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Banned
Prince Recoil
http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2008/08/prince_recoil.html
By Greg Raven
Prince Recoil is a solid core multifilament with some interesting features. The core is advanced thermoplastic for extra feel and comfort. The inner wrap is a new high-tenacity filament, for improved tension memory and better durability due to its high tensile strength.
The outer wrap is MicroWeb Technology from W. L. Gore & Associates. According to Prince, Gore’s MicroWeb Technology is a revolutionary material made by applying a special process to a proprietary formulation of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). ePTFE is a woven mesh-like structure that is flexible and strong. The outer ePTFE wrap provides a surface with ultra-low friction, allowing playability characteristics never before achieved in a string.
In the lab
The coil measured 40 feet. The diameter measured 1.30-1.33 mm prior to stringing, and 1.27-1.28 mm after stringing. We recorded a stringbed stiffness of 75 RDC units immediately after stringing at 60 pounds in a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 95 (16 x 18 pattern) on a constant pull machine.
After 24 hours (no playing), stringbed stiffness measured 66 RDC units, representing a 12 percent tension loss. Our control string, Prince Synthetic Gut Original Gold 16, measured 78 RDC units immediately after stringing and 71 RDC units after 24 hours, representing a 9 percent tension loss. Recoil added 16 grams to the weight of our unstrung frame.
The string was tested for five weeks by 37 USRSA playtesters, with NTRP ratings from 3.5 to 6.0. These are blind tests, with playtesters receiving unmarked strings in unmarked packages. For this playtest team, the normal longevity was 22.1 hours, and the average number of hours spent playtesting Recoil was 25.4.
The ends of the coil are cut at an angle, which is always nice. Despite it’s inherently slippery nature, Recoil has a slight textured feel to it. This texture might be why we had no clamping problems, nor problems grabbing the end of the string to weave the crosses, or getting knots to stay put. Recoil does seem to attract dirt, though, which really shows due to its color. You may need to wipe down the stringbed after stringing.
Prince suggests setting the reference tension for Recoil 10 percent lower than for a typical nylon string, due to its low-friction outer wrap. Consequently, we recommended that our playtesters string 5 to 10 percent lower than normal.
No playtester broke his sample during stringing, one reported problems with coil memory, one reported problems tying knots, and one reported friction burn.
On the court
Prince Recoil got great marks from our playtest team for Tension Retention and Resistance to Movement. Its score for Tension Retention was 9th best of the 123 strings we’ve playtested to date, and 17th best for Resistance to Movement. Our playtest team also liked Recoil’s Durability, Control, Comfort, and Spin Potential, giving it scores that are well above average in each of these categories. As a result, Recoil’s overall average score is well above average.
Three players broke Recoil during the playtest period, one at 10 hours, one at 12, and one at 14.
Conclusion
It’s always exciting to see manufacturers using new materials and manufacturing processes to create new products, and Recoil is on the cutting edge in this respect. With its unique composition and higher price point, Recoil is clearly a premium string.
We should note that our rating system penalizes low-power strings, even if lower power is advantageous to the players who would typically use that string. In other words, our team gave Recoil “only” an above-average rating for Power, lowering the overall score, even though this is actually a benefit given that the target player for this string typically generates his own power. Keep in mind that with its lower power and self-aligning properties, Recoil might also be a good choice for players needing to tame oversize racquets with a string that doesn’t require a lot of attention.
http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2008/08/prince_recoil.html
By Greg Raven
Prince Recoil is a solid core multifilament with some interesting features. The core is advanced thermoplastic for extra feel and comfort. The inner wrap is a new high-tenacity filament, for improved tension memory and better durability due to its high tensile strength.
The outer wrap is MicroWeb Technology from W. L. Gore & Associates. According to Prince, Gore’s MicroWeb Technology is a revolutionary material made by applying a special process to a proprietary formulation of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). ePTFE is a woven mesh-like structure that is flexible and strong. The outer ePTFE wrap provides a surface with ultra-low friction, allowing playability characteristics never before achieved in a string.
In the lab
The coil measured 40 feet. The diameter measured 1.30-1.33 mm prior to stringing, and 1.27-1.28 mm after stringing. We recorded a stringbed stiffness of 75 RDC units immediately after stringing at 60 pounds in a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 95 (16 x 18 pattern) on a constant pull machine.
After 24 hours (no playing), stringbed stiffness measured 66 RDC units, representing a 12 percent tension loss. Our control string, Prince Synthetic Gut Original Gold 16, measured 78 RDC units immediately after stringing and 71 RDC units after 24 hours, representing a 9 percent tension loss. Recoil added 16 grams to the weight of our unstrung frame.
The string was tested for five weeks by 37 USRSA playtesters, with NTRP ratings from 3.5 to 6.0. These are blind tests, with playtesters receiving unmarked strings in unmarked packages. For this playtest team, the normal longevity was 22.1 hours, and the average number of hours spent playtesting Recoil was 25.4.
The ends of the coil are cut at an angle, which is always nice. Despite it’s inherently slippery nature, Recoil has a slight textured feel to it. This texture might be why we had no clamping problems, nor problems grabbing the end of the string to weave the crosses, or getting knots to stay put. Recoil does seem to attract dirt, though, which really shows due to its color. You may need to wipe down the stringbed after stringing.
Prince suggests setting the reference tension for Recoil 10 percent lower than for a typical nylon string, due to its low-friction outer wrap. Consequently, we recommended that our playtesters string 5 to 10 percent lower than normal.
No playtester broke his sample during stringing, one reported problems with coil memory, one reported problems tying knots, and one reported friction burn.
On the court
Prince Recoil got great marks from our playtest team for Tension Retention and Resistance to Movement. Its score for Tension Retention was 9th best of the 123 strings we’ve playtested to date, and 17th best for Resistance to Movement. Our playtest team also liked Recoil’s Durability, Control, Comfort, and Spin Potential, giving it scores that are well above average in each of these categories. As a result, Recoil’s overall average score is well above average.
Three players broke Recoil during the playtest period, one at 10 hours, one at 12, and one at 14.
Conclusion
It’s always exciting to see manufacturers using new materials and manufacturing processes to create new products, and Recoil is on the cutting edge in this respect. With its unique composition and higher price point, Recoil is clearly a premium string.
We should note that our rating system penalizes low-power strings, even if lower power is advantageous to the players who would typically use that string. In other words, our team gave Recoil “only” an above-average rating for Power, lowering the overall score, even though this is actually a benefit given that the target player for this string typically generates his own power. Keep in mind that with its lower power and self-aligning properties, Recoil might also be a good choice for players needing to tame oversize racquets with a string that doesn’t require a lot of attention.
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