Pro's Pro Strings!?

[NoNameZ]

Yup, that's Pro's Pro. Most of the Poly I've tried goes dead within 2-4 hours, but the reels are super cheap. I personally don't think any of their polyesters have amazing feel (or sound at impact), but I can get some really good results for a couple hours out of a few of them, namely Blackout strung <50lb. Their Multi's seem to have closer feel to their Name Brand counterparts, like HexMulti, which plays just like the Dunlop HexyFibre...The biggest difference I've noticed in PP strings is that they lack the special coatings that the bigger brands use, therefore reducing snapback, durability, and perhaps feel. I also went through several sets of the Orange Hexaspin, which played and felt a lot like signum Pro Poly Plasma Hextreme, for about 2 hours, then turned into a rocket launcher and started feeling stiff, like it lost all its pocketing properties! Again, I noticed that the ProPro Hex Poly looked and strung up just like a copy of Signum Hextreme.....however it was lacking the slickness, which I am assuming is a coating or proprietary additive, which also caused the string to lockup and get stuck out of place probably around an hour. Pro's Pro reels are so cheap though, that if you string yourself, it's fun to save some money and test out a couple reels, or have it on hand for anyone that just wants a cheap polyester string. I miss access to Pro Supex here in the States, because IMHO they make great budget strings, but they weren't Pro's Pro level cheap, and now the market if oversaturated with strings in the mid-range price point from bugger brands that overshadowed the Pro Supex Strings. Pro Supex Maxim Touch was a fantastic multifilament string that I switched many of my Wilson NXT customers over to and it was less than $10/set. Pro Supex Blue Gear was a lot like the Diadem strings, many years before Diadem "invented" the Star Core technology. Pro Supex was ahead of their time, if you are overseas, I recommend to test Pro Supex along with Pro's Pro.

I wish I saw this before I bought a reel or PP Plus Power... I’m getting back into tennis after almost 7 years and needed to restring all my rackets and I loved SPPP back in the day. PPPP mains with Hitec crosses at 45/50 in a TC97 and it did not feel good at all.... first time I felt like I had to cut out a string because I couldn’t find a way to make it work.

I know it’s the strings because I had a second TC97 strung with Oehms Alu Pearl/ProLine Evo at 45 that played fantastically. It’s been about two weeks since I put PPPP/Hitec at 40/45 and today the strings are finally playable (not good, just bearable).

I also strung up a Prince Tricomp 90 with Hitec/PPPP at 50/45 and it’s not great either, a better start but that’s not saying much.... gonna try full bed of Hitec, and PPPP as a cross on Alu Pearl at some point

 

[ron schaap]

I wish I saw this before I bought a reel or PP Plus Power... I’m getting back into tennis after almost 7 years and needed to restring all my rackets and I loved SPPP back in the day. PPPP mains with Hitec crosses at 45/50 in a TC97 and it did not feel good at all.... first time I felt like I had to cut out a string because I couldn’t find a way to make it work.

I know it’s the strings because I had a second TC97 strung with Oehms Alu Pearl/ProLine Evo at 45 that played fantastically. It’s been about two weeks since I put PPPP/Hitec at 40/45 and today the strings are finally playable (not good, just bearable).

I also strung up a Prince Tricomp 90 with Hitec/PPPP at 50/45 and it’s not great either, a better start but that’s not saying much.... gonna try full bed of Hitec, and PPPP as a cross on Alu Pearl at some point

You shouldnt just pair any poly with any multi, PP or not. That doesnt make sense. Furthermore you shouldnt use thicker crosses than mains and Hitec is rather thick i remmeber. so this conclusion of yours does not make any sense. Why wont you just string your racquet with PPPP fullbed and not higher than 22kg than it would be a fair test and review otherwise it does not makes sense.

