Looking for a cheat code string for grinders

[K1Y]

As some of you know I have switch around strings quite a bit. I want to settle on a string very badly but I am also too much of a perfectionist.

I have now clear for myself what type of string I am looking for. I want a string that is comfortable enough at 22/22 kg / mid to high 40s tension in a speed mp 2022 and that feels a bit like a cheatcode for spin counterpunching on clay. So what I mean with that is that I want to be able to let the string give me as much help as possible to put back deep high spin balls on the defense. I am highish 4.0 level.

In the past I have liked razor code white if I have a good day, but a little less on off days. I like head lynx regular alot but it dies very fast in the summer on clay. Poly tour pro is good but lacks that cheatcode spin that troubles opponents at the 4.0. Hyper g 1.25 I found a bit too stiff. Hyper g 1.20 I have good results with but ball drops short because of too much spin alot as well.

Options I am thinking about:
Hyper g 1.20 (lower tension to counteract spin balls falling short?)
Hyper g soft 1.25 (1.20 is too erratic)
Grapplesnake alpha
Msv focus hex 1.18
Polytour pro 1.20 (more spin than 1.25?)
Lynx tour orange 1.20

Curious to hear what you guys think.

 

[Nole Ivanisevic]

Give Polyfibre Cobra a try.

 

[happyandbob]

The strings in the TW string database most similar to regular Lynx but better tension maintenance are

String	Material	Gauge	Stiffness	Tension Loss Pct	Energy Return Pct	StS Cof	StB Cof	Spin Potential
Head Lynx 17 (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	179.5	47	84.6	0.079	0.453	5.7
Signum Pro Hyperion 18 (1.18)	Polyester	1.18	184	36.1	85.6	0.089	0.516	5.8
Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	182.9	33.5	85.4	0.105	0.59	5.6

 

[jdawgg]

Nice I like it. Barb wire has a really high string to string friction coeff. resulting in lower spin potential.

Suggest barb wire in the mains and a 17 or 18 gauge poly with a low string to string coeff. in the crosses. I think hyper g round 17 gauge might fit the bill.

This is off data not personal experience, but I’m trying a similar setup next week, only with lynx tour in the mains. For me I’m going for max spin and making my game adjust to that

 

[Kevo]

The closest I have ever come to a "cheat code" was a hybrid of Lux Ace and Head Rip Control. It's a magical combination, but the Ace shreds the rip control in about 30 mins. Might not last 20 minutes on clay.

The next closest was Alpha Gut 2000 18 guage. Amazing feel and control, but popped 5 mains on a serve in less than an hour on that one. I would imagine that other thin multis would also work as there is nothing all that special about the construction of Alpha Gut 2000. I did use 17 gauge Sensation for one match in a test and it was really good too, but it also didn't last an hour.

For me poly is a compromise for the sake of durability. I play with Ultra Cable now, and it's quite good and lasts a decent amount of time for me. I've learned to enjoy playing with it like other polys I've settled for before. The best feeling fully poly I've played with so far was Lux ALU and it only felt really good on the first outing. Every outing after that it was progressively worse. I've never been tempted to go back because it felt like a total waste of money.

So I don't think there is a cheat code poly at all. Maybe there will be in the future, but right now I think the best you can do is try out a dozen or so promising candidates and pick the one that works best for you and learn to like it. Then in a year or two repeat and maybe switch to something else. Trying new strings all the time is a waste of time and money IMO, but if you like doing that then just keep your match frames strung with your current pick and rotate a new string into a practice frame every few weeks and try it out against your current favorite. Unfortunately you are probably not going to find anything close to a cheat code like you can with the less durable options I mentioned above. At least that's been my experience.

 

[happyandbob]

Nice I like it. Barb wire has a really high string to string friction coeff. resulting in lower spin potential.

Suggest barb wire in the mains and a 17 or 18 gauge poly with a low string to string coeff. in the crosses. I think hyper g round 17 gauge might fit the bill.

