TennisAddiction
Semi-Pro
Looking for a soft and durable multi. Not a poly guy or a string breaker. Is Xcel still my best bet for a soft full bed? Whatcha got?
Looking for a soft and durable multi
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MGArchitect
Rookie
I really like Multifeel. I am a string breaker, but I use the 1.35 gauge to account for that, and it is plenty soft, and though it eventually frays, it lasts a while before that happens for me. NRG2 is also nice and soft, but multi-feel is little less overpowered, which I like. Multifeel is also cheaper!
ChanterRacquet
Professional
I love how I can put multifeel in any racquet and it performs well. There are softer multis, but impossible to get a better performance/cost ratio. I wouldn’t describe any multi I’ve ever used as durable though.
Dunlop300g
Semi-Pro
Babolat Addixion + or if you feel like trying something in the upper tier ... Babolat XALT. I've play tested both and liked them; with XALT showing a unique durability for a multi but it does cost more.
Frankc
Hall of Fame
Just maybe, soft and durable may just be contradictory. Especially in a largish, more opened string bed racquet - especially with a topspin only mindset.
Now, if we are talking a smaller, 95 or so, more tightly patterned frame and a straight through game with more neutral grips, then that is doable. Coreless multis really open up at lower tensions in smaller frames and can play on and on. Once explained to me by an engineer/great player/stringer that IF one likes good bounce in a frame for power and feel, then string a dynamic multi lowish (do not stretch it out too much, keep it lively) and as it stretches out and hardens a bit, the stringbed will still play well and lively with time.
Now, if we are talking a smaller, 95 or so, more tightly patterned frame and a straight through game with more neutral grips, then that is doable. Coreless multis really open up at lower tensions in smaller frames and can play on and on. Once explained to me by an engineer/great player/stringer that IF one likes good bounce in a frame for power and feel, then string a dynamic multi lowish (do not stretch it out too much, keep it lively) and as it stretches out and hardens a bit, the stringbed will still play well and lively with time.
kevin qmto
Legend
You know, people always say X-One Biphase isn't durable, but in my experience its more durable than Gamma's multis, and it plays excellent. very expensive though...
Prince Lightning Pro Silver 1.30 all the way. Made by Gosen for Prince. It's like 60% syn-gut, 40% multi:
Power: On-par with a medium-powered syn-gut, slightly higher than Multifeel, but not as over-powered as the likes of NRG², X-One, etc.
Control: Excellent, very linear impact response and predictable launches.
Spin/Snapback: Amount and longevity a bit better than Velocity, almost equal to Multifeel Black; has the spin capability of any of the best multi's, and usually lasts much longer.
Softness: At 143 lbs/in TWU rating, it's as soft-feeling on impact as many of the softer multi's.
Durability: Noticeably higher than Multifeel, even a notch higher than Velocity, mainly due the PET ribbon wraps.
Feel: Not quite as crisp as Multifeel (nothing really is), but way more crisp/connected than Velocity (very muted/muffled).
Power: On-par with a medium-powered syn-gut, slightly higher than Multifeel, but not as over-powered as the likes of NRG², X-One, etc.
Control: Excellent, very linear impact response and predictable launches.
Spin/Snapback: Amount and longevity a bit better than Velocity, almost equal to Multifeel Black; has the spin capability of any of the best multi's, and usually lasts much longer.
Softness: At 143 lbs/in TWU rating, it's as soft-feeling on impact as many of the softer multi's.
Durability: Noticeably higher than Multifeel, even a notch higher than Velocity, mainly due the PET ribbon wraps.
Feel: Not quite as crisp as Multifeel (nothing really is), but way more crisp/connected than Velocity (very muted/muffled).
In my experience, I don't find that the "Energy Return %" number to be letter-of-the-law governing over absolute output power, nor even accurate in all cases from a relative sense. Lightning Pro and Multifeel Black would be one such example. String up a full bed of each in the same frame at the same tension, and I would find it hard to believe if you'd come away saying MFB wasn't at least a bit lower-powered.
Beyond that, though, how about this one: Diadem Impulse, a typical multi, and one that I've played with often enough to know well. In this case, the 16 gauge is listed at an ER% of 93.3, but the 17 gauge is listed at 90.2. Tell me how that makes any sense whatsoever? And there are many more examples, but I'll stop there because really, even one – within the same string family no less – is enough to make the point that TWU's data, although nice as a general guideline and even useable at a granular level in some cases, is certainly not absolute.
