Poly recommendations for longer playability duration?

[Ashtonbrewer94]

I play a weighted up Pure Strike Team, usually string with Head Hawk Touch at 57lbs. Really like this setup, but would prefer something more dead and a little more spin. I recently strung up my racquet with Hyper G 17 at 57, and LOVED it... for 3 hours lol. Had tons of spin, played dead, just great. After the 3 hour mark, I noticed the string was "fraying" (not sure what you'd call it for a poly, but the coating was peeling). Ball started to fly, less spin, etc. Checked in on an RDC machine and tension was 40lbs. TWU had Hyper G 17 rated as pretty solid on tension maintenance, but clearly it's not that great. Granted, I do hit hard with loads of spin, so I understand that causes strings to lose playability quicker. All that said, does anyone have a string recommendation that will last longer than 3 hours and plays pretty dead? I'm a college student so I definitely can't afford to restring once or twice a week. My top choices currently are 4G, 4G Soft, Kirschbaum Spiky Black Shark (playtesters gave it a super high score for playability duration and said the tension maintenance was great, but the TWU lab says tension maintenance is horrible. Not sure what to think there, but granted how poorly Hyper G held tension even though it was rated highly, I wouldn't be surprised if tension maintenance was good), Pro Line Evolution, or Max Power.

Also, I know playing with a lower powered, more closed pattern racquet would help me be able to not have to restring so quickly, but those types of racquets don't suit my game. I played the Wilson UT for months and it was a nice stick, but just didn't allow me to maximize my strengths. I grew up watching Rafa so my strokes are very similar to his, and that doesn't really spell "smaller headsize, closed pattern racquet".

 

[Kevo]

I used to play the yellow spiky shark. It loses quite a bit of tension initially, but after a short hit, or a week or so in the bag it levels out and stays quite consistent after that. It's one of my favorite dead/muted polys. I also played competition before spiky shark and it was quite good as well. I'm not really sure which one I like better. They both were pretty similar to me, but I didn't test them side by side. I bought reels and switched when the reels ran out. Also, I never used the black color of spiky shark, and sometimes the color changes the string noticeably, so I can't be certain the black version plays exactly the same.

Now I'm using Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable, and I've been enjoying it too. It seems similar to me in how it drops tension initially and then hangs in there until it pops, but it's not quite as muted as the kirschbaum strings. I think I like it a little better personally, but I'm also playing with a much more flexible frame now, and stringing with a pretty high differential between the mains and crosses on my current frame, so it might feel quite different on my old frame and tension. Also, a lot of people have claimed to notice really bad tension loss on this string, but I've been fine with it in my frames and have been playing it until it breaks. I've even been playing the frame I strung first that was really strung too low and I think I'll play it until it breaks as well. I find as long as I don't get lazy and take decent cuts at the ball everything still goes in.

I will say that the Ultra Cable has been near the best I've used in terms of spin. I've slowly been getting better at learning how to maximize it with my "new" old school Rossignol frames. This past Saturday I hit what I would consider to be the perfect wide kicker on the ad side. It landed just inside or maybe on the line only about 8 feet from the net and bounced into the side fence well before the baseline. It's hard for me to judge exactly how far from the baseline it was, but the guy I was serving to remarked it looked like it only went 2 feet past the net and straight into the fence. He was exaggerating of course but there was clearly no play on the ball. I also hit a topspin kick in the same match that bounced above the guys head and he was able to get to it, but he was a full stretch above his head to get it, and he just barely got his racquet on it. I think that was my highest kick ever. The guy I was serving to is probably about 5'9"-10". I'm pretty sure the ball was well over 8 feet high when it crossed the baseline.

Keep in mind with these strings that it will be much cheaper to buy a reel. I'm able to get the stringing cost for Ultra Cable down to $5 per frame since I use a smaller frame. That's less than half what it would cost in sets. I'd probably start with single packs of a few and try them all before buying a reel though. It stinks to get stuck with a reel that you don't really want.

 

[joaovitorss]

Ultra Cable does not stand out in playability duration. Even though it is a good string with great access to spin, it dies quickly!

I my opinion Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution delivers much more playability duration

 

[darklore009]

From my experience, the poly duration depends on a lot of things such as the weather (affects the string material), stroke technique (Topspin vs Flat), String Thickness (Thicker gauge tends to retain tension better than thinner gauge). Kirschbaum tends to holds its tension a bit longer than its competition because they pre-stretch their string during production to get rid of that initial give that most polys do before they go dead.

