Syn gut questions

[graycrait]

1. Is there such a thing as a mono nylon string - without wraps, etc? If so how does it play?

2. Do the wraps, exterior strands provide the only source of lower friction on a nylon/syn gut string, therefore making the "thin" exterior wrap/strands as or more important as the nylon core?

2. How long can a full bed of syn gut play decently? (I swear forever because I have some old wood rackets with syn gut strings that seem to play alright for their age as well as 4 T2000s with original strings but that is probably more from low hours of play on those rackets as much as anything).

3. Anyone know of a syn gut full bed, even a syn gut to syn gut hybrid, that does not move all over the place in just an hour or 3 of playing?

My observations/comments. The other day I took a pair of 14x18 Prince Power series 93" rackets and strung one with Ash Kev x Zyex and the other with 15L Genesis Tournament Nylon x 15L Prince Tournament Nylon, after cutting out some "dead" 18g Solinco TB out of them. Each played well enough, but the Ash Kev x Zyex took a bit more work even with these flexy rackets. The syn gut "hybrid" played pretty well in this open pattern flexy racket. This experiment stemming from some introspection as to whether this 62 yr old can or does routinely generate enough racket head speed to achieve enough advantage out of high end strings to make a difference in my play vs arm health and wallet size.

 

[esgee48]

[1] Tournament nylons are mono nylon strings without wraps, generally. They are the cheapest easiest extrusions to make for strings. No additive and no post extrusion treatments.

[2] Yes, no additives; but you can restore slickness by wiping down the strings before each session. Factory slickness only last a few hours anyway. I play with mine until they break, normally before 16 hours due to notching.

[3] No and I would like to find it too. My POSG moves by the end of 60-90 minutes of hitting. I do wipe them down and reoil the notches before putting the frames away.

I see nothing wrong with tournament nylons. Just that their gauges are a little too thick for me at the tensions I like to have the proper DT. If you string your own, use what you like. I played SG since they came out with forays into polys and multis. Always came back.

 

[Icsa]

I'm probably in minority, but I use lots of Babolat string savers to reduce friction and notching. This provides an increased string life while maintaining snap back. I play with multi or syn gut at the top end of tension.

 

[graycrait]

I do wipe them down and reoil the notches before putting the frames away.

I use Silicone w/Teflon in one of my other hobbies so will reinvigorate my nylon tournament strings with that.

 

[LocNetMonster]

[3] No and I would like to find it too. My POSG moves by the end of 60-90 minutes of hitting. I do wipe them down and reoil the notches before putting the frames away.

This summer I started wiping the sweat from forehead and face on the strings between points. After the first couple of times, you... well, I can feel a difference in how the strings bed responded after applying the natural oils and sweat.

 

[esgee48]

Yeah, but if not careful, you can grow things on your string bed, i.e. germs and algae. I prefer to keep an oily paper towel in a plastic baggy inside my bag.

 

[LocNetMonster]

Yeah, but if not careful, you can grow things on your string bed, i.e. germs and algae. I prefer to keep an oily paper towel in a plastic baggy inside my bag.

It will have to grow fast. I don't keep strings in for more than a couple of weeks.

 

[fuzz nation]

1. Is there such a thing as a mono nylon string - without wraps, etc? If so how does it play?

2. Do the wraps, exterior strands provide the only source of lower friction on a nylon/syn gut string, therefore making the "thin" exterior wrap/strands as or more important as the nylon core?

2. How long can a full bed of syn gut play decently? (I swear forever because I have some old wood rackets with syn gut strings that seem to play alright for their age as well as 4 T2000s with original strings but that is probably more from low hours of play on those rackets as much as anything).

3. Anyone know of a syn gut full bed, even a syn gut to syn gut hybrid, that does not move all over the place in just an hour or 3 of playing?

My observations/comments. The other day I took a pair of 14x18 Prince Power series 93" rackets and strung one with Ash Kev x Zyex and the other with 15L Genesis Tournament Nylon x 15L Prince Tournament Nylon, after cutting out some "dead" 18g Solinco TB out of them. Each played well enough, but the Ash Kev x Zyex took a bit more work even with these flexy rackets. The syn gut "hybrid" played pretty well in this open pattern flexy racket. This experiment stemming from some introspection as to whether this 62 yr old can or does routinely generate enough racket head speed to achieve enough advantage out of high end strings to make a difference in my play vs arm health and wallet size.

I'm in a similar boat as our pal esgee48 in terms of always going back to syn. gut. I try other string layouts here and there so that I can have more informed talks with folks I string for locally, but haven't found any performance advantages using polys or hybrids. If anything, the polys/hybrids seem to deaden the response of my racquets and that only makes my volleys and serves less potent.

The syn. gut that seems to turn in the best service life as a cross in a poly hybrid, at least in my experience through recent years, has been Gosen OG Sheep Micro. I don't know exactly what the outer wrap and/or coating consist of with this string, but it usually looks more like it wears down instead of fraying so much as it ages. What I mean here is that the OGSM looks more like a mono string than some other syn. guts which will show more uneven fraying of their wraps as they rack up more mileage.