This is off data not personal experience, but I’m trying a similar setup next week, only with lynx tour in the mains. For me I’m going for max spin and making my game adjust to that

here is every string in the TW database with spin potential above 8.5 and decent tension maintenance

String	Material	Gauge	Stiffness	Tension Loss Pct	Energy Return Pct	StS Cof	StB Cof	Spin Potential
Weiss Cannon Blue Rock N Power	Polyester	1.2	224	27	88.7	0.059	0.654	11.1
Babolat RPM Blast Rough 17	Polyester	1.25	196	35.7	86.1	0.057	0.564	9.9
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 17 (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	209.2	28.3	88.9	0.067	0.658	9.8
Diadem Elite XT 17	Polyester	1.2	189.2	31.7	89.3	0.075	0.695	9.3
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 16 (1.30)	Polyester	1.3	242.9	25.5	89.5	0.073	0.674	9.2
Volkl Cyclone 18L (1.15)	Polyester	1.15	188	29.4	88.2	0.071	0.641	9
Diadem Solstice Power 17 (1.20)	Polyester	1.2	196.6	28.5	87.4	0.073	0.626	8.6

 

[Yamin]

VCT 16 or Hyper G 17

 

[jdawgg]

Great thanks Happyandbob didn’t figure out how to sort the data. That helps a lot

 

[happyandbob]

Great thanks Happyandbob didn’t figure out how to sort the data. That helps a lot

no problem. Be aware that RPM Rough gets its slickness from a coating that wears off after only a few hours. Snapback drops once the coating is gone. So even though tension isn't lost, you start to launch because the ball doesn't spin as well anymore. The rest are shaped/edged strings.

 

[happyandbob]

Great thanks Happyandbob didn’t figure out how to sort the data. That helps a lot

Also, I went down this road for a couple of years and then concluded that the highest spin potential strings also resulted in less consistent shotmaking because the strings grab more on some shots than others depending on how the ball hits the strings -- sometimes a lot more grab. Eventually I decided that round was better because even though you lose some spin potential you gain a lot more in control. YMMV

 

[ryushen21]

My cheat code poly setup involved a crisper shaped poly in the main, like Tour Status or Silver 7 Tour and then cross that with a softer one like Element Rough, Ghost Wire, or Protour.

 

[Chairman3]

Hyper-G hybrid 1.20, HG main, HGR cross

There was a playtest, I was on it.
The conclusion was it fixes everything that is wrong with full-bed hyper-g.
You can spin the ball but the round cross provides a little extra pop and cleans up the feel.
Tension maintenance also seemed alot better

I think most reviewers were pretty high on the combo.

 

[jimmy8]

Hyper-G hybrid 1.20, HG main, HGR cross

There was a playtest, I was on it.
The conclusion was it fixes everything that is wrong with full-bed hyper-g.
You can spin the ball but the round cross provides a little extra pop and cleans up the feel.
Tension maintenance also seemed alot better

I think most reviewers were pretty high on the combo.

Yes, try this.

 

[EggSalad]

I’m not sure how Gut/Poly plays in the Speed MP, but it can feel like a cheat code as a counter puncher. You don’t have to swing as hard and you can get a ton of pop on defensive shots.

The Speed and its open string pattern might chew up gut though.

For full poly, I thought VCT 16g was an awesome rec. that string plays incredible in every racquet I’ve tried it in.

 

[celsoluck]

Grapplesnake game changer.

 

[Trip]

All of the above and your preferences from other threads factored in, I would second @ryushen21's and @Chaiman3's suggestion of a p/p hybrid, of a shaped, medium-firm main, with a very slick but softer and higher-power cross, which could even take the form of a non-poly or partial-poly, depending on how much easy pop and touch you might desire. Ideas:

• Mains:
  • Solinco HG, HGS
  • Tru Pro Atomos, Pure Rush
  • Toroline O-Toro
  • Restring Zero
  • Mayami Big Spin
• Crosses
  • Diadem Flash Navy (might be the best of softest + slickest + still fairly crisp)
  • Toroline Wasabi-X (a bit more firm than Flash, but still good pop)
  • Prince Lightning Pro (if you want even more pop and effortless depth)

In the Speed MP, I would probably avoid any string that is too thin and/or low on durability, be it an ultra-thin poly, a multi and/or natural gut

Hope some of that helps!