Also, a data tip: exporting the TWU string database to Excel makes mass-comparison and analysis much easier and more time-efficient. It's a little bit annoying to get the data over, but not too difficult. Just display as many columns in the TWU website output as you're interested in, highlight the entire table carefully, then copy/paste to Excel as plain text, and format as you like.
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ChanterRacquet
Professional
@Trip any idea what’s up with packaging illustrations of lightning pro?
www.tennis-warehouse.com
looks like a solid core (at odds with your inage) but description says multi section core (in agreement with your photo).
Also, any idea how black differs from silver?
Lastly, the snapback of multifeel is the primary reason I use it as my go-to, fallback string when experiments in other strings lead me astray and I need to reground. Multifeel’s ability to start shredding the crosses but still stay in place is shared by only a few other multis but at half the price. How well does LPro really maintain a regularly spaced string bed?
Prince Lightning Pro 16/1.30 String | Tennis Warehouse
www.tennis-warehouse.com
looks like a solid core (at odds with your inage) but description says multi section core (in agreement with your photo).
Also, any idea how black differs from silver?
Lastly, the snapback of multifeel is the primary reason I use it as my go-to, fallback string when experiments in other strings lead me astray and I need to reground. Multifeel’s ability to start shredding the crosses but still stay in place is shared by only a few other multis but at half the price. How well does LPro really maintain a regularly spaced string bed?
tele
Hall of Fame
energy return is measured separately from stiffness, and based on the database, it seems to tend to go up at higher tensions. iirc, it is measured with a metal ball rather than a tennis ball.
It says in the compare strings tool that stiffness, rather than energy return values, is the most important factor determining how powerful a string will be in terms of outgoing ball speed, though isospeed control classic feels relatively subdued despite being one of the softest multis available, and velocity is viewed as being relatively controlled despite having stiffness an energy return values comparable to what are considered rather powerful multis. As you pointed out, the twu values are useful more as a general guideline rather than a means to know exactly how a string will behave without trying it.
@ChanterRacquet - The marketing imaging used in the US products is always typically more dumbed-down than the Japanese equivalent, as is the case here. So I used the Japanese packaging to show more of the actual construction. This aligns with @TW Staff's reply and CAD cross-section of PLP, here:
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
As for the performance of the colors, IME, Black differs from Silver in that it has a bit more pigmenting loaded into it, which does wear away and does slightly mark the balls (partial downside) and seems to gum up the string and impede sliding a tiny bit more than Silver, from what appears to be a bit of extra additive to get that black coloration (a definite downside). So, even though I like the Black color a lot more, I'm leaning towards Silver as the better performer. But the difference is slight.
@tele - Excellent points - agreed.
Is the Prince Lightning Pro more powerful than the Lightning XX?
It says in the description for the Lightning Pro: "This premium synthetic gut builds on the success of Lightning XX by adding a slightly more responsive central core." This means more power? And also 2nd part... "It also has a unique outer wrap that includes multifilament bundles for extra...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
As for the performance of the colors, IME, Black differs from Silver in that it has a bit more pigmenting loaded into it, which does wear away and does slightly mark the balls (partial downside) and seems to gum up the string and impede sliding a tiny bit more than Silver, from what appears to be a bit of extra additive to get that black coloration (a definite downside). So, even though I like the Black color a lot more, I'm leaning towards Silver as the better performer. But the difference is slight.
@tele - Excellent points - agreed.
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TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
NRG2
X-One Biphase
X-One Biphase
Both excellent, soft and great crisp feel. Not durable at all though from my experience.
Dunno if it has been mentioned yet but Isospeed Control Classic could be worth a try.
Probably the softest of everything mentioned so far but not as overly muted as Velocity.
More durable than all the tecnifibre multis in the same gauge (but tecnifibre ones are available in 1.35 or 1.40 sometimes).
Probably the softest of everything mentioned so far but not as overly muted as Velocity.
More durable than all the tecnifibre multis in the same gauge (but tecnifibre ones are available in 1.35 or 1.40 sometimes).
40Footwork
New User
if you need something soft on the arm, Yonex rexis is great... I like the "speed" variant. Noticeably softer than NRG and has a nice coating that lasts longer than Velocity.
BPlain
Professional
Does 1.35 come in black or only in natural? I’ve only ever been able to find it in natural.
