Right now I see a 660 for like $80 shipped. Is that a good deal?
Or should I try it out first? I see one set (40 I presume) for like $8.
My experience with Blue Gear (BG) up and till yesterday had only been with the 16g/1.28 mm BG crossed with Supex titan sg 1.30. I decided to test drive the 1.25 BG/Titan 1.30 strung @ 52/55 as a comparison to see which one I will go with--So yesterday I played in a little doubles 4.0+ tourney w/ my bro in law. I usually play singles and love the baseline, so dubs is not my specialty per se, but I was very very impressed with the BG 1.25. Here are my thoughts/summary:
Touch/Feel: First off, you gotta try BG with titan or any softer syn gut-it really brings feel/touch into the stiffer BG. I was hitting some really nice touch shots and drop shots yesterday. Volleys were really nice as well, and there was plenty of pop/forgiveness no the "quick hands" shots at the net. The 1.25 was much better in this dept than the 1.28 BG.
Power/Control: WOW!!! Much better pop over the 16g BG. Keep in mind, it was beautiful yesterday (about 62*) so that certainly had a positive effect. Groundstrokes were powerful, but with plenty of control. My serves were $$$ with this setup. I played the equiv. of about 4.5 sets of dubs and NEVER was broken all day. We played on clay, and my kicker was awesome as well as my out wide slice serve. Was very happy all day. My 2hb was hard and deep and anyone who has hit with BG can attest--backhand slices are just AWESOME and WICKED!!:twisted: In my opinion, I can hit topspin with any string, but to me, slices is where BG is just uneblievable!!!
SPIN: Hell it's Blue Gear, you know the spin was awesome!!
OVERALL: Loving me some BG 17G/Titan 16g. Tension at 52/55 was about perfect in the Tour Diablo. I have some 1.19mm BG coming in and will certainly try, but right now the 17g 1.25 is what I am going to stay with for a bit. For all you dub players, do not shy away from this string just cause it is textured, I was extremely pleased with the feel/touch/pop I got on volleys with this setup. The true key for BG is to cross it with with a syn gut--it really is the "best of both worlds" to quote Hannah Montana!!![]()
Have you tried big ace?
Which do you prefer if you have?
I don't know what you are "seeing". Try to add more detail. But on general, all Pro Supex strings are cheap.
Kev, could you really tell a difference in pop over the 1.28? My 1.19 should be ready shortly and I'll give it a run out tomorrow!! When I put in my new order on friday, I debated over 1.28 or 1.25 and ended up doing the 1.25, so I'm glad i did.
Just got back from a lunchtime hit with Blue gear 1.19. I strung it up with titan syn gut crosses at 56 and the BG mains were at 54. That's my go to setup. I put it in my PDR. In my APDC, I have BG 1.28 at 54 and titan at 56.
1st of all, the weather was amazing at lunch, 65 degrees so the ball was really flying much easier. I did not notice a big increase in power over the 1.28, in fact, in my case the 1.28 almost seemed to generate easier depth than the 1.19. Both my sticks weigh around 11.9 but the apdc is much more headlight and that might make a difference in my opinion as well.
I like the 1.19 BG, but the "BG-ness" of it is much less than either the 1.22 or the 1.28. I found that it played very similar to BA in fact. I got plenty of spin but it was not the same variety as the 1.28. Right from my 1st hit on the 1.28, I got a big grin on my face from the ridiculous amount of action i was getting on the ball. I did not have the same feeling with the 1.19. I switched back and forth between both sticks today so it was not just a case of my memory playing tricks on me. I did not serve any-I only hit groundies but the control was excellent and I was able to hit some really good angles.
In summary, I like the BG 1.19, I have another half set of it that I will gladly use then I will be happy to start using the 6 sets of BG 1.25 that I have in the cabinet. 1.19 is a great string but I do prefer the 1.25 or the 1.28 because they provide more of the characteristics of what I like about BG.
