Polarization vs. string durability

[dadozen]

Has anyone noticed any relation between polarized racquets and low string durability?

When I started using my 4D100s, I start with lead basically at 2&10( which is not exactly polarized, but it's more polarized than the setup I use now ), and I was breaking stringjobs of Scorpion 1.22 @ 53lbs around 4hs, even before the stringjobs went dead.

Now I'm using the same amount of lead tape @3&9, same string( I'll start using Hyperion on the mains when the reel is delivered home - I'm still using full Scorpion 1.22 ), same tension( OK, it's 52lbs instead of 53lbs ), and the stringjobs goes dead with aprox. 4 or 5hs, and they are far away from breaking( at least from what I can see from the string notching ).

I have concluded that polarized racquets help producing spin, but it also affects string durability, which makes sense to me, but I might be wrong.

 

[dadozen]

Just remembered that when I had the 4D300Tour, I added 3g @ 12 and I broke 3 stringjobs in 2 days, even though I didn't play longer than 6hs in that particular weekend.

 

[klementine]

^ Dadozen?

I assume your outing with the PrestigeMid was cut-short?

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Anyway,
I believe that a 'polarized' set-up means that you add weight to the butt of the handle or lower portion of the handle and balance it out with lead specifically @ 12o'clock.... Lead applied only at 3&9 or 10&2 will not achieve a polarized set-up.

^ I could be wrong though--- the lead you have added will only up your static and swing weight, which could result in premature string breakage.

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I have tried polarized and non-polarized set-ups in my MGPresMids... I have experimented with virtually every tension and type of string... and the only conclusion I have come to is that a polarized set-up is 'sluggish' for my tastes.

I have also noticed the more weight I add the faster poly strings go 'dead'.... then again the PresMids offer a very tight and dense string pattern....

The Dunlop 100's (and any 16x19 pattern) will go through strings much faster than 18x20.

 

[dadozen]

Klementine, I just realized that I have never gone back to the PresMid thread to put my feedback... Sorry!

Well, I playtested it for a while, and although I liked its performance( I actually really enjoyed how I was serving with this racquet ), I didn't like its feel, it felt a little weird to me. Not sure if I'd be able to explain it exactly, but it felt too stiff for me. I tried to play with the PresMid to check if it would be just an initial impression, but when I went back to my 4D100s I realized I liked it better. Then decided to sell the PresMids.

Well, as for the polarized question, I'm aware that even though I was using lead tape @ 2&10, it was not a polarized setup, but I was breaking strings much faster than with my current setup. Not sure if they are correlated.

I have the same impression as you: the more weight added, the faster polys go dead. Maybe it's because the added weight apply a greater stress on the strings, making the stringjob lose the initial elasticity faster.

A racquet's feel is the characteristic I care the most, and I felt that lead @12 made the racquet a bit stiff for me, and lead @3&9 made the racquet much better feeling, making the racquet play in a buttery way.