should we give up on nylon strings?
- Thread starter blackfrido
- Start date
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Nylon will always be popular because not everyone is good enough to use poly. Many rec players wouldn't like the stiff feel of poly after using nylon for over 10 years. On the other hand, for advanced rec players, poly would be like a discovery of life time. It really depends of level of play and most rec players not so advanced, so I think nylon will always be preferred and sell more.
THESEXPISTOL
Hall of Fame
I hope not. I can't do poly, therefore my only option to firm stringbed is nylon.
Chotobaka
Hall of Fame
Actually, you've got it backwards. Really good players can do anything they want with the ball using any string -- including nylon.
SteveI
Legend
The man is correct...
THESEXPISTOL
Hall of Fame
Well, my experience tells me otherwise. If you play hardcourts and the foundation of your game is depth an power with "flatish" strokes you won't tell much of a difference (only on topspin serves)...
But if you go on clay trying to open low angles and add some spin to your shots (not talking about extreme spin) poly really helps. Again, poly on clay takes a decent kick serve to another level. The lower power also help to really go for winners on those slower shots without much weight, because you can really swing flat without the ball ending on the fence, while on hardcourts even a slower shot as more weight behind it...
That's my experience though...
blackfrido
Hall of Fame
Well said!! racquets, and strings are just instruments.........
fgs
Hall of Fame
basically yes, really good players can do everything with any string, BUT as always there are some buts:
- maybe some players get tired of having to string two sticks after each hitting session
- maybe some players don't want to give up on some of the options in terms of trajectory and spin polys or poly-hybrids open up.
i use nylon strings as crosses to poly-mains, so i do really hope nylons, specially multis, will be around for much longer.
- maybe some players get tired of having to string two sticks after each hitting session
- maybe some players don't want to give up on some of the options in terms of trajectory and spin polys or poly-hybrids open up.
i use nylon strings as crosses to poly-mains, so i do really hope nylons, specially multis, will be around for much longer.
SCRAP IRON
Professional
When you use the term "nylon," is that another term for anything synthetic with the exception of poly strings? I remember about 20-25 years ago in the local tennis store seeing two strings on the shelf- Prince Synthetic Gut and Leona 66 (Nylon).
blackfrido
Hall of Fame
I remember those days too! Always stringing my racquets back then with Leoina 66 except when I was ready to spend more money and going wild with Prince Synthetic Gut
Triskadekaphilia
Semi-Pro
No
No
No no no no no (10 characters)
No
No no no no no (10 characters)
lwto
Hall of Fame
Well I guess you can call SYn gut nylon, but there is a nylon class of string which is a mono-filament. It tends to be very inexpensive and pretty stiff. Syn gut on the other hand will have a tendency to have a softer feeling since it is strands of nylon.
Syn gut will never go away and is still probably the #1 string used. It's a cheap inexpensive alternative to more expensive multifilaments.
Syn gut will never go away and is still probably the #1 string used. It's a cheap inexpensive alternative to more expensive multifilaments.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
I was going to say "No" but might change to maybe as I recently bought a 200m reel of Pro Pro's Kingut for the chicks racquet for $AU55 delivered via UK. That's less than $AU3.50 a restring. If it turns out to be better than nylon which is what I'm hoping and this is a trending price for Mulit's I could see Nylon having issues competing. If I did not have shipping cost it would be cheaper again, so multi's could take over.
The chick is a beginner and very under powered, so looking for a soft string with power and feel that won't damage her arm. Nylon is generally the first choice but at that price I'll give Pro Pro's a try. It's not for me I need a dead string, deader the better as I have too much power and no feel (I'm not an animal, I have feelings....). Have not tried yet so only speculate at the moment, she'll last 5-6 months with the current Prince nylon before I cut them out.
The chick is a beginner and very under powered, so looking for a soft string with power and feel that won't damage her arm. Nylon is generally the first choice but at that price I'll give Pro Pro's a try. It's not for me I need a dead string, deader the better as I have too much power and no feel
(I'm not an animal, I have feelings....). Have not tried yet so only speculate at the moment, she'll last 5-6 months with the current Prince nylon before I cut them out.
Faithfulfather
Rookie
99.5% of multifilament strings on the market are nylon.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
Yes they are but they are not classified as Nylon probably to differentiate pricing, I thought someone might point this out but thought the convention that Nylon is solid core or several strands as apposed to Multi which is 100's to 1000+ stands is what the OP is referring to, IE: Nylon & Syth Gut.
Triskadekaphilia
Semi-Pro
Let's get our terminology synced.
I think the OP means nylon as a material rather than a string class.
Solid core strings with outer filament wraps are referred to a synthetic gut.
Multifilament nylon strings with no solid core are called ... well multifilament (makes sense right?)
There is at least one polyester multifilament string but this is the exception to the rule.
Not sure if anyone makes a single nylon monofilament string anymore?
Anyway nylon is an incredibly useful and popular type of string material to use. Good for you if you rock with polyester and like using it but you gotta admit that it's not the best option for many many tennis players.
I think the OP means nylon as a material rather than a string class.
Solid core strings with outer filament wraps are referred to a synthetic gut.
Multifilament nylon strings with no solid core are called ... well multifilament (makes sense right?)
There is at least one polyester multifilament string but this is the exception to the rule.