Just got back from a lunchtime hit with Blue gear 1.19. I strung it up with titan syn gut crosses at 56 and the BG mains were at 54. That's my go to setup. I put it in my PDR. In my APDC, I have BG 1.28 at 54 and titan at 56.
1st of all, the weather was amazing at lunch, 65 degrees so the ball was really flying much easier. I did not notice a big increase in power over the 1.28, in fact, in my case the 1.28 almost seemed to generate easier depth than the 1.19. Both my sticks weigh around 11.9 but the apdc is much more headlight and that might make a difference in my opinion as well.
I like the 1.19 BG, but the "BG-ness" of it is much less than either the 1.22 or the 1.28. I found that it played very similar to BA in fact. I got plenty of spin but it was not the same variety as the 1.28. Right from my 1st hit on the 1.28, I got a big grin on my face from the ridiculous amount of action i was getting on the ball. I did not have the same feeling with the 1.19. I switched back and forth between both sticks today so it was not just a case of my memory playing tricks on me. I did not serve any-I only hit groundies but the control was excellent and I was able to hit some really good angles.
In summary, I like the BG 1.19, I have another half set of it that I will gladly use then I will be happy to start using the 6 sets of BG 1.25 that I have in the cabinet. 1.19 is a great string but I do prefer the 1.25 or the 1.28 because they provide more of the characteristics of what I like about BG.
PED: BG comes in a 1.19 ( 18-19G ) intresting. THough I just strung up BG 1.25 with PSGD and going ti hit tonight. Next time I might try Titan as you suggested.Just got back from a lunchtime hit with Blue gear 1.19. I strung it up with titan syn gut crosses at 56 and the BG mains were at 54. That's my go to setup. I put it in my PDR. In my APDC, I have BG 1.28 at 54 and titan at 56.
1st of all, the weather was amazing at lunch, 65 degrees so the ball was really flying much easier. I did not notice a big increase in power over the 1.28, in fact, in my case the 1.28 almost seemed to generate easier depth than the 1.19. Both my sticks weigh around 11.9 but the apdc is much more headlight and that might make a difference in my opinion as well.
I like the 1.19 BG, but the "BG-ness" of it is much less than either the 1.22 or the 1.28. I found that it played very similar to BA in fact. I got plenty of spin but it was not the same variety as the 1.28. Right from my 1st hit on the 1.28, I got a big grin on my face from the ridiculous amount of action i was getting on the ball. I did not have the same feeling with the 1.19. I switched back and forth between both sticks today so it was not just a case of my memory playing tricks on me. I did not serve any-I only hit groundies but the control was excellent and I was able to hit some really good angles.
In summary, I like the BG 1.19, I have another half set of it that I will gladly use then I will be happy to start using the 6 sets of BG 1.25 that I have in the cabinet. 1.19 is a great string but I do prefer the 1.25 or the 1.28 because they provide more of the characteristics of what I like about BG.
PED... do you find yourself changing grips when hitting w/ BG? IOW, if you were gripping or are a semi-western 1HFH, do you find that the BG coaxes or coerces you to try a more extreme grip... moving to a more western, to get all the spin you can out of the ball?...what i would like is to get more spin/control/depth, w/o changing my grip much... i think Lloyd has alluded to this...
thanks, J
^^^Are you saying that you like a stiff feel JGN? BG is stiffer than full BA but it's nowhere near like bb alu in terms of stiffness. If you want a stiffer feel, I would use a full job of BG 1.28 and that should take care of things or you could do the poly on poly hybrid you mentioned of BG and BA. The US distributor mentioned they have had excellent luck running a hybrid of BG mains and cyber power crosses so you might want to consider that.
WAO, I think the psgd will give you a "Crisper" feel than the titan which is a good bit softer. I like tons of pocketing so the titan fits the bill for me. I think you will like your new setup tonight. For me the 1.19 was interesting but I do like the thicker versions better. Kevin things that the grooves are likely deeper on the bigger gauges because of the thicker core and that makes sense to me and this enables the thicker BG to get a better grip on the ball. With the thicker versions, you can just rear back and let it fly.
