multi shootout - closest to gut

[tarkowski]

I saw a few threads on this and thought I'd post my latest observations.

My normal set-up is the Fed hybrid at 60lbs. Sometimes I play full gut as well. Have used NXT in the past. Wanted to experiment so I had 4 sticks strung up with the following (all at 60lbs) :

Babolat xCel Power 16
TF NRG2 16
Wilson NXT 16
Klip Venom 16

ClubHoUno is absolutely correct on what plays closest to gut: XCel Power 16, no doubt. This is the best of the bunch IMO. It's still not gut of course, but it's very crisp with great power.

Next up is NRG2. Given that it is $13 a set, I'd say this is the value-leader of the bunch. It's similar to xCel Power, but a little more dampened (not as crisp) and not quite the same bite. But a great string, especially at the price.

NXT and Venom are decent. They are more muted (softer) than the other 2, with a bit less power and bite. They are close to one another for me... though I think I prefer NXT a little more as it feels a tad more solid - hard to describe. Venom isn't bad though.

ClubHoUno - by the way, thanks much for all your analysis on strings. Very informative and quite good!

 

[Racer41c]

I saw a few threads on this and thought I'd post my latest observations.

My normal set-up is the Fed hybrid at 60lbs. Sometimes I play full gut as well. Have used NXT in the past. Wanted to experiment so I had 4 sticks strung up with the following (all at 60lbs) :

Babolat xCel Power 16
TF NRG2 16
Wilson NXT 16
Klip Venom 16

ClubHoUno is absolutely correct on what plays closest to gut: XCel Power 16, no doubt. This is the best of the bunch IMO. It's still not gut of course, but it's very crisp with great power.

Next up is NRG2. Given that it is $14 a set, I'd say this is the value-leader of the bunch. It's similar to xCel Power, but a little more dampened (not as crisp) and not quite the same bite. But a great string, especially at the price.

NXT and Venom are decent. They are more muted (softer) than the other 2, with a bit less power and bite. They are close to one another for me... though I think I prefer NXT a little more as it feels a tad more solid - hard to describe. Venom isn't bad though.

ClubHoUno - by the way, thanks much for all your analysis on strings. Very informative and quite good!

Nice Review! Any feedback on how long Babolat xCel Power 16 lasts? I've been playing with a Bab Tonic + setup since October and it's starting to drop off a tad bit. I'd estimate about 100 hours and has maybe another 50 left.

 

[Netspirit]

You should have used NXT Tour and not the normal NTX. They are different.

 

[meowmix]

Some posters have claimed that Technifibre's cheaper multi, Multifeel, is a more gut like multi. What do you think?

 

[Valjean]

I saw a few threads on this and thought I'd post my latest observations.

My normal set-up is the Fed hybrid at 60lbs. Sometimes I play full gut as well. Have used NXT in the past. Wanted to experiment so I had 4 sticks strung up with the following (all at 60lbs) :

Babolat xCel Power 16
TF NRG2 16
Wilson NXT 16
Klip Venom 16

ClubHoUno is absolutely correct on what plays closest to gut: XCel Power 16, no doubt. This is the best of the bunch IMO. It's still not gut of course, but it's very crisp with great power.

Next up is NRG2. Given that it is $14 a set, I'd say this is the value-leader of the bunch. It's similar to xCel Power, but a little more dampened (not as crisp) and not quite the same bite. But a great string, especially at the price.

NXT and Venom are decent. They are more muted (softer) than the other 2, with a bit less power and bite. They are close to one another for me... though I think I prefer NXT a little more as it feels a tad more solid - hard to describe. Venom isn't bad though.

ClubHoUno - by the way, thanks much for all your analysis on strings. Very informative and quite good!

You made it sort of easy on yourself, with those choices. Next time, I'd include Tecnifibre's X-1 and XR3, and Wilson's NXT *OS* in place of the NXT and NRG2. And, IMO, Venom doesn't belong in the group.

 

[Valjean]

Some posters have claimed that Technifibre's cheaper multi, Multifeel, is a more gut like multi. What do you think?

More gut-like than *which one*, meow....

 

[meowmix]

^Or am I just getting multifeel confused with the best multi for the money?

 

[tarkowski]

Some posters have claimed that Technifibre's cheaper multi, Multifeel, is a more gut like multi. What do you think?

Hey meowmix, I haven't played Multifeel... so I can't say.

 

[tarkowski]

You should have used NXT Tour and not the normal NTX. They are different.

I have tried NXT Tour in my long distant past... about 3 years ago. I may give it another go.

 

[tarkowski]

You made it sort of easy on yourself, with those choices. Next time, I'd include Tecnifibre's X-1 and XR3, and Wilson's NXT *OS* in place of the NXT and NRG2. And, IMO, Venom doesn't belong in the group.