 

[emhtennis]

If you've never hit with Luxilon Big Banger Original I would give it a chance. There's a reason it's still around after 30 years.

Especially on clay, BBO will perform extremely well if you have the mechanics. It won't give extreme spin, but it adds extra gut-like "juice" to every shot. I create noticeably more forced errors just because the ball comes off the court with extra "stuff" that bothers my opponents more, even if they didn't have to move that far, the ball just retains more action/energy.

I'm playing BBO 1.30 at 40lbs in a Radical MP prostock. If I played on clay I could easily settle into reels of BBO and not look back.

 

[Trip]

If you've never hit with Luxilon Big Banger Original I would give it a chance. There's a reason it's still around after 30 years.

Especially on clay, BBO will perform extremely well if you have the mechanics. It won't give extreme spin, but it adds extra gut-like "juice" to every shot. I create noticeably more forced errors just because the ball comes off the court with extra "stuff" that bothers my opponents more, even if they didn't have to move that far, the ball just retains more action/energy.

I'm playing BBO 1.30 at 40lbs in a Radical MP prostock. If I played on clay I could easily settle into reels of BBO and not look back.

Actually @K1Y has hit with BBO, and loved it. I'd be curious to hear what he wants more of vs BBO...

 

[loosegroove]

Based on your assessment of strings you’ve, I’d say full bed of Hyper G Round.

 

[ryushen21]

Based on your assessment of strings you’ve, I’d say full bed of Hyper G Round.

The more I played with poly, the less I liked the idea of a full bed setup of any one poly. I always found that certain polys were better suited in the mains and others in the crosses. To me, it makes more sense to get the best characteristics of two strings than just one.

Maybe that's just me though.

 

[K1Y]

Give Polyfibre Cobra a try.

Thanks for your recommendation. I also need sort of an established string, gives me mentally more confidence so I won't start doubting the string.

The strings in the TW string database most similar to regular Lynx but better tension maintenance are

String	Material	Gauge	Stiffness	Tension Loss Pct	Energy Return Pct	StS Cof	StB Cof	Spin Potential
Head Lynx 17 (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	179.5	47	84.6	0.079	0.453	5.7
Signum Pro Hyperion 18 (1.18)	Polyester	1.18	184	36.1	85.6	0.089	0.516	5.8
Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	182.9	33.5	85.4	0.105	0.59	5.6

Thanks for the chart, Hyperion is maybe interesting!

The closest I have ever come to a "cheat code" was a hybrid of Lux Ace and Head Rip Control. It's a magical combination, but the Ace shreds the rip control in about 30 mins. Might not last 20 minutes on clay.

The next closest was Alpha Gut 2000 18 guage. Amazing feel and control, but popped 5 mains on a serve in less than an hour on that one. I would imagine that other thin multis would also work as there is nothing all that special about the construction of Alpha Gut 2000. I did use 17 gauge Sensation for one match in a test and it was really good too, but it also didn't last an hour.

For me poly is a compromise for the sake of durability. I play with Ultra Cable now, and it's quite good and lasts a decent amount of time for me. I've learned to enjoy playing with it like other polys I've settled for before. The best feeling fully poly I've played with so far was Lux ALU and it only felt really good on the first outing. Every outing after that it was progressively worse. I've never been tempted to go back because it felt like a total waste of money.