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

NoNameZ, The Plus Power is pretty similar to Signum Plasma after it breaks in, maybe ~30min, then it only plays like it for about 2 hours, then tension falls off a cliff. The original Signum held it's tension better (not amazing) but I was ready to cut it (SPPP) out after about 6 hours if I hadn't broken it, at which point it bagged out. There are midpriced copies of more popular strings that play pretty close to the real thing for longer than Pro's Pro; you really get what you pay for. I mean with a reel of Pro's Pro you are paying $2-4 per set of poly, which is cheaper than a pkg of synthetic gut. If you want the control and spin of Poly for the price of pennies and like stringing often for yourself, Pro's Pro is the way to go! *** You can give the Pro's Pro poly strings a really good pre-stretch, and that helps break them in ahead of time and level out the tension maintenance a bit, although you lose some pop. But, if it's control above all else you are after, I can definitely recommend pre-stretching PP strings. Some people think I'm crazy, But I like to pre-stretch my Volkl Cyclone, it's loses some pop, but it doesn't feel like a board right off the stringer, same thing with Tour Bite. I don't pre-stretch ALU Power, because it loses it's "magic sauce".

 

[ron schaap]

NoNameZ, The Plus Power is pretty similar to Signum Plasma after it breaks in, maybe ~30min, then it only plays like it for about 2 hours, then tension falls off a cliff. The original Signum held it's tension better (not amazing) but I was ready to cut it (SPPP) out after about 6 hours if I hadn't broken it, at which point it bagged out. There are midpriced copies of more popular strings that play pretty close to the real thing for longer than Pro's Pro; you really get what you pay for. I mean with a reel of Pro's Pro you are paying $2-4 per set of poly, which is cheaper than a pkg of synthetic gut. If you want the control and spin of Poly for the price of pennies and like stringing often for yourself, Pro's Pro is the way to go! *** You can give the Pro's Pro poly strings a really good pre-stretch, and that helps break them in ahead of time and level out the tension maintenance a bit, although you lose some pop. But, if it's control above all else you are after, I can definitely recommend pre-stretching PP strings. Some people think I'm crazy, But I like to pre-stretch my Volkl Cyclone, it's loses some pop, but it doesn't feel like a board right off the stringer, same thing with Tour Bite. I don't pre-stretch ALU Power, because it loses it's "magic sauce".

You swrongly suggest that because of the price Pros pro string have a shorter durability than expensive strings. While you know that is not true. You play alu too and that expensive string has according to many a short life span too. furthermore with Pros pro strings as with other strings it depends on the gauge,tension and playing style how long it lasts.
Probably you never tried Pros pro concept 1.28 because that string has longer durability than many big brand strings. Ofcourse 1.18 PPPP has not so long life span, but Yonex poly tour pro 1.20 does not either!
I say just use thicker gauge if you are a string eater. It has nothing to do whether it is a famous brand or not.

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

You swrongly suggest that because of the price Pros pro string have a shorter durability than expensive strings. While you know that is not true. You play alu too and that expensive string has according to many a short life span too. furthermore with Pros pro strings as with other strings it depends on the gauge,tension and playing style how long it lasts.
Probably you never tried Pros pro concept 1.28 because that string has longer durability than many big brand strings. Ofcourse 1.18 PPPP has not so long life span, but Yonex poly tour pro 1.20 does not either!
I say just use thicker gauge if you are a string eater. It has nothing to do whether it is a famous brand or not.

