Prince Synthetic, Gamma Synthetic, Prince Lightning as Cross?
- Thread starter TripleB
- Start date
schap02
Semi-Pro
Just some experience here - Duraflex would be my favorite - Gamme is the least durable, IMO - Lightning is a little stiffer than both the others but offers the best durability of the three...
TripleB
Hall of Fame
I would if I still did my own stringing...it's a little more expensive when you don't do your own stringing.
TripleB
TripleB
Hall of Fame
mikeler
Moderator
TripleB
Hall of Fame
Smooth...After my lack of durability with Black Code eating through my crosses in record time, I'm now sticking with smooth.
TripleB
mikeler
Moderator
Gosen is also smooth and a little cheaper. I've never tried it in a hybrid though. Make sure if you do try the Gamma that you get the version without WearGuard. That string has the same roughness as PSGD and would probably be subject to the same fraying. A buddy of mine bought the rest of my Big Ace off me so I gave him the Gamma and Gamma w/Wearguard to try. I'll ask him how they held up.
SteveI
Legend
I am sure this your experience... but the numbers say.
Stiffness:
Gamma 16 - 218
PSGD 16 - 213
Prince Lightning XX - 194
Lightning is the softest of the three and the lowest durability of the three.. beside that..all is well. Most folks report that the worst feature of the Lightning is durability. Now you may favor the Duraflex.. but the rest is just (sorry) plain wrong and bad information.
BBB if you are looking for a cross to soften up the stringbed... I would go with the Lightning. In your posts you had concerns about your arm. Lightning is somewaht soft and will create some decent power. None of these strings will really help much with spin. The Lightning holds tension quite well.
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TripleB
Hall of Fame
Thanks for the information and the help. Yea, you got it. Basically I want a black cross string that will soften up Leopard Plus Control 17 or Signum PPP 1.23 mains as much as possible. Power doesn't matter as long as I get a somewhat softer feel and some touch around the net. Asking alot I know but....
TripleB
mikeler
Moderator
Don't take these numbers as gospel since there are so many variables to consider. The Gamma feels much softer than the PSGD to me. I think the stiffness ratings are a great starting point though to hone in on what strings you would like to test. If you are concerned about softening up the stringbed, go with a softer multi than the Prince. I'm currently using a full bed of Maxim Touch 17 and that feels great on my arm.
SteveI
Legend
I would never that the RSI numbers as gospel and have said that here before. They are a nice starting point. There is no way PSGD plays softer than the Lightning.. and the PSGD has better durability than the Lightning all things being equal. Of course... Max Touch would be the best to make his stringbed play softer... but he was not asking about Max Touch. If I was matching poly with a syn gut.. I would use Forten Sweet 16. Seems to be made for just that purpose. Really not a great in a full bed or a main string but really works well as a cross.
My point was the post I was addessing was not very accurate..and really not great info..as is the case many times in this site. I find some folks that have just joined this site.. knew nothing about strings or frames and two weeks later they are giving out information like they are Steve Huff.
mikeler
Moderator
Since I posted my experiences about the strings the OP requested, I thought I'd provide a little more info on my current setup. It sounds like the OP may be stuck with strings provided by their stringer at the moment so my info or yours about the Forten may be of no use. With regards to the Forten, it seems to be a fairly well liked string on this forum. Would you say it is the softest synthetic gut you have tried?
SteveI
Legend
Forten Sweet 17 plays very soft (RSI =194) and almost feels like a multi. I would say that it is the softest I have played. I would not use it as a main string.. but perfect as a cross with something like CyberFlash 17.
Steve
mikeler
Moderator
OK, good info. For now I need that soft multi but perhaps one day my arm will be completely back to normal.
schap02
Semi-Pro
Steve - Appreciate the vote of confidence about my experiences.
I don't really refer to any of the guides too often (and maybe I should start checking some information out there)
I probably should have noted - "Just some OF MY experiences here....blah...duraflex to me is my favorite of the 3, I've found Gamma to feel softer in the string bed and I'VE noticed Lightning to be the most durable IMO - IN MY OPINION.
I was just shedding some light on what I noticed in my frames...
I thought this was a message board - as in a place for people to share their thoughts...
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SteveI
Legend
Sorry Man,
I do like your avatar...
I was a bit out of line.. since they are your impressions and experiences.. and not gospel. I was really addressing another issue on this site.. and was on my soap box.Yes .. this is a message board - as in a place for people to share their thoughts. My Bad!
Steve
snoopy
Professional
I used Forten Sweet 16 as a cross with SPPP 17 mains.
The comfort was decent, power was ok, and spin was super. If you play with a lot of feel and touch this might not be a good set up since the string bed was a little mushy feeling.
I found the durability to be excellent. I inserted string savers when I thought I saw some notching. I eventually cut the strings out. The SPPP was notched much more than the Forten.
Overall I thought it was a pretty good combo. I made note of it as a string set up that I might want to go back to.
The comfort was decent, power was ok, and spin was super. If you play with a lot of feel and touch this might not be a good set up since the string bed was a little mushy feeling.
I found the durability to be excellent. I inserted string savers when I thought I saw some notching. I eventually cut the strings out. The SPPP was notched much more than the Forten.
Overall I thought it was a pretty good combo. I made note of it as a string set up that I might want to go back to.
SteveI
Legend
I found the Forten Sweet 16 worked best with the stiffer polys. SPPP is one of softer ones. I used the Forten Sweet 16 in hybrids with TS CyberFlash, Unique BH, Wilson Enduro Pro and Gosen Polylon Ice.
MJHendrickson21
New User
I got to be honest with you and I'm not trying to be rude but I laughed so hard when I read this that I literally fell out of my chair. Why would you even consider Prince Lightning? Don't they recommend this string for children?
SteveI
Legend
Prince Lightning is decent offering and has been around a few years.. while it not the best string in the world .. it has some good points. I used to play in doubles group.. the best player a 4.5 used this string and a Prince POS O/S and used to serve and volley us off the court. I think it makes a nice cross and a decent main string. Holds tension well, easy on the arm.. and it is cheap.
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MJHendrickson21
New User
SteveI the worst thing about Prince Lightning is that it does not hold tension well. I agree its easy on the arm and cheap but it provides the worst spin, feel, and power of any other string.
SteveI
Legend
RSI #s:
Prince Lightning XX 16 Nylon 1.29 194 10.76
Prince Lightning XX 17 Nylon 1.26 207 9.68
http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/issues/200809/200809allstrings.html
The 10.76,9.68 are the tension loss numbers.. some of the best for syn gut on the RSI string lab tests. A 10 or below is quite good.
This is what the string is designed for: 16G
An all-round performance string with Prince Powerfoil technology. Designed to offer greater power and increased durability, Prince recommends the LightningXX for 'tweener performance frames.
The string is not really made for feel...but holds tension great.. somewhat soft... The 17G was great for spin in my experience.
I hope that helps..
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