Hey Valjean,

Great suggestions! How would you rank (or better, describe) the following in terms of comparison to VS Gut:

Xcel Power
X-1
XR3
NXT OS?

Thanks much

 

[armsty]

Using X-1 now.

XCel Power is next up for me.

 

[tarkowski]

Using X-1 now.

XCel Power is next up for me.

Nice! Let us know how it goes.

 

[VeryVolkl]

I was in search for a soft string recently and switched to Prince Premier. I liked it but it wasn't an overwhelming difference (to me) from the TNT2 I was playing. Then, I bought two racquets from Joe Gomes (on these here boards) and they came strung with Babolat Tonic+ Gut. WOW! I loved the feel but was worried about the price. However, once I compared prices for some of the other soft-multis that I wanted to try, the Tonic ended up cheaper at my local shop ($40 strung when buying 5 sets). Premier was $33, X-1 was $42, and everything else fell in-between. I've never hit with gut and in my case it lived up to the hype. I hadn't told any of my hitting partners that I was using gut, but I noticed a lot of compliments recently about the heft of my shots. As far as feel, fuhgetaboutit! It really feels like the racquet is part of your arm. I'll see how durability pans out in the long run, but this is a definite case in which I got exactly what I was looking for, no compromise, and the price was competitive.

Jim

 

[Valjean]

Hey Valjean,

Great suggestions! How would you rank (or better, describe) the following in terms of comparison to VS Gut:

Xcel Power
X-1
XR3
NXT OS?

Thanks much

Power, Control, Comfort: Babolat's Xcel Power

Better Feel: Tecnifibre's X-1 & Wilson's NXT OS

Value Selection (Control And Comfort): Tecnifibre's XR3

 

[meowmix]

I was in search for a soft string recently and switched to Prince Premier. I liked it but it wasn't an overwhelming difference (to me) from the TNT2 I was playing. Then, I bought two racquets from Joe Gomes (on these here boards) and they came strung with Babolat Tonic+ Gut. WOW! I loved the feel but was worried about the price. However, once I compared prices for some of the other soft-multis that I wanted to try, the Tonic ended up cheaper at my local shop ($40 strung when buying 5 sets). Premier was $33, X-1 was $42, and everything else fell in-between. I've never hit with gut and in my case it lived up to the hype. I hadn't told any of my hitting partners that I was using gut, but I noticed a lot of compliments recently about the heft of my shots. As far as feel, fuhgetaboutit! It really feels like the racquet is part of your arm. I'll see how durability pans out in the long run, but this is a definite case in which I got exactly what I was looking for, no compromise, and the price was competitive.

Jim

Next time, see what happens when you put Tonic in the mains and a synthetic gut in the crosses. I have that as one of my setups, and it's darn great!

 

[tarkowski]

Nice Review! Any feedback on how long Babolat xCel Power 16 lasts? I've been playing with a Bab Tonic + setup since October and it's starting to drop off a tad bit. I'd estimate about 100 hours and has maybe another 50 left.

Hey Racer,

You are getting some mileage from your set up no doubt! I've only got about 4 hrs on the strings and they are starting to wear some. I'm not a string breaker and get pretty good life out of my strings. Based on what I'm seeing, I'm 'guessing' these will probably last me 1/2 the time of VS gut. Very hard to tell though... just not enough time on them yet.

 

[ClubHoUno]

I saw a few threads on this and thought I'd post my latest observations.

My normal set-up is the Fed hybrid at 60lbs. Sometimes I play full gut as well. Have used NXT in the past. Wanted to experiment so I had 4 sticks strung up with the following (all at 60lbs) :

Babolat xCel Power 16
TF NRG2 16
Wilson NXT 16
Klip Venom 16

ClubHoUno is absolutely correct on what plays closest to gut: XCel Power 16, no doubt. This is the best of the bunch IMO. It's still not gut of course, but it's very crisp with great power.

Next up is NRG2. Given that it is $13 a set, I'd say this is the value-leader of the bunch. It's similar to xCel Power, but a little more dampened (not as crisp) and not quite the same bite. But a great string, especially at the price.

NXT and Venom are decent. They are more muted (softer) than the other 2, with a bit less power and bite. They are close to one another for me... though I think I prefer NXT a little more as it feels a tad more solid - hard to describe. Venom isn't bad though.

ClubHoUno - by the way, thanks much for all your analysis on strings. Very informative and quite good!

