Low powered, soft poly - does it exist?

what_army

Professional
I tried head sonic pro 1.25 today. It’s quite nice. It’s definitely less powerful than cream and more control oriented. Feel is quite nice. Without having an opinion yet on tension maintenance and durability, I would rate it above cream in all categories except for spin.
 

Happi

Hall of Fame
I tried head sonic pro 1.25 today. It’s quite nice. It’s definitely less powerful than cream and more control oriented. Feel is quite nice. Without having an opinion yet on tension maintenance and durability, I would rate it above cream in all categories except for spin.

What about softness / arm friendly compared to Cream. Do you use black og White version ?
 

what_army

Professional
What about softness / arm friendly compared to Cream. Do you use black og White version ?
I would say it’s softer than cream tbh. First because the string out of the reel has far less coil memory than poly strings. And then because it doesn’t have that ping-y sound cream makes when hitting the ball.
No complains on the arm after 1h of hitting, it’s very comfortable.
I used the white version.
 

veelium

Hall of Fame
I tried head sonic pro 1.25 today. It’s quite nice. It’s definitely less powerful than cream and more control oriented. Feel is quite nice. Without having an opinion yet on tension maintenance and durability, I would rate it above cream in all categories except for spin.
Did you compare with the black version? Black version is the same as isospeed baseline and not softer than cream. Decent string for the price though.
 

what_army

Professional
Did you compare with the black version? Black version is the same as isospeed baseline and not softer than cream. Decent string for the price though.
I only used the white version. According to TWU sonic pro (regular sonic pro, not sonic pro edge) is indeed softer than cream. Seems right to me, it feels softer and holding both strings in my hand one has coil memory just like any other poly and the other is very bendable.
Next up I’ll be trying topspin cyber blue.
 

what_army

Professional
Just to close the chapter on head sonic pro 1.25 (white): I liked this string a lot. It does a lot of things better than cream but I don’t think tension maintenance is as good, nor is spin. In every other category it’s either close or better.
I’ve played with it for 6 hours now and it’s notched about halfway but I reckon I can still get 2h more out of it.

For everyone looking for something soft but controlled and not overly powerful this is a must try.
 

what_army

Professional
I agree with proline ll. Very solid string with a nice slick feel, definitely the 17 gauge :).
Thanks for the tip, I’ve only tried silversting but in my mind they’re both close to firestorm, which I prefer. I am after something along the lines of these but even softer.
 

born_hard

Rookie

Ok, can you describe please what you are looking for in the characteristic of the new string?
What are you missing with the Firestorm?
Is is only the softness due to arm related problems or is it just the soft dead feel at ball contact which is to crisp with the Firestorm?
And why do you want low power? Why is it important to you? Do you want to enhance the softness with low stringing tension and therefore you need a slower string, so you dont hit too long?
And why not thinner than 1.25mm? What is your idea behind this requirement? Too much spin, too much power or both, and also less control? If you can precise your needs, itll be easier to reccomend a string.

When you compare Firestrom 1.25mm with 1,30mm here https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/comparestrings.php
You see that the 1.25mm is 6% stiffer as the 1.30mm, Energy return also 3% less, Tension Loss also 9% less, Spin Potential 15% more> lower power, more control, more durable and more comfort and more spin with the 1.30mm. Did you try this string already? Maybe its the answer for your needs.

Here is also lots of string reviews

Me, i`m also on the search for a good armfriendly soft but controllable string with not too much power and the Firestorm got very good review by Galapagos. Question for me is if my arm can handle it, cause my shoulder and wrist are my problem joints.
 
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what_army

Professional
Ok, can you describe please what you are looking for in the characteristic of the new string?
What are you missing with the Firestorm?
Is is only the softness due to arm related problems or is it just the soft dead feel at ball contact which is to crisp with the Firestorm?
And why do you want low power? Why is it important to you? Do you want to enhance the softness with low stringing tension and therefore you need a slower string, so you dont hit too long?
And why not thinner than 1.25mm? What is your idea behind this requirement? Too much spin, too much power or both, and also less control? If you can precise your needs, itll be easier to reccomend a string.

When you compare Firestrom 1.25mm with 1,30mm here https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/comparestrings.php
You see that the 1.25mm is 6% stiffer as the 1.30mm, Energy return also 3% less, Tension Loss also 9% less, Spin Potential 15% more> lower power, more control, more durable and more comfort and more spin with the 1.30mm. Did you try this string already? Maybe its the answer for your needs.

Here is also lots of string reviews

Me, i`m also on the search for a good armfriendly soft but controllable string with not too much power and the Firestorm got very good review by Galapagos. Question for me is if my arm can handle it, cause my shoulder and wrist are my problem joints.
Thanks for the reply. I also read the galapagos’ thread you mention. I like everything about firestorm but I’ve had TE last year and don’t want to push it. I play with the tc95 16x19 which has a very open string pattern and high launch angle so thicker gauges just tend to feel more controlled in this racquet. I wouldn’t imagine firestorm 1.30 being very different to 1.25 but I may give it a go. As far as power goes it’s just a matter of preference. I haven’t experienced with lower tensions yet. In my mind it works better with stiffer polys which I will avoid for the time being.
 