Yeah I never tried Concept. I will add that Blackout, prestretched, felt great until it broke around 5 hours for me. I love Pro's Pro Strings! I should have mentioned that! I think they are a great value, and most have much better feel than say Gamm Poly Z or the Gosen Cheap Poly. I liked almost all the Pro-s Pro strings I've tried, they play great, but for most of them the playability really starts to fall off by 2nd or 3rd outing, falls off harder than ALU Power IMHO. ALU loses it's magic "pop" where the ball just drops in with tons of pace after 2 hours, but then it is still controllable for another 4-8 hours just doesn't feel as good loses that magic quick pocketing. Whereas, Pro's Pro polyesters, for the most part, lose so much tension and/or playability after 2 hours that they feel like a completely different string, either gaining too much power, or going dead, losing their pop. For an a example I really liked the Devil SPin (no fun to string!), played like Kirsschbaum Pro Line 2 Rough, but more sandpaper-ey, but after 2 or 3 hours, it seemed like it lost all tensions, and felt completely powerless and gave a lot more shock to the arm. I just think players should be educated that a $2 string can still play great for most players, but don't expect it to perform the same after 2 hours of heavy hitting. My go-to string these days is Tecnifibre Black Code 17 in most of my racquets, and it plays great until it breaks for me at around 5-7 hours. For me, since I am a racquetaholic and currently playing with racquets I only have one copy of, I like to know that the racquet I want to use for a day of matches will play consistently for the day. When I had 6 Donnay Pro One's, I was perfectly happy to play all day with PP Blackout, prestretched, because I could switch racquets every 2 hours. Pro's Pro Strings are one of the greatest values in tennis available!

 

[NoNameZ]

NoNameZ, The Plus Power is pretty similar to Signum Plasma after it breaks in, maybe ~30min, then it only plays like it for about 2 hours, then tension falls off a cliff. The original Signum held it's tension better (not amazing) but I was ready to cut it (SPPP) out after about 6 hours if I hadn't broken it, at which point it bagged out. There are midpriced copies of more popular strings that play pretty close to the real thing for longer than Pro's Pro; you really get what you pay for. I mean with a reel of Pro's Pro you are paying $2-4 per set of poly, which is cheaper than a pkg of synthetic gut. If you want the control and spin of Poly for the price of pennies and like stringing often for yourself, Pro's Pro is the way to go! *** You can give the Pro's Pro poly strings a really good pre-stretch, and that helps break them in ahead of time and level out the tension maintenance a bit, although you lose some pop. But, if it's control above all else you are after, I can definitely recommend pre-stretching PP strings. Some people think I'm crazy, But I like to pre-stretch my Volkl Cyclone, it's loses some pop, but it doesn't feel like a board right off the stringer, same thing with Tour Bite. I don't pre-stretch ALU Power, because it loses it's "magic sauce".

I think I might actually prefer the "bagged out" feel of SPPP; I know that it's not a good idea, but I had some SPPP in a Pure Control 2001 from last time I played, and it still felt exactly like I remembered. But I think you're right, I should have more perspective on the price vs performance. PP strings really are good in that respect, I think I just brought my own expectations way too high.

Ron, you're right in suggesting that I should do a full bed of PPPP, and I'll move that up next on my list. I had a chance to hit with a full bed of Hitec at 55lbs, and it's showing signs of being board-y initially, and feeling better upon breaking in. The reason I haven't tried PPPP full bed was because it was never meant to be anything more than a cross string.

 

[Simplicius]

.

I wish I saw this before I bought a reel or PP Plus Power... I’m getting back into tennis after almost 7 years and needed to restring all my rackets and I loved SPPP back in the day. PPPP mains with Hitec crosses at 45/50 in a TC97 and it did not feel good at all.... first time I felt like I had to cut out a string because I couldn’t find a way to make it work.

I know it’s the strings because I had a second TC97 strung with Oehms Alu Pearl/ProLine Evo at 45 that played fantastically. It’s been about two weeks since I put PPPP/Hitec at 40/45 and today the strings are finally playable (not good, just bearable).

I also strung up a Prince Tricomp 90 with Hitec/PPPP at 50/45 and it’s not great either, a better start but that’s not saying much.... gonna try full bed of Hitec, and PPPP as a cross on Alu Pearl at some point

Just try PP Plus Power 1.23 mains 51 lbs with PP Red Devil 1.19 crosses 49 lbs on your 97 sqi.
You're gonna love it!

 

[tennisintheeighties]

I am having some golf elbow issues, so i put the head velocity mains / bhb7 crosses.
Confortable, but nothing really “ wow” i would say. And it Snapped in one hour.