Lately I've been loving the feel, performance, and general bang for my buck that I get with Kirschbaum's standard syn. gut, but I'm planning on doing some more experiments with Gosen OGSM in full beds. While the Gosen generally plays a little more on the firm side of the syn. gut spectrum, I've realized that this string has never disappointed me in any application. I doubt that firmness would be much of an issue if it simply means I can drop tension by maybe two or three pounds. Looking forward to some side-by-side comparisons.

Question: Not sure what you mean with your observation that the Ash Kev/Zyex took a bit more work, even with those flexy racquets. Just curious about what sort of extra work was demanded there in contrast with the nylon strung frame.

I generally tension my 17 ga. syn. gut in the range of 56-59 lbs. in my 98" Volkls (16x19 patterns) and I don't think I get into big trouble with my strings moving all over the place. Maybe my strings generally stay put better than if they were installed at lower tensions, but I probably also don't worry much about having to straighten them out here and there. No denying that they pretty much stay in line when they're relatively fresh.

My suspicion is that a soft poly cross - soft through composition and/or lower tension - should be better at allowing the mains to "recover" (move back into position) better over time than a syn. gut cross, but I suppose that this would require a whole different set of experiments to sort out. This one may have to wait til it warms up in the spring...

 

[graycrait]

Not sure what you mean with your observation that the Ash Kev/Zyex took a bit more work, even with those flexy racquets.

I have pairs of rackets strung with full bed syn gut and the other Ash Kev x Zyex: The Prince Power 90s; POG OS, Warrior 100s and PCG 100s. Syn gut definitely gives some free power over the Ash Kev x Zyex. Some days and/or against some hitters one or the other seems to work better, but I am shifting towards using more syn gut in the Princes due to some joint twinges I have given myself using so much poly and experimenting "too" much with oversized rackets that are "leaded" up. For example: Prince Extender 116", Wilson Hammer 5.8 110", Volkl Catapult FIRE 1 120" and Pro Kennex Qi30 119" - all strung with Ash Kev x Zyex.

My biggest lessons learned with string are: 1) Syn gut works quite well for the older rec player. (I was hitting with a UTR 12 Div 1 player last night and found I could hang about as well using syn gut against him as I could with any other string. Fundamentals are way more important than string or even rackets.) 2) Ash Kev x Zyex is a pretty good alternative to poly for the average rec player as most don't generate enough racket head speed to fully appreciate what poly can do and Ash Kev x Zyex gives a pretty good approximation to poly but last longer. 3) But for the older rec player poly can be fun but in rather short lived thinner gauges. 4) Multis - why?

 

[fuzz nation]

I have pairs of rackets strung with full bed syn gut and the other Ash Kev x Zyex: The Prince Power 90s; POG OS, Warrior 100s and PCG 100s. Syn gut definitely gives some free power over the Ash Kev x Zyex. Some days and/or against some hitters one or the other seems to work better, but I am shifting towards using more syn gut in the Princes due to some joint twinges I have given myself using so much poly and experimenting "too" much with oversized rackets that are "leaded" up. For example: Prince Extender 116", Wilson Hammer 5.8 110", Volkl Catapult FIRE 1 120" and Pro Kennex Qi30 119" - all strung with Ash Kev x Zyex.

My biggest lessons learned with string are: 1) Syn gut works quite well for the older rec player. (I was hitting with a UTR 12 Div 1 player last night and found I could hang about as well using syn gut against him as I could with any other string. Fundamentals are way more important than string or even rackets.) 2) Ash Kev x Zyex is a pretty good alternative to poly for the average rec player as most don't generate enough racket head speed to fully appreciate what poly can do and Ash Kev x Zyex gives a pretty good approximation to poly but last longer. 3) But for the older rec player poly can be fun but in rather short lived thinner gauges. 4) Multis - why?

Right there with you in terms of multifibers. I only keep a couple sets of Alpha Gut 2000 16 ga. on hand whenever somebody asks for a restring with full multi. This string is certainly more affordable that the premium options, it seems to perform just fine, and it also seems to be about as durable as the others. I actually think I should also keep a few sets of Forten Sweet 16 handy, just because that syn. gut seems soft enough to effectively work as an alternative to a more pricey multi.

My arm is a little mad at me right now, too. I just tried a full bed of poly - Cyclone 17 mains and Iso. Baseline 1.25mm crosses - tensioned at 45 lbs. in one of my Volkl C10's. I figured knowledge is power, but this setup did nothing for me. When I tried this poly setup against two of my other C10's strung with 17 ga. syn. gut at different tensions, I couldn't find any perks with the poly - and this was over the course of a hearty two hour workout.

Also agree with the impressions of thinner gauges of poly. Easily the most well received gauge of Isospeed Baseline I've used in recent years has been the lightest gauge; 1.20mm. It does go dead rather quickly, but I was surprised with its substantially greater comfort level when I tried it in a hybrid, even compared with the next thicker option of 1.25mm.

 

[graycrait]

double post