Solinco Mach-10
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Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
does that mean i should string it up little tighter than its recommended ? packaging said rec tension is 40-50 lbs.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
This is what I would like to know as well. I played Lynx Tour black and gray and hated them both. They were both stiff, dull, and very low powered. I'm hoping Mach 10 feels softer and offers more power then Lynx Tour.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
You should string it at 80-100 lbs. please report back with your findings. Thanks.does that mean i should string it up little tighter than its recommended ? packaging said rec tension is 40-50 lbs.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Sounds like you love dead and dull feeling strings. Should’ve tried Lynx Tour orange as well. It might be even more dead and dull.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
you mean 80-100 lkg??
XD
For what it's worth, I strung 1.20 @ 53~54 and it feels pretty controlled and moderated power compared to 1.28 Zero (@ ~50). When I swung fully with Zero it landed close to the baseline often, with Mach 10 it feels difficult to send a ball out.
So yes I would probably go 50 or higher if looking for control.
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I've been using the champagne colored Lynx Tour for awhile now and while i like it okay, I just got curious about Mach 10. I ordered some yesterday and will be trying it out.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
great string
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Oh cool. Please report back.
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
Just another 'dull' offering
Jpipes8787
New User
anyone else see extreme tension lose? On 2 different rackets they lost 6 and 7 pounds of tension just sitting overnight, one of which lost another 8 pounds after 3 hours of play for a total of 14 pounds lost
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I don't think this is even possible. You're trolling us.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
You used it?
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Mach-10 tension maintenance has been good the multiple times i've tried it.
thenewbig3
Semi-Pro
How did you test/find out this this "tension loss"? Its kinda hard to trust "New Users" whose first post is ****ting on a well reviewed/received string.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
He's just messing around. There's no way that's possible. None
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
I actually haven't, but plan to. I was jumping the gun as you tend to not like anything that ain't Alu Power
Solinco Mach 10
Restring Vivo
Toroline O Toro Tour
Tennis Only P6 (if that gets available for Europeans sooner or later). That's the 'still to try out' list for now
On a serious note, as an Alu Power player, with high frequency restringing. You don't care much about cost when it comes to strings. With that in mind, what are you're thoughts on the following:
Luxilon 4G Soft
Grapplesnake Tour M8
I Guess 4G Soft, still wont be powerfull enough for you, but maybe Tour M8 fits your bill a bit better?
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Jpipes8787
New User
I tested it with an ert after it came off the machine and then again the next morning and then again after 3 hours of play, I’m not asking you to trust me or see how it’s relevant wether I’m a new user or not. I’m simply asking if anyone else has run across this issue…But hey, nice way to make “new users” feel like it’s cool to ask questions
thenewbig3
Semi-Pro
Please accept my apology then. Welcome to the community!!
Has any other string you have ever used shown this behavior? Just curious (I dont have an ERT)
Holdingserve85
New User
What kind of stringing machine do you have
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Luxilon 4G Soft is a great string in regards to durability, tension maintenance and consistency in playability. But it's just too low powered to use in a low powered players frame imo. And I never tried Grapplesnake Tour M8 because most everyone that has played with it says that it's low powered. So that turns me off right there. I'm looking to change frames soon. I'm getting tired of using a low powered players frame. Been doing it now for 20 years. I'm going to demo the PA98, Extreme Pro and TFight 305S in about week. If I decide to make the switch to one of these frames. I think that will open a whole new world for me in regards to string choices. And I can finally get away from Alu Power. I'm imagining Mach 10 in the three frames that I mentioned.I actually haven't, but plan to. I was jumping the gun as you tend to not like anything that ain't Alu Power
Solinco Mach 10
Restring Vivo
Toroline O Toro Tour
Tennis Only P6 (if that gets available for Europeans sooner or later). That's the 'still to try out' list for now
On a serious note, as an Alu Power player, with high frequency restringing. You don't care much about cost when it comes to strings. With that in mind, what are you're thoughts on the following:
Luxilon 4G Soft
Grapplesnake Tour M8
I Guess 4G Soft, still wont be powerfull enough for you, but maybe Tour M8 fits your bill a bit better?