I switched to pro’s pro syngut main/ red devil crosses on my v7 blade.
The pros pro synthetic gut works better than velocity. Same spin, even softer, less strings movement.
Reel for $22

 

[esm]

I am having some golf elbow issues, so i put the head velocity mains / bhb7 crosses.
Confortable, but nothing really “ wow” i would say. And it Snapped in one hour.

I switched to pro’s pro syngut main/ red devil crosses on my v7 blade.
The pros pro synthetic gut works better than velocity. Same spin, even softer, less strings movement.
Reel for $22

the PP syn gut mains and RD crosses is a good combination

 

[Wheelz]

Best PP string for spin?

 

[H22 fan]

the PP syn gut mains and RD crosses is a good combination

Yes, for 30 min till one hour, then syn gut breaks.

 

[esm]

Yes, for 30 min till one hour, then syn gut breaks.

Maybe. Then again, that’s probably “good” compared to the more expensive brand/options.
am not a string breaker, so I don’t know. Sorry.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Yes, for 30 min till one hour, then syn gut breaks.

played yesterday 35 mn.
I’ll tell you that tomorrow

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Best PP string for spin?

Blackout / Stratagem 8 and RedDevil ( round shape ) in my opinion

 

[ron schaap]

Blackout / Stratagem 8 and RedDevil ( round shape ) in my opinion

are you talking about a hybrid of shaped strings? and do you mean the thinnest RD or is the 1.29 just as spin friendly? I ve read here that other find the Devil Spin very spin friendly too?

 

[tennisintheeighties]

are you talking about a hybrid of shaped strings? and do you mean the thinnest RD or is the 1.29 just as spin friendly? I ve read here that other find the Devil Spin very spin friendly too?

Not hybrid.
I like the spin of blackout.( black code more spinny)
Stratagem 8 is a kind of babolat rpm.
And all the red devil are excellent ( from 1.14 to 1.24)

 

[Wheelz]

Full bed for spin. For 100sq 16x19. Something similar in the range of the Solinco strings (hyper g , confidential)

 

[tennisintheeighties]

I’m using the blackout on my pure aero. Never had this amount of rpm in my whole life.
I’m extremely satisfied… for about 1 hour.
After that, the spin production is dramatically inferior. The strings stopped to bite the ball like I like.

Any other string from pro’s pro with the same bite, and for at least 3 hours ?
( i tried hexaspin twist, i have 0 sensation with this string)

 

[A_Instead]

Try Red Devil and Black Force...but if you insist on texture..try Eruption..

 

[Dalf]

I’m using the blackout on my pure aero. Never had this amount of rpm in my whole life.
I’m extremely satisfied… for about 1 hour.
After that, the spin production is dramatically inferior. The strings stopped to bite the ball like I like.

Any other string from pro’s pro with the same bite, and for at least 3 hours ?
( i tried hexaspin twist, i have 0 sensation with this string)

I've been playing with Black Out 1,24 and Strategem 8 1,30. For your need, I think Strategem 8 is better. I find Pro's Pro monofilament strings tend to be softer than other brands (which I like). But the Strategem 8 1,30 is on the stiffer side of Pro's Pro. It certainly lasts longer than Black Out 1,24. I haven't tried other gauges though. Even though Strategem 8 feels smooth, it grips the balls well.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

I've been playing with Black Out 1,24 and Strategem 8 1,30. For your need, I think Strategem 8 is better. I find Pro's Pro monofilament strings tend to be softer than other brands (which I like). But the Strategem 8 1,30 is on the stiffer side of Pro's Pro. It certainly lasts longer than Black Out 1,24. I haven't tried other gauges though. Even though Strategem 8 feels smooth, it grips the balls well.

Ok too bad, because I had a reel of stratagem 8 and I ended up doing some stringing for my friends using the whole reel !

