Shaped Poly vs. Shaped/Round Poly Hybrid Question

[Keoni068]

Hi all,

Might anyone have experience in experimenting with a shaped, spin friendly poly, like Tour Bite, Spiky Shark, Diadem Solstice Power, or BHB7, in a full bed versus a hybrid with the shaped string in the mains and a round, slick string, like Revolve, in the crosses?

Which setup do you feel has more spin? Which setup has more control? Which setup has greater durability?

Thanks for your time!

 

[Franklin_B]

I tried T1 firewire full vs a firewire/outlast hybrid. Thought the spin was much the same but the hybrid had better feel/control. Not sure about durability as I cut it out before breaking either of them.

 

[mye0330]

only tried cyclone full and with other poly.. there really is little diff with regards to spin and control. durability in terms of string breaking I would say hybrid may be a little better but and big but if you like me and many others that restring when poly is dead or lose tension, then even that doesn't matter. I do hybrid only because of cost. use cheaper strings on the crosses since it doesn't matter as much.

 

[mye0330]

of course if you use a cross string that has very diff characteristics(power, stiffness,etc) then it will be different but not because of the shape or round.

 

[ricardo]

Grippy Mains/Slippery crosses...

 

[LeeD]

Lots of you forget, a shaped poly can have lots of grip in one direction, while allowing it's crosses to slide unimpeded in the other direction.
Grip from the sharp corners, yet the string itself is slick smooth shiny, so it slides easily across the mains.

 

[Booger]

I think I have played with most of the shaped poly strings and experimented a lot with hybrids. My favorite setup is a full bed of diadem solstice, rpm blast, or solinco tour bite. I prefer the feeling of the strings biting into the ball vs. the mains sliding on slick crosses. Durability wise, I cut everything out after 10 hours if I haven't snapped it already. The only benefit to using different crosses is possibly decreasing overall string bed stiffness, imo.

 

[Allcourtguy]

I have tried several shaped polys / Revolve and they mostly played well but I hit hard and had issues with the bed locking up after 2 - 3 hits due to the Revolve denting. I have since tried Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable / Revolve and that is a great combination. The UC slides really well against the Revolve and due to it's square shape, it doesnt dent the Revolve for me at all. I recommend you try this combination.

 

[stealthfighter69]

I have two racquets in rotation and the past two times I've strung them, one has had a shaped poly and the other round. In Outlast vs. Black Code 4S, I thought 4S "gripped" the ball better but Outlast had more dramatic last second poly drop (into the court). In PTP vs. Hyper-G, I thought Hyper-G had more spin but I've never thought PTP a particularly "spinny" string.

In both times, the round poly had better "feel" and I think my technique generates enough spin so moving forward, I'll be sticking with round.

 

[iwmfky]

I have used many full beds of shaped polys (Savage Black, Black Widow, Cyclone, Black 5 Edge, BHB7, Alu Spin, and many many more). I have also used round smooth crosses with some of these shaped mains. I have tried Polylon, Revolve, Black Zone, Alu Power, and a few more.

What I have noticed is that there is no clear-cut answer. Some shaped mains responded well to smooth crosses while others felt terrible. I love Savage Black in a full bed but hate it when it's crossed with a smooth poly. As popular as BHB7 is, I personally find it too plasticky and unpredictable in a full bed. When I used Black Zone as a cross with BHB7 mains, I suddenly found a huge jump in spin, bite, and control. The feel was closer to what I enjoy in a full bed of poly.

I suppose the strings' stiffness and material had a lot to do with it.

After I became addicted with trying new strings, I noticed I had a pattern. I enjoyed softer mains and stiffer crosses when using a hybrid. I hated having stiff mains and softer crosses. Some people are the complete opposite.

This could be beneficial for you if you know what you like. If you want to have a full bed of the same string, you can adjust tension in the crosses to get stiffer or softer crosses. Of course, you can leave it the same. Same option goes for using a different cross. You can adjust as you like depending on stiffness or whatnot.

