'Natural Gut Wholesale' Review (Stringing and Play)

[letplaytennis]

Seems like these strings are hit or miss: some are having great results with them and others a complete nightmare and waste of money. I think I'll pass and if I wan to gamble, I'll go to Vegas, or Louisiana for that matter since its much closer.

 

[BretH]

Or you could be"kingair" who magically never gets a bad set of NGW and always posts positives about his experiences while suggesting others buy it...

... Just sayin'

 

[letplaytennis]

Or you could be"kingair" who magically never gets a bad set of NGW and always posts positives about his experiences while suggesting others buy it...

... Just sayin'

QFT

 

[Kingair001]

I can only tell our experience with NGW

I don't string it at 60+ lbs

I use a drop weight

I take my time and make sure that the gut doesn't get twisted

And the V4 is a big improvement over all the previous versions

It is way more consistent and the coating makes it easier to string and it runs smoother through the grommets

It works for us . . .

 

[dmcb101]

It does seem a bit suspicious that you (kingair001) have never had any issues. I too take my time, and handle the string with care but still with mixed results. If the string was consistently the same as I have it now in blade L I would buy it in a heartbeat as it is great. But like I said, it is just was to inconsistent.

 

[Kingair001]

It does seem a bit suspicious that you (kingair001) have never had any issues. I too take my time, and handle the string with care but still with mixed results. If the string was consistently the same as I have it now in blade L I would buy it in a heartbeat as it is great. But like I said, it is just was to inconsistent.

I never had an issue untill this moment !

But the previous versions where inconsistent in thickness

Now the V4 is pretty nice gut - and another step in the right direction

I am not saying NGW is the best gut out there

Pretty sure that the Luxilon, Wilson or Babalot are better

But at a price . . .

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[Doc Hollidae]

It does seem a bit suspicious that you (kingair001) have never had any issues. I too take my time, and handle the string with care but still with mixed results. If the string was consistently the same as I have it now in blade L I would buy it in a heartbeat as it is great. But like I said, it is just was to inconsistent.

Well the guy that started this thread had similar experiences...

Haven't seen him comment in a while.... @Cullin Kin

 

[jim e]

Klip Legend for only $29.00/ set is a great gut and reasonably priced, so with reports of issues with this cheap gut it's worth a little more for a string that hits and lasts a decent amount of time.

 

[letplaytennis]

Klip Legend for only $29.00/ set is a great gut and reasonably priced, so with reports of issues with this cheap gut it's worth a little more for a string that hits and lasts a decent amount of time.

Yup. Just under 30 hours on my Klip Legend strings and they're still holding up. I'll string them a bit higher than 59 next time.

Glad I didn't order NGW strings.

 

[jim e]

Yup. Just under 30 hours on my Klip Legend strings and they're still holding up. I'll string them a bit higher than 59 next time.

Glad I didn't order NGW strings.

I have strung the Klip legend coated 16g. to 64lbs, and the uncoated at 61 lbs. and both held up real well.
I like the feel of the uncoated, although it does fray faster, but still holds up well even being frayed

 

[Kingair001]

Well the guy that started this thread had similar experiences...

Haven't seen him comment in a while.... @Cullin Kin

Maybe he switched to Klip and was afraid to tell it [emoji23]

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[hotasice]

I have strung the Klip legend coated 16g. to 64lbs, and the uncoated at 61 lbs. and both held up real well.
I like the feel of the uncoated, although it does fray faster, but still holds up well even being frayed

I bought a used frame here once that had Klip in the mains which had about 10-20 hrs of hitting on it according to the seller. When it got to me, the Klip was just starting to fray. I was able to put another 50-60 hours of hitting on it before it finally broke; I found that it even played well as it frayed.

Since then, I swear by Klip legend uncoated 16g. It has never broken in my bag or on the stringer for me. It either breaks after it frays away or if I shank a ball badly and the ball hits a gut main at the grommet.

 

[letplaytennis]

I have strung the Klip legend coated 16g. to 64lbs, and the uncoated at 61 lbs. and both held up real well.
I like the feel of the uncoated, although it does fray faster, but still holds up well even being frayed

What have you had the crosses strung at? How different is the playability of the gut at 64 compared to 61?