 

[ChrisG]

Pro’s pro strings are quite disappointing. I don’t know why people keep buying those when there are sub 100$ options with way better overall quality.
I tried blackout, stratagem, cyber power and find them all very average. Blackout was the best but too mushy and durability is a joke

 

[ChrisG]

And I’m my own stringer so I don’t mind stringing more often if performance is good but it doesn’t imho

 

[Brand77]

Well, for me it is an easy choice. I can buy an expensive string and play average or I can buy a cheap string and play average. Their low powered syngut feels much better to me than, for instance, the syngut from babolat and technifibre.

I am pretty sure that for 95% of the people here, myself included, the quality of the string should be the least of their worries.

 

[ChrisG]

Well, for me it is an easy choice. I can buy an expensive string and play average or I can buy a cheap string and play average. Their low powered syngut feels much better to me than, for instance, the syngut from babolat and technifibre.

I am pretty sure that for 95% of the people here, myself included, the quality of the string should be the least of their worries.

I agree on the expensive strings, it’s useless for us rec players to pay the luxilon price tag. However a bit of durability/playability is needed for improving, being able to hit with a stable setup for more than 2-3h.
I don’t know their SG so maybe the difference with other brands is not as big as with their poly.
Personally, I play with tourna silver 7tour (69€ onTWE), and I get a superior experience while keeping the budget low.
Also, I don’t like soft strings as I think I get less feedback and control, and that’s kind of a trademark of PP strings, so maybe I’m not the right player for their strings

 

[Uncoil]

Pro’s pro strings are quite disappointing. I don’t know why people keep buying those when there are sub 100$ options with way better overall quality.
I tried blackout, stratagem, cyber power and find them all very average. Blackout was the best but too mushy and durability is a joke

They're great as a cross string for hybrids. Hyper G mains and Eruption crosses is a fantastic setup.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

d

They're great as a cross string for hybrids. Hyper G mains and Eruption crosses is a fantastic setup.

what’s the purpose to string hyperG and Eruption, i mean, it’s almost the same string, am I right ?

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Pro’s pro strings are quite disappointing. I don’t know why people keep buying those when there are sub 100$ options with way better overall quality.
I tried blackout, stratagem, cyber power and find them all very average. Blackout was the best but too mushy and durability is a joke

I was not talking about the resistance / durability of blackout but about the playability.
After around 1:30/2:00 hour playing, there’s no more spin on it, i mean no more feel, ball flying, because there’s no more bite on the ball, ridiculous

 

[Uncoil]

d

what’s the purpose to string hyperG and Eruption, i mean, it’s almost the same string, am I right ?

They are not the same string. Eruption is much softer than Hyper G. I get the playability of Hyper G while softening up the string bed a little bit and increasing feel.

Using Pro's Pro strings in the crosses also keeps my costs down. Full bed of Hyper G from a reel is about $8 USD. Hyper G and Eruption around $4

 

[tennisintheeighties]

They are not the same string. Eruption is much softer than Hyper G. I get the playability of Hyper G while softening up the string bed a little bit and increasing feel.

Using Pro's Pro strings in the crosses also keeps my costs down. Full bed of Hyper G from a reel is about $8 USD. Hyper G and Eruption around $4

Interesting . What gauge do you use ?

 

[Uncoil]

Interesting . What gauge do you use ?

HG 1.20 Eruption 1.18. Currently experimenting with HG 1.25 Eruption 1.18

 

[GuilhermeG]

Recently tried red devil (1,19 gauge) for the first time. Strung it a lot higher than I normally do, at 25 kg/55 lbs (for reference, I usually string at 22-23kg, or 48-50 lbs).

Felt really good, a lot better than I was expecting, tbh. It's definitely on the powerful end of the spectrum, but control wasn't a problem as I use an 18x20 racquet.

I'm considering a switch to this string, as I noticed the amount of power it provided really helped my game. I've been stuck using control strings on a control racquet for ages, and only now realized that I could use some help from the string job to provide more "oomph" and depth to the ball.