Poly is full of tricks - in the low tension territory it absorbs a lot of the energy from the ball without returning it back. In addition, since the strings move more freely here, they can grab the ball and bend easier, providing more access to spin. The only time you will feel the trampoline effect is when you don't give a good swing at the ball. Mannarino is known to play with 24# poly: https://ausopen.com/match/2023-adrian-mannarino-vs-alex-de-minaur-ms222#!media?g=video-6318902671112
Its way more complicated than that unfortunately... early last year when I had my phantom 97p strung in 30 lb grapplesnake tour m8 I had a match with it where it shocked me that it had ZERO FREAKING POWER zero energy return and it sucked so much cause it made every ball easy for the opponent to return. But before and after that match depending on weather conditions there were times it had ridiculous power and ridiculous energy return and was amazing...

So its all about how the weather conditions are affecting the string ball response the 30 lbs in phantom will either have super low energy return or a ton of energy return. Its a paradox.
 

Kevo

Legend
Weather conditions and the particular balls used have quite an impact as well. I had something like 10-12 aces in a doubles match one time and my opponents were so shocked they asked me afterwards how I was hitting so many aces. I told them I usually only hit maybe 3-5 during a doubles match and I really thought it was the balls that made all the difference that day. They were just coming off my strings with more velocity and spin even though it didn't feel like I was actually making a bigger connection than usual. I've also noticed in high heat that Wilson US Open balls can be a nightmare to control, but if you can dial things back enough to control it but still take advantage of the extra bounce you can get a lot of easy winners with how big they rebound off the court.

But also, yeah, some poly strings are garbage in terms of consistency of play. I tend to write those strings off immediately when I notice that sort of inconsistency.
 
Weather conditions and the particular balls used have quite an impact as well. I had something like 10-12 aces in a doubles match one time and my opponents were so shocked they asked me afterwards how I was hitting so many aces. I told them I usually only hit maybe 3-5 during a doubles match and I really thought it was the balls that made all the difference that day. They were just coming off my strings with more velocity and spin even though it didn't feel like I was actually making a bigger connection than usual. I've also noticed in high heat that Wilson US Open balls can be a nightmare to control, but if you can dial things back enough to control it but still take advantage of the extra bounce you can get a lot of easy winners with how big they rebound off the court.

But also, yeah, some poly strings are garbage in terms of consistency of play. I tend to write those strings off immediately when I notice that sort of inconsistency.
You're the first person I've seen who is aware of this and admits its a real phenomenon. My vcore 98 47 lb tour m8 is the best example occasionally its crazy high power and most of the time its more moderate nowhere near that level of power... completely depends on weather. What exactly it is about weather that has such a massive effect I don't know very confused on that
 

Happi

Hall of Fame
You're the first person I've seen who is aware of this and admits its a real phenomenon. My vcore 98 47 lb tour m8 is the best example occasionally its crazy high power and most of the time its more moderate nowhere near that level of power... completely depends on weather. What exactly it is about weather that has such a massive effect I don't know very confused on that
Polyester strings in general are very sensitive to cold weather and they do stiffen up. I guess the opposite is the case for very warm weather but we dont get many days of that where I live. Multi strings are far better in cold conditions.
 

shamaho

Professional
Hello! I’m looking for the least powerful / softest poly available. Typically I string at 22 or 23kg and I play with the tc95 16x19. As far as the string I’m looking for is concerned, it should be round and no thinner than 1.25mm. I am not concerned about spin.
At the moment I’m playing with firestorm but on paper (assuming TWU’s stiffness and energy return ratings are accurate) it appears cyber blue and cyber flash would both be softer and less powerful?
Hopefully someone who’s gone down the same route and/or has experience with these strings I’ve mentioned can chime in. Thanks in advance.
it's called synthetic gut :-D cheap too !
 
Polyester strings in general are very sensitive to cold weather and they do stiffen up. I guess the opposite is the case for very warm weather but we dont get many days of that where I live. Multi strings are far better in cold conditions.
Yea its super obvious in cold weather, but my experience with it right now in hot summer is what I was talking about
 

Kevo

Legend
You're the first person I've seen who is aware of this and admits its a real phenomenon. My vcore 98 47 lb tour m8 is the best example occasionally its crazy high power and most of the time its more moderate nowhere near that level of power... completely depends on weather. What exactly it is about weather that has such a massive effect I don't know very confused on that
I think there is more to it than just weather. I think even how some polys behave while they are being strung might be involved. All I know is it was surprising when I first experienced it and I just moved on to test other strings. After experiencing it the second time on a different brand I figured it was just a thing that would happen to some polys. I've just avoided those since then and never spent any time trying to understand it. I figured that question was probably beyond my capacity to answer.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Fast conditions amenable to hitting aces and winners are hot temperatures and low humidity. The balls bounce higher and it is easy to generate fast RHS in these conditions. Especially if there is low wind when it is hot and dry, it is conducive to bashing the ball with high accuracy. I love those days.
 
Fast conditions amenable to hitting aces and winners are hot temperatures and low humidity. The balls bounce higher and it is easy to generate fast RHS in these conditions. Especially if there is low wind when it is hot and dry, it is conducive to bashing the ball with high accuracy. I love those days.
Yea thats what I'm talking about, the ball pocketing/plushness is also way better in these conditions. Tennis is just so much more playable and easier. It especially makes my bad serve so much more forgiving and easier to get in the service box
 
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