Here's my review of the Solinco Confidential string. I played a total of about seven hours on the string and it has notched 50% or more of the way through. It is likely to break the next time I play so I'm cutting it out. Here's a photo I tried to take along the plane of the strings. My phone camera didn't do a good job with this and I got more of the edge of the sweetspot than the center of the sweetspot. At the top edge of the photo is a relatively un-notched main and that string is probably the fourth main from the edge so you're looking at the 5th, 6th, and 7th main strings whereas the 9th string is the middle of the sweetspot and where it is most notched. You can also see that the ball contact surfaces have worn and the string is now rectangular shaped. The crosses that run from top to bottom appear black and green due to the reflection of the color of my Blade SW104 frame.
The review:
Tension(s) used for playtest:
I strung Confidential using the same tensions as for my regular string: 51 pounds in the center eight mains decreasing to 39 pounds for the outer mains, and 45 pounds for the center five crosses decreasing to 32 pounds for the top and bottom cross.
Regular string set up & tension:
My normal string is 17 gauge Silver 7 Tour, using the same tension method as described above.
Racquet used for test:
Blade SW104, handle weighted via heat shrink sleeves to a final weight of 354 grams and 10 points headlight with the Confidential string installed.
Power/Control of test string:
Confidential has about an average power level. Compared to the other Solinco strings, I would put Hyper-G and Revolution at about the same power level, with Tour Bite a bit less powerful. Confidential feels a little bit more powerful than Hyper-G and Revolution. The ball speed coming off the stringbed increases very consistently with how hard the racquet is swung, and I had an immediate comfort and confidence in playing with it. There's a lively feeling of the ball coming off the strings that lasted throughout the six hours I used Confidential. Compared by my usual Silver 7 Tour, the power levels are lower.
Control from the Confidential string is excellent. I'm able to hit the full spectrum of shots, from the softest to the hardest, and the string provides the ball speed that I'm expecting. Directional control is excellent, and volleys are easy to produce due to moderately low incoming spin sensitivity. When driving the ball, I feel I can aim for slightly smaller targets because of the immediately friendly response that Confidential produces. Compared to the other Solinco strings, Confidential provides about equal control to Tour Bite but with more power, and control feels better than with Hyper-G (which is a bit too muted to provide confidence inspiring feedback) and Revolution which is a bit springy feeling. Control is better than with my usual Silver 7 Tour, which has a bit of a springy feeling on softer shots before firming up on harder shots. That non-linearity takes a bit of time to get used to.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable?):
Confidential feels like it has a very good mix of these characteristics. It is stiff enough to provide excellent control. There is a little bit of give to the string but not too much, so that it feels lively but not springy. It's not as crisp as Tour Bite but not as muted as Hyper-G. It feels as comfortable or maybe a bit more so than Hyper-G, Revolution, and Tour Bite.
Rating these characteristics among the four Solinco strings:
Most stiff to least stiff feel: Tour Bite, Hyper-G, Confidential, Revolution
Most muted to least muted: Hyper-G, Confidential, Revolution, Tour Bite
Most crisp to least crisp: Tour Bite, Revolution, Confidential, Hyper-G
Most comfortable to least comfortable: Confidential, Revolution, Hyper-G, Tour Bite
Confidential is not as comfortable as my usual Silver 7 Tour.
Spin:
Spin production is good to very good. Initially when the string was freshly installed and the edges still sharp, it had very good bite on the ball. As the string wore, it seemed the edges on the mains became more rounded and spin capability on the most spinny of shots dropped off a little bit. In this aspect, Confidential behaved like Revolution and Tour Bite. Hyper-G seems to maintain sharper edges on the mains than Confidential, Revolution, or Tour Bite.
Spin capability is not as high as a very sharply edge square string like Ultra Cable or V-Square, and not quite as good as Hyper-G averaged over the life of the string. It does seem to have better bite on the ball than Revolution and Tour Bite. When hitting looping topspin shots with a very skimming contact, Confidential does not grab the ball as well as the highest spin capable strings and it results in a lower launch angle and less forward ball velocity. However, Confidential's sensitivity to incoming ball spin is much less than these highest spin capable strings, and less than with Hyper-G.
Spin capability decreased most noticeably around the four hour mark, when notching became significant and the mains started getting stuck out of position.
Spin capability is slightly greater with my normal Silver 7 Tour, though that may be because I'm using a thinner gauge of that string compared to Confidential.
Durability:
Unfortunately, Confidential is the fastest wearing Solinco string I have experienced. I am at about six hours of play on it and I would not expect it to last another 90 minute session. It has notched 50% or more through the center mains, and the edges of the mains have rounded. Previously, I played a 1.20 gauge Hyper-G for more than ten hours without notching and breaking, and Tour Bite has lasted me 15 hours. Revolution is typically good for about eight hours before breaking. 17 gauge Silver 7 Tour is usually good for about 12 hours before breaking.
Playability duration:
At the six hour mark and with the highly notched mains, Confidential is still very playable as long as I hit more through the ball. Tension loss was less than average and stabilized after the first couple of sessions. It still has that lively feel and still generates good spin. It feels like it would remain playable until it breaks. It has become slightly more harsh in the last couple of hours as the mains have stopped returning to position through a combination of notching and loss of elasticity. The tension loss did not seem to noticeably affect the response of the stringbed as a whole.
Tension Recommendations (would you string it differently next time - why?):
Confidential seems to maintain a very consistent response through the period of initial tension loss and into the period where the tension is fairly stable. I feel like it could be strung 5% looser and still provide very good control but with more comfort, more ball speed, and a higher launch angle that I prefer.
Additional thoughts:
I strung this myself and found the process to be fairly typical. Coil memory was moderate, and elongation when pulling tension was on the low side of average. I cut a one foot section and pulled 50 pounds of tension and let it sit for a minute. Repulling 50 pounds of tension only required a small additional stretch of the string. The 1.25 Confidential added two grams of weight over 17 gauge (1.20) Silver 7 Tour.
I've now tested a few newly released strings that seemed designed for pro player use: RPM Power, Head Experimental, and Confidential. All of these strings rely on the player to generate the highest amounts of spin, but in trade you get excellent and linear control, a more comfortable response, and decent power levels. For a recreational level player who relies on heavy spin, there are other strings that will do better. For a recreational player who tends to hit with more moderate spin, Confidential is an excellent string that provides more spin capability than a round poly, and should feel immediately comfortable and provide very high confidence that the ball will go exactly where the racquet directs it, while also providing consistency of response throughout its lifespan. Confidential is a very good string that has a slightly different mix of characteristics than Hyper-G, Revolution, and Tour Bite, and those four strings should allow any poly user to select a string that suits their playing style, equipment, and preferences.
Thanks to Tennis Warehouse and Solinco for providing the opportunity to test Confidential!
. While it is all REC tennis.. this would be the higher end of that REC term...