VanDerVaart23
Semi-Pro
Keep us posted with your racquet journey and selectionLuxilon 4G Soft is a great string in regards to durability, tension maintenance and consistency in playability. But it's just too low powered to use in a low powered players frame imo. And I never tried Grapplesnake Tour M8 because most everyone that has played with it says that it's low powered. So that turns me off right there. I'm looking to change frames soon. I'm getting tired of using a low powered players frame. Been doing it now for 20 years. I'm going to demo the PA98, Extreme Pro and TFight 305S in about week. If I decide to make the switch to one of these frames. I think that will open a whole new world for me in regards to string choices. And I can finally get away from Alu Power. I'm imagining Mach 10 in the three frames that I mentioned.
Jpipes8787
New User
M8 is definitely not low-powered, especially when strung at a lower tension- I'd even say that it has more elasticity than Mach 10.Luxilon 4G Soft is a great string in regards to durability, tension maintenance and consistency in playability. But it's just too low powered to use in a low powered players frame imo. And I never tried Grapplesnake Tour M8 because most everyone that has played with it says that it's low powered. So that turns me off right there. I'm looking to change frames soon. I'm getting tired of using a low powered players frame. Been doing it now for 20 years. I'm going to demo the PA98, Extreme Pro and TFight 305S in about week. If I decide to make the switch to one of these frames. I think that will open a whole new world for me in regards to string choices. And I can finally get away from Alu Power. I'm imagining Mach 10 in the three frames that I mentioned.
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
Hey man, I'll get back to you later today (to bizzy now), mainwhile thinkering around about doing some suggestions.Luxilon 4G Soft is a great string in regards to durability, tension maintenance and consistency in playability. But it's just too low powered to use in a low powered players frame imo. And I never tried Grapplesnake Tour M8 because most everyone that has played with it says that it's low powered. So that turns me off right there. I'm looking to change frames soon. I'm getting tired of using a low powered players frame. Been doing it now for 20 years. I'm going to demo the PA98, Extreme Pro and TFight 305S in about week. If I decide to make the switch to one of these frames. I think that will open a whole new world for me in regards to string choices. And I can finally get away from Alu Power. I'm imagining Mach 10 in the three frames that I mentioned.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Really? Have you played with Mach 10 yet and are able to compare?
I've played with both. I preferred M10, in my new Ezone, but M8 in my Tfight ISO 305. they probably have similar levels of power, both have more power than Tour Bite/Tour Sniper, both are pretty controlled. M10 has more "free" spin, but M8 has tons of snapback. M8 is a lot more elastic and comfortable, and durability is better on M8 as well. M8 had too much pocketing/bounciness in my Ezone, but my swing speed is a lot higher on the Ezone as well. Overall, those are probably my 2 favorite strings, and M8 has the best consistency of any string I've tried (including 4G). M8 is more communicative, and it's a lot softer. In the old school frames, both are going to be good- the M8 will be more direct though. Forgiveness is decent on both, M8 is probably more forgiving on mishits. Lmk if you would like any more details!
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Sounds like you're saying that the M8 would suit a more powerful frame? And the Mach 10 a slightly less powerful frame? What's the playability duration like with Mach 10?