I currently have Hyper G in one of my sticks and its holding up just find because I dont hit hard and hit flat. Not as precise as it was after it came from the machine because of tension lost, but the grab is still there to grip the ball to move it where I want my shots to land.

 

[joaovitorss]

From my experience, the poly duration depends on a lot of things such as the weather (affects the string material), stroke technique (Topspin vs Flat), String Thickness (Thicker gauge tends to retain tension better than thinner gauge). Kirschbaum tends to holds its tension a bit longer than its competition because they pre-stretch their string during production to get rid of that initial give that most polys do before they go dead.

I currently have Hyper G in one of my sticks and its holding up just find because I dont hit hard and hit flat. Not as precise as it was after it came from the machine because of tension lost, but the grab is still there to grip the ball to move it where I want my shots to land.

I'm currently using Hyper G in one of my sticks too and I really like it.

How long (hours of play) do they last for you? Even if they don't break, how many hours do you keep them in your racquet?

I recently started using it and I cut the last set with about 23 hours, but I felt like I had absolutely no control anymore due to tension loss.

 

[darklore009]

Im in the 5 hr mark for me and its holding up well. I usually cut the string whenthe string doesnt behave the same way as I hit with it (muted/dull feel, balls goes flying, losss of control).

 

[Injured Again]

Give the Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour a try. There's a currently running playtest on it. I was a playtester for the 17 gauge and it lasted as long or longer than any other string of this gauge, including Hyper-G and Revolution, which both give me about 8-10 hours before they either break from notching through, or just become not playable from tension loss and/or loss of elasticity.

 

[blai212]

u probably need to use thicker gauge if u want longer playability...tension maintenance will also be better


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[Kevo]

Ultra Cable does not stand out in playability duration. Even though it is a good string with great access to spin, it dies quickly!

Can you elaborate on what you mean by dies quickly?

I've seen quite a few people complain about it losing tension, but I'm not really seeing that. I'm playing it until it breaks and it's doing great so far. I won't play with a poly that I feel like I need to cut out. That really disturbs me as a string cheap skate.

The only thing I've seen so far is that the cross strings in the hitting area seem to flatten out as they wear. I've mentioned that on another thread and I haven't seen anyone else say anything about that so far. It may be that most people are cutting it out before it breaks. In any case, I haven't seen that affect the playability or spin, and the mains seem to hold their shape well until they break.

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the Kirschbaum does better in the tension department. The previous two Kirschbaum strings I used also lasted well and I would play those until they broke also. I will say that the Ultra Cable seems to maintain it's bite on the ball better than Spiky Shark did.

 

[joaovitorss]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by dies quickly?

I've seen quite a few people complain about it losing tension, but I'm not really seeing that. I'm playing it until it breaks and it's doing great so far. I won't play with a poly that I feel like I need to cut out. That really disturbs me as a string cheap skate.

The only thing I've seen so far is that the cross strings in the hitting area seem to flatten out as they wear. I've mentioned that on another thread and I haven't seen anyone else say anything about that so far. It may be that most people are cutting it out before it breaks. In any case, I haven't seen that affect the playability or spin, and the mains seem to hold their shape well until they break.

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the Kirschbaum does better in the tension department. The previous two Kirschbaum strings I used also lasted well and I would play those until they broke also. I will say that the Ultra Cable seems to maintain it's bite on the ball better than Spiky Shark did.

I have tried Ultra Cable just once and I felt like balls started flying really quickly. Trampoline effect and loss of control due to tension loss.
Right after that I jumped to try other strings like Hyper G, which I like very much, and now Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution which has shown impressive performance in tension maintenance!

I reached the 20 hour mark today and I’m hitting fearlessly! Definitely recommend if you seek durability and playability duration.

I still prefer Hyper G’s playability but Pro Line Evo definitely lasts longer.

 

[Kevo]

I have tried Ultra Cable just once and I felt like balls started flying really quickly. Trampoline effect and loss of control due to tension loss.
Right after that I jumped to try other strings like Hyper G, which I like very much, and now Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution which has shown impressive performance in tension maintenance!

I reached the 20 hour mark today and I’m hitting fearlessly! Definitely recommend if you seek durability and playability duration.

I still prefer Hyper G’s playability but Pro Line Evo definitely lasts longer.

Interesting. In TWs review they gave Pro Line a higher score for power than Ultra Cable. The ratings are otherwise very close. I wonder if you just needed to start out with a higher tension. I've found that after the initial break in it pretty much plays the same until it breaks. That's my kind of string and also one of the reasons I liked the Kirschbaum strings I've used previously. I may give some of the newer Kirschbaum's a try when I finish up my reel of Ultra Cable, but it's doing quite well for me so I may not have any motivation to try anything different if things keep improving like they have been. So far it's been better with every new stringing as I slowly dial in the tension.

