Hi people, looking for recommendations. I am looking for something that won't notch my mains and if possible add some snapback. My playstyle really depends on varying the general pace of the game from high topspin to low knifing slices so ideally I'd enhance the spin potential of my mains with this magical cross that I seek. AFAIK wanting both notch prevention and spin potential translates to "slick" in string lingo. I've seen strings like Toroline Wasabi X or Grapplesnake Irukandji being along the lines of what I seek, however I wonder if there are similar strings considering both those companies not being really available for where I live. Thanks in advance!
Looking for a Cross String to Hybrid with Multi's (Potentially Gut)
- Thread starter batikan
- Start date
@batikan - Ultimately what you want are as many the following qualities as possible:
1) slickest surface that is also the longest lasting, which will give the most and longest-lasting snapback
2) lowest surface hardness - to exert as little compressive force on the mains as possible, minimizing denting/notching
3) roundest/flattest contact surface - to spread the string-to-string contact over the smoothest and widest area possible, minimizing the sawing effect
4) if it's a round string, a gage that's roughly within +/- .03mm of the mains, to equalize the applied sheer force on both strings as much as possible
For conventional round strings, probably the best example that satisfies points 1 and 2 would be IsoSpeed Cream. It's a rubber based partial-poly with a liquid wax coating (that IsoSpeed gives many of their polys) and it's so soft that not only does it tend to hardly notch (or never notch) many non-poly mains (all the but the softest ones, anyways), instead it will actually compress ("pancake") and snap before the mains, kind of like how Silly Putty stretches thin and then snaps. It's a great cross in this role (for example, I've strung Tecnifibre Triax/RPX/HDMX mains with Cream crosses and have had 4.0-ish clients routinely go north of 50 playable hours with it -- insane combo). A close second would be MSV Swift, which to my hands is a little bit more firm, but similarly slick.
Beyond that, if you do move to natural gut mains and really want to boost longevity in a hybrid, you definitely want to look into rounded rectangle and/or oval shaped co-polys, which are also slick and soft. The long side tends to lay flat against the gut, really minimizing the denting/notching, often boosting longevity by 100% or more. The most easy to come by in the US market is probably Grapplesnake Irukandji (named after the jellyfish....lol). For something oval, there's IsoSpeed Rexxxer, currently only retailing in Europe and certain other non-US markets, and StringLab OrbiTour for the Italian/Europe market.
You're bound to get a whole bunch of suggestions of more conventional polys, but ultimately, I think you'll want to stick to the likes of the above for best results.
Hope that helps. Any questions, feel free.
1) slickest surface that is also the longest lasting, which will give the most and longest-lasting snapback
2) lowest surface hardness - to exert as little compressive force on the mains as possible, minimizing denting/notching
3) roundest/flattest contact surface - to spread the string-to-string contact over the smoothest and widest area possible, minimizing the sawing effect
4) if it's a round string, a gage that's roughly within +/- .03mm of the mains, to equalize the applied sheer force on both strings as much as possible
For conventional round strings, probably the best example that satisfies points 1 and 2 would be IsoSpeed Cream. It's a rubber based partial-poly with a liquid wax coating (that IsoSpeed gives many of their polys) and it's so soft that not only does it tend to hardly notch (or never notch) many non-poly mains (all the but the softest ones, anyways), instead it will actually compress ("pancake") and snap before the mains, kind of like how Silly Putty stretches thin and then snaps. It's a great cross in this role (for example, I've strung Tecnifibre Triax/RPX/HDMX mains with Cream crosses and have had 4.0-ish clients routinely go north of 50 playable hours with it -- insane combo). A close second would be MSV Swift, which to my hands is a little bit more firm, but similarly slick.
Beyond that, if you do move to natural gut mains and really want to boost longevity in a hybrid, you definitely want to look into rounded rectangle and/or oval shaped co-polys, which are also slick and soft. The long side tends to lay flat against the gut, really minimizing the denting/notching, often boosting longevity by 100% or more. The most easy to come by in the US market is probably Grapplesnake Irukandji (named after the jellyfish....lol). For something oval, there's IsoSpeed Rexxxer, currently only retailing in Europe and certain other non-US markets, and StringLab OrbiTour for the Italian/Europe market.