Jpipes8787
New User
All good....In the little experience I have stringing, most strings lose 1-3 lbs after sitting for 24 hours, but this was so extreme I thought this was just a characteristic of the string. Once the string finally settled after a 3 hour hitting session, the tension didnt move after another 5-6 hours of playing
Mach 10, I felt like I got 3-4 hours of amazing playtime, then it was still excellent until the 15 hour mark with a Hyper G round cross. M8, I got 20 hours out of, albeit with a slower swing speed in a heavier frame. M8 suits a more "raw" frame, it doesn't love dampening tech- I couldn't dial it in in the Ezone like I did with the Mach 10. Mach 10 is a string that I think is meant to complement Hyper G round- other people have found M10 to break quickly in a full bed. I wouldn't say that one is better for a more powerful frame- both are above average in terms of power for a poly- neither are high powered, and I don't recall one being more powerful than the other when strung at the same tension.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Looks like Mach 10 is one of the most powerful poly's out there. Interesting
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Ok this ended up being pretty lengthy so here's the tl;dr: spin potential great, among the best, tension maintenance apparently quite bad, durability horrible (snapback lost after couple of hours). --disclaimer, it was unreleased 4.0 (1.20)
________
I tried unreleased 4.0 1.20 (not sure how different from final Mach 10). Spin potential is outstanding fresh from the machine. I rallied for maybe half an hour total, then some 5-6 games (trying several rackets and strings on a practice match). Then another near half hour service practice. Spin was still good, tension dropped ~3 kg (6~7 lbs), measured with Tourna Stringmeter which in my experience is quite a lot (most strings barely drop or maybe drop 1~2 kg after several hours, although I'm sure if you measure DST it would be quite different).
Yesterday I played a 3 hour match. I started with this string which I felt was offering me great control and confidence due to high spin / low-moderate power combo. Halfway through the second set though I lost my confidence. I'm pretty sure it was because of the sun blinding me at noon on my serve and making me double fault and lose points early more often than I used to. Even though, I changed frames to my trusty Zero and managed to eventually turn back a 1-5 in the third.
When I returned home, I checked the snapback of the UR4.0 stringbed and although it wasn't particularly out of place, it was apparently almost gone. Mains were making a nasty creaky noise when pulled with the fingers and didn't come back. And this "creaks" were actually something I started noticing gradually after using it even before the first hour, at first in slower swings.
It seems as if it had a super-slick coating but then this cloud-tech or whatever it's called that's supposed to make it more comfortable actually makes the poly underneath less slick than traditional polyester, as this is barely notched.
It's also possible that the balls I use in service practice are leaving too much dirt on the stringbed, but then this phenomenon would have happened several times in other stringbeds, and I don't recall having seen another poly which behaves this way with this level of notching.
Maybe I strung it too high? Iirc the recommended range was 40-50 and I was probably ~53.
Also regarding comfort (which is allegedly this string's target), Zero feels smoother even on the 16g (and consistent through several hours).
I'm planning to order some Mach 10 16g to compare it to Zero on equal frames back to back, maybe this problem was addressed in the final version.
Anyone else noticed anything similar?
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
About string:
Quite funny to see that video now, because I’ve considered mentioning Luxilon Element if you would prefer to stick within the Luxilon family, on the other hand, it probably will be to soft for you
Mach 10 is a strong contender, I only would have 2 knocks on that string, being the below average tension maintenance, and knowing you are coming from Alu, Mach may very well lack the crispness you are used to.
Another thing I’ve been wondering, if you want power, why do you just go for a Nat Gut string, and combine that with 4G Soft to counter the power of the N Gut a bit.
tension maintenance may very well not be your main priority but this combo will pay for itself as you wont have to restring it every two session or so.
I wouldn’t disregard Tour M8 just yet, it’s not the typical underpowered control poly, what makes Tour M8 a great string is the fact that it doesn’t have an obvious weakness that most strings tend to have in general. I just checks off all the ‘boxes’.. It aint a spin beast, nor is it lacking spin, it aint a power string, but aint your typical underpowered string neither. It aint the most crisp string out there, nor is it muted. It just does everything pretty well, that in inself is something we don’t see that often+ it is among the best in tension maintenance. But where it really shines is the consistency and predictability. It’s on top of the class.
As a Alu Power player, you should give Head Hawk Power a try. As Alu was the inspiration for this string. If you want a blend of Power, Control, Spin (for a round) and decent Comfort. It should be on everyone’s ‘to test’ list. Probably a bit more similar To Alu Power Soft
Also check out Restring offerings. Zero is a powerhouse with lots of spin and top notch tension maintenance.
