Syn gut recommendation

[graycrait]

@fuzz nation , has nailed syn gut in my mind. I have a pile of syn gut at the house and have used it in many configurations of full bed and hybrids.

If I am hitting syngut fullbed and I like it, it will be 16g Kirschbaum SG at 55-58lbs. If I am using SG as a hybrid to round poly mains it will be 17g OGSM. That is all, fini, final, the end

 

[dzine808]

+1 on OGSM Cross

 

[amitd79]

Have you tried yonex dynawire 16g? It’s my favorite at the moment.

 

[Irvin]

@graycrait I don't think @amitd79 heard you. LOL Maybe you need to try some more reels of SG.

 

[graycrait]

@amitd79 , Yes, I have tried Dynawire 16g and I personally didn't think it was any "better" than Prince SG w/Duraflex or Wilson SG. I really like the "buttery" smooth feel of Kirschbaum full bed and I can string it for a shade over $2/set. I like it full bed much better than Forten Sweet or any other synthetic gut I have tried. Now I am trying to not over think the many choices in this field.

OGSM seems stiffer/crisper/harder to me than KB SG and feels good backing up the several reels and 20 sets I have of the "value priced" round poly Prince Diablo 17 (now discontinued like my Twistpower X97 rackets!). I digress... Somehow I have accumulated 7 reels of SG and at one time purchased a set or two of every SG that I could find. Fellow TT'rs even sent me some sets to try. In retrospect if I had just used the knowledge shared by @fuzz nation concerning syn guts instead of "I need to see for myself" I would have saved both time and money.

These days if I am stringing poly full bed it is Diablo 17. Hybrids of poly x sg are either Diablo 17 or Polylon 18 in the mains backed by 17 or 18 OGSM in the crosses. The narrow gauge hybrids feel pretty good in my 93" 18x20 Volkls. The great thing is that any of these play fine for a couple of hours and I don't agonize cutting them out because they are pretty cheap. I do have another reel of Multifeel 16 en-route because I like the way it plays in my Head 18x19 107s and I can play Multifeel till it breaks.

To summarize my "value price" string choices"

- 16g Kirschbaum SG full bed for just nice hitting or recovery from stupid string experiments in Aero Pro Drives, a racket which I should avoid, but like to fool around with. Also good for wood rackets.
- 18/17/16 OGSM for hybriding
- Diablo 17 and Polylon 18, Diablo 17 full bed or hybrid, Polylon 18 for hybriding dense string patterns
- Multifeel 16 for special rackets
- Ashaway Kevlar 16 and Ashaway Zyex 17 hybrids for that racket you only occasionally hit with but want it ready next year for a hit and don't want to restring it or in rackets you like to hit with but don't want to restring every 2 - 4 outings.

 

[Brando]

...In retrospect if I had just used the knowledge shared by @fuzz nation concerning syn guts instead of "I need to see for myself" I would have saved both time and money...

'Couldn't agree more. @fuzz nation is my go-to guru on SGs. I found the Sweet 16 through him and have a racquet currently strung up with it that's eternally grateful. I consider you too a thoughtful string detective. I've never tried KSG 'cause it's not available in sets, and my stringer Chris (praise be his mains) doesn't stock it. So may I prevail upon you to wax fuzz-like if you can about how a full bed of Kirschbaum Syn Gut 16 feels, plays, and lasts in comparison to the Sweet? Am curious...

 

[graycrait]

@Brando , Sorry, but I have only a reel of Sweet 17 and I have loaded only one string bed into a 2008 C10 Pro, which I haven't hit much with since stringing. But as I just strung an APD with Kirschbaum 16g syn gut I took a 18" section of each and fiddled around with them. First off KB feels less stiff than Sweet 17. It takes less pulling pressure to tie an overhand knot in KB 16 than Sweet 17 and the knot in KB 16 stays smaller without the string's stiffness spreading the knot out like Sweet 17 does. KB 16g is softer too, easier to squeeze with a pliers. Sweet 17 appears to be a mono "nylon" string whereas KB 16 is clearly a "multifilament".

One other thing about KB 16. I have one 97" 16x19 Twistpower X97 Tour strung with KB16 at 57lbs and strung another X97 with 16g Multifeel at 57lbs. The racket strung with Multifeel 16 feels like a board compared to the KB 16 strung X97. I found that fascinating.

Both rackets strung by me on a NEOS 1000 w/Wise tension head.

I'll string up another X97 with Sweet 17 at 57lbs and report back after my hit with a former D1 player tomorrow.

 

[Brando]

Thanks for the rundown, @graycrait . Your deets give me a pretty good idea of how KBS feels; that is, softer than I'd have thought. I've also played Mutifeel [pink] 16 (in a 16x19 at 53#), so your comparison to it was quite useful too. Sweet of you to take the time. You've salved my curiosity; sounds like it's a bit soft for my taste but a good recommendation for one looking for a syn gut with multifilament-like comfort.

