Soft Polys and Tension Loss

[vin]

I'm pretty new to poly and have been using Touch Turbo. I really don't like how there's a couple of hour break in period, then it plays well for about 5-8 hours, then plays noticably more muted and sloppy.

Do all of the softer polys do this? To be honest, I prefer synthetic gut, but am trying to switch to poly for durability. If I have to restring after 8 hours anyway, not sure it's worth it.

Are there any other polys that are soft, have decent power, and don't seem like 3 different types of string within 10 hours?

I'm going to try TF Spinfire Maxipower and Topspin Poly Polar (are those even good choices?) but would appreciate other suggestions.

 

[steve s]

I like topspin Poly Polar and Cyberflash. Both need to be strung at or near what you string sys gut string at. I still working on right tension. The Cyberflash is holding tension extremely well after 20 hours.

 

[vin]

Both need to be strung at or near what you string sys gut string at.

Won't that make the string feel really harsh and low powered compared to syn gut?

 

[PBODY99]

I have found that the Poly Polar loosens up at first, then its tension lost rate is close to a snygut.

 

[Ripper]

I'm pretty new to poly and have been using Touch Turbo. I really don't like how there's a couple of hour break in period, then it plays well for about 5-8 hours, then plays noticably more muted and sloppy.

Do all of the softer polys do this? To be honest, I prefer synthetic gut, but am trying to switch to poly for durability. If I have to restring after 8 hours anyway, not sure it's worth it.

Are there any other polys that are soft, have decent power, and don't seem like 3 different types of string within 10 hours?

I'm going to try TF Spinfire Maxipower and Topspin Poly Polar (are those even good choices?) but would appreciate other suggestions.

I think you should try Signum Pro Poly Plasma. I'm not saying this will be "the string" for you (but it could be!), just that you should include it in your tests. Search for Signum Pro Poly Plasma or just SPPP and you'll see why I'm saying this. Another one you may (or may not) want to try is Signum Pro Poly Deluxe. Apparently, it's one of the softest polys out there. I believe it's a lot newer that Topspin Poly Polar; hummm... so, who knows, it could have an edge. Oh and don't bother searching that one up, because nobody uses it here.

Edit: No, I don't work for Signum

 

[vin]

Thanks Ripper. Fortunately I have a pack of SPPP at home, but it's 16G. I ordered it because people say it's soft, but haven't tried it yet because it supposedly has less power than Turbo Touch. As it turns out, I may be willing to deal with less power in exchange for the tension loss. We'll see. I'll look into the deluxe as well.

 

[man-walking]

Poly Plasma is great, it's far beyond poly limits, but beware, I have played extensively the 1.18 gauge and I have red many times that the thicker gauges are a different story, can't cope with the qualities of the thinnest.

Poly Polar, finally I tried it and I think having 'understood' it too, what I can say is that it plays differently after the 1st break-in time not because a real tension loss but because it's first generation poly (probably). Yes, I think all first gen polys (like Polar) once they start getting notches they lose the viscosity on the string-to-string contact points, so like non-poly strings, they kink together and there is no way to return in place (except by manual intervention).

The viscosity is the key factor of the effectiveness of modern polys. (Big Banger, Poly Plasma, Cyber Flash, Red Code...)
When you lose viscosity (the strings do not slide as should) you lose the playability advantage of the co-polys respect to the rest of strings.

 

[man-walking]

Poly Polar and Super Smash once get notches move but don't return in place, they kink... the notches show an abrasive contact that avoids the string to freely move and return back in correct position.

I have SP Poly Deluxe too (1.25), I'll try it when possible.

 

[counterpuncher]

Are there any other polys that are soft, have decent power, and don't seem like 3 different types of string within 10 hours?

Apart from SPPP which IMO also plays this way, other soft polys that meet this criteria are Kirschbaum Competition 1.20 which I'd imagine would be close in characteristics to Touch Turbo and K-Boom 18, which has a crisper feel but is still very soft for a poly.

 

[ryohazuki222]

i have a question in regards to the tension loss of polys...

I'm relatively new to the world of stringing.. and even newer to the world of poly's....

i understand that the *problem* with poly's is tension loss...

Anyway... i use topspin cyber flash... i strung it up for the first time a few weeks back... i read that it should be strung almost what you would string a syn gut (read it in this thread too...)... my normal tension is 58, ive never gone higher than 60... and i really liked gosen micro at 59.

I strung a hybrid of cyber flash mains at 57 and gosen micro crosses at 59... later that day i went out to hit and the feeling was amazing! i could hit the ball so hard and it still stayed in... i didnt have as much control as usual, but oh well.

So the problem:

it seems it was just that one day that the strings felt like that... after that it didnt feel nearly as nice... so does anyone have any advice as to what i should do? should i string the next one higher even though it's a poly? And should i increase the cross tension as well?

My goal is to try and string my racket so the brand new feeling @ 57/59 lasts as long as possible (even if it takes me a little bit of time to get it there).

EDIT:

btw... i should i even be stringing it higher? ... a few days ago i actually decided i'd string it even lower to take "full advantage of the newer polys" (something i read on these boards)...

 

[aussie]

I have one of my Prince TT Screams strung at 64lbs one piece with Wilson Enduro Mono (poly) (1.29mm). Strung 6 months ago at a pro shop and tension is still great, and strings even after 6 months, have not moved one little bit. String is not too harsh and I find it easy on the arm/elbow although I rely more on timimg and control than power.

 

[Richie Rich]

Won't that make the string feel really harsh and low powered compared to syn gut?

not topspin poly polar. i strung it up 5 lbs less first time out and boy did it get springy fast. strung it up second time at my regular syn gut tension and liked it a lot better.

 

[Ripper]

i understand that the *problem* with poly's is tension loss...

Not necessarily a problem. Polys, like all strings, have a high initial tension loss, after which they stabilize to a certain point. That initial tension loss is higher with polys (of course, some polys are better than others). This is a problem if you like the way a specific poly plays when freshly strung. It's a problem, because that feeling is only going to last for a couple of hours, after which it's gone. However, if like me, you dislike how a freshly strung poly plays and prefer the feeling they have after the break-in period, there is really not a problem. The only problem I have with the polys I like (TiMo 18, hybrided with certain syn guts, is my current favorite) is having to go through that initial break-in period, because it's a period in which I hate the raquet and, obviously, can't use it in a match situation. Nevertheless, even then, you just need several raquets and some planning to easily overcome that problem.

Edit: One strategy that works for me is stringing a raquet and leaving it unused for a couple of weeks. Then, when I use it, finally, it's pretty close to where I like it.

 

[emcee]

Yeah SPPP@54 was awesome with great control and good pop. Then the next day, it was just good, not great. It's been about the same for 2 weeks or so now, so I guess I should get it strung higher. I don't want to kill my wrist either though so I guess I should hybrid it? Ahh, polys are great, but the feel (SPPP does NOT feel softer to me than ALU-Power) and the tension issues are really annoying.

Maybe the OP should try one of the Pacific polys...from what I hear, they're supposed to be pretty soft.