Poly maind - best syn gut or multi as cross string

[Happi]

I have started to play poly againg after playing with multis for a long time.

I am trying to soften up the poly string and trsting multies or syn gut as cross. I use Cyber Flash as main string. So far no arm issues.

I have tested:

Babolat syn gut - soft and I like the feeling, but too much string movement
Gosen OGSM - little crispier than Babolat, I still like it but too much string movement but better than Babolat.
Head Velocity - I like the feeling, but again too much string movement.
Multifeel Black - A little too stiff for poly mains, but no string movement. My favorite cross string for multies main.
Isospeed Professional Classic - Soft, great feel, very little string movement - so far this is my favorite
ZX - Did not like the feeling

Next up:
Babolat RPM soft
X-One (perhaps too expensive as a cross)
Head RIP Control, not sure if the texture will keep main strings out of place

What else to try ? Any suggestion would be helpful.

Priority: Soft and very little string movement.

Cheers, H

 

[billsedd]

All of the multi crosses that I have used inevitably notched and limited movement. I used a shaped poly though so not sure if that makes a difference.

here is my experience

Velocity- actually felt kinda stiff to me
Multifeel- frayed
NRG2- very comfortable, but expensive
Tourna quasi gut armor- maybe the most comfortable out of all of the ones I have tried. I would definitely give this a try and see how it performs for you
Diadem evolution- not bad- I used it briefly. It feels stiffer than the multis but not in a bad way, I’d think it be similar to to s.gut and maybe rpm soft.

The other ones I’d think about are rpx and triax- maybe they would be good options?
You may have already found your answer in isospeed professional classic though.
Let us know how it goes

 

[socallefty]

If you are going from fullbed soft strings, why not try them in the mains and use the poly as crosses? You’ll get the feel of the soft strings you are used to while getting extra control/spin from the poly. I like gut mains and soft poly crosses in the last decade after playing with fullbed gut for most of my life.

 

[marco forehand]

try PolyStar Energy as a cross
or
16g Topspin main, 17l g Topspin as a cross
consider lowering your tension 2 to 4#

 

[Happi]

All of the multi crosses that I have used inevitably notched and limited movement. I used a shaped poly though so not sure if that makes a difference.

here is my experience

Velocity- actually felt kinda stiff to me
Multifeel- frayed
NRG2- very comfortable, but expensive
Tourna quasi gut armor- maybe the most comfortable out of all of the ones I have tried. I would definitely give this a try and see how it performs for you
Diadem evolution- not bad- I used it briefly. It feels stiffer than the multis but not in a bad way, I’d think it be similar to to s.gut and maybe rpm soft.

The other ones I’d think about are rpx and triax- maybe they would be good options?
You may have already found your answer in isospeed professional classic though.
Let us know how it goes

Thanks, I have some sets of Triax but was planning for FB. I will get the Tourna string.

I am stringing today with RPM soft, I have matching racquets so I can play back to back to test.

 

[Happi]

If you are going from fullbed soft strings, why not try them in the mains and use the poly as crosses? You’ll get the feel of the soft strings you are used to while getting extra control/spin from the poly. I like gut mains and soft poly crosses in the last decade after playing with fullbed gut for most of my life.

Yes that is the logical way to look at it. However for some odd reason I never liked gut / poly hybrid and this is why I think I will not like multi / poly hybrid too. Something about a soft string on top of a stiff string I dont seem to like.

 

[Happi]

try PolyStar Energy as a cross
or
16g Topspin main, 17l g Topspin as a cross
consider lowering your tension 2 to 4#

Trying not to go poly / poly hybrid but have poly / multi to soften up the string bed. I know Polystar Energy and this is a soft and powerful string, I might try it as main once I find my preferred cross for poly.

 

[veelium]

Rip control didn't work well for me as a cross for polys, it impeded the snapback of the mains more than professional classic.
Velocity I didn't like either.
X-One breaks too quickly imo to justify the price as a cross string.

 

[PurcellPower]

Give Gosen AK Pro CX a shot in the crosses. It seems to remain slick for longer than most of the multis and syns listed here for me.

 

[Happi]

Give Gosen AK Pro CX a shot in the crosses. It seems to remain slick for longer than most of the multis and syns listed here for me.

I actually have a set of AK Pro CX and AK Control. Control seems to have a smoother surface. Have you tried both ?

 

[Happi]

Rip control didn't work well for me as a cross for polys, it impeded the snapback of the mains more than professional classic.
Velocity I didn't like either.
X-One breaks too quickly imo to justify the price as a cross string.

I have a feeling you are right.