 

[Kingair001]

What have you had the crosses strung at? How different is the playability of the gut at 64 compared to 61?

I can't find the article back but MIT did some tests on tension of strings

They found out that a player could not tell the difference of tension 8 lbs from his usual string tension he uses !

Here is some more interesting 'stuff' on strings

http://web.mit.edu/3.082/www/team1_f02/background.html

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[letplaytennis]

I can't find the article back but MIT did some tests on tension of strings

They found out that a player could not tell the difference of tension 8 lbs from his usual string tension he uses !

Here is some more interesting 'stuff' on strings

http://web.mit.edu/3.082/www/team1_f02/background.html

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

I have two RF97's. One is strung 59/56 and the other 59/57. I can tell the difference big time.

 

[Kingair001]

I have two RF97's. One is strung 59/56 and the other 59/57. I can tell the difference big time.

Call MIT and tell them !

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[djNEiGht]

Call MIT and tell them !

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*chuckle*

 

[jim e]

What have you had the crosses strung at? How different is the playability of the gut at 64 compared to 61?

Same tension for mains and cross strings.
The 64 was with the coated was a little firmer hit than uncoated at 61. Nice thing about gut is you can string a high tension and it plays very well.
higher tension will give better control.

 

[McLovin]

Or you could be"kingair" who magically never gets a bad set of NGW and always posts positives about his experiences while suggesting others buy it...

... Just sayin'

Lol. I was thinking the same thing...

So, after hearing about how great V4 was, I decided (once again) to give this a try. I thought "maybe...just maybe they've fixed the inconsistency issue". What's the saying?

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Or, if you prefer the George W. Bush version...

Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.

Anyway...bought 2 packs of black 17g, 2packs of red 17g. First 1/2 set of the black looked to be ~ 19g. I knew it wouldn't hold, but I tried it anyway. Snapped on the 1st pull. The machine didn't even get to 40lbs.

2nd half set looked to be 15Lg. I passed on it (will put it in my wife's racquet).

3rd half set looked like 15L as well. Passed.

4th half set looked promising. I strung up my frame at 54/52 w/ YPTP in the crosses. So far, I've played 4 singles matches against some good opponents (twice against a good 4.5, twice against a top junior in our area). The string plays excellently. Very soft, good power & feel, and good spin. A little fraying in one area, but otherwise, its holding up fine.

So, my review for the V4 is the same as my review for the V3 back in January: If you can get it off the machine and have it last the night in the bag, its an excellent string. However, the gauge inconsistency is unacceptable. If I didn't have a use for the 15L gauge 1/2 sets, I would have paid $40 for a 1/2 set of gut. I have not opened the package for the 4 red 1/2 sets yet, but I'm not expecting much.

Never again.

 

[BretH]

I'll be clear that I have no objection to the business model of importing quantities of India gut to the US market and making it easier for US buyers to make a purchase. But there are 2 ways this could be done:

1) Import a ton of gut and carefully examine each set before repackaging and shipping - the sales model would be "we find the best so you don't have to" but making no secret of the fact the product is bulk gut from india and elsewhere. Charge accordingly.

Or 2) Import a ton of gut and repackage it with your label and claim it is as good as "tier 1 gut". Have a policy of replacing sets from your back stock without question to keep as many return buyers as possible. When sales flag announce a new "Vx" version with claims of how much better it is than the previous version, changing the packaging to match.

One method puts the burden on the seller but would in the end result in far greater customer satisfaction. The other puts all the burden on the buyer - wasting time stringing flawed sets, returning sets and in general taking all the risks associated with the third-rate product it is (no matter what glowing terms the seller uses to describe it).

Restated for completeness is my judgement on how you might possible make this work as a buyer:

The ONLY way using your product would make sense to me would be to buy lots of 10+ packages of strings (2x string sets in each pack) and ruthlessly return every one that showed she slightest of flaws before trying to string. Then try stringing the 10 or so strings that are left and return those that don't string well. Then enjoy the four to six strings sets that make it that far because they will play fine. Then do exactly the same with all the strings you receive as replacements.

