ShahofTennis
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Felt that its about time I contributed once more to the TT community and posted a review/comparison of some strings.
So first up we have IsoSpeed Black Fire 17. I got this stuff in a reel of the auction site, along with Prince Tour XP 17, which is also to be reviewed in this post. I have used this stuff in sets before about 18 months ago but never formally offered an opinion on it. I've been using Black poly's for a while now, for about the last year I want to say. What I've used ranges from RPM 17, to Prince Tour XC16L, to IsoSpeed Baseline Spin 16L, so the 1.27mm-1.25mm thickness has been consistent throughout all the strings used over the last year at least. IsoSpeed Black Fire fits well amidst the other smooth coated black polys I've used. It's moderately stiff(subjective), and provides access to decent pop and spin. I've strung this up in my Yonex SV95's a couple of times thus far, and have had about 30 hours to hit around with the stuff. In addition to all the attributes I am accustomed to in a black, round, coated, and 1.25mm poly string, Black Fire possesses the added attribute of having better feel and pocketing. TWU rates its stiffness about the same as Tour XC 16L, but even compared to that Black Fire seems to pocket better and feel much softer.
Power(Compared to RPM17, XC16L, etc.): Equal.
Power(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Less.
Spin(Compared to RPM17, XC16L, etc.): Equal.
Spin(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Less.
Feel(Compared to RPM17, XC16L): Better
Feel(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Equal.
Next Up, is Prince Tour XP 17, I went ahead and bought both Red and Green reels, which I will say are the same in terms of how they play. I have heard talk of the additives for color effect the playability and other characteristics in strings, and I'm sure they do, but the two colors of Tour XP felt and played identically. Some of the comments I can giove about the string are that it's very easy to string, since I believe Prince heats and stretches this stuff out. In addition to this, the heating and prestretching do lend themselves to tension maintenance. I was skeptical of this since Beast XP came out, and like then, in an effort to believe this, I'll pick it up after a few outings and hit with it again hoping it hasn't lost all of its magic. But I'll throw the thermopoly gimmick aside, and acknowledge that the string has clearly been prestretched. Now this string is a bit different from the others I have tried over the past many months, particularly in that it's not black, nor coated. It's smooth however, and although it is not coated I found that the spin potential was a bit better than RPM, XC16L, etc. This may have something to do with the string to ball coefficient, whereas the coated black strings deflect the ball more, this string and those I would compare it to grab the ball more. I would compare this string to Solinco Hyper G. The two seem to share the same levels of spin, power, and comfort/feel.
Power(Compared to HG16L): Equal
Spin(Compared to HG16L): A little Less.
Feel(Compared to HG16L): Equal
Here are some comparative Stats from TWU String Compare tool
Thanks for Reading
So first up we have IsoSpeed Black Fire 17. I got this stuff in a reel of the auction site, along with Prince Tour XP 17, which is also to be reviewed in this post. I have used this stuff in sets before about 18 months ago but never formally offered an opinion on it. I've been using Black poly's for a while now, for about the last year I want to say. What I've used ranges from RPM 17, to Prince Tour XC16L, to IsoSpeed Baseline Spin 16L, so the 1.27mm-1.25mm thickness has been consistent throughout all the strings used over the last year at least. IsoSpeed Black Fire fits well amidst the other smooth coated black polys I've used. It's moderately stiff(subjective), and provides access to decent pop and spin. I've strung this up in my Yonex SV95's a couple of times thus far, and have had about 30 hours to hit around with the stuff. In addition to all the attributes I am accustomed to in a black, round, coated, and 1.25mm poly string, Black Fire possesses the added attribute of having better feel and pocketing. TWU rates its stiffness about the same as Tour XC 16L, but even compared to that Black Fire seems to pocket better and feel much softer.
Power(Compared to RPM17, XC16L, etc.): Equal.
Power(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Less.
Spin(Compared to RPM17, XC16L, etc.): Equal.
Spin(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Less.
Feel(Compared to RPM17, XC16L): Better
Feel(Compared to XP17, HG16L): Equal.
Next Up, is Prince Tour XP 17, I went ahead and bought both Red and Green reels, which I will say are the same in terms of how they play. I have heard talk of the additives for color effect the playability and other characteristics in strings, and I'm sure they do, but the two colors of Tour XP felt and played identically. Some of the comments I can giove about the string are that it's very easy to string, since I believe Prince heats and stretches this stuff out. In addition to this, the heating and prestretching do lend themselves to tension maintenance. I was skeptical of this since Beast XP came out, and like then, in an effort to believe this, I'll pick it up after a few outings and hit with it again hoping it hasn't lost all of its magic. But I'll throw the thermopoly gimmick aside, and acknowledge that the string has clearly been prestretched. Now this string is a bit different from the others I have tried over the past many months, particularly in that it's not black, nor coated. It's smooth however, and although it is not coated I found that the spin potential was a bit better than RPM, XC16L, etc. This may have something to do with the string to ball coefficient, whereas the coated black strings deflect the ball more, this string and those I would compare it to grab the ball more. I would compare this string to Solinco Hyper G. The two seem to share the same levels of spin, power, and comfort/feel.
Power(Compared to HG16L): Equal
Spin(Compared to HG16L): A little Less.
Feel(Compared to HG16L): Equal
Here are some comparative Stats from TWU String Compare tool
Thanks for Reading
