Polyester String Tension Loss Confusion?

LOLMT

New User
Hey, I'm really confused about Polyester's tension loss. Some people say you should string it 10% less, since it loses tension fairly easily, but won't it just lose more tension afterwards?

Like, say I was going to string my racquet with 60 tension. But the recommendation was 54, and then the tension dropped, wouldn't I be playing with like a 50 in the end?
 

Bottle Rocket

Hall of Fame
Hey, I'm really confused about Polyester's tension loss. Some people say you should string it 10% less, since it loses tension fairly easily, but won't it just lose more tension afterwards?

Nobody recommends the 10% decrease in tension because of tension loss. This makes no sense and if anyone has recommended this in the past, they most likely don't know what they are talking about.

The recommended tension loss is due to the increase in stiffness and the difference in playability of the polyester versus, say, a synthetic gut.

String your frame with a polyester 10% lower than your normal tension with whatever softer string you're used to. Then go from there. It is a good starting point.
 
What about pre-stretching polys, double pulling, or using the function some machines have to pull at a higher tension first, then go down? Some say these shouldn't be done on a polyester.
 

curio

New User
What about pre-stretching polys, double pulling, or using the function some machines have to pull at a higher tension first, then go down? Some say these shouldn't be done on a polyester.

If you do that, you'll have a fresh stringjob... made of dead strings.

Bad for playability and bad for your arm, indeed.
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
So there's really no way of getting out of the tension loss of poly's....darn.

Huh? What are you talking about here? In contrary to what the OP said, polys don't lose tension easily. It's one of the string type that offers very good tension stability.

Stringing poly at a lower tension (to make its playability similar with other strings) doesn't mean poly loses tension easily.

Not having to pre-stretch polys like you would with other strings is actually a good thing. It's one less step to do. And it means the playability of poly remains more true to the tension strung at compared to other strings.
 

Fedace

Banned
Actually, Polys are supposed to be one of the BEST strings at maintaining the Tension but it is kind of ironic that there is so many posts on tension loss of Polys. Also, so many polys go dead too quickly, especially in summer. another irony since polys are not supposed to be affected by weather.
 
IMO a poly does lose tension fairly fast compared to other strings, but its not as noticeable because of the low power

agassi would get his lux big banger strung tight, but have a hitting parter play with the frames first, then agassi would play with the 30 min - 45 min used poly. no doubt agassi was smart enough to realize a fresh full poly job will drop tension quick, so he took steps to avoid playing with a frame during that 1st large drop in tension
 
Actually, Polys are supposed to be one of the BEST strings at maintaining the Tension but it is kind of ironic that there is so many posts on tension loss of Polys. Also, so many polys go dead too quickly, especially in summer. another irony since polys are not supposed to be affected by weather.

bull bull bull.
 

pow

Hall of Fame
Actually, Polys are supposed to be one of the BEST strings at maintaining the Tension but it is kind of ironic that there is so many posts on tension loss of Polys. Also, so many polys go dead too quickly, especially in summer. another irony since polys are not supposed to be affected by weather.

Polys definitely have one of the highest initial tension loss. Polys go dead from taking a beating, not because of the summer. (Maybe from getting more play in during the summer) When people talk about poly being impervious to the weather, it is about resistance to rainfall which is something natural gut does not have.
 
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