 

[sovertennis]

I took a chance and bought 3 sets of the V3 16g. Had no issues with the stinging (I use a classic Ektalon machine) , although it did leave a fine, dandruff-like powder on my machine and the gauge was somewhat inconsistent. For the crosses I used Nano Vendetta 16. Strung mains at 58 and crosses at 53.

Overall, I liked the feel, power and playability much better than my usual setup of Nano Vendetta in a full bed at 50, however the durability of the gut was poor. I would estimate I got less than 10 hours of play before the mains looked like a wandering road map on my frame.

I'm undecided about whether to buy more, or go with another brand eg Klip.

My 2c.

 

[letplaytennis]

I took a chance and bought 3 sets of the V3 16g. Had no issues with the stinging (I use a classic Ektalon machine) , although it did leave a fine, dandruff-like powder on my machine and the gauge was somewhat inconsistent. For the crosses I used Nano Vendetta 16. Strung mains at 58 and crosses at 53.

Overall, I liked the feel, power and playability much better than my usual setup of Nano Vendetta in a full bed at 50, however the durability of the gut was poor. I would estimate I got less than 10 hours of play before the mains looked like a wandering road map on my frame.

I'm undecided about whether to buy more, or go with another brand eg Klip.

My 2c.

Thanks for the writeup.

I've gotten 34 hours out of my Klip Legen nat gut at 59lbs in the mains. At that point it became just too much of a hassle to realign the strings as they were looking like a wandering road map. lol. Ideally I would have cut them out at about the 25 to 28 hour mark. Great strings and have worked well for me.

I would stay away from the armour, though, as it only lasted about 45 minutes. I received a refund for the armour as it was already unraveling before it was strung.

 

[sovertennis]

I've just ordered three more sets, this time the V4 with the resin finish. I'm guessing it will be easier to string than the naked V3 and will hopefully last longer as well. I figure (as a hybrid) each string job costs about $12 which is worth it if it lasts 13-15 hours.

 

[gmatheis]

I've just ordered three more sets, this time the V4 with the resin finish. I'm guessing it will be easier to string than the naked V3 and will hopefully last longer as well. I figure (as a hybrid) each string job costs about $12 which is worth it if it lasts 13-15 hours.

Just wondered if you got your strings and used them yet?

 

[sovertennis]

Just wondered if you got your strings and used them yet?

Not yet. I've got a few more hours left on the current string (I hope). I'll give a quick review of the V4 soon.

 

[shamaho]

Anyway...bought 2 packs of black 17g, 2packs of red 17g. First 1/2 set of the black looked to be ~ 19g. I knew it wouldn't hold, but I tried it anyway. Snapped on the 1st pull. The machine didn't even get to 40lbs.

From reading it seems that you have an electric machine instead of a drop-weight ? I'm wondering if the machine might be pulling too fast causing string to snap ?
Might this be the difference between the experiences, and stories of snapping on the machine ?

Do we have anyone whose string has snapped on a manual drop-weight machine ? if so how do you control the dropping of the weight ?
Regardlless of type of string (poly, sun gut or NG) I usually drop it really slow supporting the weight on my hand and gently droppping it...

 

[Kingair001]

I use a Stringway ML-100 drop weight

Wasn't cheap - for a drop weight - but works perfectly !

And I don't rush things . . .

 

[shamaho]

I use a Stringway ML-100 drop weight

Wasn't cheap - for a drop weight - but works perfectly !

And I don't rush things . . .

there goes my theory down the drain... ;-) oh wait, it's @McLovin we have to hear from...

 

[MixedMaster]

I bought a set of the V4 and hybrided it in my strike 100. I have an inexpensive drop weight and didn't have a problem. I used 17G and strung it at 55. Took my time and didn't rush. I now have about 14 hours on it and it's just starting to fray. I think I'll get at least another 5 to 6 hours from it. I have been using KLIP for the past few years and was skeptical at first. Need not be!! the V4 plays extremely well and I've hardly noticed a difference. Will buy more!!!