 

[PurcellPower]

I actually have a set of AK Pro CX and AK Control. Control seems to have a smoother surface. Have you tried both ?

I have not tried control. I use the Pro CX in hybrids as main and cross. I also string it for my friend full bed in 3 ezone 100s, so I have a decent amount of time and experience with it. It has a crisper feel than most and doesn’t go too mushy as it ages, but is still soft and easy on the arm.

 

[Happi]

I have not tried control. I use the Pro CX in hybrids as main and cross. I also string it for my friend full bed in 3 ezone 100s, so I have a decent amount of time and experience with it. It has a crisper feel than most and doesn’t go too mushy as it ages, but is still soft and easy on the arm.

Thanks, I will string one up with this as cross.

 

[socallefty]

Yes that is the logical way to look at it. However for some odd reason I never liked gut / poly hybrid and this is why I think I will not like multi / poly hybrid too. Something about a soft string on top of a stiff string I dont seem to like.

Might be the tension. I used to play FB gut at 57 or 58 lbs and my first few attempts at a gut/poly hybrid was at 57/55, 54/52, 52/50 and I didn’t like it that much. The poly made the stringbed too stiff from what I was used to with FB gut. It is only when I tried gut/poly at 48/46, 48/45, 47/44 lbs that I started liking it a lot. Now I’ve been playing at 47/44 with VS/HyperG Soft for many years.

 

[Happi]

Might be the tension. I used to play FB gut at 57 or 58 lbs and my first few attempts at a gut/poly hybrid was at 57/55, 54/52, 52/50 and I didn’t like it that much. The poly made the stringbed too stiff from what I was used to with FB gut. It is only when I tried gut/poly at 48/46, 48/45, 47/44 lbs that I started liking it a lot. Now I’ve been playing at 47/44 with VS/HyperG Soft for many years.

Intreresting, thanks, there is new stuff to try out

 

[socallefty]

Intreresting, thanks, there is new stuff to try out

String it with VS/HyperG Soft at 47/44 and challenge Holger Rune at your club!

 

[veelium]

Best chance to win is now.

 

[devoker]

Multifeel Black - A little too stiff for poly mains, but no string movement. My favorite cross string for multies main.

I tried luxilon element mains (48)/multifeel black(51). It played great for the first 1-2 hours, but then quickly the mains saw through the crosses and prevent mains' movement completely.
I feel like for snapback multi/poly is better than poly/multi for the longer term.

 

[Steve Williams]

Hi Happi, I'm interested to see how Tourna Quasi gut works out for you as a cross. I've ordered some myself to try with Weiss Cannon Mosquito Bite. I'm trying to replicate a Hybrid set Weiss Cannon used to make called "Dual Reality". I liked it but they don't make it any more unfortunately. "Dual Reality" consisted of a thin co-poly mains (1.17) and a thicker multifillament cross (1.30). Wiess Cannon stopped selling multis as I believe the factory that made them went bust during Covid.

I also have packets of IsoSpeed Classic Professional lying around. As you liked it as a cross, I might give it a go out of interest.

You said you didn't like the feel of Ashaway Monogut ZX but I think it makes a great cross in many ways. It doesn't notch, its soft on the arm and lets the poly mains slide and snap back. I used it as a cross with Hyper G Soft for a while and liked that combination. I still have it one racket. Because it's tough as a cross you can use it with shaped polys no problem.

Maybe you could get used to the feel. I think the feel changes depending on what main string you put with it. I also tried Signum Pro Firestorm, Luxilon Element and Kirchbaum Evolution mains with Ashaway Monogut ZX crosses but didn't like the results with any of those combinations. Hyper G Soft felt good though.

The only problem with the ZX is that it's quite expensive and you need to be choosy about who strings the racket. ZX needs special care and attention.

 

[Happi]

Hi Happi, I'm interested to see how Tourna Quasi gut works out for you as a cross. I've ordered some myself to try with Weiss Cannon Mosquito Bite. I'm trying to replicate a Hybrid set Weiss Cannon used to make called "Dual Reality". I liked it but they don't make it any more unfortunately. "Dual Reality" consisted of a thin co-poly mains (1.17) and a thicker multifillament cross (1.30). Wiess Cannon stopped selling multis as I believe the factory that made them went bust during Covid.

I also have packets of IsoSpeed Classic Professional lying around. As you liked it as a cross, I might give it a go out of interest.

You said you didn't like the feel of Ashaway Monogut ZX but I think it makes a great cross in many ways. It doesn't notch, its soft on the arm and lets the poly mains slide and snap back. I used it as a cross with Hyper G Soft for a while and liked that combination. I still have it one racket. Because it's tough as a cross you can use it with shaped polys no problem.