So I don't think there is a cheat code poly at all. Maybe there will be in the future, but right now I think the best you can do is try out a dozen or so promising candidates and pick the one that works best for you and learn to like it. Then in a year or two repeat and maybe switch to something else. Trying new strings all the time is a waste of time and money IMO, but if you like doing that then just keep your match frames strung with your current pick and rotate a new string into a practice frame every few weeks and try it out against your current favorite. Unfortunately you are probably not going to find anything close to a cheat code like you can with the less durable options I mentioned above. At least that's been my experience.

Thanks for thinking along. I need a string that holds up for about 8-10 hours. You gave me something wise to think about.

VCT 16 or Hyper G 17

Good recommendations. Forgot about VCT 16. You like HG 17 better right? better performance?

My cheat code poly setup involved a crisper shaped poly in the main, like Tour Status or Silver 7 Tour and then cross that with a softer one like Element Rough, Ghost Wire, or Protour.

Never tried this but it sounds appealing.

Hyper-G hybrid 1.20, HG main, HGR cross

There was a playtest, I was on it.
The conclusion was it fixes everything that is wrong with full-bed hyper-g.
You can spin the ball but the round cross provides a little extra pop and cleans up the feel.
Tension maintenance also seemed alot better

I think most reviewers were pretty high on the combo.

Thank you man, I trust your taste in strings alot. Sounds very very promising. I think I need to try the HG hybrid system atleast once to see it for myself.

I’m not sure how Gut/Poly plays in the Speed MP, but it can feel like a cheat code as a counter puncher. You don’t have to swing as hard and you can get a ton of pop on defensive shots.

The Speed and its open string pattern might chew up gut though.

For full poly, I thought VCT 16g was an awesome rec. that string plays incredible in every racquet I’ve tried it in.

Gut/poly is not a bad rec at all. VCT 16 is definetly going on the list for final testing.

All of the above and your preferences from other threads factored in, I would second @ryushen21's and @Chaiman3's suggestion of a p/p hybrid, of a shaped, medium-firm main, with a very slick but softer and higher-power cross, which could even take the form of a non-poly or partial-poly, depending on how much easy pop and touch you might desire. Ideas:

• Mains:
  • Solinco HG, HGS
  • Tru Pro Atomos, Pure Rush
  • Toroline O-Toro
  • Restring Zero
  • Mayami Big Spin
• Crosses
  • Diadem Flash Navy (might be the best of softest + slickest + still fairly crisp)
  • Toroline Wasabi-X (a bit more firm than Flash, but still good pop)
  • Prince Lightning Pro (if you want even more pop and effortless depth)

In the Speed MP, I would probably avoid any string that is too thin and/or low on durability, be it an ultra-thin poly, a multi and/or natural gut

Hope some of that helps!

I dont know why I have never tried the shaped poly/ smooth poly hybrid before, on paper it is indeed what I am looking for. Maybe it was just the amount of combinations that made it too complex of a jungle for me. Your advice is always spot on. Thanks for the options you gave. I think I will try HG mains with diadem flash (got a set for free once).

If you've never hit with Luxilon Big Banger Original I would give it a chance. There's a reason it's still around after 30 years.

Especially on clay, BBO will perform extremely well if you have the mechanics. It won't give extreme spin, but it adds extra gut-like "juice" to every shot. I create noticeably more forced errors just because the ball comes off the court with extra "stuff" that bothers my opponents more, even if they didn't have to move that far, the ball just retains more action/energy.

I'm playing BBO 1.30 at 40lbs in a Radical MP prostock. If I played on clay I could easily settle into reels of BBO and not look back.

Thanks for your story man, this sounds good. Last winter I did try BBO for the first time (only indoors) and yes I did really love it. I did set it aside first because of the price, thinking I could find something similar for cheaper and then I kind of forgot about it. I have one more set so I will probaly give it another go.

Actually @K1Y has hit with BBO, and loved it. I'd be curious to hear what he wants more of vs BBO...

Yes thanks for reminding me. I did love it. I went back in my notes and I did note about 10 hours of 'wow great setup, plays amazing' before it went dead. Thats actually great so maybe it is worth it for the price..