How long should I expect it to last, considering I normally hit big?

 

[1HBHfanatic]

.......
How long should I expect it to last, considering I normally hit big?

-with an 18/20 and 19L string,m just ride it out (3 weeks is the longest ive had pp stuff on my racquets)
-you'll povbaly break it soon anyway
-pp stuff is not "very" durable, their on the softer side of polys
-comfort and playability for the $$ are their claim to fame IMO/IME
-the deep RED color is also a +

 

[ChimpChimp]

Recently tried red devil (1,19 gauge) for the first time. Strung it a lot higher than I normally do

Do you find 1.19 stretch a lot given the high tension?

 

[Coolio]

What is the most durable Pros Pro poly?

My friend uses a full poly bed of black out strung at 50 pounds in a 16x19 head gravity and it breaks every 10 hours, he is a college bound junior and rips the ball.

Is there anything to help him make his strings last longer than 10 hours before breaking?

 

[GuilhermeG]

Do you find 1.19 stretch a lot given the high tension?

Yes. I strung it on a drop weight machine and had to adjust to the over streching. Overall, an easy to string poly, though.

 

[vandre]

somewhere on this thread i posted about pro's pro king gut. i would like to update that post here...
...i have been hitting with a full bed of pro's pro king gut in a rqis tour 1 (16x18 string pattern). i had a set of poije string extenders installed. after about 6-8 hours i snapped a cross and then one of the mains broke about 12 shots later. it seems to be more durable in a full bed.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

......................
Is there anything to help him make his strings last longer than 10 hours before breaking?

-an 18/20 string pattern racket!!

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Yes. I strung it on a drop weight machine and had to adjust to the over streching. Overall, an easy to string poly, though.

-yeah i had similar experience back in the day
-i was always warry since then about pros pro strings that were to thin
-i do use pros pro hexaspin/twist at 1.20 , that stretches very little, good string IMO
-^ no where near the "feel good " sensation of red.devil tough

 

[Coolio]

Yes

-an 18/20 string pattern racket!!

Yes but besides that?

We are going to string lower and look at some gauges over 1.30.
Signum Pro Poly Plasma comes in at 1.33 gauge.
Signum Pro Poly Megaforce is a 1.34 gauge.
Pros Pro Cyber Power 1.30 looks like an option.

Any thoughts on these strings and durability etc or any suggestions of others?

Thanks

 

[1HBHfanatic]

..........
Signum Pro Poly Plasma comes in at 1.33 gauge.
Pros Pro Cyber Power 1.30 looks like an option.

Any thoughts on these strings and durability etc or any suggestions of others?

Thanks

-ive tried these 2!
-slick, round, might work ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-tecnifiber RED.CODE is a early gen. durability string + it feels good for a copoly
-wilson.revolve is also a durability string
-yonex.pt.STRIKE is also a durability string
-head.HAWK is another one

-run a search on durability string on this forum, there are several i know i am missing that i haven't tried
-all these ive mentioned, I've tried personally

 

[Coolio]

-ive tried these 2!
-slick, round, might work ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-tecnifiber RED.CODE is a early gen. durability string + it feels good for a copoly
-wilson.revolve is also a durability string
-yonex.pt.STRIKE is also a durability string
-head.HAWK is another one

-run a search on durability string on this forum, there are several i know i am missing that i haven't tried
-all these ive mentioned, I've tried personally

Il run a search.

Just found an Isospeed long life 1.35 gauge aswell. Surely that has to last?!!!!

 

[ChimpChimp]

Racquet is VCore Pro 97HD
PP = Plus Power 1.18
BO = Blackout 1.24

• PP 46/44lb
• PP 44/42
• BO 45/44
• BO 46/46 PP
• BO 45/45 PP

You see I was trying combinations since I have those two reels. They were all low-powered, even the 44/42 one was. Low launch angle, needed to consciously hit up to reach baseline, otherwise balls landed two-third of service line. Hit the net a dozen times in a set, my technique was surely the culprit but still. BO suits DR98 more.