Maybe you could get used to the feel. I think the feel changes depending on what main string you put with it. I also tried Signum Pro Firestorm, Luxilon Element and Kirchbaum Evolution mains with Ashaway Monogut ZX crosses but didn't like the results with any of those combinations. Hyper G Soft felt good though.

The only problem with the ZX is that it's quite expensive and you need to be choosy about who strings the racket. ZX needs special care and attention.

Thanks, Steve

I have a mini reel of ZX, I only played it with gut or multi mains, so perhaps with a poly mains I will like it, worth a try. First I am trying to find a good cross for my favorite Poly (Cyber Flash) but I also have a few sets of Hyper G soft and Tour Bite Soft so might give that a try too with ZX. Arm comfort is top priority, and so far CF is one poly that don't give me arm problems.

Just strung up a racquet with CF / RPM soft and I will hit later today, exited about that.

Tourna Quasi is on the shopping list next time I buy strings.

I really like the feel of Isospeed professional Classic, very soft and don't seem to move too much and durability is medium ok. Give it a try, but be aware of some initial tension loss, then it will settle and play consistant for a long time. I have use this string for a long time as a cross for Natural Gut.

 

[Steve Williams]

I have a Pro Kennex Q+ Tour 97 (315) and I strung Hyper G Mains 51lbs and ZX Pro Crosses at 53 lbs. Felt soft and powerful to me. I haven't had arm/elbow issues but I have had wrist problems so I have to be careful. Like you, I avoid full poly set ups.

I tried Mosquito Bite with a string called "Still in Black X12" in the crosses. I think it's a bit like RPM soft. (49 lbs mains 55 lbs crosses). It wasn't the feel I was looking for but it was interesting and not too harsh. If I try it again, I would lower the tension of the crosses to 53.

 

[Automatix]

@Happi what didn't you like about Gut/Multi mains with Monogut ZX crosses?

 

[MinDango]

Diadem evolution or rpm soft

 

[Happi]

@Happi what didn't you like about Gut/Multi mains with Monogut ZX crosses?

Too much of a plastic feeling, too much power and hard to control. I will give ZX another try with poly mains, perhaps this will work.

 

[Happi]

Diadem evolution or rpm soft

Testing RPM soft at this moment, how does Evolution compare to RPM soft if you played both ?

 

[Automatix]

Too much of a plastic feeling, I will give it another try with poly mains.

Plastic? Could you try to describe it a little more? Too much poly-like? "Stifish"?

 

[Automatix]

Testing RPM soft at this moment, how does Evolution compare to RPM soft if you played both ?

Compared to Origin, Evolution seemed to snap faster, bent more easily, didn't "spring back" as much. Didn't have a chance to hit with RPM Soft.
Some graphs below, courtesy of @TennisJrDad (thanks again!).

 

[Happi]

Plastic? Could you try to describe it a little more? Too much poly-like? "Stifish"?

ZX seems to be a stiff string when stringing, seems comftable when playing but kind of stiff. Hard to describe but I just didn’t like it. Too powerful and stringbed seems hard to control.

 

[Happi]

Compared to Origin Evolution seemed to snap faster. Didn't have a chance to hit with RPM Soft.
Some graphs below, courtesy of @TennisJrDad (thanks again!).

Not sure I think RPM soft is that powerful, but I never tried FB. However it is a beautiful string for Angell TC Copper version 3, same color (or close) as Element.

 

[Automatix]

ZX seems to be a stiff string when stringing, seems comftable when playing but kind of stiff. Hard to describe but I just didn’t like it. Too powerful and stringbed seems hard to control.

I know what you mean. IIRC I've tested a full bed many years ago in a tweener a'la Pure Drive (the white Muscle Power endorsed by Hingis) and it wasn't remotely close to the comfort of Origin, not to mention any multifilament.
It made a funny, pingy (?) sound. Least to say I wasn't blown away...

 

[Automatix]

Not sure I think RPM soft is that powerful, but I never tried FB. However it is a beautiful string for Angell TC Copper version 3, same color (or close) as Element.

I'm a fan of "natural" colors myself...

 

[Happi]

I know what you mean. IIRC I've tested a full bed many years ago in a tweener a'la Pure Drive (the white Muscle Power endorsed by Hingis) and it wasn't remotely close to the comfort of Origin, not to mention any multifilament.
It made a funny, pingy (?) sound. Least to say I wasn't blown away...

What is IIRC ?

 

[Automatix]

What is IIRC ?