Arzivu
Professional
Only natural.
fuzz nation
G.O.A.T.
Prince Premier Control comes in a 15L gauge and TW has it in both natural and black.
Softness quotient might not be as plush as some of the softest of the soft, but it's a multi. Get the tension right and it should feel okay.
One other option for a string that offers the reasonable service life of a syn. gut along with softness that rivals some multi's is Forten Sweet 16. The upside of this string is that it's much more affordable than any of those "premium" multifibers out there that degrade way too quickly for me given their price tags.
Happi
Hall of Fame
Problem with FB syn gut is that the strings are all over the place after 15 minutes of normal hitting or even earlier, no snapback. Have yet to find a syn gut that stays in place like some multis do. I like the feel of syn gut but hate the string movement. Prince Lighting Pro is partly syn gut and that string is a real gem.
MGArchitect
Rookie
only natural as far as I know, and is what I typically use.
AlexKangaroo
Rookie
What tension range is recommended with this kind of string?
fuzz nation
G.O.A.T.
I'd say if you know what tension you use for a 16 ga. multi, don't go any higher with this heavier gauge for starters unless you want a bit more of a firm feel.
Prince Premier Control (PPC) brings a degree of softness that we expect with a multifiber, but it's not quite as plush as something like Tecnifibre Biphase. Any thicker, heavier gauge version of any string typically feels more firm and "clunky" - at least for me - compared with a thinner alternative of the same string.
A couple of local sluggers who used 15L PPC in recent years used it in racquets like a Pure Drive and a Pure Aero tensioned up at around 57 lbs. Both of the kids who needed it continued playing through their high school match seasons and reversed in one case some significant wrist soreness and in the other case a steadily worsening case of golfer's elbow.
Velocity is a curious one. Why do some people call it really stiff and you're saying it's soft but the feel is what's bad. Are people mistaking bad feel for being stiff?
babar
Hall of Fame
I like NRG and Xcel a lot. I'm not a fan of MultiFeel, too boardy for me.
X1 is nice, but felt very mushy very quickly for me.
I actually like Prince Lightning Pro and Prince Syn Gut DF also, but both move out of position much more than the others for me.
All of these are in a Prince Diablo MP 16x18 and Pro Kennex Black Ace Pro 16x19.
What do you string nrg at? I found it completely non-elastic and no pocketing at 58lb. The feel is softer than poly but I didn't get the stretchiness I was looking for. I get better pocketing from lynx tour lol
am1899
Legend
Velocity has a muted, slightly dead feel so I suspect that has something to do with it.
ChanterRacquet
Professional
Yes, both will start to displace just a little after the first hour. First hour was good. Still usable once it starts sticking out of place.
I prefer Multifeel.
tele
Hall of Fame
as @am1899 mentioned, velocity feels dead/muted. The guy from head said it was made from a stiffer type of nylon, but the TW numbers do not indicate that it is particularly stiff for a multi. The natural did not feel stiff at all to me, but the black felt a little firmer (YMMV). I could see it feeling stiff/boardy in the high '50s, but I never strung it above the low '50s (it got a little launchy below that for me). Either way, I would not recommend it for the elastic sensation you are searching for.
DJ-
Hall of Fame
https://en.stringproject.com/tennis-strings/string-project-gold/ I have been using this one alongside babolat origin (yes, I still have 30 full sets left) 
String project make great strings
String project make great strings
babar
Hall of Fame
I had NRG at 53lbs in my Diablo MP for about 10 matches. Then, I dropped it to 50lbs for about 10 matches and will restring it soon.
I have Xcel at 50lbs in my Black Ace Pro and it feels considerably softer than the NRG but in a much more flexible frame.
Have you tried to make an hybrid on the Black Ace Pro putting the multi on mains and a poly on crosses?
Iirc thats just rebranded isospeed energetic.https://en.stringproject.com/tennis-strings/string-project-gold/ I have been using this one alongside babolat origin (yes, I still have 30 full sets left)
String project make great strings
Yes, i play with Head RIP Control 1.3 mains x MSV Swift 1.30 crosses. Love it, both comfort and control what I am looking for
I'm about to test Highstring Elastic 1.3 and Dunlop Explosive Red 1.25 on the same racket.
DJ-
Hall of Fame
did not know that, enjoying the string though with ghost wire crosses