 

[Injured Again]

u probably need to use thicker gauge if u want longer playability...tension maintenance will also be better

Originally, I was intending to use the 1.25 or 1.30 gauge in my SW104 because the flex is greater than in my previous racquet and I wanted that stiffness back. But as I've tested strings, I came to find that I was much more effective in playing offensive tennis with a thinner string and that with the thicker string, there were times when I'd have a positional advantage during a point but didn't quite have the oomph or spin capability to really put the pressure on without a greater chance of making an error by trying to swing harder or to impart more spin than I could easily manage.

I had always thought that I would continue to use low powered strings until age forced me to go to something more powerful to maintain my game, but the extra power from a thinner string or one with just inherently more power is too hard to ignore. I'm almost tempted to try a poly/gut hybrid. Almost...

 

[blai212]

Originally, I was intending to use the 1.25 or 1.30 gauge in my SW104 because the flex is greater than in my previous racquet and I wanted that stiffness back. But as I've tested strings, I came to find that I was much more effective in playing offensive tennis with a thinner string and that with the thicker string, there were times when I'd have a positional advantage during a point but didn't quite have the oomph or spin capability to really put the pressure on without a greater chance of making an error by trying to swing harder or to impart more spin than I could easily manage.

I had always thought that I would continue to use low powered strings until age forced me to go to something more powerful to maintain my game, but the extra power from a thinner string or one with just inherently more power is too hard to ignore. I'm almost tempted to try a poly/gut hybrid. Almost...

crossfire zx supposed to be soft powerful hybrid...lots of ppl raving abou zyex but not sure if the hype is real. I had Xperience 17L 1.18mm //SPPP hybrid 18g in my diadem elevate tour (16x20 open pattern) snap in ~5 hrs over 2 days so definitely need more durability...gonna try V square 17g//SPPP18g or YPTP 17g hybrid next...does anybody know if the gauge of the crosses affects how fast the mains break?


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[ChaelAZ]

YTex Square X around 52lbs. Good pop to start and maintains tension well, but get flat feeling over a month.


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[Injured Again]

crossfire zx supposed to be soft powerful hybrid...lots of ppl raving abou zyex but not sure if the hype is real. I had Xperience 17L 1.18mm //SPPP hybrid 18g in my diadem elevate tour (16x20 open pattern) snap in ~5 hrs over 2 days so definitely need more durability...gonna try V square 17g//SPPP18g or YPTP 17g hybrid next...does anybody know if the gauge of the crosses affects how fast the mains break?

I'd be really curious how well SPPP works as a cross with V-Square. I'd guess it would significantly increase the lifespan over a full bed of V-Square because the material used to make V-Square seems pretty soft. It definitely is not dense as it weighed a few grams less than an equivalent gauge poly string that was in the racquet before I strung up the V-Square, and I got a lot of material transfer to the ball. That makes me think it's a pretty soft material as well and the edges then cut into itself, like this:

I'd guess a round and hard poly like SPPP would have the whole flat underside of the string to press against, which should not wear the V-Square nearly as much as sliding and I guess having the square edges dig into each other.

 

[blai212]

i was wondering which would provide better durability to mains if at all...SPPP 18g or YPTP 17g...seems like thinner gauge poly cross cuts into the mains faster...


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[blai212]

on a side note, V square feels VERY similar to Xperience except V square edges seem to be sharper and more pronounced which would probably equate to more spin but in terms of softness/feel, my initial impressions on it would say that they’re comparable in comfort/power


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[hurworld]

crossfire zx supposed to be soft powerful hybrid...lots of ppl raving abou zyex but not sure if the hype is real. I had Xperience 17L 1.18mm //SPPP hybrid 18g in my diadem elevate tour (16x20 open pattern) snap in ~5 hrs over 2 days so definitely need more durability...gonna try V square 17g//SPPP18g or YPTP 17g hybrid next...does anybody know if the gauge of the crosses affects how fast the mains break?


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Try it. Worst case you just cut it out.

 

[Kevo]

I'd guess a round and hard poly like SPPP would have the whole flat underside of the string to press against, which should not wear the V-Square nearly as much as sliding and I guess having the square edges dig into each other.

I would think a tougher round poly would cut through the softer square string faster. You have less surface area touching with a round cross, so more pressure on a smaller area means more friction.

