Poly recommendation

[Tennis_Bum]

I'm starting to look into poly for my son. He's 12 and has been playing Gamma Synthetic Gut for a long time. What is the softest poly that is out there? I know nothing about poly so this is the best place to ask, I hope. I want to take a gradual step to poly but it has to be really soft so that he will not injure his elbow.

Thanks

 

[LOBALOT]

Can you tell us more about your son's style / skill / equipment?

Also, there are some really soft, not-durable poly's out there so am not sure soft poly is necessarily a good idea. If he is ready, why not a hybrid with a soft Multi. You will restring frequently so get ready for that.

What does his coach think? If you haven't asked you should.

 

[kailash]

I'm starting to look into poly for my son. He's 12 and has been playing Gamma Synthetic Gut for a long time. What is the softest poly that is out there? I know nothing about poly so this is the best place to ask, I hope. I want to take a gradual step to poly but it has to be really soft so that he will not injure his elbow.

Thanks

My son played with multis until 11, hybrid of poly/syn.gut at 12, full bed of cyclone tour now at 13.

I would recommend poly/syn.gut or poly/multi for now. Safest approach.

UnlIke syn.guts and multis, polys go dead faster, and even soft polys are not good for arm after 10 to 20 hours.

 

[Big Bagel]

I would stay away from poly until after he's physically developed. Why do you want to transition him? If all you're looking for is a little more durability, go for a 15L synthetic like Tecnifibre's Multi-Feel or X-One Biphase.

But, if you are adamant about trying a poly, I'd go with something like Isospeed Cream, Luxilon Element, Ytex Square-X, or maybe Volkl Cyclone Tour.

 

[rafa_prestige89]

RS Lyon is the softest I have tried.

 

[Hmgraphite1]

Polyfibre has some soft numbers, never tried them yet though

 

[Arzivu]

Signum pro x-perience really shines in the comfort department

 

[NuBas]

Use IsoSpeed Cream - its like a cross between syn gut/multi and poly

 

[LOBALOT]

I recall when my boy was 9 or so when his coach felt it was time he handed me a few sets of string and said, "He is ready for this". "Please have his racquets strung at such and such a tension". From there on I ordered more string and strung his racquets per the instructions. A year or so later, he would come up and hand a different set or set(s) of string and say. "He is ready for this." "Please have his racquets strung with this in the crosses and this in the mains at such and such tensions"... I just bought more and strung per the instructions. etc.

He did the same with his racquets... "He is ready to demo new racquets, try this and that, and others in this weight class, specification". We went, he hit with various racquets, he demoed some with his coach, and then we worked on finalizing what his next racquet would be and purchased some.

I thought all coaches did this. I am not clear how it is possible to recommend a setup for a child that age without seeing how they play, their racquet, how big they are, how frequently they play, etc. With more feedback perhaps it is possible to provide some options but wouldn't it make sense to seek input from his coach and then perhaps ask here on how those strings worked out for folks here with our kids at the same age?

 

[liftordie]

Signum pro x-perience really shines in the comfort department

X-perience 1.18/Pro's Pro Synthetic 1.30 (green). Such a GREAT hybrid!!!

 

[Londoner]

I thought all coaches did this. I am not clear how it is possible to recommend a setup for a child that age without seeing how they play, their racquet, how big they are, how frequently they play, etc. With more feedback perhaps it is possible to provide some options but wouldn't it make sense to seek input from his coach and then perhaps ask here on how those strings worked out for folks here with our kids at the same age?

too much common sense

 

[Traffic]

I'm starting to look into poly for my son. He's 12 and has been playing Gamma Synthetic Gut for a long time. What is the softest poly that is out there? I know nothing about poly so this is the best place to ask, I hope. I want to take a gradual step to poly but it has to be really soft so that he will not injure his elbow.

Thanks

Why do you want to make a change?
Are you ready to re-string his racquet every 15hrs whether it looks like it needs it or not?

If you're looking for an upgrade in performance, then try a good multi first.
When he is breaking sgut and multi in under 8hrs of play, then can start looking at poly.

 

[Tennis_Bum]

Why do you want to make a change?
Are you ready to re-string his racquet every 15hrs whether it looks like it needs it or not?

If you're looking for an upgrade in performance, then try a good multi first.
When he is breaking sgut and multi in under 8hrs of play, then can start looking at poly.

He breaks string regularly but he is looking for performance without stiffness. So I am starting to look for softest poly or muti. Not sure which first so I thought I ask people who have had more experience with strings.

 

[Tennis_Bum]

I recall when my boy was 9 or so when his coach felt it was time he handed me a few sets of string and said, "He is ready for this". "Please have his racquets strung at such and such a tension". From there on I ordered more string and strung his racquets per the instructions. A year or so later, he would come up and hand a different set or set(s) of string and say. "He is ready for this." "Please have his racquets strung with this in the crosses and this in the mains at such and such tensions"... I just bought more and strung per the instructions. etc.