 

[Kingair001]

I bought a set of the V4 and hybrided it in my strike 100. I have an inexpensive drop weight and didn't have a problem. I used 17G and strung it at 55. Took my time and didn't rush. I now have about 14 hours on it and it's just starting to fray. I think I'll get at least another 5 to 6 hours from it. I have been using KLIP for the past few years and was skeptical at first. Need not be!! the V4 plays extremely well and I've hardly noticed a difference. Will buy more!!!

That's the same as what we have experienced over and over again !

So now we are with 2 pleased NGW users . . . [emoji23]

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[sftoh]

Would like to share my experience with V2 - 16G. Had purchased 2 sets, and was given a set free.

1st half set - broke on machine at 55lbs. (The free set compensated for that.)
2nd & 3rd half set got off the machine at 55lbs. Lasted only 6 hours - broke on centre mains.
4th half set - 50 lbs mains/poly cross - Lasted 2 hours - broke on mis-hit.
5th half set - 50 lbs mains/syn cross - Lasted 4 hours - broke at centre mains.
6th half set - not used yet - waiting for dry weather.

Just to give some comparison with my other experiences using natural gut.
Signum Pro Premium Gut 16G - half set - 55 lbs mains - 23 hours of play
Signum Pro Premium Gut 16G - half set - 55 lbs mains- 13 hours of play
Babolat VS Touch 16G - half set - 52lbs mains - 40 hours of play

NGW gut (V2) really has poor durability, based on my experience. It terms of comfort - it is stiffer than the other natural guts I've used, but it's still comfortable enough.

 

[Kingair001]

I didn't used that many sets of V2

Still might have some . . .

Only thing I noticed is that the red colored gut didn't last as long as the non colored

And the black lasted the longest !

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[McLovin]

there goes my theory down the drain... ;-) oh wait, it's @McLovin we have to hear from...

Sorry, meant to reply to this last week.

Yes, I use an electronic machine (Wise 2086), but I can guarantee you that isn't the issue. First and foremost, I've strung well over 500 frames using Natural Gut in the 5 years I've owned the Wise. I've used all types of gut, to include Klip (coated & uncoated), Pacific, Babolat (BT7 and non-BT7), Volkl, Prince, and even Titan (cheap gut from Australia). Other than the Titan and a couple bad batches of Pacific Classic (documented here a few years ago), I've never had issues with it snapping on the machine. And I've strung gut as thin as 17L.

Second, the Wise is set on the slowest pull setting, and mentioned in my first point, other than a few outliers, I've not had issues with other gut brands.

The bottom line is this: This gut is simply too inconsistent in its quality and gauge. My last 2 sets of red 17g had 2 that were close to 17g, one that was closer to 19g, and another that looked to be 15L. The 19G snapped on the first pull (I knew it would, but what else was I to do?), and I watched the machine as it pulled. It was set for 52lbs and it snapped somewhere close to 40.

The 2nd half was put in my Head Prestige for the playtest (see Racquets thread). I got a singles match & a doubles match out of it, and it snapped last night.

The 3rd half is in my normal frame, which I haven't used yet (and I check daily to see if its snapped in the bag...so far, so good).

The 4th half...not sure what I'll do with it. I don't like thick strings, and I'm not about to put this in a customer's frame.

Yes, if you can get it off the machine, it plays nicely IMO. But at a 50% unusable rate (either from snapping or gauge inconsistency), its just not worth the $. You'd be better off paying the $38 for Pacific Classic.

 

[shamaho]

Sorry, meant to reply to this last week.

Yes, I use an electronic machine (Wise 2086), but I can guarantee you that isn't the issue. First and foremost, I've strung well over 500 frames using Natural Gut in the 5 years I've owned the Wise. I've used all types of gut, to include Klip (coated & uncoated), Pacific, Babolat (BT7 and non-BT7), Volkl, Prince, and even Titan (cheap gut from Australia). Other than the Titan and a couple bad batches of Pacific Classic (documented here a few years ago), I've never had issues with it snapping on the machine. And I've strung gut as thin as 17L.

