I'm so excited. I was picked. Saving this space for the review.
I normally use Kirschbaum black shark or ProLineII at 52 lbs on my Prince ATS Tour 98.
ECO POWER
I strung it in my Prince ATS Tour 98 racket(which is another play test I participated in) at 52 lbs mains and crosses with my klippermate stringer. I have played for about 7 hours of competitive doubles.
Power/Control
This string seems a bit more powerful than the poly strings I normally use. There is a nice pocketing of the ball and more of my swing speed seems to go onto the ball.
Reflex shots have enough oomph to not be sitters for the other player. Volleys come off the racket really nicely and skid off the court more than my usual set up. Serves are not more or less powerful though. Overheads are about the same as well.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable? Connected?)
I really, really liked the feel of this string. It doesn't feel muted or stiff at all. It pockets the ball really nicely when I hit. I could hit drop shots well and slices well.
It felt so good that I didn't need to use a vibration damper. Hitting the sweet spot feels great but even not hitting the sweet spot exactly didn't result in pain.
Spin
I didn't notice a huge difference between this string and my usual set up. If the technique was correct, I was rewarded with the appropriate spin. Spin serves and slices were excellent and easy to control. Kick serves had the appropriate kick when the technique was correct.
Playability Duration
Held up great for the 6 hours that I have used them in this racket. I have not felt the playability go off yet but I don't hit the ball extremely hard. After 7 hours, I don't feel a huge drop off in playability.
Tension Recommendations (Would you string it differently next time. Explain)
52 lb worked well for me.
List any additional thoughts:
This is an excellent string which I would use. To me this has the feel of a soft string but the spin and control of a polyester. I could happily use this string if I didn't also have the ECO Rough to compare. Between the two, my choice is ECO Rough. But, I still think this string in the main and ECO Rough on the crosses would make a really, really great hybrid.
BONUS
List any questions you have for Wilson's string developer about these two strings (optional)
What item(or items) is the string recycled from(just curious).
ECO ROUGH:
Strung my Babolat Pure Drive FST at 50lb. Felt a lot stiffer than the ECO Power so I reduced tension a bit. Normally, I string this racket with Kirschbaum Black Shark or Prince XR Tour 16(the silver one).
Played about 8 hours doubles.
Power/Control:
Less power than the ECO Tour and it felt stiffer. This allowed me to swing with confidence. About par with black shark and a bit less than Prince XR tour. On the other hand, the ball never flew on me. The power that was there was very controllable. Control is really good. To me it felt more precise than Eco Power and the Prince XR tour.
Feel:
The best feeling string out of all the polys that I have used is the ECO Power and this string came right after I used that one. It feels like what it is: a stiff-type poly. It never felt harsh or painful in my shoulder or arm. On the ECO Power, I could feel the ball being pocketed, on this string I felt the ball was being compressed.
I can add that after about 3 hours of play, the string became less stiff and I felt a little pocketing. Still not as good feeling as ECO-Power but not harsh at all. After about 4 hours of play, it is pocketing the ball more and after about 5 hours, it feels a lot less stiff than it did when I strung it up.
Spin:
This is where ECO Rough shined for me. Excellent spin provided technique was there. I could hit really nice topspin forehands and backhands. I don't use slice a lot but it worked really well for that. I'm a lefty and hitting the slice wide serve is a good tactic and I was really able to spin the ball off the court after it landed on those serves. Spin is still holding up well at 8 hours.
Playability Duration:
Was great during the entire time that I played. I have about 8 hours on this string. It has softened a little bit but has not become mushy or unplayable. The spin is still about the same.
Tension Recommendation:
50lb on a 100 sq in 16 x 19 racket seemed right.
Additional thoughts:
ECO Power mains and ECO Rough crosses would make a great poly/poly hybrid string.
After playing with both about 7 hours on the power and 8 hours on the rough, I think they are great strings that I would use as a hybrid above. I'd get the best of both worlds with the feel of the eco power and the spin of the Eco rough. If I could only pick one though, I would pick the rough.
Thank You TW for letting me take part in this test.