^^^ i'm in the same boat as you, i do not know what to do with my BA 1.17(was thinking hybrid X1 or NRG2)
i'm in the same boat as you, i do not know what to do with my BA 1.17 (was thinking hybrid X1 or NRG2)Think i should hybrid big ace with biphase or go full 1.17mm?
I think I am going to try it with a 17g syn gut of PSGD or even just good ole' cheap Pro Supex orig syn gut 17g. Or I may sell it to whoever is interested:wink:
Pro Supex original syn... how does it play?
JCS, my last hybrid was BA and NRG. Posted back my innitial thoughts. So far my best experience with a hybrid. I just strung up BG and PSGD and if the weather breaks today will play tonight. I do want to try Titan as PED suggested.^^^ i'm in the same boat as you, i do not know what to do with my BA 1.17(was thinking hybrid X1 or NRG2)
PED... do you find yourself changing grips when hitting w/ BG? IOW, if you were gripping or are a semi-western 1HFH, do you find that the BG coaxes or coerces you to try a more extreme grip... moving to a more western, to get all the spin you can out of the ball?...what i would like is to get more spin/control/depth, w/o changing my grip much... i think Lloyd has alluded to this...
thanks, J
JCS, my last hybrid was BA and NRG. Posted back my innitial thoughts. So far my best experience with a hybrid. I just strung up BG and PSGD and if the weather breaks today will play tonight. I do want to try Titan as PED suggested.
J, i use a continental grip for everything...lol Seriously I use SW forehand and I don't really make any changes when using BG. If anything, I really whip it harder and really try to pound winners. My tendency (not a good one btw) is to try and hit up and not as much thru the ball. I've really worked on taking it earlier and really pounding it and using BG helps in this. I'm not as worried about getting action on the ball so I hit it thru and cleaner than I might otherwise. Its not all the string I know.
One really key point for me is the use of the BG hybrid. I really like this setup with BG mains and the syn gut or multi cross of your choice. I much prefer this to full BG from last summer. I had a torrid time with the 1.25 full BG and was unable to produce clean put away balls on approach shots for instance. Once again, it was more than the strings but when I cut out full BG and went back to my BA/Titan, the problem disappeared.
My 2 cents on the BA 1.17. I enjoyed it as a full job, but am looking forward to using it as a hybrid. I think it would be great paired with a good syn gut or multi like X1 or NRG. It's a nice string and so far I like the equal of BA 1.22 which is my fav of that setup. My son has full BA 1.22 in his aerostorm and that's a great setup.
J: how is going with the K90 and have you demoed anything else recently?
I still love my PDR but am surprised that I can tell that the stiffness of 71 vs a rating of 68 in my apdc. I would have assumed that it was fairly negligible at that level. I do like that stick. I stuck 2g at the bottom of the handle tonight to get it swinging a little bit easier. I don't want to increase the weight much over 11.8 or 11.9 but I did want to make it a bit more headlight like my apdc setup.
^^^ i have to agree with PT63... BA is easy to string, no problems... but i also use CyberFlash, now that can be a pain sometimes (hard weaves on ATW crosses, uggh!!). CF kinks easier than BA.
Do you weave your crosses "one-ahead"? And when you get near the end, do you 'push-weave' or 'sew' your cross?
Do you use Red BA on the TF??? Sounds like that would look sweet!![]()
^^rob, I think you'll like it with titan. It will have a slightly softer feel than the psgd. I'm still getting used to the BG in 1.19. I had good 2 hour session with it today. I can't tell which I prefer in my PDR: BG or BA. BG/Titan works better by far in my apdc, but the additional stiffness of BG over BA makes it not as compliant in the stiffer PDR. No matter, it still works really well. I was able to get some wicked spin-even when returning low hard shots. My hitting partner mentioned the action I was getting. I just smiled and told him I had "mother's little helper". I didn't say anything about the BG
I might go 53/56 with BG/titan next time in the pdr to loosen things up a bit. One last point: I've not noticed this much with BG 1.28/titan, but with the 1.19 BG/Titan you get a great metallic pop when you really connect: it's very similar to what you get with full ALU or full CF and it's very satisfying.