Second, the Wise is set on the slowest pull setting, and mentioned in my first point, other than a few outliers, I've not had issues with other gut brands.

The bottom line is this: This gut is simply too inconsistent in its quality and gauge. My last 2 sets of red 17g had 2 that were close to 17g, one that was closer to 19g, and another that looked to be 15L. The 19G snapped on the first pull (I knew it would, but what else was I to do?), and I watched the machine as it pulled. It was set for 52lbs and it snapped somewhere close to 40.

The 2nd half was put in my Head Prestige for the playtest (see Racquets thread). I got a singles match & a doubles match out of it, and it snapped last night.

The 3rd half is in my normal frame, which I haven't used yet (and I check daily to see if its snapped in the bag...so far, so good).

The 4th half...not sure what I'll do with it. I don't like thick strings, and I'm not about to put this in a customer's frame.

Yes, if you can get it off the machine, it plays nicely IMO. But at a 50% unusable rate (either from snapping or gauge inconsistency), its just not worth the $. You'd be better off paying the $38 for Pacific Classic.

Quite extensive reply @McLovin ;-) the inital 2 paragraphs would suffice, but it's a nice synthesis of your findings anyway.

Ok, so all seems to point to the string itself and luck factors...

 

[McLovin]

Quite extensive reply @McLovin ;-) the inital 2 paragraphs would suffice, but it's a nice synthesis of your findings anyway.

Ok, so all seems to point to the string itself and luck factors...

No worries. Believe me, I'm quite a frugal person, and would love for this to be a viable alternative to the rising costs of brand name Natural Gut. I just wish they'd do a better job at quality control. I'd be willing to pay $5-8 more (putting this on par w/ Klip) if they could produce a consistent, reliable product.

Now, I also have been ordering the 17g. Its entirely possible that the 16g and 15Lg versions are more consistent in at least their gauge, and possibly durability.

Who knows...maybe I'll give it another shot when 'V5' comes out as I'm just too cheap to NOT hope they've fixed their issues. But until then, I'l stick w/ what I know I can get off the machine...

 

[treo]

NGW is the most expensive gut on the market if you factor in stringing time and sets needed to keep playing. The best deal was the 3 for price of 2 Babolat offer. I can just keep one racquet strung with Babolat Tonic+ and know it is not going to break unexpectedly. NGW you need at least 2.

 

[Kingair001]

DP sorry

 

[Kingair001]

NGW is the most expensive gut on the market if you factor in stringing time and sets needed to keep playing. The best deal was the 3 for price of 2 Babolat offer. I can just keep one racquet strung with Babolat Tonic+ and know it is not going to break unexpectedly. NGW you need at least 2.

We never leave home with at least 3 racquets . . .

Strung this one at 05:00 AM

Lasted about 5 weeks - so no complaining here !

Playing a L1 in SoCal later today

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[Nastro]

why is the Quality so poor ??? doesn't india not know how to make Nice Natural gut strings ?? can they hire a expert from babolat and improve the quality ?? they seem to have Lots of cow intestines since they just pump it out like water..

Though cattle is available in abundance and viscera also available for cheap.
Many reasons for poor strings.

1. Cows are sacred in India. So what is being sold may well be Buffalo gut or even goat/sheep gut under the guise of Cow gut.
2. Very few playing facilities or players who can play test them and even use them due to Point 1. Hence poor consumption in the local market.
3. I'm 100% sure the manufacturer has never even played a single game and hence clueless about stringing and requirements in a string.
4. Most people I play with don't even know what is 'natural gut'. I had a playing buddy who used his single set of Babolat Kevlar strings dual color black-white ones (I'm forgetting the name) for six to eight months.
5. Local Natty's aren't even available in stores here in India.

Hiring an expert from the best in the industry will cost $ and commitment. I don't think they are up for that.

The manufacturer sent me a few videos of his facility. It's a dark room kinda setup, no care for humidity control and lots of manual labor involved, hence the inconsistency in gauges.

