This is some real cheap crappy string. If it doesn’t not break on the machine it breaks on the court in under 2 hours. Do not buy it!!
This is the NGW with the 15L Tonic+:
This is the 16g NGW (Top) with the 17g NGW (Bottom):
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I got in trouble for posting the link to their website, so I will not do that anymore. I'm sorry, I was not aware links to other sites weren't allowed (none of my other forums have that rule unless it's eBayorAmazon).
I will try to recall everything I had in the previous thread but I will probably miss some stuff. If those who posted in the last thread would like to share their thoughts again, please do and please include string gauge and color.
General Info
I ordered the 16g black natty gut directly from them about two weeks ago. I couldn't string it until Saturday night because all 4 of my racquets were strung and none were close to breaking yet. Well I finally broke some of the VS Touch I had in my mains on one of my 99LS's... Thus I was off to the races with this string.
The string itself was $14.20/set and the shipping for unlimited sets was $3.75. Although it can be had for down to $11 per set if you buy in bulk from the bay. The set comes in two 20' sections both secured with zip ties. This may be a bummer for some who like to do single piece stringing jobs, but is pretty great for those of us who like to do hybrid string setups. However, with the first half-set I strung, there was a lot less remaining when I finished than when I measure 20' from a full set of another string so I have a feeling it's not a full 20' per half-set but it was enough to string the mains all the way through on my 99LS. It comes in a shoddily heat sealed back that was open to the air by the time it came to me.
The gauge was very consistent throughout the entire half-set except for one little piece. It had a tiny little knick taken out of it or something as shown below in the close-up photo. The twisting of the individual fibers is much more apparent on this gut than VS Touch. Overall the quality and consistency was very
Stringing
I own an ATS Super Stringer II, a drop-weight stringer clone. I strung this gut at 54lbs in the mains with Wilson Revolve 16g in the crosses at 52lbs. I strung at 54lbs because the max recommended tension was 54-55lbs and I had heard about some people snapping the string at 57lbs. While stringing, I think I would have been comfortable stringing up to 58lbs, but no higher. This gut seemed to be much stronger than VS Touch, not nearly as fragile so I wasn't nearly as worried about kinks or ghosting. It was very easy to uncoil, no tangling occurred which made avoiding kinking really easy. As I was working with the string, it seemed a lot more sticky than VS Touch, which is a good thing! It definitely seemed like it would grab the ball much better when playing.
This stickiness became very apparent when threading/weaving the crosses through so I will be looking for an even more slick poly cross than Wilson Revolve. Maybe Head Hawk or Signum Pro Poly Plasma Pure...
Overall, I was really pleased with this string while stringing. I was really excited to get out and play with it. With the stringing results being so positive, if the playability comes out good, then we have a real winner here.
Playability
I hit some serves with this string last evening, but finally got out to play with it this morning. I hit some serves, then hit with the wall for an hour and a half.
The first thing I am struck with, with this string, is the extreme power it provides. My serves were popping off at what felt like a 10mph higher average. Whenever I hit right in the sweet spot, the most beautiful ball pop you've ever heard resonated through the courts. This was with my flat serves. As I moved on to slice and kick serves, I was even more impressed. Earlier I said how the string felt sticky... It truly grabs the ball like something crazy. My kick serves were kicking like crazy and my slices were moving across the court dramatically. So yeah, serving felt really good.
Ground strokes were tough to keep under control. It took about 20 shots to finally start to get used to the power this string creates. By the end, with a few adjustments on my strokes to implement more spin, things were feeling pretty good. If you end up buying this string, make sure to spend some tie with it before playing a match because it's power will surprise you.
Overall things were pretty good... So far. However, natural gut is supposed to be the best string on your arm, and that's exactly what I found with VS Touch. Not so much with this natural gut. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible and it's certainly better than any synthetic gut, poly, or multifilament on the market, but after that hour and a half I was starting to feel it in my wrist and elbow. Thus it is my recommendation not to crank with this string for an hour and a half like I did. Do some light practice and it will be perfect for match play.
Durability
Here is the wear on my strings after that time of intense hitting:
Sweet Spot:
I'm not really that worried about durability. So far it seems to be on par with the VS Touch I had in there previously for durability. However, I am worried about that little knick spot mentioned earlier. It is starting to look a bit worse so I will keep track of it the next couple times I hit.
Just Be Done Already
So, what's the point? This is an amazing string for it's price. I am stoked. I will certainly be buying again, and a lot more this time around, and I suggest you at least give it a try once. I don't know if this is the 'India Gut' that everyone is talking about, but I called the number on their site and some dude name Kyle (maybe Kevin? Can't remember) answered and was very helpful (and easily understandable). Seriously, give this string a try. It's worth it at least once.
I will continue to update this thread with my further experiences and purchases of this string.
Thanks for taking the time to read! I hope this helped some people thinking about trying this string.
Play Happy,
Cullin Kin[/QUOTEThis is
Okay, so I received my replacement set of 17g instead of 16g and this stuff looks 1000 times better. I think I can actually fit it through the grommets. Unfortunately none of my racquets need a string job right now, but I'm hoping one will soon.
As for the gauge, I compared it with some 15L Tonic+ I have, the 17g NGW is a little bigger in diameter to the 15L Tonic+... So now that I see that the 17g is closer to 15g, then the 16g must be close to 14g... Photos below.
The color looks much better than the 16g, the 17g has more of the translucent tone to it where as the 16g was like gold.
This is the NGW with the 15L Tonic+:
This is the 16g NGW (Top) with the 17g NGW (Bottom):