If I Recall Correctly. So many strings, so many racquets, so little memory space.

 

[tele]

Plastic? Could you try to describe it a little more? Too much poly-like? "Stifish"?

i found the "plastic" sensation to be significantly higher when i took a couple of grams off from the hoop of my racquet. It seemed to pocket a lot more when sw was around 330 vs around 320 on my cx 200 tour. I know increasing sw should make any string feel a bit less harsh, but it seemed more pronounced with zx. Power was still crazy high even at 320 ish. To repeat what I have said a lot already on these boards, it has great spin for a non-poly cross, though.

@Happi , curious to hear how quasi gut armor works as a cross. When I used it as a mains with cream, it snapped back well, but the crosses would get stuck out of place. I wonder if poly mains can slide on it.

 

[Happi]

I am afraid that my testing has ended for now, there are several reasons:

- Most important is arm comfort, I am getting some issues that could be due to poly strings, to be safe I am going back to multi strings again.

- Performance, we have a new system at our club called Zenniz that meassures things like speed ans accuracy. Testing different strings with same racquet (I have several matched racquets), I dont seem to getting any performance increase with poly/multi over multi/multi that can be meassured.

- Feel, due to arm problems I have been playing multi strings for the past 2 years, and I actually like the feel better than poly strings.

I am throwing in the towel for now, and going back to the thread “accepting that you cannot use poly strings”

Thank you guys for all your help and suggestions

 

[Automatix]

@Happi sorry to hear about your health problems resurfacing.
Just checked the date you've started this thread and I could have sworn you've been back using poly longer than 8 days... either you've mentioned it in a different thread earlier or the last 8 days seemed like forever for me...

Better safe than sorry. Wish you all the health possible! Hopefully you didn't cross the threshold and decided to drop poly in time.

 

[PurcellPower]

@Happi maybe since you didn't use the AK Pro CX in the poly hybrid, can you do one for it in mains and MF Black in the crosses????

 

[Happi]

@Happi sorry to hear about your health problems resurfacing.
Just checked the date you've started this thread and I could have sworn you've been back using poly longer than 8 days... either you've mentioned it in a different thread earlier or the last 8 days seemed like forever for me...

Better safe than sorry. Wish you all the health possible! Hopefully you didn't cross the threshold and decided to drop poly in time.

Thanks @Automatix its not really an injury, perhaps just overuse. But when you have had injuries before, I just want to play safe more than anything. I migt take it up again later.

Yes I have been testing for some time on and off with poly.

 

[Happi]

@Happi maybe since you didn't use the AK Pro CX in the poly hybrid, can you do one for it in mains and MF Black in the crosses????

Absolutely, its on my list and I have the string.

 

[PurcellPower]

Absolutely, its on my list and I have the string.

I think you may enjoy it and it should last longer than X-1/MF. Also interested for my own personal use.

 

[tele]

sorry to hear about the arm, @Happi. hope it is back to 100% soon！

 

[Trip]

If you're ever going to try poly mains again, I would try the absolute softest, most shock-absorbent ones possible. While Cyber Flash does qualify to some extent, there are a few options that would probably be even more arm-friendly, such as IsoSpeed Cream or MSV Swift for round strings, or MSV Focus Hex +38 or Gosen Sidewinder for shaped.

 

[KC!]

I typically string with a dead/stiffer poly in my frames. Strings like Confidential, Hyper G, Tour Sniper, S7T & Super Toro. Looking to hybrid with a syn gut in cross for added feel. The thing is I don’t want the sling shot effect like I get with vs gut. I was thinking of trying Forten Sweet or Gosen OG-Sheep Micro. Any suggestions on a syn gut that adds feel but is still controlled?

 

[Trip]

@KC! - That's a tough ask, as almost all syn guts are pretty springy and powerful (by design). I would say the more controlled ones tend to be the ones sporting more than just nylon, ie. materials made to increase durability, so stuff like PSG with Duraflex, Prince Lightning XX and Pro, Gosen AK Pro CX, Yonex Dynawire, etc. You might also consider a slick monofilament nylon like Diadem Evolution and/or Babolat RPM Soft as well -- they tend to offer slightly more poly-like behavior, while still offering the enhanced pocketing, touch and comfort.

If you want to lower the power response even further, other than stringing at higher and higher tension, I would maybe look at a multi-ester cross, something like TF RPX/Triax/HDMX. The main variable there is if TF's PU400 encasement can withstand the scraping/sliding of the poly mains well enough to not get chewed up too quickly (ie. hot knife through warm butter, as @g4driver would say).