Makes me sad indeed. There seems to be great potential for these kind of strings. Developing good manufacturing techniques can surely help reap dividends.

 

[Nastro]

why is the Quality so poor ??? doesn't india not know how to make Nice Natural gut strings ?? can they hire a expert from babolat and improve the quality ?? they seem to have Lots of cow intestines since they just pump it out like water..

Though cattle is available in abundance and viscera also available for cheap.
Many reasons for poor strings.

1. Cows are sacred in India. So what is being sold may well be Buffalo gut or even goat/sheep gut under the guise of Cow gut.
2. Very few playing facilities or players who can play test them and even use them due to Point 1. Hence poor consumption in the local market.
3. I'm 100% sure the manufacturer has never even played a single game and hence clueless about stringing and requirements in a string.
4. Most people I play with don't even know what is 'natural gut'. I had a playing buddy who used his single set of Babolat Kevlar strings dual color black-white ones (I'm forgetting the name) for six to eight months.
5. Local Natty's aren't even available in stores here in India.

Hiring an expert from the best in the industry will cost $ and commitment. I don't think they are up for that.

The manufacturer sent me a few videos of his facility. It's a dark room kinda setup, no care for humidity control and lots of manual labor involved, hence the inconsistency in gauges.

Makes me sad indeed. There seems to be great potential for these kind of strings. Developing good manufacturing techniques can surely help reap dividends.

 

[Nastro]

why is the Quality so poor ??? doesn't india not know how to make Nice Natural gut strings ?? can they hire a expert from babolat and improve the quality ?? they seem to have Lots of cow intestines since they just pump it out like water..

Though cattle is available in abundance and viscera also available for cheap.
Many reasons for poor strings.

1. Cows are sacred in India. So what is being sold may well be Buffalo gut or even goat/sheep gut under the guise of Cow gut.
2. Very few playing facilities or players who can play test them and even use them due to Point 1. Hence poor consumption in the local market.
3. I'm 100% sure the manufacturer has never even played a single game and hence clueless about stringing and requirements in a string.
4. Most people I play with don't even know what is 'natural gut'. I had a playing buddy who used his single set of Babolat Kevlar strings dual color black-white ones (I'm forgetting the name) for six to eight months.
5. Local Natty's aren't even available in stores here in India.

Hiring an expert from the best in the industry will cost $ and commitment. I don't think they are up for that.

The manufacturer sent me a few videos of his facility. It's a dark room kinda setup, no care for humidity control and lots of manual labor involved, hence the inconsistency in gauges.

Makes me sad indeed. There seems to be great potential for these kind of strings. Developing good manufacturing techniques can surely help reap dividends.

 

[Nastro]

Apologies for multiple posts.
Newbie here.

 

[Imago]

Though cattle is available in abundance and viscera also available for cheap.
Many reasons for poor strings.

1. Cows are sacred in India. So what is being sold may well be Buffalo gut or even goat/sheep gut under the guise of Cow gut.
2. Very few playing facilities or players who can play test them and even use them due to Point 1. Hence poor consumption in the local market.
3. I'm 100% sure the manufacturer has never even played a single game and hence clueless about stringing and requirements in a string.
4. Most people I play with don't even know what is 'natural gut'. I had a playing buddy who used his single set of Babolat Kevlar strings dual color black-white ones (I'm forgetting the name) for six to eight months.
5. Local Natty's aren't even available in stores here in India.

Hiring an expert from the best in the industry will cost $ and commitment. I don't think they are up for that.

The manufacturer sent me a few videos of his facility. It's a dark room kinda setup, no care for humidity control and lots of manual labor involved, hence the inconsistency in gauges.

Makes me sad indeed. There seems to be great potential for these kind of strings. Developing good manufacturing techniques can surely help reap dividends.

If it looks like gavaya it must be gavaya, judging by their guts. Reminds me of Tarka-kaumudi ;-)
The manufacturer makes very good strings for musical instruments - so what doesn't fit may go to wholesale natural gut for tennis.

 

[treo]

We never leave home with at least 3 racquets . . .

Strung this one at 05:00 AM

Lasted about 5 weeks - so no complaining here !

