Regular string setup & tension: (sorry Racket-holic so this changes every few months) Auxetic Head Radical MP 2023 + Yonex Poly Tour Pro 52 pounds
Racquet(s) used for test/playstyle: Auxetic Head Radical MP 2023 Baseliner (ball-bashing, most points are winners or unforced errors)
Tension(s) used for playtest
ECO POWER: 48 pounds
ECO ROUGH: 48 pounds
Power/Control
ECO POWER: This felt like a modern string. To be made out of recycled materials, it played amazing. I loved the how this played. I do believe that for a shaped 6 sided string, it played much more like a rounded string. Even when stringing it, you can feel that the edges aren't as aggressive. Power-wise it is very close to something like Head Hawk Touch or Yonex PTP. Basically, what you put into these strings is what you get. While the string was playing well, I felt so confident on my groundstokes. I tend to have an issue hitting it a tad out, but it was more often than not that the first few hours with this string, it would consistently dip right back in at the base line. Pretty forgiving.
ECO ROUGH: Definitely a rougher time with this one. I am not sure if everyone else will agree with me here. To my knowledge, it is an agreed upon consensus that roughened up strings equate to a softer string. Adding to that, that should easily equate more to more power, but to me, it was significantly less. I wouldn't say it was even close. I normally play with a soft poly, but I felt like I definitely had to do much more to get depth with these strings. I will touch more on control in the spin section, but in terms of power/control, I would say the ECO Power was better in all ways in terms of heavier balls (spin), depth, and even depth of volleys. (again, will touch on this in the spin section more)
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable? Connected?)
ECO POWER: Again, felt pretty similar to Hawk Touch or like a softer Alu Power. More dead than what I am used to, but stiffer than ECO Rough, but in no means stiff at all. I had my second racket strung with Alu Power at the time, and it was still very evident that it was softer than that. I had no discomfort.
ECO ROUGH: Might be the only category I'll give it to ECO Rough lol. I have a terrible wrist with numerous injuries coming out of nowhere this past year, and this was definitely and very obviously the more comfortable string. In terms of feel, it was definitely not stiff and felt similar to the Yonex Poly Tour Pro minus the plastic-like feeling.
Connectedness is subjective, I'm just more used to strings that feel like ECO Rough, so I won't comment on that!
Spin
ECO POWER: I 100% got more spin with ECO Power. Wasn't even close. In terms of me giving the edge to ECO Power in the Power/Control category, I got depth and spin. If I ripped a groundstroke at the baseline and everything felt right, it would produce a ball that I EXPECTED. I was genuinely surprised by this string, and my kick serves were kicking high. I would not say this has more spin than like Tour Bite, but I do think it is very capable of producing spin if you have the technique for it. I didn't feel like I was losing spin using this string.
ECO ROUGH: Echoing on some of those ideas. Normally, when reviewing Power/Control, if balls are landing shorter, I would strongly want to correlate that to more spin, but that wasn't the case (so it is a win/win scenario where if a string was launching the ball too much and too powerful, a string that has less depth/create more spin would win the edge on control and vice versa). I felt like the roughness of the string literally just contributed to a softer string, and I was getting less spin than ECO Power. Adding on to that, I could be wrong, I threw away the packaging, but I believe this is considered an oval string? I just felt like it was a tad inconsistent and sometimes when I felt like I hit a great forehand, it would be slightly off what I was expecting in terms of depth or placement. And especially lately, my kick serves has been my main serve, and these just wouldn't be as heavy.
Playability Duration
ECO POWER and ECO ROUGH: I'll group these together. Seems to fall under the same exact category and lines up with a few users here. Very low playability. ECO Rough notched quickly, and seemed unplayable after 5 hours for me and broke at 6.5-ish (2 of those hours being doubles practice where I wasn't really hitting heavy ground strokes). ECO Power felt AMAZING first 3-4 hours, then very noticeable drop off. Didn't end up breaking these strings, but eventually had to cut it out as well.
Tension Recommendations (Would you string it differently next time. Explain)
ECO POWER: I think playability-wise, I loved it. I'd likely string it up at the same tension, maybe 2 pounds stiffer if my arm/wrist could handle it just for a touch more control.
ECO ROUGH: Again, for a softer poly, I was surprised the tension didn't work out for me. If I were to play with this again... maybe a more open string patterned racket or lower the tension a bit.
List any additional thoughts (optional)
If ECO Power's playability went up: I genuinely might make the switch or at least get a reel. I feel like for recyclable materials and being eco-friendly, I didn't lose any playability and played pretty well with it.
As for ECO Rough, the one biggest thing for me to pick are return of serves... I didn't want to place this in the power category, but I played 2 official league matches with it, and my block/chip returns on faster serves were struggling. I am placing it here because it could definitely be user-error, but I swapped rackets with one in my bag, and (could be placebo) felt an immediate difference. Felt SOOOOOO underpowered, like so many returns just went straight into the net cord or slightly below, and this has never been an issue for me. Again, could be user-error, but I HATED my returns with these strings and I'm relatively surprised due to softer strings (in theory) should produce a higher launch angle. Maybe the oval, maybe the rough, maybe something... but I don't know if I could save the Earth and switch to these
(jk, I'll always be eco-friendly)
BONUS
List any questions you have for Wilson's string developer about these two strings (optional)
1. Can/will you persuade Andrey to use it? Unless he's fully switched to a Head string, wasn't he using Luxilon Adrenaline for the longest time? Being the most ECO-friendly one on the tour, seems very on brand with him!
2. With brands like Head bailing on rough strings, do you believe rough strings still have a place in the market? Obviously, it's not for me, but is it more of a comfort/feel thing as spec-wise, it seems to create less spin than shaped strings? Is there still room in terms of innovation with rough strings?
3. Not a question, but a comment! Thank you for starting this eco-friendly trend!
. This is an edged string with relatively sharper edges. Also does feel more like a "control" or spin string than a "power" string. Unique color, looks good on all black RF97.