Red Devil 1.19 46/44 PP 1.18
I used PP 1.18 46/44 yesterday; today, RDxPP. Same tensions, close to same gauges, I found them so different. RD was powerful and has higher launch angle. Hit the net *only 4-5 times in a set, compared to a dozen. Reached the baseline easily with not much effort. In fact balls sailed too long many times. I'll add two more pounds next time. My technique shouldn't be changing within one day, so I think the string is all the cause. Having said that, I found RDxPP easier to swing, I felt more head-light. I did hybrid because I'm testing RD and have sets not reels of it so I wanna have more string jobs. If I buy (certainly will) RD by reels I'll test full-bed too.

• Power: RD >> PP > BO
• Spin: RD ~ BO > PP
• Crispness: PP >> RD > BO
• Directional control (left-right), freshly strung: RD > BO > PP
• Directional control, 4 hours [1]: PP > BO
• Consistency [2]: PP >>>>> BO
• Ease in stringing: RD > PP > BO

[1] I don't know how RD 1.19 plays after hours of use yet as it as mains is new to me. RD 1.24 after hours is better than BO in directional control.
[2] Consistency compares the same string job between freshly strung and old. BO always becomes unpredictable after 3-4 hours. Some say it is dead after 1 hour too. I'm not sure, but I also notice the difference after 1 hour.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Racquet is VCore Pro 97HD
PP = Plus Power 1.18
BO = Blackout 1.24

• PP 46/44lb
• PP 44/42
• BO 45/44
• BO 46/46 PP
• BO 45/45 PP

You see I was trying combinations since I have those two reels. They were all low-powered, even the 44/42 one was. Low launch angle, needed to consciously hit up to reach baseline, otherwise balls landed two-third of service line. Hit the net a dozen times in a set, my technique was surely the culprit but still. BO suits DR98 more.

Red Devil 1.19 46/44 PP 1.18
I used PP 1.18 46/44 yesterday; today, RDxPP. Same tensions, close to same gauges, I found them so different. RD was powerful and has higher launch angle. Hit the net *only 4-5 times in a set, compared to a dozen. Reached the baseline easily with not much effort. In fact balls sailed too long many times. I'll add two more pounds next time. My technique shouldn't be changing within one day, so I think the string is all the cause. Having said that, I found RDxPP easier to swing, I felt more head-light. I did hybrid because I'm testing RD and have sets not reels of it so I wanna have more string jobs. If I buy (certainly will) RD by reels I'll test full-bed too.

• Power: RD >> PP > BO
• Spin: RD ~ BO > PP
• Crispness: PP >> RD > BO
• Directional control (left-right), freshly strung: RD > BO > PP
• Directional control, 4 hours [1]: PP > BO
• Consistency [2]: PP >>>>> BO
• Ease in stringing: RD > PP > BO

[1] I don't know how RD 1.19 plays after hours of use yet as it as mains is new to me. RD 1.24 after hours is better than BO in directional control.
[2] Consistency compares the same string job between freshly strung and old. BO always becomes unpredictable after 3-4 hours. Some say it is dead after 1 hour too. I'm not sure, but I also notice the difference after 1 hour.

I can confirm. I played again yesterday. Same setup pure aero + blackout 1.24, my game is topspin both sides and after one hour i didn’t feel the bite from the blackout . Play wonderful for one hour ( but hitting a lot and heavy ball/ intensive training with 5.0 players). And thats it.
( but i got more spin and control than RD )

I string blackout for a lot of player this summer between 1.0 and 3.5 and nobody complains.
It depends of your game and level.

Big topsin / Clay court / big session =
You need to restring everyday. No doubt about that. Thats my feeling ok.

 

[ChimpChimp]

after one hour i didn’t feel the bite from the blackout.

Yeah feeling the ball sliding on the string bed, right? and this ball will fly lower than you want.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Yeah feeling the ball sliding on the string bed, right? and this ball will fly lower than you want.