Playing a L1 in SoCal later today

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Full bed of Tonic+ lasts me about 4 months. Full syn gut lasts me 2 weeks or 8 hours.
I bought 3 sets of Tonic+ on sale for $72 which can last me the whole year and have just one racquet strung with gut and a backup with syn gut. I wouldn't really need a backup because it is obvious when quality gut is ready to break, unlike NGW. I would need at least 8 sets of NGW for $130 to last a year which it probably won't because in my experience at least 2 will break prematurely. NGW would end up costing me twice as much as Babolat, not to mention stringing time wasted.

 

[USPTARF97]

double post

 

[USPTARF97]

Sounds like it’s cost efficient unless to take into account that allot of people re-string their racquets after 3 hrs or so in order to maintain a particular tension and consistency in string bed tension. Also at a certain level of the game the gut/poly only lasts 3hrs or so before it breaks. Playing with certain racquets the gut/poly combos only last a hitting session. That’s with the most expensive gut and poly on the market.
A racquet strung with gut/poly for 4mths is so far off from where it was strung not to mention the separation in tension between the poly that stretches out tremendously and the gut that maintains tension much better. For most upper level players that would not be suitable. One would actually have to swing at the ball very differently when it was freshly strung as compared to 4mths later.

 

[sovertennis]

Just wondered if you got your strings and used them yet?

Sorry for the delay in responding; it's been unusually cold here so I have not been playing much. That said, I hit today with the V4 (16g black; the V3 was natural) for an hour and my initial opinion is that it is a noticeable improvement over the V3. I strung at the same tension as the V3 (59 mains, Nano Venetta at 53 in the crosses). It feels more lively and not as stiff at the V3.

I now have four frames strung with this cheapo gut and am getting good value but using the most-worn frame (ie when the mains start meandering all across the frame) for teaching (I'm a tennis coach) and keep the other two on active duty. My teaching frame does not seem to lose any additional tension and is very comfortable, especially since the temps have been low.

 

[letplaytennis]

Full bed of Tonic+ lasts me about 4 months. Full syn gut lasts me 2 weeks or 8 hours.
I bought 3 sets of Tonic+ on sale for $72 which can last me the whole year and have just one racquet strung with gut and a backup with syn gut. I wouldn't really need a backup because it is obvious when quality gut is ready to break, unlike NGW. I would need at least 8 sets of NGW for $130 to last a year which it probably won't because in my experience at least 2 will break prematurely. NGW would end up costing me twice as much as Babolat, not to mention stringing time wasted.

What tension do you string the Tonic+? Which synthetic gut have you found that play similar to the Tonic+?

 

[letplaytennis]

double trouble

 

[letplaytennis]

Odd place for the string to break.

 

[treo]

What tension do you string the Tonic+? Which synthetic gut have you found that play similar to the Tonic+?

I think it was 54lbs full gut on an APD. I switched racquets since then. I had gut crosses, poly mains last 6 months until I got a bad case of golfers elbow and switched to full gut.
No synthetics compare to gut.
I had NGW break at the grommet like the photo above. A quality gut will fray to a few strands in the hitting area, then break. I had full bed of Babolat that frayed and lost some tension and i cut it out and used it it again as a half set and plays fine.
Since NGW doesn't come in a full 40ft piece and has to be split into two 20ft pieces, I wonder if it is made of a smaller animal like a goat or sheep?

 

[Kingair001]

Full bed of Tonic+ lasts me about 4 months. Full syn gut lasts me 2 weeks or 8 hours.
I bought 3 sets of Tonic+ on sale for $72 which can last me the whole year and have just one racquet strung with gut and a backup with syn gut. I wouldn't really need a backup because it is obvious when quality gut is ready to break, unlike NGW. I would need at least 8 sets of NGW for $130 to last a year which it probably won't because in my experience at least 2 will break prematurely. NGW would end up costing me twice as much as Babolat, not to mention stringing time wasted.

So you play one year with 3 sets of strings ?

I suppose that you can catch butterflies with your racquets . . .

Just kidding !