Spin Oriented Arm Friendly Poly/Poly Hybrid?

[tdhawks]

Title says it all. I’m a 4.0 baseliner who hits with loads of spin from all areas of the court. Prefer shaped poly mains as those tend to pronounce my strokes the best.

I swapped frames from the VCPHD to the VCore 98 this fall for a less demanding racquet that gave me a little more pop and was a hair lighter. The tradeoff however is I can feel the added stiffness in the frame and from time to time my elbow has become a hair sensitive.

I have been testing some arm friendly hybrids but nothing is jumping out to me as a keeper. I play well with the new frame and don't want to ditch it so I am trying to find a combo that would suit the frame and my elbow the best.

So far I’ve tried -

Mayami Big Spin / Magic Twist 17g 44lbs - Great in the HD, not too hot in the 98.

Mayami Tour Hex 17g / Ghostwire 19g 44lbs - Good Spin and comfort after a few hours of break it. Liked it.

Toroline Wasabi 17g / GW 19g 44lbs - Stiff for first few hours, then decent.

Toroline Caviar 17g / GW 19g 44lbs - Only have 3 hours on this setup but not a fan.

Ytex Square X 17g / Head Hawk Touch 18g 44lbs - Nice and soft with good bite. Probably my favorite so far along with Tour Hex / GW. Not sure if it's the Ytex or the combo with Touch vs GW.

I'm wanting to try Square X and Tour Hex with Cream to see how that plays compared to GW. Also interested in Focus Hex +38 in either a full bed or hybrid.

Any other setups you’d care to share I’d be interested to hear and try.

Thanks.

 

[Nollid]

FireWire Boost 17g (FireWire/ Ghostwire) @52lbs in a ProKennex. Oodles of spin and no discomfort.

 

[blai212]

I found firewire to be too harsh for me. Vcore 98 is a stiff racquet…if you liked VCPHD but want more power, why not try the VCP97 310g? Soft poly is not always the best option because they lose tension faster and requires constant restringing. Using a slightly stiffer or thicker copoly with good feel and tension maintenance at a lower tension provides the best combination of comfort and playability duration. HG/HGS 1.25 mains with GW 1.22 cross at 42/40 should be comfortable and long lasting.

 

[tdhawks]

I found firewire to be too harsh for me. Vcore 98 is a stiff racquet…if you liked VCPHD but want more power, why not try the VCP97 310g? Soft poly is not always the best option because they lose tension faster and requires constant restringing. Using a slightly stiffer or thicker copoly with good feel and tension maintenance at a lower tension provides the best combination of comfort and playability duration. HG/HGS 1.25 mains with GW 1.22 cross at 42/40 should be comfortable and long lasting.

I found the same with FireWire. I went with the 98 as I wanted a lighter, more forgiving racquet with more pop. I do like it and play well with it, it’s just a tad stiffer.

Maybe going up in gauge vs all the thinner gauges would help. Thanks.

HG/HGS ?

 

[blai212]

hyper G/ hyperG soft

 

[mikeler]

@blai212 and @tdhawks did you try full bed Firewire or Firewire Boost? I've been using Firewire Boost for years now and find it to be quite comfortable. Firewire Boost is a half set of Firewire (super shaped poly you should put in the mains) with the super smooth and soft Ghostwire poly in the crosses.

 

[tdhawks]

^ I have used Boost in some previous frames like my DR’s and the HD but not in my current 98.

 

[NikoS]

Tourna Silver 7 Tour/GhostWire @ 23kg. I love it on my Black Ace Pro.

 

[leejayh]

Tourna silver 7 tour (m) / tourna big hitter silver (c)

 

[tdhawks]

Big Spin 1.25 / Ghostwire 1.22 43/40lbs for the win.

 

[daman sidhu]

I use a VCore 95(moved from the 98 myself) with Nat Gut/Poly(VSGut/HyperG Soft) combination at 55/45 and I really like how it feels. Getting good power, control, comfort and spin from the combination.

 

[Injured Again]

V-Square is a soft and comfortable, sharply edged string that has very high spin capability. The major downside for me was that it notched into itself very quickly and I broke the string in about four hours. A thicker gauge may help but I am using a dense string pattern and like the performance with a thinner gauge.

If you're able to go thicker, Ultra Cable is not a bad alternative either.

 

[smithie]

V-Square is a soft and comfortable, sharply edged string that has very high spin capability. The major downside for me was that it notched into itself very quickly and I broke the string in about four hours. A thicker gauge may help but I am using a dense string pattern and like the performance with a thinner gauge.

If you're able to go thicker, Ultra Cable is not a bad alternative either.

I am going to try V-square crossed with YPTF soon to try to prevent this - maybe this option could be viable for the op?

 

[tim-ay]

Cream is a shade softer than Ghostwire. Try cream as a cross, playability is similar but you will definitely tell a difference…. I’ve compared directly to FireWire boost vs. FireWire mains with cream crosses.

Full disclosure - i like a full bed of Black Knight better than either.

 

[tdhawks]

Cream is a shade softer than Ghostwire. Try cream as a cross, playability is similar but you will definitely tell a difference…. I’ve compared directly to FireWire boost vs. FireWire mains with cream crosses.