 

[graycrait]

@Brando , Stringing Sweet 17 today showed me that Sweet 17 also has more string to string friction against itself fullbed as I strung the first few crosses compared to Kirschbaum, but that in my experience has no relevancy to asses Sweet 17 as a cross for poly. Zyex is somewhat of a pain stringing full bed but it doesn't dent or notch so in the right set up makes a nice cross even if it screeches like an out of tune violin stringing Zyex to Zyex in a fullbed. I have reels of 18,17 and 16g OGSM which I use for crosses with round poly. I'll need to find a good tension with Sweet 17 fullbed. I strung it fullbed at 55lbs in an Aero Pro Drive. I'll hit it tomorrow.

 

[Brando]

You mean an Pure Aero or a Pure Drive? Either way, a fb of Sweet 17 at 55# sounds, well, sweet. Do let us know how it played...

 

[graycrait]

@Brando , I have been stringing a 5.0 28 yr olds Pure Drives with Ash Kev 16g x ZX 17g, 62/58lbs because he wants his strings to last more than a couple hours and yet give him some poly like spin.

The Aero Pro Drive is the predecessor to the Pure Aero. I just like how the APDs swing and feel. The string is secondary.

 

[Brando]

I googled the Aero Pro Drive from your first post about it here and couldn't find it. Now, via a Tennis Nerd blog , I see I missed it bc its name is technically the AeroPro Drive. So this is the stick Nadal actually plays with, eh? Jonas confirms that it's quite powerful and, of course, a spinmeister.

Re. your client's kevlar/zyex setup, I've read in past threads that you've long recommended it for string breakers. Still, it amazes me that despite kevlar's lack of elasticity, the setup doesn't seem to hurt the arm. Do you still find this to be true? Or are there usage guidelines one needs to follow, as with poly?

 

[serveandvolE]

I use synthetic gut exclusively. I've tried a ton of synthetic gut strings but I always end up going back to Head Synthetic Gut PPS (gold). I like it better than Kirschbaum synth, Babolat Synth and Spiraltek, GammaSynth (not including other Gamma synth like TNT since they approach poly price range) Wilson Synthetic, Prince Synth (Duraflex and non-Duraflex), Head Synthetic (the newer version non-PPS ), Tourna Armor, Yonex Dynawire, Forten Sweet 16 and Sweet 17, Ashway syn., Solinco Pro Stacked, and Gosen OG-Sheep Micro and Super Micro. The feel and power plus, to me, slightly better durability tips the scale for me. I'm a 4.5 player with 2hb and flat strokes with an all-around game (used to be more of a serve and volleyer until plantar fasciitis hit)

 

[Dartagnan64]

Still a fan of Prince synthetic guts. Both PSGD and Topspin.

Still, it amazes me that despite kevlar's lack of elasticity, the setup doesn't seem to hurt the arm.

Kevlar is stiff but still has resilience unlike polyester. That's why it's a good bullet proof vest material. It can absorb the bullets kinetic energy without cracking or exploding like plastic would.

 

[graycrait]

Still, it amazes me that despite kevlar's lack of elasticity, the setup doesn't seem to hurt the arm.

I stupidly entered a small open singles tournament (I'll be 68 in a couple of months) and my first opponent was the HS kid who won the thing. I tried using an APD with syn gut but had more success with an APD strung with Ash Kev x ZX. No pain at all. I was thinking about quitting the APDs when I was using 17 and 18g poly and picked up some elbow niggles, but righted the comfort ship with Ash Kev x ZX.

 

[Steve Huff]

My favorite synthetic gut is probably Prince Lightning, but it's no longer "value priced". I've tried Kirshbaum Synthetic 17 (gold) and it felt dry and brittle. Maybe a bad reel or something. OG Micro is nice too. I like the natural better than the white or black. Dynawire is nice too, and the people I've strung it for seem to like it a lot. TF Syn was similar to the Kirshbaum. Wilson Syn Power, Head Syn PPS and PSGD all seem pretty close and seem to last a little longer. Babolat Syn has a soft feel, easy to string, makes a pretty good cross in a hybrid.

 

[WYK]

I just went out for a hit with Babolat Syn Gut on top of Revolve 16 in a Blade 18X20 and found it wasn't bad at all. Not as cushy or controlled as my Alu/Gut combo in the other blade I was hitting, but I was surprised at the performance.
The spin was much better than expected.

 

[vandre]

for my $, ytex sintex is the best synthetic gut i've ever used in terms of feel, durability and tension retention. some syn guts fray as they get close to breaking (original/ non duraflex prince syn gut comes to mind) but this does not and it maintains its playability right up to breaking.

