Kevlar vs Poly on main in a hybrid setup

[coolie]

why would someone choose to go with Kevlar. And some others would choose to go with Poly on their main in a hybrid setup?

why did you choose kevlar for your main? what is the advantage?

why did you choose poly for your main? what is the advantage?

is there any comparison chart done up for these 2 hard strings?


for me, i had use kevlar on my main. tried with Crossfire 18 and Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 19. Fusion plus 19 more as it felt softer compare to Crossfire 18. but somehow, the 19 seems thicker than the 18.

basically, i like kevlar as it give more bites thus more control and spin. but there is no power at all. no matter how hard i hit, my opponents will always be able to reach my shots. as a result, i hardly able to kill the ball instead having to place the ball out of reach for the opponents.

lately, i started having TE which forced me to stay away from kevlar. hence, i am wondering if Poly would be a more gentle, softer and TE friendly alternative. or if Poly is just as bad. but it seems like more players are going with Poly then Kelvar.


Please advise....

Mahalo (Thank you)

 

[Paul Goldstein]

well your question has a few doors open. do you want the best set up to reduce TE? If so is price an issue?

I would suggest playing with the prince graphite classic 107 , which is the best arm friendly frame as long as you string it at 50-55
http://racquetresearch.com

for string i would go as loose as possible with a multi or gut

 

[AlpineCadet]

If you can handle it, the Kevlar will tame more of your sweetspot than Poly. Though Poly has a bit more feel than kevlar, and is a bit softer (kevlar has a very stiff feel.) If you want very little power from your strings, go with kevlar. If you want something with more pop, but less power than a nylon or gut string, then go with poly. Hope that answers a lot of your questions.

 

[coolie]

while being forced away from kevlar. am now using Tecnifibre X-One Biphase. tried the 18G but it breaks in 10hrs. now trying the 16G for the first 3hrs. nice so far but not much bites to produce spin. hope it doesn't break as easy compare to 18G. this string is damn expensive.

i still miss the Fusion plus 19. it bites but it moves too much after awhile.

 

[Doc Hollidae]

I'm an avid kevlar lover and though the feel isn't quite there, the bite from Blue Gear is similar. You don't have that boardy feel of the kevlar, but the bite is quite similar if not better. The one thing I still am getting used to is the feel of the "trampoline effect." With kevlar you don't get that feeling, you just plow through the ball.

 

[AlpineCadet]

that "trampoline effect" is from the loss of tension/elasticity in the polyester strings.

 

[Doc Hollidae]

that "trampoline effect" is from the loss of tension/elasticity in the polyester strings.

Perhaps I used the wrong choice of words to describe what I meant. I guess a better term might be "pocketing." With kevlar, the feel is very boardy and stiff. Upon making contact with the ball, there is no feeling of "pocketing". With poly you actually feel the ball dwell on the string bed for a bit before leaving your racket. That feeling is absent with kevlar.

I most noticed this feeling while returning. A large portion of my returns involve blocking the ball back. When blocking with kevlar the feeling is solid and stable. With poly, the ball just doesn't make contact and bounce off. It pockets into the string bed and then bounces off. I'm not the best at describing the feel so I hope this at least clarifies. The tension loss and elasticity aren't a factor. All strings except for kevlar have that "trampoline effect" or "pocketing" feel. With kevlar, even if it may be happening, it doesn't feel like it is.

 

[AlpineCadet]

Any stiff string will automatically lessen the pocketing effect, which is why some people choose to hybrid a stiff string like Poly with something soft like Natural Gut.

 

[coolie]

am not sure if anyone would agree with me. i found good or great control off kevlar. can really place the ball to where i want it. spin is wonderful too.

so does that means the stiff string bed gives better ball control?

some mentions that the "pocketing" or "cupping" effect help to generate more spin. and with the ball staying longer on the racket we can control the ball more. is that true?

