most durable shaped polys - shape retention

[o0lunatik]

I have been a big fan of shaped polys due to its spin production, but the issue that I have is that the shape smoothens out over a time, some longer some shorter. I mainly hit with a very, flat & heavy ball and mix topspin shots in my game. A full bed of poly normally lasts me 3-5 hrs of practice. I am currently using GSI Snake Bite (crazy spin for first 1/2 hour and edges gradually wears out and completely smooth way before strings break) and Tourna Silver Rough (great balanced strings, edges retain most of its life and playability is consistent throughout).

I really like the BHSR but looking for a shaped poly with significantly more spin with durable edges. Any suggestions from personal experiences?

 

[The Meat]

Have you tried gear shaped strings before? Pro Supex Blue Gear, RPM Blast, and my personal cheap favorite Black Mamba Gear.

 

[fgs]

from my experience so far, besides the big hitter silver rough you already mention i would say the solinco tour bite keeps it's profile for quite a while and also is in the stiffer category.
another one which impressed me in respect of shape retention was the genesis twisted razor, but that is a softer poly, so you should string up a couple of lbs higher.

 

[racertempo]

I have tried just about all of them. I have a reel of Pro Supex Blue Gear and it holds shape very well, same thing in my experience for Wilson Spin Cycle.

Those 2 are the best for shape retention in my opinion, but Blue Gear is much much stiffer feeling compared to the Spin Cycle. Spin Cycle is my favorite of all shaped and textured poly strings.

Another one that my father is obsessed with that holds shape well is Gamma Zo Twist. Not sure about the new Gamma Moto though.

 

[fgs]

i'm just about to complete a review of the gamma moto 16g and in regard to shape rentention i can tell you that it is not outstanding. that means that by the end of the second hitting session, that is 4 hours court time, the shape has worn down in the hitting area. the string will likely break next session so i might log anywhere between 7-8 hours on it. it also does not hold tension very well, there is a second quite considerable tension drop around the 4hrs mark.

 

[jdawg02]

Definitely Golden Set Hex Poly. This string never dies in my opinion and its the best combination of crispness, arm-friendly and optimal power level for any poly I've ever played with!

 

[mikeler]

Weiss Cannon Black 5 Edge at least as a main string with a multi cross tends to hold its shape for a long time.

 

[fgs]

i can confirm mikeler's findings - checked up my notes and found that after the third hitting session (ie 6 hitting hours) the shape was still visible, but pretty rounded already. string broke during the fourth hitting session, so it lasted me around 7 hitting hours.

 

[djNEiGht]

I think that tour bite will do well due to it being square. The 5+ sided strings I felt rounded off as well as the rough strings.

 

[fgs]

djneight,
take a marker and start counting while you mark the surfaces and you will be in for a surprise - after having reached the magic number four you will still have a surface unmarked. i've done it on three sets from different sources so far and the result was every time the same.
seems like with solinco squares do have five sides.

 

[brownbearfalling]

From my experience gamma zo tour rough is the roughest and keeps its texture the longest. In general I believe that the less "edges" the string has the longer those edges will stay sharp because the pit are larger. For example volkl cyclone became round in the sweet spot are after only 2-3 hitting sessions. And I don't hit hard.

Luxilon Alu power SPIN not rough is worth a try. Blue gear and kirschbaum spiky shark bot keep their texture decently.

 

[Hi I'm Ray]

The softer shaped polys tend to lose their texture pretty fast. Examples would be BHB7, Focus Hex, & Cyclone.

The harder, firmer polys like Signum Hextreme Pure & Yonex Poly Tour Spin keep their shape very well throughout their playing life.

 

[Faithfulfather]

I don't find Cyclone to be soft at all. I put it more on the firmer side.

 

[Hi I'm Ray]

^^ What tension did you have it at?

 

[djNEiGht]

djneight,
take a marker and start counting while you mark the surfaces and you will be in for a surprise - after having reached the magic number four you will still have a surface unmarked. i've done it on three sets from different sources so far and the result was every time the same.
seems like with solinco squares do have five sides.

I've always thought it was square being led by the description. It does look square to me. I got a sharpie out and ended up drawing on the string bed...that's what I get for only being able to count to 4. :???:

 

[fgs]

djneight,
i know it is marketed as being square, but the ones i got had all five sides. one came from tw-usa, two from tennis-magazin germany as a blindtest-set with the tru-feel as crosses (obviously supplied by the german distributor) and one i picked up at a local dealer.

i liked the string, no matter if square or pentagonal and intend to play the 1.20mm gauge again. the 1.25 is a slight bit too stiff for my liking and i expect a better feel from the thinner one.

i don't really know why they keep up with this confusion - i don't think that an edge less would be a competitive advantage.

 

[Faithfulfather]

^^ What tension did you have it at?

60lbs on a 99S.