Sync in fb will not be your cup of thee, but could be interesting to be used as a cross, letting through some of that Alu Powerish feel
The to be released Vivo seems pretty interesting, as it is marketed as blend of power spin and feel, that sits right in between Zero and Sync, I’d say, follow up the feedback on that string in the coming weeks.
Concerning rackets
You are in the market for 98’s so I went through those.
Don’t know if you are open to what is reffered as ‘modern control’ rackets. If so, the transition to that would be less steep. In this category you could consider:
Wilson Blade 98
Head Gravity Tour
Head Radical Pro, by beckett’s assessment it’s like Head’s more userfriendly Pro Staff.
Yonex Percept 97 or 97 D depending on your preferred spec range.
If don’t consider modern control rackets as a valid option, just ignore
Knowing the stick you are playing now is quite heavy I assume. The frames you choose are actually more of platform frames to be weighted up afterwarts.
Reading you’re having Pure Aero 98, Tfight 305S and Extreme Pro coming in for demo
So knowing that, you could also consider Diadem Axis 98 (for me that’s a more easy to use version of Pure Aero 98.
Also coming in Extreme Pro, so we could add Vcore 98 or 98 Tour (depending on preffered spec range) So you’re having a couple more options.
To top it off, I would also give the Wilson Ultra Pro a shot.
We got everything covered more or less as far as potential new rackets go more or less.
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Jason Watkins
New User
£9.80 for a set of Mach 10 on Solinco's own website; £14.99 here. Can't justify buying from here.
codonnell
Semi-Pro
Thank you for the review! I may pick up a set and try it out. I like to string low so I’m hesitant to move to a more powerful string with a quick tension drop, but definitely sounds like it’s worth a try.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Well first off I'd like to thank you for taking the time to provide all of the detailed feedback. It's much appreciated.
I actually never thought of Alu Power as feeling crisp. I string it low at 44 lbs. Nothing crisp about that.
As for a Gut hybrid. I've tried that twice in the past. Once with Max Power. And once with Alu Power Rough. Believe it or not, I felt that the Gut/Max Power hybrid felt very stiff. And lost a ton of access to spin. And the Gut/ Alu Power Rough hybrid was just to powerful. I found myself holding back a lot. And that's bad tennis. So Gut hybrids are out.
The more I research Tour M8. The more it intrigues me. I may give it a shot. Just don't like the olive color.
I honestly never thought of giving Head Hawk Power a try. I've heard many people say that it loses tension pretty fast. That's what Alu does. Which is one of the reasons I want to get away from it.
I tried Restring Zero in my V14's last year. I thought it felt very muted and soft, which was nice. But I actually thought it was low powered. I remember thinking to myself that the string was grabbing the ball and holding it for an extra millisecond before shooting it out causing the ball to sit on the string bed too long for me. I want a string that's going to get in and out of the string bed quickly and get through the court fast. That wasn't something Restring Zero did well imo.
I demoed the Blade V8 and hated how low powered it was. It couldn't generate **** for power on serve. Hated it. Although I have heard that the V9 is a little better. I might give the V9 a demo soon.
I demoed the Percept 97 and Percept 97H. They were both very nice rackets in terms of feel and control. The regular Percept 97 was just too low powered. It has what I call a power plateau. No matter how hard you hit the ball. It will only go so fast because of the flexibility in the throat. The Percept 97H on the other hand provided much more power which I really liked. But it was just a tad too heavy for me on serve. If I was to play with it all of the time. It would devastate my shoulder like the RF97 used to do.
I demoed the last version of the Radical Pro and simply hated everything about it. Low powered and brassy is what I remember.
Everyone says that the Gravity Tour is very low powered. I'm looking to get away from low powered player frames. After 20 years of that crap. I've just had enough. I'm not getting any younger.
I never gave the Diadem Axis 98 a thought.