 

[AlpineCadet]

am not sure if anyone would agree with me. i found good or great control off kevlar. can really place the ball to where i want it. spin is wonderful too.

so does that means the stiff string bed gives better ball control?

some mentions that the "pocketing" or "cupping" effect help to generate more spin. and with the ball staying longer on the racket we can control the ball more. is that true?

Hopefully I can be of some insight! The answer is: it's subjective.

For some, the longer dwell time gives them more control, but in that same instance, that "pocketing" or "cupping" effect also gives them too much power, or less control.

And it's the same subjectivity for rackets.. a stiffer racket will give some people better directional control, while for others, a softer racket will give them better directional control because of the user specific dwell time (which is needed for the individual to have the best control for their playing style.)

 

[coolie]

i guess i belongs to the sch where stiff string bed give me better ball control.

would it be a good mix for soft or flex racket (like Redondo) to be strung with stiff strings like poly/kevlar? and for hard or stiff rackets (like Pure Drive Roddick) to be strung with softer strings?

good in the sense that with flex racket and stiff strings, could still stay away from tennis elbow?

 

[drakulie]

I love kevlar! I use Ashaway Crossfire II 16 gauge, strung at, or nearly at 70 lbs.

Great boardy feel, good spin, and excellent control.

Poly is great too, but it loses it's tension too quick.

I agree with the others in that Poly tends to pocket the ball more, and I definitely get more spin, but I don't necessarily feel it provides more control.

 

[GokuQ]

kevlar rules!

i primarily use kevlar in my mains
ashaway 18g/1.10
i've tried a ton of poly, but keep going back to kevlar

i'm not sure what it is, probably a combination of gauge, braided string composition, and the stiff nature of kevlar, but i havnt found anything that bites like this string, you can literally see the felt being ripped off the ball when you take a good cut at it

some other benefits of kevlar that i like are-

despite the thin gauge, it's not prone to shearing(it will unravel/fray very similar to the way gut does and eventually break in the sweet spot, but wont shear on off center hits like poly, or on the stringer)

also tension loss is pretty bad, but kevlar stays playable, unlike poly which feels horrible when it drops out of that "nice but short window" of play
you can even lower the tension of a kevlar job so you get a combination of pocketing, and bite

but its not for everyone, not great feel, and no good for anything but a serious cut at the ball, i pretty much try to rip the heck out of everything, so it works well for me

 

[Bud]

Try a kevlar/poly setup. I switched to Forten Kevlar 17/18 mains (65#) and Gosen Polylon Ice crosses (55#). This has a great feel to it and you don't have to keep moving the strings back into place. That was my only issue with the Kevlar/nylon setup.

 

[psp2]

Try a kevlar/poly setup. I switched to Forten Kevlar 17/18 mains (65#) and Gosen Polylon Ice crosses (55#). This has a great feel to it and you don't have to keep moving the strings back into place. That was my only issue with the Kevlar/nylon setup.

Here's another vote for thin aramid/poly hybrid, BUT at low tension. I string my 98 sq. in. racquets at around the mid 40's with Forten Aramid Composite 18g/SPPP 17L. It's got amazing spin, feel and keeps that "crisp" feeling for weeks after the initial tension drop.

 

[Bud]

Here's another vote for thin aramid/poly hybrid, BUT at low tension. I string my 98 sq. in. racquets at around the mid 40's with Forten Aramid Composite 18g/SPPP 17L. It's got amazing spin, feel and keeps that "crisp" feeling for weeks after the initial tension drop.

I'll try this low tension setup.

 

[Burt Turkoglu]

you can even lower the tension of a kevlar job so you get a combination of pocketing, and bite

that's what I did.....used poly for 5 years....not looking back.....very easy on the arm at lower tensions....I use a multi cross....and love it.....good durability too

 

[dnguyen]

Has kelvar 1.10mm more power and more spin than timo 1.10mm?