 

[beepee1972]

@fuzz nation , has nailed syn gut in my mind. I have a pile of syn gut at the house and have used it in many configurations of full bed and hybrids.

If I am hitting syngut fullbed and I like it, it will be 16g Kirschbaum SG at 55-58lbs. If I am using SG as a hybrid to round poly mains it will be 17g OGSM. That is all, fini, final, the end

When you say KB syngut, do you mean the (older) regular syngut, or the syngut premium reels? Those last ones I can still get, the older Synthetic gut (without anything else) is not available here anymore. I used to order that last one in 1.35, but cannot do that anymore.

 

[graycrait]

@beepee1972 , this is what I am using:

 

[tele]

for my $, ytex sintex is the best synthetic gut i've ever used in terms of feel, durability and tension retention. some syn guts fray as they get close to breaking (original/ non duraflex prince syn gut comes to mind) but this does not and it maintains its playability right up to breaking.

if you don't mind my asking, could you elaborate on your racquet setup? also how are string movement and stiffness with sintex?

 

[vandre]

if you don't mind my asking, could you elaborate on your racquet setup? also how are string movement and stiffness with sintex?

most of the time i've been using sintex in a blade 104 v7 strung @ 57 lbs. i have 2 of those frames so i put sintex in one and wilson syn gut power in the other (both at 57 lbs.). i was using both to hit primarily off the ball machine with a couple of hours of "live ball hitting" off each. sintex lasted for about 15 hours before it snapped while wilson syn gut power snapped after about 8. i do notice a bit of movement when i hit the heavy pressureless balls off the ball machine but it isn't so bad with "live balls" (pressurized ones). i have also strung a yonex rqis tour 1 xl 95 @ 55/53 lbs. to me, sintex feels like a "softer" synthetic gut but it is more durable that the softer syn gut strings i've come across. to me, gosen ogsm feels sort of stiff and sintex is nothing like that.

hope that helps! happy hitting!

 

[tele]

thanks for the info! I have a few sets of others I need to go through first, but will put sintex on my list

 

[beepee1972]

@graycrait : This is the one I use (in a different gauge), it's a bit different

 

[BenC]

Forgot that I bought a Kirschbaum SG reel last year based on the recommendation of the earlier thread. My elbow's been sore so I put a full bed into my floppiest racquet just now (Prince Phantom 100 Pro, RA 54). Stretchier and more flexible than PGSD, but not sticky like the cheap SGs can be (i.e. Forten Nylon). Will see how it plays tomorrow.

 

[artdeco]

My local club uses Pro Pros 1.35 gauge synthetic gut. It's actually really good.

 

[Fairhit]

I'm currently using Yonex Dynawire but is not holding tension that well, what do you recommend that palys somewhat similar but can retain tension better? Maybe a multi?

 

[veelium]

Any recommendations for a synthetic gut or multifilament that is cheap & powerful & soft?

Doesn't need to hold tension well or do anything else well.

 

[Fairhit]

Any recommendations for a synthetic gut or multifilament that is cheap & powerful & soft?

Doesn't need to hold tension well or do anything else well.

I've been playing with Dynawire for like half a year now, nice feeling and not expensive but it doesn't hold tension that well, besides that, it is soft and powerful enough considering I play with a low powered control frame.

 

[esm]

Any recommendations for a synthetic gut or multifilament that is cheap & powerful & soft?

Doesn't need to hold tension well or do anything else well.

Pros Pro

 

[MZ9526]

My local club uses Pro Pros 1.35 gauge synthetic gut. It's actually really good.

I've been surprised at how well the thicker guage SGs feel and play. In a happy accident, I ended up with a reel of Forten 15L SG and I've been using it as a main for the past six months and I'm finding it hard to use anything else.

The best part is that the thicker guage doesn't move around as much as a 16G.

 

[artdeco]

I've been surprised at how well the thicker guage SGs feel and play. In a happy accident, I ended up with a reel of Forten 15L SG and I've been using it as a main for the past six months and I'm finding it hard to use anything else.

The best part is that the thicker guage doesn't move around as much as a 16G.

I didn't realise what gauge I was getting until one day the batch they put in had the 1.35 written on it.
According to these forums 1.35 in an 18x20 pattern is a no-no, but it works great.

 

[MZ9526]

I didn't realise what gauge I was getting until one day the batch they put in had the 1.35 written on it.
According to these forums 1.35 in an 18x20 pattern is a no-no, but it works great.

My current stick is 16x19, but I would definitely use 1.35 in a 18x20, especially because I'm stringing 16g poly crosses.

 

[veelium]

I've been playing with Dynawire for like half a year now, nice feeling and not expensive but it doesn't hold tension that well, besides that, it is soft and powerful enough considering I play with a low powered control frame.

Sounds good, I'll check it out. I want it as a mian in a hybrid.

Pros Pro

Which one is that?