Now if the strings are offered in different gauges, you can fine tune further for power, feel, etc.

My favorite full bed of shaped poly: Savage Black with same tension mains and crosses. My favorite shaped/smooth poly hybrid: BHB7 16 mains and BZ 17 crosses with same tension mains and crosses.

You're going to hear it a lot on these forums... every user has a different experience. With that said, I'd say choose your favorite shaped strings and use it in a full bed and a hybrid. Test it out for yourself. You can also choose your favorite smooth cross. I prefer Black Zone as a smooth cross as I feel like it has good tension maintenance, slick surface, and on the cheaper side.

Since every string responds so differently, it is difficult to comment on which has more spin, control, and durability. But with my limited experience with full beds of BHB7 16 and my BHB7/BZ setup, BHB7 usually lasts me around 30 hours (before it breaks) compared to BHB7 16/BZ 17 which usually lasts me 15 hours. However, BZ was 17G. I found more spin and control with the hybrid setup by a huge margin. But like it's always said on these forums, every user has different experiences. I hate BHB7 in a full bed but a majority of people find it awesome.

Experimenting and finding good setups is part of the fun! Go buy bunch of strings and enjoy it! lol

 

[ppmishra]

I have used many full beds of shaped polys (Savage Black, Black Widow, Cyclone, Black 5 Edge, BHB7, Alu Spin, and many many more). I have also used round smooth crosses with some of these shaped mains. I have tried Polylon, Revolve, Black Zone, Alu Power, and a few more.

What I have noticed is that there is no clear-cut answer. Some shaped mains responded well to smooth crosses while others felt terrible. I love Savage Black in a full bed but hate it when it's crossed with a smooth poly. As popular as BHB7 is, I personally find it too plasticky and unpredictable in a full bed. When I used Black Zone as a cross with BHB7 mains, I suddenly found a huge jump in spin, bite, and control. The feel was closer to what I enjoy in a full bed of poly.

I suppose the strings' stiffness and material had a lot to do with it.

After I became addicted with trying new strings, I noticed I had a pattern. I enjoyed softer mains and stiffer crosses when using a hybrid. I hated having stiff mains and softer crosses. Some people are the complete opposite.

This could be beneficial for you if you know what you like. If you want to have a full bed of the same string, you can adjust tension in the crosses to get stiffer or softer crosses. Of course, you can leave it the same. Same option goes for using a different cross. You can adjust as you like depending on stiffness or whatnot.

Now if the strings are offered in different gauges, you can fine tune further for power, feel, etc.

My favorite full bed of shaped poly: Savage Black with same tension mains and crosses. My favorite shaped/smooth poly hybrid: BHB7 16 mains and BZ 17 crosses with same tension mains and crosses.

You're going to hear it a lot on these forums... every user has a different experience. With that said, I'd say choose your favorite shaped strings and use it in a full bed and a hybrid. Test it out for yourself. You can also choose your favorite smooth cross. I prefer Black Zone as a smooth cross as I feel like it has good tension maintenance, slick surface, and on the cheaper side.

Since every string responds so differently, it is difficult to comment on which has more spin, control, and durability. But with my limited experience with full beds of BHB7 16 and my BHB7/BZ setup, BHB7 usually lasts me around 30 hours (before it breaks) compared to BHB7 16/BZ 17 which usually lasts me 15 hours. However, BZ was 17G. I found more spin and control with the hybrid setup by a huge margin. But like it's always said on these forums, every user has different experiences. I hate BHB7 in a full bed but a majority of people find it awesome.

Experimenting and finding good setups is part of the fun! Go buy bunch of strings and enjoy it! lol

Thanks, I experimented with cyclone 19 mains and becker bomber NYC 17 (round) / SPP Polaris 18 cross at 48/47 lbs in a Becker Melbourne (18x20). Love it and after 20+ hours of play