 

[Username_]

Has kelvar 1.10mm more power and more spin than timo 1.10mm?

no

 

[Shroud]

why would someone choose to go with Kevlar. And some others would choose to go with Poly on their main in a hybrid setup?

why did you choose kevlar for your main? what is the advantage?

why did you choose poly for your main? what is the advantage?

is there any comparison chart done up for these 2 hard strings?


for me, i had use kevlar on my main. tried with Crossfire 18 and Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 19. Fusion plus 19 more as it felt softer compare to Crossfire 18. but somehow, the 19 seems thicker than the 18.

basically, i like kevlar as it give more bites thus more control and spin. but there is no power at all. no matter how hard i hit, my opponents will always be able to reach my shots. as a result, i hardly able to kill the ball instead having to place the ball out of reach for the opponents.

lately, i started having TE which forced me to stay away from kevlar. hence, i am wondering if Poly would be a more gentle, softer and TE friendly alternative. or if Poly is just as bad. but it seems like more players are going with Poly then Kelvar.


Please advise....

Mahalo (Thank you)

Never use syngut as a cross with kevlar. It locks the stringbed and is harsh compared to kev/poly or kev crosfire zx. Smooth cross is a must with kevlar if you are having arm issues.

No poly will preform like kevlar.

Also try stringing the kevlar mains 10lbs tighter and the non syngut or multi cross 10lbs lower than normal. That will make it friendlier.

 

[Shroud]

I love kevlar! I use Ashaway Crossfire II 16 gauge, strung at, or nearly at 70 lbs.

Great boardy feel, good spin, and excellent control.

Poly is great too, but it loses it's tension too quick.

I agree with the others in that Poly tends to pocket the ball more, and I definitely get more spin, but I don't necessarily feel it provides more control.

Yo dude you ever tried kev/poly?

 

[travlerajm]

Never use syngut as a cross with kevlar. It locks the stringbed and is harsh compared to kev/poly or kev crosfire zx. Smooth cross is a must with kevlar if you are having arm issues.

I used to think that, but my game, my competitive results, and my confidence have made a Renaissance since I switched back to 16g kevlar mains, but with 15L nylon crosses. True that it’s low on the comfort scale (which is offset by using open pattern, high swingweight, high static weight) but my control is better than ever. I didn’t realize what I was giving up by succumbing to the spin craze. Curiously, one of my racquets strung this way (leaded up Yonex vcore 100 lite) seems to have just as much spin as a poly stringbed, but with much better launch angle control.

Also, I now often have this weird feeling in league matches that my opponent is disadvantaged by using a newer technology that makes it harder to control the ball. Some of the younger under-30 guys who grew up on poly have never felt the feeling of being able to hit a volley reply with perfect depth control off a dipping passing shot.

 

[Shroud]

I used to think that, but my game, my competitive results, and my confidence have made a Renaissance since I switched back to 16g kevlar mains, but with 15L nylon crosses. True that it’s low on the comfort scale (which is offset by using open pattern, high swingweight, high static weight) but my control is better than ever. I didn’t realize what I was giving up by succumbing to the spin craze. Curiously, one of my racquets strung this way (leaded up Yonex vcore 100 lite) seems to have just as much spin as a poly stringbed, but with much better launch angle control.

Also, I now often have this weird feeling in league matches that my opponent is disadvantaged by using a newer technology that makes it harder to control the ball. Some of the younger under-30 guys who grew up on poly have never felt the feeling of being able to hit a volley reply with perfect depth control off a dipping passing shot.

I was just talking about comfort. Op is already at your locked paradise.

Fwiw i was playing some great tennis with nylon crosses. But lots less spin. Especially on serves

 

[travlerajm]

I was just talking about comfort. Op is already at your locked paradise.

Fwiw i was playing some great tennis with nylon crosses. But lots less spin. Especially on serves

I’m still puzzled why some of my racquets are so spin friendly even with seemingly locked beds. One theory is that the bed is not actually locked. Another theory is that the extra ball flattening effect delivers more spin.