Have any of you tried BA Micro? I have a set that should be delivered tomorrow. I'm going to string it up as a hybrid and give it a go.
^^^Good write up Jono. BA 1.17 is my favorite of the BA family, but I still have to retry BG 1.25 in the Blue Gear side of the tree. I'm also stringing my BG 6 pounds lower than your 60 so that might account for why I'm finding it more compliant
For now, I prefer the BG 1.28 to BG 1.19. Having said that, BG 1.19 was very effective for me today![]()
I managed to squeeze in two and a half hours of tennis last night and I tried out the following setups:
MFil 300 - BG 1.25 @ 60lbs
MFil 300 - BG 1.19/BA 1.17 @ 60lbs
MFil 300 - BA 1.17 @ 60lbs
Aerogel 200 - BG 1.25/Spiral Flex 1.30
Only one thing I can say - the BG119/BA117 and BA117 setups were amazing. Groundstrokes were just full of pop. My opponents commented on the amount of power that my strokes had. Even though the strings were thinner, I could swing hard and fast with lots of confidence powering flat angled returns that were unreachable. I could also get lots of topspin with the BG/BA setup especially on short balls, brushing up well on the ball to keep it in play as well as placing them deep into the opponents' baseline. I could see them struggling to control those deep balls, and when I applied topspin, the ball kicked high up forcing them to return soft high balls that I could put away at the net.
BG 125 felt stiff and underpowered in comparison to the BG 119 and BA 117.
The Aerogel 200 with BG125/SF130 felt overpowered. Flat shots were begging to go long and I had to really brush up on the ball to keep it in play.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the smaller gauges and my new mantra is "GO THIN!".
Good point about the tension of BG 125.
The only reason why I strung it at 60lbs is because that is the mid tension of the MFil 300, and stringing all my racquets at the same tension would give it a fair base for comparison.
I would strongly suggest to anyone stringing with BG 125 to lower the tension by 3-6 lbs (as PED also suggested) to give it more playability.
Kevin, you make a good point, down the line shots both forehand and backhand are wicked with BG...whatever gauge one uses.
I have the BG 1.25/Titan @ 52/55 and LOVE IT!! Played 4 sets of singles last night- 2 against a hard hitting 18yr old ranked junior and a 2 against my other 4.0 singles player (for the record won all 4: 4,2,3,1 whoohoo!) Anyway, I know have about 7+ hrs on the BG 1.25/Titan and the gears are worn abit, but the spin and control is still there and then some! The spin to me is really coming from the fact that BG is a stiffer string in relation to BA. My crosscourt forehand was just in a zone and my 2hb has finally been resurrected--I didn't hit it this good when I was a ranked jr!!
As to JCtennis: my serves are awesome with the BG/titan. Flats, slices and kickers are all very nice. One big thing I really noticed, in my last 45+ games of serving with this setup, I have only doubled 3 times!!! I have so much condience in my 2nd serve right now and it is great!!
Finally, as you may have noticed (or probably really don't care) but I have a 3rd Diablo strung with PHT/MT and I have been trying to figure out how to set it up and stay in the "Supex Family"--Jono-you convinced me: I am going to go with my BG 1.19/BA 1.17 and string it at 52#. I just think the all poly thin gauged will be a fun setup!
PS: I turned one of my buddies onto the Blue Gear and he ordered some yesterday. He is going to try BG 1.25 crossed with Supex Poly Power Soft--I thought this was a very interesting combo. It should work well, but I told him to string it at around 52-54 at the most to really get the benefits!