Yes, I definitely lost some rps, my ball is not as heavy as it was at the beginning and it's my main concern with BO.
If it was , at least, after 3 or 4 hours, ok, NP, but that's not the case

 

[Booger]

Does anyone actually know their business model?

Who actually manufactures their strings (some of them are actually made in Germany??)? Do they actually have in house engineers who design strings? Who owns it - Was it started by a string guy who used to work at one of the big brands?

 

[ChimpChimp]

Does anyone actually know their business model?

Who actually manufactures their strings (some of them are actually made in Germany??)? Do they actually have in house engineers who design strings? Who owns it - Was it started by a string guy who used to work at one of the big brands?

I only know they have horrible graphic designers.

 

[Maloya]

PP's use and judgment reminds me of someone I knew who judged DACIA cars.

at the time this brand of car had been bought by renault, and one of the models had been acclaimed by tests demonstrating its reliability.

this person told me that dacia, which was an old brand of Czech origin, could not be of quality without even trying.

having played a lot of time in tournaments, and breaking my strings after 3-4 hours, i played for a long time with isospeed v18 and luxilon ace.

in very fine gauge.

but at one point I had to change brands, because having replaced 18/20 rackets with 16/18s I broke a lot more, and I didn't want to switch to a gauge beyond 1.15mm.

but premium brands offer strings beyond 60-80 € for reeel, PP offered (and still offers) two references (Black Force and Red Devil) in 1.14mm.

having played and used several real strings of these strings (about 8 to 10 real 200m) I can say that for the price these strings last perfectly, and play to their maximum capacity for 3 to 4 hours, then break.

besides this, strings of great brand and reputation like Hyper G, Tour Bite, MSV focus Hex or pro line II do not look much better than PP. in these areas.

I would even say, that in two identical rackets, with red devil 1.14mm and kirschbaum pro line 1.15mm both play 90% identical. I think that if I didn't break the strings before 5 hours of play, the pro line would last a little longer in terms of playability. but below 25 € the 200m of red devil, I did not ask myself these questions. the important thing was to always have fresh strings.

on the question of the origin of the engineers or designers of PP, let's not forget that before making tennis strings Luxilon only manufactured surgical threads !. nothing to do with tennis!

 

[ChrisG]

PP's use and judgment reminds me of someone I knew who judged DACIA cars.

at the time this brand of car had been bought by renault, and one of the models had been acclaimed by tests demonstrating its reliability.

this person told me that dacia, which was an old brand of Czech origin, could not be of quality without even trying.

having played a lot of time in tournaments, and breaking my strings after 3-4 hours, i played for a long time with isospeed v18 and luxilon ace.

in very fine gauge.

but at one point I had to change brands, because having replaced 18/20 rackets with 16/18s I broke a lot more, and I didn't want to switch to a gauge beyond 1.15mm.

but premium brands offer strings beyond 60-80 € for reeel, PP offered (and still offers) two references (Black Force and Red Devil) in 1.14mm.

having played and used several real strings of these strings (about 8 to 10 real 200m) I can say that for the price these strings last perfectly, and play to their maximum capacity for 3 to 4 hours, then break.

besides this, strings of great brand and reputation like Hyper G, Tour Bite, MSV focus Hex or pro line II do not look much better than PP. in these areas.

I would even say, that in two identical rackets, with red devil 1.14mm and kirschbaum pro line 1.15mm both play 90% identical. I think that if I didn't break the strings before 5 hours of play, the pro line would last a little longer in terms of playability. but below 25 € the 200m of red devil, I did not ask myself these questions. the important thing was to always have fresh strings.

on the question of the origin of the engineers or designers of PP, let's not forget that before making tennis strings Luxilon only manufactured surgical threads !. nothing to do with tennis!

I really wanted to like PP strings but it’s so difficult to understand their different strings. You talked about red devil and black force, how could you describe them and what other big brand can they be compared ?
Thanks