you going to do with all the leftover Kevlar? If you're not stringing for other that's a lot of string to go through and it will take years.

I would rather use a syn gut in the crosses rather than Sensation it will last longer.

 

[swizzy]

a spool is something like 19 racquets..mains only.. i could go through that in less than 2 years.. 360 feet.

 

[Irvin]

That is a half reel a full reel is 720'

 

[swizzy]

i thought the half was a nice compromise.. probably played 30 hours or so with this kevlar set up..great spin. no twinge in the arm at all. played quite crisply right til it broke.

 

[graycrait]

I know it sounds like a broken record but try Ashaway Kevlar 16G in the mains and Ashaway ZX Pro in the crosses. I've tried low tension, extreme variation tension and like the mains around 58-60, crosses about 62-63. I can't play with a stiff racket or any racket with poly and have had TE twice trying to understand this fascination with poly. Albeit my technique is better now I just stay away from stiff rackets and polys, the Kevlar x Zyex works for me.

 

[Shroud]

Your arm will let you know if there are issues right away like it did the babalot (friends don't let friends play babalot). It didnt with the kevlar so there you go!

Agree with graycrait and his broken record.

And look at my sig. Enough said.

 

[v-verb]

I'm another kevlar convert. Strung low at 30 lbs. Tons of spin, nice feel, great control and spin

 

[Sander001]

The 16G and 17G Ashaway are incredibly similar, I can barely tell them apart. I've tried other Kevlar/Aramids and find that Ashaway is by far the best for spin. You can string in the 30's and even 20's and still get excellent control.

I wouldn't buy a reel right away, what's the rush? Buy a few sets and see how things hold up.

 

[Shroud]

I'm another kevlar convert. Strung low at 30 lbs. Tons of spin, nice feel, great control and spin

The 16G and 17G Ashaway are incredibly similar, I can barely tell them apart. I've tried other Kevlar/Aramids and find that Ashaway is by far the best for spin. You can string in the 30's and even 20's and still get excellent control.

I wouldn't buy a reel right away, what's the rush? Buy a few sets and see how things hold up.

Great points fellas about the low tension and not buying a reel right away.

I strung ashaway kevlar as low as 15lbs and as high as my machine will go...

 

[Fed Kennedy]

What tension would you string an 18x20 98 inch head with kevlar mains and syn gut crosses? I was thinking 45lbs mains by 55 lbs crosses. Is this a good starting place?

 

[Shroud]

What tension would you string an 18x20 98 inch head with kevlar mains and syn gut crosses? I was thinking 45lbs mains by 55 lbs crosses. Is this a good starting place?

Yikes. Thats a recipe for arm destruction IMHO. I wouldnt use syngut myself but if I had to, I would do the crosses lower than the mains.

What do you use now in that racket?

FWIW I was using Kev/zx at 75/55 in my 6.1 95 (18x20). And I liked it alot. But the zx is less stiff than syngut and allows the mains to slide so its a softer feel than the 45/55 you are describing I think.

 

[Fed Kennedy]

75 pounds kevlar? What?

I use fullbed 4g at 50lbs

 

[NLBwell]

Kevlar loses a lot of tension, but because the string is stiff and doesn't elongate, it really doesn't matter. It is pretty insensitive to tension.
I do get a sore elbow from poly, but have never had problems with kevlar.

 

[NLBwell]

Also, I find the thinner the kevlar, the better it plays.

 

[Shroud]

75 pounds kevlar? What?

I use fullbed 4g at 50lbs

FWIW the tension differential squashes the head a bit so the actual tension is not what it seems. Travlerajm explains this better than I do.

If you had not seen this thread I would be willing to wager that I could win money off of you by giving you the stick and asking you what tension it was strung at. No way you would say 75. As a matter of fact one of my team mates took that test hitting a few balls against the fence. He said 55lbs and that was the one in the sig though I was only doing 80lbs.

 

[Shroud]

Kevlar loses a lot of tension, but because the string is stiff and doesn't elongate, it really doesn't matter. It is pretty insensitive to tension.
I do get a sore elbow from poly, but have never had problems with kevlar.

I have heard that fairly consistently. Any ideas why that would be the case? Stiffness of kevlar is much higher than poly so it has to be something more than that I think.

 

[Fed Kennedy]

Kevlar loses a lot of tension, but because the string is stiff and doesn't elongate, it really doesn't matter. It is pretty insensitive to tension.

so how tight would you string it in a 98 inch head with kevlar mains and syn crosses?

 

[Shroud]

75 pounds kevlar? What?

I use fullbed 4g at 50lbs

Try 55/45lbs