 

[Steve Huff]

As far as durability goes, I've put 18g Solinco Tour Revolution in some people's rackets that were stringbreakers, and they thought it was pretty durable. I would think the 16g would last quite some time. Can't attest to how long it keeps its tension. Solinco strings are pretty stiff in general though, so you should be able to string them a little lower.

 

[dhdriver]

The strings I have tried are Volkl Cyclone 18, Volkl Cyclone Tour 17 (textured but I just wanted to mention it), Solinco Revolution 17, and Tourna Big Hitter Black 7 and Yonex Poly Tour Spin.

From my experience the shape retention for me goes as so.
Yonex Poly Tour Spin being the best followed by Volkl Cyclone followed by Volkl Cyclone Tour followed by Solinco Revolution and ending with Tourna Big Hitter Black 7. BHB7 loss it's shape after like 2-3 hours for me while Revolution barely lasted longer than it. Volkl Cyclone, for me, has lasted the longest when it comes to shape retention until more recently when I tried Yonex PTS. PTS retains its shape like no other.

 

[djNEiGht]

fgs
i seriously did take a look at it with a marker in hand and honestly couldn't confirm if it was x4 of more sides.

I'm curious to try the "soft" version sometime. Currently playing in a hybrid with a multi. With the soft version I wonder if it would hold it's shape better/worse. Probably try with the same multi (nxt tour) and if it get's too mushy a plain syn gut.

 

[Hi I'm Ray]

fgs
i seriously did take a look at it with a marker in hand and honestly couldn't confirm if it was x4 of more sides.

Yes, TB is 5 sided, at least 18g was. About a year ago I took pic with the ends of the couple of different strings lined up together. I was surprised to see that TB 18 was 5 sided/pentagon shaped. I think the "square shape" describtion is just a marketing gimick.

60lbs on a 99S.

I've tried Cyclone in 5 different set ups and it seems to be tension sensitive, as far as comfort goes. String it near 50lbs and its springy & comfy even in a thick 1.30mm gauge, sting it at 56lbs and 18g was firm and slightly harsh, above that it was totally boardy/dead/harsh.

 

[o0lunatik]

I appreciate everyone's contribution towards my thread. After more research, I've decided to give the Yonex Poly Tour Spin a try. There were good thoughts here and on stringform.net.

 

[Sander001]

imo

Some shaped strings still play great and give excellent spin even when the shape has worn away. Cyclone18 and Black Widow18 are at the top of that list.

 

[maxpotapov]

i can confirm mikeler's findings - checked up my notes and found that after the third hitting session (ie 6 hitting hours) the shape was still visible, but pretty rounded already. string broke during the fourth hitting session, so it lasted me around 7 hitting hours.

And I can not confirm this. You've got to check the area that counts, where you make contact with the ball most of the time. And it has less bite than 7-sided Black Widow even when fresh.

 

[maxpotapov]

Some shaped strings still play great and give excellent spin even when the shape has worn away. Cyclone18 and Black Widow18 are at the top of that list.

I only have used Black Widow 17, did not make much sense playability wise after 5 hours or so. Maybe thinner gauge can still bite the ball even when edges wear out?

 

[fgs]

max,
i'm surely checking the hitting area and the black5edge kept up it's profile as noted. of course edges wear down and are not as sharp as when new, but as long as they are still visible i do note this down.

i have not yet played the black widow - it's still waiting. i have a long line of shaped strings waiting. probably when i'm going to play some of them they will be obsolete already and not any more available.

 

[maxpotapov]

max,
i'm surely checking the hitting area and the black5edge kept up it's profile as noted. of course edges wear down and are not as sharp as when new, but as long as they are still visible i do note this down.

i have not yet played the black widow - it's still waiting. i have a long line of shaped strings waiting. probably when i'm going to play some of them they will be obsolete already and not any more available.

I had high hopes for Head Sonic Pro Edge, but it turned out to be mediocre compared to Black Widow (from what I gathered from reviews)
Maybe Gamma Moto then?
It seems like pentagonal shape just does not cut it.

 

[fgs]

i just finished reviewing the gamma moto 1.29 and i was not thrilled in any way. not bad but no outstanding feature and the balance is just about average. most annoying issue is the second tension drop which occured around the fifth hitting session. look up my thread about shaped/textured polys for more details.

 

[maxpotapov]

i just finished reviewing the gamma moto 1.29 and i was not thrilled in any way. not bad but no outstanding feature and the balance is just about average. most annoying issue is the second tension drop which occured around the fifth hitting session. look up my thread about shaped/textured polys for more details.

Interesting, I will!
So, maybe Black Widow will not become obsolete any time soon :/
Which is a great news for European customers, as they get it 30% cheaper than US
We can use savings to buy ourselves a stringer, so we can always have fresh sharp Black Widow mains.

 

[danotje]

I keep coming back to BHBR 17. It does tend to go round, though not as fast as others (including BHB7 which goes round almost instantly it seems). The interesting thing is that even when it looks round, BHBR still gives serious bite (read : spin) on the ball. This is the only string that has me captivated.