Natural Gut Durability?

[Benjamin]

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm considering putting Natural Gut crosses in my POG mid with Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power 16L mains. Having never used natural gut before, please excuse my stupidity in this area. Can someone please help with a couple questions?

1) Will the durability of the natural gut be a problem since I'm only using it in the crosses?

2) How does natural gut "age" - ie: does it get grooves and then eventually snap or does it start to fray?

3) Would you suggest going with a 16g or 17g?

4) If I typically string my racquet at 57 pounds with an all Luxilon job, should I keep both the natural gut crosses and Luxilon mains at that same tension?

5) Can you really tell any difference between a $35 natural gut and a $22 natural gut string?

Thanks for all the help you can give to this natural gut newbie.

Benjamin

 

[Kirko]

I used gut exclusively in wood rackets ; when I moved to graphite I used nylon until abt. 2 wks. ago . I had gut put in my POG ; gut is the best ! I did try it with trepidation . I really believe you should try a 1st rate gut job at least once. Then you will know if its for you or not.

 

[Brent Pederson]

Benjamin,

Now that you have settled on the POG (you have, right? Say it... Say it...), I think a nice gut string job is a good idea. The question I have for you is this - are you stringing it yourself? If so, and you've never strung gut before, I'm going to make 2 recommendations:

1. Use the gut in the mains, not the crosses, because it is much easier to string the mains without kinking the gut than it is the crosses. And once you kink it, the longevity of your string job is compromised in a major way.

2. If you want a long lasting and economical string job to test the water with, I would recommend using Bab VS Tonic 15L. This is slightly thicker than 16, but not much. However, it is extremely long-lasting. I've strung it up in a 200g for a friend and he's been using it for over 2 years, the strings are just beginning to fray! Of course, in a POG, you're not going to get anywhere near this life, but it should still be pretty good, providing you aren't playing on clay anyway. The only real downside to the thicker guage is a little less spin potential, but you've already got so much in a pog, it's probably not going to be a problem.

I would probably string both up 2-4 of pounds if you are trying to keep the power the same. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a little extra pop, you could keep it the same as you've been doing...

 

[Benjamin]

Instead of an all natural gut stringing I think I'm going to go with part gut and part poly.....mainly for the extra durability.

I will not be doing the string job myself.

I had planned on putting the polys in the mains and the natural gut in the crosses hoping to get some of the feel of natural gut in the racquet but keeping the longevity of the poly.

Brent, so you'd suggest maybe 60 pounds for the poly and 60 pounds for the natural gut (usually string it at 57 pounds)?

Thanks for the help.

Benjamin

 

[Brent Pederson]

Yeah, I'd go about 60 unless you want more pop. Just keep in mind, unless you go with 17 gut, the gut will probably outlast the poly in terms of continuing to play well to the end. For that reason, I'd be tempted to put it in the mains, you're going to get a lot more gut feel, putting it in the crosses is not going to buy you that much better feel IMHO...

 

[Benjamin]

Brent,

How long would the gut last if I used it in the mains?

I used to go through Prince Original Synthetic with Duraflex in about 6 sets. I use heavy, heavy spin (top and slice).

Benjamin

 

[Rabbit]

If you use ALU in the mains, you're not going to get any gut-feel by installing gut in the crosses. It's been covered before, but 90% of the feel of any string job comes from the mains. If you want to try a hybrid, you should probably try it with a less expensive multi or good synthetic.

 

[Benjamin]

Rabbit,

But the Natural Gut wouldn't last any time at all in a POG mid if put in the mains, would it?

Thanks.

Benjamin

 

[Rabbit]

Natural gut, depending on gauge, will last longer than most synthetics. The prohibitive factor here is cost, not durability. I've found that an all gut job will last longer and play better than most synthetics. The main issue here is not the durability, but the type of string job you're after. It would appear, although one can never be certain, that you're very satisfied (from your previous post on same topic) with an all-ALU stringjob. Substituting gut in the crosses will not improve the string job, it will change both the overall feel and performance.

If you are intent on installing natural gut, I would suggest that you purchase a set of Bow Championship Gut 15L for $22.99. Cut both it and a set of Luxilon in half. Install one half of the gut in one of your frames in the mains with ALU in the crosses. Install the other half in another frame in the crosses with ALU in the mains. Install both at the same tension. If you feel froggy, buy a seond set of the same gut and install it in a third racket as an all-gut job. On the third frame, bump the tension up 2-3 pounds. Then, go out and demo.

I can tell you that, from my experience (believe it or not), a TIMO(mains)/natural gut(crosses) string job does not play as well as an all-TIMO job. To qualify, it does not have the control of an all-TIMO job. It does have a softer feel, but if you're interested in results, you won't get the same results with a hybrid. Drak has had the same experience. A while back, I strung the same configuration using NRG 17 with the same results. You could not tell the difference between the TIMO/natural gut and the TIMO/NRG string jobs. The big differnce was that the NRG job was cheaper than the gut job.

With regard to durability, the ALU will not move much and durability should not be an issue. Still, to resolve the issue once and for all, you should spring for two sets of ALU and three sets of gut as outlined above.

 

[Brent Pederson]

Benjamin,

I can't speak to how long the natural gut is going to last you in your pog, it's very individual to the player, racket and style. But, trust me, 15L Tonic + is a very, very long-lasting string. I'd be very surprised if you were able to brake it within, say, 25 or 30 sets... Try it and report back!