Based on your assessment of strings you’ve, I’d say full bed of Hyper G Round.

Thanks for your rec, any reason why you dont think its better to but shaped HG in the mains and hybrid it like the rest said?

 

[loosegroove]

Thanks for your rec, any reason why you dont think its better to but shaped HG in the mains and hybrid it like the rest said?

That hybrid might work for you as well. But basically because you said you like Hyper G but the balls lands short with topspin; Hyper G Round puts more depth and drive on the ball in my opinion. Also you mentioned liking Poly Tour Pro except it doesn’t have enough spin; Hyper G Round provides more spin. I felt similarly about Hyper G and Poly Tour Pro, and now Hyper G Round is my string of choice. I’ve also come to realize I like round poly more than shaped in my current racket.

 

[Kevo]

here is every string in the TW database with spin potential above 8.5 and decent tension maintenance

String	Material	Gauge	Stiffness	Tension Loss Pct	Energy Return Pct	StS Cof	StB Cof	Spin Potential
Weiss Cannon Blue Rock N Power	Polyester	1.2	224	27	88.7	0.059	0.654	11.1
Babolat RPM Blast Rough 17	Polyester	1.25	196	35.7	86.1	0.057	0.564	9.9
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 17 (1.25)	Polyester	1.25	209.2	28.3	88.9	0.067	0.658	9.8
Diadem Elite XT 17	Polyester	1.2	189.2	31.7	89.3	0.075	0.695	9.3
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 16 (1.30)	Polyester	1.3	242.9	25.5	89.5	0.073	0.674	9.2
Volkl Cyclone 18L (1.15)	Polyester	1.15	188	29.4	88.2	0.071	0.641	9
Diadem Solstice Power 17 (1.20)	Polyester	1.2	196.6	28.5	87.4	0.073	0.626	8.6

I'm not seeing Ultra Cable (11.9) or V-Square(11.3). Maybe you were using a reference tension that they didn't test those strings at.

 

[Chairman3]

Hope you have a matched pair of racquets, seems like you've got alot of strings to try now.

 

[happyandbob]

I'm not seeing Ultra Cable (11.9) or V-Square(11.3). Maybe you were using a reference tension that they didn't test those strings at.

According to the TW data those two have much worse tension maintenance. I’ve tried both and agree with them

 

[timmyy]

Rev

 

[jimdontcare]

As some of you know I have switch around strings quite a bit. I want to settle on a string very badly but I am also too much of a perfectionist.

I have now clear for myself what type of string I am looking for. I want a string that is comfortable enough at 22/22 kg / mid to high 40s tension in a speed mp 2022 and that feels a bit like a cheatcode for spin counterpunching on clay. So what I mean with that is that I want to be able to let the string give me as much help as possible to put back deep high spin balls on the defense. I am highish 4.0 level.

In the past I have liked razor code white if I have a good day, but a little less on off days. I like head lynx regular alot but it dies very fast in the summer on clay. Poly tour pro is good but lacks that cheatcode spin that troubles opponents at the 4.0. Hyper g 1.25 I found a bit too stiff. Hyper g 1.20 I have good results with but ball drops short because of too much spin alot as well.

Options I am thinking about:
Hyper g 1.20 (lower tension to counteract spin balls falling short?)
Hyper g soft 1.25 (1.20 is too erratic)
Grapplesnake alpha
Msv focus hex 1.18
Polytour pro 1.20 (more spin than 1.25?)
Lynx tour orange 1.20

Curious to hear what you guys think.

Alpha is a better feeling, more predictable, longer lasting, and spinnier Lynx. If you like Lynx go Alpha

 

[thenewbig3]

As some of you know I have switch around strings quite a bit. I want to settle on a string very badly but I am also too much of a perfectionist.