 

[blai212]

I would think a tougher round poly would cut through the softer square string faster. You have less surface area touching with a round cross, so more pressure on a smaller area means more friction.

i think it really comes down to the material that determines friction but definitely more surface to surface friction w vsquare full bed than with SPPP


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[Injured Again]

I would think a tougher round poly would cut through the softer square string faster. You have less surface area touching with a round cross, so more pressure on a smaller area means more friction.

I wasn't clear in my original post. When I said "hard poly", I was intending to mean high surface hardness, which in my mind implies a slick and smooth surface that resists wear and should lower friction. Judging by how quickly the V-Square sharp edge on the crosses seemed to cut into the mains, I can't imagine that a round, hard, slick poly would be anything but a vast improvement. That being said, I have fairly limited experience with hybrids of this type so I could just be totally off base, but it does seem to make sense.

 

[Kevo]

I wasn't clear in my original post. When I said "hard poly", I was intending to mean high surface hardness, which in my mind implies a slick and smooth surface that resists wear and should lower friction. Judging by how quickly the V-Square sharp edge on the crosses seemed to cut into the mains, I can't imagine that a round, hard, slick poly would be anything but a vast improvement. That being said, I have fairly limited experience with hybrids of this type so I could just be totally off base, but it does seem to make sense.

Yeah, best thing would be to try it out and see. I've only used one square string so far, Ultra Cable, but I was surprised by how long it took to start notching. With UC the square edges seem to naturally lie flat against each other, so I think that really reduces the notching, at least in the beginning. Going based on that experience I think a round poly as a cross with UC would surely make it notch faster, but I've haven't tried it out and don't expect I will since I am quite happy with it's performance as a full bed.

 

[Injured Again]

Yeah, best thing would be to try it out and see. I've only used one square string so far, Ultra Cable, but I was surprised by how long it took to start notching. With UC the square edges seem to naturally lie flat against each other, so I think that really reduces the notching, at least in the beginning. Going based on that experience I think a round poly as a cross with UC would surely make it notch faster, but I've haven't tried it out and don't expect I will since I am quite happy with it's performance as a full bed.

I haven't tried Ultra Cable yet - it's still on my list but I really, really like the Tourna Silver 7 Tour, and I'm in the playtest group for the new Kirschbaum string so it may be a while before I get to Ultra Cable.

But take a look at the photo in post #15. I always found it really odd that the notching is the way that it is, not only that the bottom of the notch is square shaped like the cross string edge, but also that in one main string, the notch is asymmetric but is identical to the one on the adjacent string, just flipped 180 degrees. There's also a deep notch like created by the edge of the cross string, then part way up the ramp of the long side of the notch, there's a plateau.

I've looked at the notching from Cube, Neon Dust, and Hyper-G, and never noticed this kind of shape. But it has happened in both sets of V-Square so there's something happening to cause it with just this string.

 

[Kevo]

But take a look at the photo in post #15. I always found it really odd that the notching is the way that it is, not only that the bottom of the notch is square shaped like the cross string edge, but also that in one main string, the notch is asymmetric but is identical to the one on the adjacent string, just flipped 180 degrees. There's also a deep notch like created by the edge of the cross string, then part way up the ramp of the long side of the notch, there's a plateau.

I've looked at the notching from Cube, Neon Dust, and Hyper-G, and never noticed this kind of shape. But it has happened in both sets of V-Square so there's something happening to cause it with just this string.

It does look odd. The UC string notched out pretty square for me. Could just be the formulation of the V-Square.

 

[flanker2000fr]

I play a weighted up Pure Strike Team, usually string with Head Hawk Touch at 57lbs. Really like this setup, but would prefer something more dead and a little more spin. I recently strung up my racquet with Hyper G 17 at 57, and LOVED it... for 3 hours lol. Had tons of spin, played dead, just great. After the 3 hour mark, I noticed the string was "fraying" (not sure what you'd call it for a poly, but the coating was peeling). Ball started to fly, less spin, etc. Checked in on an RDC machine and tension was 40lbs. TWU had Hyper G 17 rated as pretty solid on tension maintenance, but clearly it's not that great. Granted, I do hit hard with loads of spin, so I understand that causes strings to lose playability quicker. All that said, does anyone have a string recommendation that will last longer than 3 hours and plays pretty dead? I'm a college student so I definitely can't afford to restring once or twice a week. My top choices currently are 4G, 4G Soft, Kirschbaum Spiky Black Shark (playtesters gave it a super high score for playability duration and said the tension maintenance was great, but the TWU lab says tension maintenance is horrible. Not sure what to think there, but granted how poorly Hyper G held tension even though it was rated highly, I wouldn't be surprised if tension maintenance was good), Pro Line Evolution, or Max Power.