I demoed the Vcore 98 last summer. I thought it had great spin potential. Was very comfortable. Had good power. Decent control. Hit flat balls pretty well. Could hit heavy groundstrokes from both sides. But was terrible to serve with. It felt slow through the air. I believe it was due to how chunky the hoop was. And I hit the middle of the string bed. It makes no sense to me to create a racket with a head shape like that. Imo, If people are connecting high on the string bed near the top of the hoop. They need to take lessons and learn how to properly strike a tennis ball.
The Wilson Ultra Pro imo plays exactly like the Blade Pro 16x19. It does everything well and feels great. But super low on power.
I realize that the PA98, Extreme Pro and Tfight305S will all need customization to fit me. Which is not a problem as I enjoy tinkering with frames. It would basically be just adding some lead to the hoop and a little silicone in the handle.
So anyhow. When I finally decide on a frame to move forward with. I was hoping Mach 10 would fit the bill as my string of choice in that frame. But now you have me curious as to how Tour M8 would work as well.
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I thought that M8 was a better version of Hawk Power- better dwell time and tension maintenance
To be fair I cleaned the stringbed with soap, water and pulling the mains with the fingers, and the creaking sound stopped and snapback not great but definitely has come back a little. So maybe it was a matter of dirt after all.
I'll be testing it out again tomorrow.
I really struggled to find the power everyone else seems to be experiencing though. Now that tension has dropped some I guess it became a little more lively but nothing too uncontrollable.
I really enjoyed the first hour of it strung at ~53, truly unique experience and outstanding control, but regarding consistency/durability, tension maintenance, and power/comfort, I think this string will definitely benefit from the recommended 40-50 tension range.
A 1.30 set is arriving in a week or so. Will test it back to back with 4~5h old Zero and if it outlasts it, then with O-Toro (if not it will be Zero vs Otoro I guess). I'll leave updates!
So been hitting with it today. It has become a Rocket Launcher! Just exaggerating, I mean in comparison with itself freshly strung. It's perfectly playable but has become super soft, good spin when called upon but it doesn't feel like the same string at all. At first it was super spinny, low powered, even crisp. Now its quite lively and spin dropped to decent-moderate levels. Still makes a strange high pitched ping, or so I think I hear.
I guess the tension drop another user mentioned may be quite real. It's like a very accused break-in period.
I guess if you string it lower and in thicker gauges it may be less accused.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
How long have you been playing with it? How long has it been in your racket?
Strung it over a month ago (2/19th). I'd say I rallied close to an hour with it (probably less), plus ~2h match play, plus maybe half an hour service practice.
So, my 1.25 Mach 10/HGR hybrid dropped tension and lost control after 12 hours. I couldn’t use it anymore.
After breaking strings in 2 other frames, I had to use the hybrid for a couple of days after it had sat in my bag for a week. Oddly, between notching and going dead, it wasn’t the rocket launcher it had been the week before. Power had dropped significantly and spin and bite were a little less, but it was playable again. It was still on the stiff side and didn’t feel that great, but I did get 4 more hours of intense hitting out of it.
After breaking strings in 2 other frames, I had to use the hybrid for a couple of days after it had sat in my bag for a week. Oddly, between notching and going dead, it wasn’t the rocket launcher it had been the week before. Power had dropped significantly and spin and bite were a little less, but it was playable again. It was still on the stiff side and didn’t feel that great, but I did get 4 more hours of intense hitting out of it.
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
Well with the feedback you've given, we can exclude a lot.
Some surprising observations, but that shows, when it comes to strings and rackets, we all perceive things very differently, so it's very individual.
Alu Power not crisp feeling, is a first, as for zero being underpowered, to me that one felt like a rocket lancher.
Nat Gut hybrids are clearly out then, as weird as that may sound. But yeah, if it doesn't work for you then it doesn't.
As an Alu Power user i thought Head Hawk Power could be a good, less expensive substitute, but if tension maintenance is one of the things you prioritize now, then yes you could ignore that one.