He did the same with his racquets... "He is ready to demo new racquets, try this and that, and others in this weight class, specification". We went, he hit with various racquets, he demoed some with his coach, and then we worked on finalizing what his next racquet would be and purchased some.

I thought all coaches did this. I am not clear how it is possible to recommend a setup for a child that age without seeing how they play, their racquet, how big they are, how frequently they play, etc. With more feedback perhaps it is possible to provide some options but wouldn't it make sense to seek input from his coach and then perhaps ask here on how those strings worked out for folks here with our kids at the same age?

Sounds reasonable enough. I thought I ask about folks who have had experience with various poly strings, ranging from softest to hardest. Of course, I will steer away from hardest poly.

 

[LOBALOT]

If he is an advanced player why not hybrid with a nice round control string which you think he may transition to when he gets older. You can even put the Gamma he is currently using in the mains so the racquet will play somewhat similar to his current setup. How about Luxilon ALU Power or Power Soft and drop the tension.

If you want performance without stiffness from Poly the options are limited and you will usually see adults playing with these types of strings and they need to be replaced often before they break.

I hear Isospeed Cream is soft, I have some, I just haven't used it yet.

 

[Traffic]

He breaks string regularly but he is looking for performance without stiffness. So I am starting to look for softest poly or muti. Not sure which first so I thought I ask people who have had more experience with strings.

Beware of poly. For juniors, it can be addicting. I've tried weening my son off of poly and having him hit with gut hybrid. He gets better touch and volleys but he has issues with taking full cuts at baseline. Rally balls look pretty awesome though. Still, he feels like he has to tip toe a bit with the gut at baseline so he prefers his poly. He hits with HyperG18. Strings are cut out after 12hrs. That's the rule.

There are some good multis that somewhat play like poly: Technifber NRG being one of them. Head Velocity has lower power, decent spin for a multi. But nothing like full poly.

 

[HunterST]

I agree with others who say a hybrid might be a good start.

Volkswagen Cyclone Tour is a very soft poly, so that might be a good fit.

You could also look into monogut zyex. It’s a monofilament with spin similar to a polyester but softer than even most synthetic guts.

 

[AgressivelyFrames]

If you are looking for soft polys with good performance, I can offer some suggestions. My favorite shaped poly at the moment is Solinco Hyper G 16L gauge at say 50 pounds. Shaped polys are the name of the game and I don't think I could play my game without them lol. Hyper G is nice because it's not very stiff for a poly but offers good performance and a threateningly heavy ball with increased effort. If you are looking for round polys, then I'd try Technifibre Red Code Wax 17, Luxilon 4G Soft 1.25, and Head Hawk 17. All of those round polys should be softer than the average poly but offer good performance and tension maintenance.

 

[Steve Huff]

Volkswagen made my Tiguan. It doesn't make Cyclone Tour.

 

[Hmgraphite1]

Volkswagen made my Tiguan. It doesn't make Cyclone Tour.

Low cost "peoples string"?

 

[MarioRich]

RS Lyon is the softest I have tried.

Concur with this comment...

 

[CosmosMpower]

Beware of poly. For juniors, it can be addicting. I've tried weening my son off of poly and having him hit with gut hybrid. He gets better touch and volleys but he has issues with taking full cuts at baseline. Rally balls look pretty awesome though. Still, he feels like he has to tip toe a bit with the gut at baseline so he prefers his poly. He hits with HyperG18. Strings are cut out after 12hrs. That's the rule.

There are some good multis that somewhat play like poly: Technifber NRG being one of them. Head Velocity has lower power, decent spin for a multi. But nothing like full poly.

12 hours? That's about 3 hours too long and probably 5 hours past their prime for 18G Hyper G.

 

[Rui Lopes]

I agree with others who say a hybrid might be a good start.

Volkswagen Cyclone Tour is a very soft poly, so that might be a good fit.

You could also look into monogut zyex. It’s a monofilament with spin similar to a polyester but softer than even most synthetic guts.

Volkswagen Cyclone Tour it´s the most hilarious thing i´ve heard today. Congrats...

 

[Rui Lopes]

If you are looking for soft polys with good performance, I can offer some suggestions. My favorite shaped poly at the moment is Solinco Hyper G 16L gauge at say 50 pounds. Shaped polys are the name of the game and I don't think I could play my game without them lol. Hyper G is nice because it's not very stiff for a poly but offers good performance and a threateningly heavy ball with increased effort. If you are looking for round polys, then I'd try Technifibre Red Code Wax 17, Luxilon 4G Soft 1.25, and Head Hawk 17. All of those round polys should be softer than the average poly but offer good performance and tension maintenance.

Sorry , but you really don´t know nothing about soft polys...But you seem to know a lot about how to kill a kid´s arm...Keep trying...

 

[HunterST]

Volkswagen Cyclone Tour it´s the most hilarious thing i´ve heard today. Congrats...

I even reread it and didn’t see what you were talking about until about the 3rd time through.

For the record, if Volkswagen got into the business, they’d probably make a hell of a string.