I have now clear for myself what type of string I am looking for. I want a string that is comfortable enough at 22/22 kg / mid to high 40s tension in a speed mp 2022 and that feels a bit like a cheatcode for spin counterpunching on clay. So what I mean with that is that I want to be able to let the string give me as much help as possible to put back deep high spin balls on the defense. I am highish 4.0 level.

In the past I have liked razor code white if I have a good day, but a little less on off days. I like head lynx regular alot but it dies very fast in the summer on clay. Poly tour pro is good but lacks that cheatcode spin that troubles opponents at the 4.0. Hyper g 1.25 I found a bit too stiff. Hyper g 1.20 I have good results with but ball drops short because of too much spin alot as well.

Options I am thinking about:
Hyper g 1.20 (lower tension to counteract spin balls falling short?)
Hyper g soft 1.25 (1.20 is too erratic)
Grapplesnake alpha
Msv focus hex 1.18
Polytour pro 1.20 (more spin than 1.25?)
Lynx tour orange 1.20

Curious to hear what you guys think.

Hyper-G 1.20 x Hyper-G Round 1.20

Why HG Round crosses?
1) More consistent depth through life span AND less balls fall short with the round cross (I can attest from personal experience, countering with tension drop only adds more variability IMHO)
2) 20-25% longer lifespan than HG on its own
3) Same string so no question of compatibility/consistency
4) At limit I feel Shaped X Round has more CONSISTENT spin than Shaped X Shaped but that might be an illusion I feel.

 

[Kevo]

According to the TW data those two have much worse tension maintenance. I’ve tried both and agree with them

Yeah, it's fairly typical for a lot of polys to have a 30-50% loss pretty quickly. For me I don't care too much about the initial loss. It's more about how they continue to lose tension over time. As long as it plays pretty consistently from outing to outing for 20-30 hours before breaking I'm fine with it. What really annoys me is when the experience is noticeably different from outing to outing. As long as I can pull the spare frame out of the bag after the primary breaks and just play without worrying about how different it feels I'm happy. WCUC feels pretty good to me coming out of the bag. Makes it pretty easy to rotate frames and very predictable. I also like that it's only about $5 a stringing for me off a reel. It's not always easy to get a decent poly for that.

I'm sure there are polys that would be better on tension, but I like the comfort of WCUC. It's nice and soft so I can swing with abandon when I feel like it.
I probably wouldn't consider most of the strings on the list you posted because of the stiffness rating or the gauge. I want something both soft and durable which tends to eliminate a lot of strings for me. I do have a list of about 8 polys new to me that I plan on trying when my current reel is done. I feel like one or two them have a decent chance of beating out WCUC, but strings are so personal IMO, you really have to try them out yourself and see what works. I also play with an old flexible frame, so my selections are biased to that as well.

 

[netlets]

As some of you know I have switch around strings quite a bit. I want to settle on a string very badly but I am also too much of a perfectionist.

I have now clear for myself what type of string I am looking for. I want a string that is comfortable enough at 22/22 kg / mid to high 40s tension in a speed mp 2022 and that feels a bit like a cheatcode for spin counterpunching on clay. So what I mean with that is that I want to be able to let the string give me as much help as possible to put back deep high spin balls on the defense. I am highish 4.0 level.

In the past I have liked razor code white if I have a good day, but a little less on off days. I like head lynx regular alot but it dies very fast in the summer on clay. Poly tour pro is good but lacks that cheatcode spin that troubles opponents at the 4.0. Hyper g 1.25 I found a bit too stiff. Hyper g 1.20 I have good results with but ball drops short because of too much spin alot as well.

Options I am thinking about:
Hyper g 1.20 (lower tension to counteract spin balls falling short?)
Hyper g soft 1.25 (1.20 is too erratic)
Grapplesnake alpha
Msv focus hex 1.18
Polytour pro 1.20 (more spin than 1.25?)
Lynx tour orange 1.20

Curious to hear what you guys think.

Ytex Quadro Twist - a soft, bit more powerful poly