Also, I know playing with a lower powered, more closed pattern racquet would help me be able to not have to restring so quickly, but those types of racquets don't suit my game. I played the Wilson UT for months and it was a nice stick, but just didn't allow me to maximize my strengths. I grew up watching Rafa so my strokes are very similar to his, and that doesn't really spell "smaller headsize, closed pattern racquet".

You could try going for the 16L Hyper G, and probably drop the tension to 54 lbs. Tension maintenance is better on thicker gauges, but you would have to offset the extra stiffness by reducing the tension, to maintain playability.

 

[USPTARF97]

Give the Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour a try. There's a currently running playtest on it. I was a playtester for the 17 gauge and it lasted as long or longer than any other string of this gauge, including Hyper-G and Revolution, which both give me about 8-10 hours before they either break from notching through, or just become not playable from tension loss and/or loss of elasticity.

Do you think the TBHS7T has the tension maintenance of TBHB7 or TBZ?

 

[Injured Again]

Do you think the TBHS7T has the tension maintenance of TBHB7 or TBZ?

I don't have any experience with those as Silver 7 Tour is my first ever try with Tourna strings, and I'm impressed enough to make it my go-to string. Compared to the other strings I've recently tried, which include shaped polys like Hyper-G, Tour Bite, Revolution, V-Square/Torque/Torque Tour, Solstice Power, RPM, Quadro Twist, Cube, Revolve Spin, and a number of others, I'd say the Silver 7 Tour is among the best at tension maintenance. The other strings which come close in tension maintenance are Proline Evolution and Tour Sniper, but neither of those offer the grip on the ball nor the high, controllable power level of Silver 7 Tour. The string I found that is closest is Solinco Revolution, which Silver 7 Tour plays a lot like, only with a bit higher launch angle and more than a bit greater power, with greater resistance to notching and a slightly better amount of tension maintenance.

The high power level is the one thing I wasn't sure I wanted when I first tested it, but the ability to swing more easily yet still generate putaway power has been worth the effort I've had to make to adjust to the string. What really did seal the case for me was that the 17 gauge that I tested lasted as long as it did and even when the strings started to move around on the stringbed, playability didn't really suffer all that much except on the most spinny shots I tried. The tension maintenance seemed good enough that shots really never flew wildly for me.

 

[USPTARF97]

I don't have any experience with those as Silver 7 Tour is my first ever try with Tourna strings, and I'm impressed enough to make it my go-to string. Compared to the other strings I've recently tried, which include shaped polys like Hyper-G, Tour Bite, Revolution, V-Square/Torque/Torque Tour, Solstice Power, RPM, Quadro Twist, Cube, Revolve Spin, and a number of others, I'd say the Silver 7 Tour is among the best at tension maintenance. The other strings which come close in tension maintenance are Proline Evolution and Tour Sniper, but neither of those offer the grip on the ball nor the high, controllable power level of Silver 7 Tour. The string I found that is closest is Solinco Revolution, which Silver 7 Tour plays a lot like, only with a bit higher launch angle and more than a bit greater power, with greater resistance to notching and a slightly better amount of tension maintenance.

The high power level is the one thing I wasn't sure I wanted when I first tested it, but the ability to swing more easily yet still generate putaway power has been worth the effort I've had to make to adjust to the string. What really did seal the case for me was that the 17 gauge that I tested lasted as long as it did and even when the strings started to move around on the stringbed, playability didn't really suffer all that much except on the most spinny shots I tried. The tension maintenance seemed good enough that shots really never flew wildly for me.

Excellent, thanks. Think I’m gonna try a reel of this next rather than TBHB7.

 

[Injured Again]

Excellent, thanks. Think I’m gonna try a reel of this next rather than TBHB7.

That's great! I look forward to seeing what you think of it and how it compares to other strings you've used.

 

[USPTARF97]

Am thinking I will order one set and string two frames at the same tension. One with TBHS7T and the other with TBHB7.

 

[Injured Again]

Am thinking I will order one set and string two frames at the same tension. One with TBHS7T and the other with TBHB7.

That would be great. I just read the TW review for BHB7 and it sounds like my experience with BHS7T, only with worse tension maintenance. Maybe that is what Tourna tried to improve on with BHS7T?