Full disclosure - i like a full bed of Black Knight better than either.

This is good to know. I have used Tier 1 strings for a very long time and I like all of their offerings.

The thinner gauge Ghostwire just didn’t do it for me. I had to go a little thicker and that seemed to really help my elbow issue.

I ordered a couple sets of Cream to try in place of Ghostwire to see if there is any difference so it will be interesting to tell.

Did you notice any difference in power, spin, and/or control with Cream vs Ghostwire or mainly just a softer streambed in general?

 

[tim-ay]

This is good to know. I have used Tier 1 strings for a very long time and I like all of their offerings.

The thinner gauge Ghostwire just didn’t do it for me. I had to go a little thicker and that seemed to really help my elbow issue.

I ordered a couple sets of Cream to try in place of Ghostwire to see if there is any difference so it will be interesting to tell.

Did you notice any difference in power, spin, and/or control with Cream vs Ghostwire or mainly just a softer streambed in general?

Mainly just a softer stringbed. In some rackets, I could see that becoming a bit muted, but I didn’t have that problem in my Pro Kennex frames.

 

[Injured Again]

I am going to try V-square crossed with YPTF soon to try to prevent this - maybe this option could be viable for the op?

I haven't seen that anyone else has posted their string wear with V-Square, but here is what I experienced:

V-Square is a pretty soft string and I'm guessing the only way that a notch could be cut in that way is if the cross string twists as the main slides across it, and then the main twists as well. The notch in the right vertical string is much shallower on the side that you see but is deeper on the side you can't see. Conversely, you can see that the notch is deeper on the right side of the left string versus the left side of the left string. I've never seen an asymmetric notch like that with any other string that I've used. I am pretty good about not introducing twists in the crosses when I string so that's not the reason it would done this.

I'm not sure if a round cross would help. If anything, it might allow the main to twist more since it's not a flat surface bearing against a flat surface.

 

[smithie]

I haven't seen that anyone else has posted their string wear with V-Square, but here is what I experienced:

V-Square is a pretty soft string and I'm guessing the only way that a notch could be cut in that way is if the cross string twists as the main slides across it, and then the main twists as well. The notch in the right vertical string is much shallower on the side that you see but is deeper on the side you can't see. Conversely, you can see that the notch is deeper on the right side of the left string versus the left side of the left string. I've never seen an asymmetric notch like that with any other string that I've used. I am pretty good about not introducing twists in the crosses when I string so that's not the reason it would done this.

I'm not sure if a round cross would help. If anything, it might allow the main to twist more since it's not a flat surface bearing against a flat surface.

Really interestingly, I am seeing similar notching in mine (although I have a couple more hours of play left before I get to your stage) and similarly to you, my stringbed wasn't twisted (I actually complimented my stringer on keeping the strings so straight on themselves). Maybe it is a case of as you say, the string twists on impact and then the sharp edge gets embedded in the initial notch which exacerbates the situation on subsequent hits?

Either way, I will report back with it crossed with YPTF as I know of at least one poster on these boards that has reported less notching with a round poly in the crosses (which is what gave me the idea).

 

[blai212]

@blai212 and @tdhawks did you try full bed Firewire or Firewire Boost? I've been using Firewire Boost for years now and find it to be quite comfortable. Firewire Boost is a half set of Firewire (super shaped poly you should put in the mains) with the super smooth and soft Ghostwire poly in the crosses.

absolutely hated it and my arm almost fell off. May be you just have a softer racquet than me or since you play in florida, the warmer temperatures make firewire more comfortable

 

[mikeler]

absolutely hated it and my arm almost fell off. May be you just have a softer racquet than me or since you play in florida, the warmer temperatures make firewire more comfortable

Gotcha, thank you both for responding. I do have a super soft racquet and play in mostly warm weather.

 

[WYK]

Cyclone Tour 17 is a good compromise. I would pre-stretch it before installing it.

 

[smithie]

Really interestingly, I am seeing similar notching in mine (although I have a couple more hours of play left before I get to your stage) and similarly to you, my stringbed wasn't twisted (I actually complimented my stringer on keeping the strings so straight on themselves). Maybe it is a case of as you say, the string twists on impact and then the sharp edge gets embedded in the initial notch which exacerbates the situation on subsequent hits?

Either way, I will report back with it crossed with YPTF as I know of at least one poster on these boards that has reported less notching with a round poly in the crosses (which is what gave me the idea).

@Injured Again for your reference (although it seems you've committed to switching to TBHB7 now), I got my rackets strung with Volkl V-Square/YPTF on Saturday and played with them for the first time in a practise match yesterday (i.e., a good three hours of hard hitting). In short, the notching appears to be significantly reduced (almost unnoticeable) in comparison to Volkl V-Square in a FB after one session (albeit this is all from memory, so I don't have the fancy photos like you to compare too). Interestingly, the general playing characterises don't appear to have really changed apart from the response off the string bed appears more linear, making it more consistent and controlled - although that could just be down to it being freshly strung. I will keep an eye on the tension over the next few hitting sessions to see if there is change in the above characterises but currently it seems to have all the positives of FB V-Square (i.e., spin and comfort) but in a more consistent and potentially more durable package.