You're bound to get a whole bunch of suggestions of more conventional polys, but ultimately, I think you'll want to stick to the likes of the above for best results.
Hope that helps. Any questions, feel free.
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@Trip man you're always so helpful whatever the topic is. Thanks a bunch for all the information, I'll have to see which ones are locally available. I've been hoping to get my hands on some Irukandji but will see. The Multi I often go with is the Head Velocity as it can be quite poly-like with actual spin potential.
tele
Hall of Fame
@batikan. I second @Trip 's Cream recommendation for the reasons he mentioned, but just FYI, some multis that do notch quickly with Cream or other soft elastomer/poly strings I have used are Tourna Quasi Gut Armor, Signum Pro Micronite, and Kirschbaum Synthetic Gut. With cream, even the strings that do notch tend to snap back pretty well, so it isn't a major issue IME. Curious to hear what setup you end up with.
sadly I can't see any that's locally available, but definitely adding that to my list.
Very good point, which I didn't emphasize enough. Many (most?) non-poly mains (other than Zyex) are going to eventually get worn down by even the softest co-poly (Cream, Yonex Poly Tour Air, or otherwise), but there are certain non-poly mains which will do better than others -- syn guts with durability wraps (Gosen AK Pro CX, Prince SG w/ Duraflex, etc.), certain solid-core multi's and/or "multiesters" (multi's with a certain percentage poly in them, like TF Triax/RPX/HDMX, Yonex Rexis Speed, Wilson NXT Control, etc.). Natural gut is of course very resilient as well, as the sinew and natural oils both aid in durability and prolonged low-friction.
The other way to come at this, if you find that you want to use a softer, less durable non-poly main, but one that you know will wear too fast with any poly cross, even Cream or YPT Air, is to use something like TF Multifeel Black in the crosses -- arguably the slickest non-poly synthetic out there, which is even more gentle on the mains in terms of compressive force. As long as the main you're choosing is also decently slick, you can get poly-like snapback for a good number of hours, with minimal wear on all but the most delicate mains.
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Is it only the Black Multifeel that might substitute for Cream given I can't get my hands on anything Isospeed for the time being? Since Head Velocity MLT is on my mind for mains (Spin Potential/Tension Maintenance) I would indeed need something that won't be just eaten alive by my crosses. I leave 2 or 4 pounds of difference having the crosses looser depending on the string pattern. (4 on 20 crosses, 2 on 19)
They used to be, I'll check if I can find some deadstock.
@batikan - Understood on the availability constraints. Head Velocity is very much usable as both a main and a cross, in the same capacity as TF Multifeel, albeit Velocity is a bit more plasticky/rubbery and muted in feel, but on the positive side its outer "sheath" is slightly more beefy, so I find longevity to be a bit better than Multifeel. As for a Cream substitute, if you have access to MSV, then Swift would be a solid alternative.
Apparently our distributor here only keeps a small selection of MSV in their stock... which doesn't include anything that's not the "same old". Not really a fan of how many things are unavailable here.
I like the sound of that as I love swinging out on balls by using less power-oriented setups. -Also not a string breaker- However I'm pretty sure they're not available.
Thankfully Head ships a LOAD of stock here. I may even have a pack or two of Hawk Touch somewhere if that's comparable.
tele
Hall of Fame
I do not think they are similar other than the "touch" in their names. lynx touch should be much more comfy.
Ah, shame. At least now I know of a set I can get my hands on!
ChanterRacquet
Professional
In no particular order
Head Velocity
Yonex Poly Tour Fire has good snapback but will eventually cut your mains.
Luxilon Element 17 is pretty good too
Irukanji or whatever didn’t actually help snapback all that much, kinda bothered me. My brain is thinking it allowed too much of the string to move and so it just stayed displaced.
Head Velocity
Yonex Poly Tour Fire has good snapback but will eventually cut your mains.
Luxilon Element 17 is pretty good too
Irukanji or whatever didn’t actually help snapback all that much, kinda bothered me. My brain is thinking it allowed too much of the string to move and so it just stayed displaced.
Not sure if Velocity can stand against stiffer or shaped Poly's like Lynx Tour but Element 17 sounds like a good recommendation that I've been wanting to try
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