You actually not liking the Radical is suprising as it is marketing as a more easy to use Pro Staff, so there we have it again, concerning preferences, everything is so personal that it is quite hard to do accurate recommandations.
Cant really comment on the Blade V8 vs V9 cause i only played the V9 and liking it quite a bit.
Totally agreed upon the power plateau of the Percept. Thought of suggestion some of the better modern control rackets, as transitioning into that would be a lot easier where you are coming from.
Also agreed upon your observation of the Vcore 98 (V6 en V7 are my main sticks). V6 swings more easy, V7 can indeed be a bit 'chunky'. It packs more of a punch and extra spin potential (widened top of the head) compared to the V6. The lager sweetspot is easier voor 100 inch players who would like to transition to 98's maybe. On the other hand the thickened beam reduced the manuverability.
So i guess modern controlled rackets are out, except maybe wilson V9 as optional demo.
Knowing all that, I think you have to only reasonable options left on your to demo list.
Axis 98 would be an optional demo, if PA 98 would be your favourite among the 3 you're going to demo.
String options, i would say:
Solinco Mach 10
Restring Vivo (not far away from mach 10 power)
Grapplesnake M8 (will hold tension way better) another advantage of that string is it will remain it's playability on lower tension, and lower tension means extra power for free. And I for one like the fact that it's not a generic colour. Respect for not making obvious choices
Grapplesnake Alpha (spin, power, comfort, all packed together), It's not my top pick, but makes my top 10 easy. Bit to powerfull for me, but that's the main thing you are after, so maybe it's a good choice for you.
I have no connections with Grapplesnake, but i've come to respect the brand, most of their offerings have some level of uniqueness in them, Aspera, Paradox, Mako, all strings that are very difficult to compare with strings from other brands. Not really what you are after (durability and or tension maintenance aint good enough in those), but happy that i've tried them out at least.
Fyi, Tw staff has asked not so long ago, if they would carry Grapplesnake strings, what 2 strings would be our choice. Well almost same 3 strings were mentioned
Tour Sniper, M8 and Alpha. I Guess it is safe to say, something must be good on those strings.
Although personally my pick is Tour Sniper, I dont think that'll be a perfect fit for you (to much of a control string)
I'm actually going the reverse route that you're doing. Aside my Vcore rackets, i've been hitting Blade and Gravity frequently and loving them. Makes me have to commit to my shots more. I can get the power out of it, it's just a bit more draining. But it makes me play the way i want. Vcore can get a bit wild sometimes. It's more easy to actually hit the felt of the ball Fonseca style with those rackets lol
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I changed my demo order to the PA98, Extreme Pro and Blade V9 16x19. The Tfight 305S was backordered until April 14th. Plus I hate the grip shape of Tecnifibre rackets anyway. Should be arriving at the beginning of next week. Can't wait to try them out. And then I can't wait to try Mach 10 and Tour M8.
Damn.... I have a lot to figure out before my league starts at the end of the month.
UnderArmServeOP
Rookie
I was lacking in spin so I hybrided it with Hyper-G Round and I loved it
Tennis And Anime Lover
Rookie
I changed my demo order to the PA98, Extreme Pro and Blade V9 16x19. The Tfight 305S was backordered until April 14th. Plus I hate the grip shape of Tecnifibre rackets anyway. Should be arriving at the beginning of next week. Can't wait to try them out. And then I can't wait to try Mach 10 and Tour M8.
Damn.... I have a lot to figure out before my league starts at the end of the month.
Interesting to hear where you'll end up.
I'm kinda in the same boat. I wonder if ever can settle on 1 specific set up. At least i've been able to narrow it down after 40+ frames and 125+ strings
For me it's Yonex Vcore V6, Head Gravity 2025 and or Wilson Blade V9, in combination with Grapplesnake Tour Sniper or Tour M8, with TBHS7T as a cheaper alternative and Luxilon 4G Soft.
I'm a bit rushed to, I also have League competition coming up haha.
Enjoy your hitting sessions and testing next week. I'll be all ears to read and hear your feedback