Not sure if anyone makes a single nylon monofilament string anymore?
Anyway nylon is an incredibly useful and popular type of string material to use. Good for you if you rock with polyester and like using it but you gotta admit that it's not the best option for many many tennis players.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
In that case, no it won't go away it's good stuff for most players, more than poly anyway. Some pro's like Courier used it instead of Nat Gut.
There heaps of it around still, most seems to come from Asia. Most big brands have one solid core often used to pre-strung their cheaper racquets. A lot of stringers offer it as a cheap job for beginners, only issue I have is there are some syth gut that's not much more and plays a lot nicer, the cost of the stringer makes $2 saving negligible in my experience.
SteveI
Legend
I use a few reels a year of the low level nylon (Forten/Gosen/Etc) to string for some folks who do not really care or know what they are playing with and for use in poly hybrids. Some of the juniors I string for use this stuff in their practice frames since they run thru so much in stringing fees.
Nylon (syn gut) and Multi's will be around for these reasons:
1. Nylon syn gut is cheap
2. Nylon syn gut and multi makes a nice hybrid with a poly either as a cross or main
3. You have to either hit the ball fairly hard and/or with a lot of spin to benefit from the performance attributes of poly which are more control and more spin potential. Lots of players don't swing fast enough or generate enough spin to need a poly
4. Nylon syn gut and multi are softer and more comfortable for people with tennis elbow or other joint injuries
5. Nylon syn gut and multi give more power and feel/touch than poly and some people like these attributes better than the muted power and muted feel you get with poly
1. Nylon syn gut is cheap
2. Nylon syn gut and multi makes a nice hybrid with a poly either as a cross or main
3. You have to either hit the ball fairly hard and/or with a lot of spin to benefit from the performance attributes of poly which are more control and more spin potential. Lots of players don't swing fast enough or generate enough spin to need a poly
4. Nylon syn gut and multi are softer and more comfortable for people with tennis elbow or other joint injuries
5. Nylon syn gut and multi give more power and feel/touch than poly and some people like these attributes better than the muted power and muted feel you get with poly
Shroud
G.O.A.T.
I agree- good points, though dont tell anyone that I had TE played through it and now its healed. All while using Kevlar/poly, but at extremely low tensions in the mid 20lbs or lower range.
So dont be afraid to try low tensions if you have arm problems. That might be more important than the type of string with arm issues.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
I don't fully agree, I'm not a string breaker but benefit from Poly a lot. I only went with poly last year as I sent 30 years playing with Syth Gut. My arm does ache a touch, not TE just extremely low level pain, I changed after 6mths to soft multi and cut it out after 2 weeks and went back to poly. The pain was more a result of serve practice so I toned it right down.
The benefit of poly to me is the low power. I used to have to string Syth Gut high tensions 62lb range but lose about 1m on depth with 56lb poly. 80% of my misses are depth so poly helped a lot. It assisted my back hand enormously but resulted in grip change, more closed face.
I think poly assists anyone who top spin a ball and can make pace. Mainly semi-western or western grips. It does have a lot of negatives though. And to be honest I rarely face anyone with my build, 188cm with 20 years of weight training. 80% of people I see should stick with a gut, syth gut or multi as that matches their power band better and 80% of players play flat or slice.
In summary if I was weaker I'd go with a multi or syth gut for depth but find I get much more consistency out of a poly, due to lower power. Currently use Volkl Cyclone. I recommend Head PPS syth for most people, but it's a little expensive for what it is but plays well. Interested how Kingut I got the chick goes, I can feel it's too soft for me just bending it but should help her.
Djokovicfan
Professional
Oh cool so your saying “its the player not the racquet”?
cool wow interesting contribution thatis the first time ive ever heard that in my life
EggSalad
Hall of Fame
Going deep into old threads to make a point.
That said, imo, there are aspects of synthetic gut that poly just can’t replicate no matter how good you are. That doesn’t make one better than the other, just that string types fit different playing styles differently.
As an old school, synthetic gut player I am just in love with what SG can do for my serve, volley, and spin.
With Poly strings, I can swing home run derby style at the baseline but it doesn’t suit my game overall.
I also think the biggest downfall in Poly for a player at my level is how much the predictability of the strings Change in 2-10 hours. I can hit good strokes and the ball doesn’t do what I want with Poly. With Syn Gut, that isn’t an issue.
Dartagnan64
G.O.A.T.
Is this a troll thread? the link took me to some Chinese casino webpage.
Anyway, nylon has a huge place in tennis as natural gut may get increasingly pricey over time and polyester just isn't a suitable string for a lot of players. When they create a polyester that doesn't bang all it's resilience out in a few hours, then it might be time for nylon to go away. Until then, nylon offers elasticity and resilience for people with arm issues and is a necessity on the market.
There is a reason the most popular string world wide is Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex.
Anyway, nylon has a huge place in tennis as natural gut may get increasingly pricey over time and polyester just isn't a suitable string for a lot of players. When they create a polyester that doesn't bang all it's resilience out in a few hours, then it might be time for nylon to go away. Until then, nylon offers elasticity and resilience for people with arm issues and is a necessity on the market.
There is a reason the most popular string world wide is Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex.
SteveI
Legend
It is indeed the most popular .. with good reason.
