Round alternative to Solinco confidential

Thiemster

Rookie
So let me start by saying that I really love playing confidential 1.20guage for it's tension maintenance (easily get 12-15 hours before the strings stop snapping back) and overall feel

However the other day I tried ALU power I believe(it came with the used racket) and I realized that the round strings are way more predictable in terms of launch angle and directional control.

Not only that but they are less affected by incoming heavy spin, I was able to redirect heavy topspin shots without having to be very careful.

Would like to know from all your collective expertise if there are round strings similar to confidential(mainly playability duration)
 

Leen

Rookie
I think Restring sync is supposed to be an alu competitor with the longer lasting playability claim of the Restring brand.
 

Trip

Legend
So Confidential is a firm, slightly muted, fairly low-powered poly with, as you said, excellent playable longevity. One additional thing to note is that the claimed gauge of most shaped strings is often a bit narrower than how they play in real life, so going slightly thicker with a round string might be a good idea (like, up to 1.25 perhaps). For as similar a playability as possible, here's what I would look at:

- Luxilon 4G Soft 1.25
- Head Hawk Silver (or Black) 1.25, maybe 1.20 White
- Tecnifibre Razor Soft 1.25, maybe 1.20
- Dunlop Explosive Red 1.25

And even though it's 8-sided, Grapplesnake Tour M8 plays practically like a round string, and although it's less similar to Confidential in certain ways, it's certainly worth a try as well.

And not that RacketPedia is any kind of real-world indicator, but the specs do line up pretty well on all four, especially 4G Soft:



Conf-4-GS-HHS-DER-Table.png
 

flanker2000fr

Hall of Fame
Lynx Tour are 6 sided, almost round, very predictable, and similar to confidential.

I would second Lynx Tour. Very predictable string, a good compromize between an aggressively shaped string like Confidential / Hyper G and a round string. If you really want a round string, try 4G Soft. It's expensive but one of the best around.
 

Operation20

New User
Wilson revolve all day every day. I've tried plenty of round strings and it always plays the best for me.

Re the lynx tour recommendations above, I tried it in a hybrid and it felt absolutely horrible for comfort. The stiffness rating is very high and the gut didn't balance out that discomfort.
 

dmtree

Rookie
Wilson revolve all day every day. I've tried plenty of round strings and it always plays the best for me.

Re the lynx tour recommendations above, I tried it in a hybrid and it felt absolutely horrible for comfort. The stiffness rating is very high and the gut didn't balance out that discomfort.
Lynx Tour is in the same stiffness range as Confidential. I use soft poly crosses with Lynx Tour mains if I need to soften the string bed.
 
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maksp

Semi-Pro
Wilson revolve all day every day. I've tried plenty of round strings and it always plays the best for me.

Re the lynx tour recommendations above, I tried it in a hybrid and it felt absolutely horrible for comfort. The stiffness rating is very high and the gut didn't balance out that discomfort.
Which color revolve
 

flanker2000fr

Hall of Fame
Lynx Tour is in the same stiffness range as Confidential. I use soft poly crosses with Lynx Tour mains if I need to soften the string bed.
Precisely. The OP never mentioned a problem of comfort with Confidential, and Lynx Tour isn't stiffer. His issue is launch angle, and I feel Lynx Tour is better in this respect. Also agree on a softer poly in the crosses as a way to soften the string bed. Yonex Polytour fire works well in that respect, with the added benefit of being very slick, which favors snap back. Also, it's a round string so will contribute in keeping the launch angle in check.
 

smithie

Professional
Has anyone tried the lynx tour with head hawk?
Yes with Lynx Tour (champagne) 1.25 mains and head hawk (white) 1.25 crosses. Made the string bed slightly stiffer (but not uncomfortable) with more directional control. I Didn't really notice a change in spin but maybe dropping the cross string to 1.20 gauge would work better (I would have chosen that but it was out of stock everywhere). I personally preferred the hybrid over FB Lynx Tour as I got a slightly better 'point and shoot' response. That said, for me Solinco Confidential provided a similar response but better in almost all areas.
 

jimdontcare

Semi-Pro
I’ve played a full season of Confidential and for me Tour M8 serves a similar purpose but places a premium on consistency and predictability (aided by being an essentially round 8-sider), so it might be worth a try. You can’t get it in 1.20 though.

I’m comparing it with Lynx Tour right now and I definitely prefer M8, or confidential depending on what I was looking for. I’m finding LT’s response to be too non-linear for my recreational groundstrokes. I think I’d have to hybrid LT with ghostwire or something to enjoy it as much as others do.
 
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