You're welcome

I still think my overall favorite Prime Multi is the Laserfibre Supernatural Gut Prostock in front of the Xcel Power, but It's very hard to get because Laserfibre is such a f#cked up company, so my next best Prime Multi is with no doubt Babolat Xcel Power 16 & 17 in front of Tecnifibre NRG2 16 & 17 and then comes Tecnifibre X-One 16 & 17.

NRG2 feels very good, but hasn't got the crispness of the Xcel Power. X-One is also very good, but feels hard & stiff for the first 2 hours, then softens up and becomes way to powerful for me.

NXT Tour from Wilson is also a very nice Prime Multi, but tension stability and crisp feel lacks compared to Xcel Power in my view.

I've X-One in 18 gauge, and It's too powerful and hard to control for me in this think a gauge and durability is poor.

I much prefer Babolat VS TEAM 17 Natty gut to Prime Multis, but when I play a string in the crosses only and with a poly in the mains, for me Natty gut is a waste if only used in the crosses..... I also need some sticks, that works in wet weather, hence I use Xcel Power in the crosses in my 4 sticks with Tornado CoPoly in the mains.

Nice Review! Any feedback on how long Babolat xCel Power 16 lasts? I've been playing with a Bab Tonic + setup since October and it's starting to drop off a tad bit. I'd estimate about 100 hours and has maybe another 50 left.

100 hours - wow you're mostly definitely NOT a string breaker.
Xcel Power 16 will not last that long, and Natty gut is playable for a longer periode than a Prime Multi - even the very tension stabile Xcel Power will not last you anything close to that........

I would also feel like changing the gut after some 25 hours........
I play with VS TEAM 17 NATTY GUT, and I've never been close to 20 hours with that........not even with VS TOUCH 16. I would STRONGLY suggest you Trying VS TEAM 17 next time, even though It's 10$ more expensive, it plays far better than Tonic+ and since you don't break strings, you can play with VS TEAM 17 for a very long time before it frails and break, and you get better power, control, feel, touch, spin and comfort from a VS TEAM 17 string than from a Tonic+ string.

You should have used NXT Tour and not the normal NTX. They are different.

NXT tour is a very nice string, but not in the same league as Xcel Power in my view, but perhaps in my Top 5 of GREAT Prime Multis

 

[gameboy]

I am sorry, I have used NRG and NXT and they are nothing like a gut.

 

[007]

LF SuperNatural ProStock
Gamma Professional
XCEL
TF TGV
TF NRG
TF X-1
Prince Premier
NXT
LiveWire XP

 

[KenC]

Some posters have claimed that Technifibre's cheaper multi, Multifeel, is a more gut like multi. What do you think?

MultiFeel is not like gut at all, it has its own space in the tennis string world. It is a muted feeling multi that offers more control than the usual power oriented multis out there. It is arm friendly and very economical considering the quality. I suppose one could think of MultiFeel as a cross between gut and a good poly.

 

[stanfordtennis alum]

my vote goes to NRG2

 

[DrpShot!]

I am sorry, I have used NRG and NXT and they are nothing like a gut.

I don't know about that, I used natural guts (Babolat, Kip, Bow Brand, BDE) for more than 10 years and then switched to NRG2 years ago. I think its fairly comparable, a little stiffer and a little less lively, but that can be adjusted by either going to a thinner guage or stringing down a few pounds.

I've recently been using X-1 Biphase and think its much less like nat gut than NRG2. Its a bit stiffer and crisper, more of a poly feel multi than a gut feel multi. Its a good string though, but you've got to dial up the power, especially in cold weather, and doesn't have the touch of natty. I even get some forearm fatigue from it, which I never got with any natty. Maybe if you're coming from polys to multis and you play X-1 you might think its gut like, but it aint.

 

[Snipergene]

Any one like Gamma Professional?

 

[Bad Dog]

Any one like Gamma Professional?

Decent ball pocketing/power, but too muffled – not enough crisp feedback.

 

[Matchball]

Any one like Gamma Professional?

I do like Gamma Professional. Tried it in the post. Unfortunately it has a lot of power... X-1 has the most gut-like feel IMO, NRG retains some of it, slightly crisper and more control oriented though. Will somebody bring maxim touch in the equation please ? I 'd love to see how it compares with the rest. My contribution here is limited, just a tecnifibre scope :?

 

[Matchball]

Oh, and xr3 compared to multifeel anyone? Any comments?

 

[Valjean]

Oh, and xr3 compared to multifeel anyone? Any comments?

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2008/05/tecnifibre_xr3.html

an':

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2006/02/tecnifibre_multifeel_16.html

 

[Matchball]

Thanks, I 'll have a look !!
Nevertheless, know that I really value comments from people who write in these fora.

 

[quest01]

I've been using x-one biphase in my crosses for a while now, it feels fine.