Tennis Warehouse playtest: Solinco Hyper-G Soft!

[badmice2]

I'm on the 1.20 test. My current go to string is Volkl Cyclone 1.25. Previous used MSV Focus Hex 1.18. I recently played with a Hyper G 1.20 setup and must say I was not a fan. I'm hoping this will play more favorable.

Just stung it up to my Gravity MP @ 51 lbs. Ease of stringing was normal when compared to other co-poly. I'll be hitting with them with the next couple of hours. Will update post.

 

[jangotango]

Tried my best getting a close up like @Injured Again does so well. This is the 1.20 in a Six.One Team 18x20, 47x45 pounds. I took this photo before I went to go hit with it, but I was able to get good first impressions tonight.

- Very, very nice grip on the ball. Loads of spin.
- Really nice ball pocketing as well, I can see where the "soft" moniker comes from. You really do feel the ball sink in, grabbed, and then ripped out of the string bed.
- Not as stiff or jarring off center, it still produces a decent ball if not hit the cleanest.
- I am not feeling any of the Solinco "Weed Whacker" feel that I experienced with regular Hyper G and used Tour Bite.

If it keeps up these characteristics over time, I WILL switch myself and my teammates to this string as soon as it releases.

 

[bleno567]

I'm curious if hyper-g soft will have that same trademark plastic-y ding sound on hits.

 

[g4driver]

Nice machine @badmice2 Did Alpha upgrade the frame mounts at 12 and 6 to those red ones in your photos?

Since Tapatalk was disabled, curious what method are you using to post photos? IMGUR, Google Photos ?

 

[badmice2]

Nice machine @badmice2 Did Alpha upgrade the frame mounts at 12 and 6 to those red ones in your photos?

Since Tapatalk was disabled, curious what method are you using to post photos? IMGUR, Google Photos ?

I bought my machine used; previous owner hand the mount pegs, so can’t say they whether came stock with the machine. I have seen them online so don’t think it’s hard to get them if you need it.

I use Imgur for pics. After the upload, it’s a 2 step process in my experience. 1st you have to click to the actual images individually; from there you can then copy the image address.

 

[High Lama]

I’ve used hyper g soft for awhile and I can barely tell the difference between it and hyper g. It is a tiny bit softer and more powerful.

 

[SinneGOAT]

I’ve used hyper g soft for awhile and I can barely tell the difference between it and hyper g. It is a tiny bit softer and more powerful.

What tension did you use?

 

[Injured Again]

I'm not stringing until tonight as I have a competitive hit today but like a kid at Christmas, I couldn't wait to open up the packages. Hyper-G Soft is paler, but just **barely** so.

Just from manipulating the coils, HGS is a tiny bit less stiff and has less of a plasticky feel. It's hard to describe but almost like that HGS has a finer matte finish so when you slide your fingers on it, it feels smoother. HGS also feels like the edges aren't quite as sharp, or maybe that the edges are smoother as well as the flat surfaces. I had my wife hand me the two sets behind my back and I can tell them apart by feel. She also says that Hyper-G feels more coarse.

 

[High Lama]

47 pounds in the 18 gauge. It is a slightly lighter shade of green and doesn’t stand out as much in the racquet as regular hyper g.

 

[SinneGOAT]

I can’t wait till they come out, I hope it is noticeably softer, with the same sound and spin. The spin is soooo good with regular hyper g, and hopefully it transfers over. Gotta try it!

 

[shadow01]

18g play test strings came in. Plastic bag packaging with solinco hologram sticker:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[badmice2]

I bought my machine used; previous owner hand the mount pegs, so can’t say they whether came stock with the machine. I have seen them online so don’t think it’s hard to get them if you need it.

I use Imgur for pics. After the upload, it’s a 2 step process in my experience. 1st you have to click to the actual images individually; from there you can then copy the image address.

Haven’t had a chance to hit, AQI in the SF Bay Area is still high due to Napa fire. Will have to wait til the weekend.

 

[haqq777]

Just had my first hit with Hyper-G Soft 1.25 in my APD. Strung it at 50 lbs, my base tension. I've played with Hyper-G Soft before so I had a very good idea about the string. Very nice feel, nice ball grab/pocketing feel and string didn't feel much different to me than regular Hyper-G except maybe a touch more livelier stringbed. It is similarly muted in feedback too, but feels softer.

Will give a detailed review soon! Thanks TW for the opportunity as always.

 

[Injured Again]

Strung up both 1.20 Hyper-G and Hyper-G soft tonight in matched SW104 racquets. I used a slightly higher tension than I've been recently using, but the same tension I used the last time I hit with Hyper-G 1.20, which is 51 pounds in the center eight mains and 45 pounds in the center five crosses, decreasing as I move out to the edges. I did both a manual prestretch before stringing to remove coil memory, and a double pull on my lockout machine.

Each set measured almost exactly 39 feet long. I had enough excess so I cut out a one foot section and pulled 50 pounds of tension, and let it sit for one minute. Repulling tension required about an additional eight mm with Hyper-G, and about 9 mm with Hyper-G soft.

I strung one piece using a universal ATW pattern, which is what I always do with this racquet.

Here are the two racquets when I finished. The one with Hyper-G soft is on the right, or I guess the bottom since the image is rotated 90 degrees.

Racquettune shows they are close right off the stringer: 49.4 for Hyper-G soft and 49.2 for Hyper-G.

I'm hitting tomorrow morning but will measure tension drop before I head out.

 

[Injured Again]

Heading out to go play. Racquettune says Hyper-G Soft is at 47.0 pounds and Hyper-G is at 46.6 pounds.

 

[shadow01]

Heading out to go play. Racquettune says Hyper-G Soft is at 47.0 pounds and Hyper-G is at 46.6 pounds.

What is your string factor for hyper-g soft and how did you measure it? (Weight or sound)?

 

[badmice2]

Went out and played a set with them. Initial impression - Super interesting strings. I thought Hyper G played mushy, but this had plenty of pop off the string bed, surprisingly firm in blocking off bullets coming at you. The presence of ball pocketing was there, but felt more shallow when compared to Cyclone or Confidential (i was on the play test) - this isn't a knock, actually made me think that maybe the deep pocketing I'm accustom to is holding my game back. Great directional command off spin serves and heavy top spin shots. Volleys were firm to the touch.

Going to play with it for another few days....

 

[djNEiGht]

I got the 1.25. I have some regular hyperG so might do a two racquet test. lol

 

[Injured Again]

I hit this morning with freshly strung Hyper-G Soft and Hyper-G, both in 1.20 gauge and in matched racquets. To summarize, these strings are much more similar to each other than different from each other.

I got about an 80 minute hit in with my son. Neither of us were feeling it this morning - I was suffering from wrist and general body soreness from going hard the past few days, and he's only hitting once a week. We were also playing on pretty fast indoor courts so we pulled out a bunch of once-used balls to try and slow things down. My sore wrist actually helped with discerning differences between the two strings but in general neither of us had stellar timing or movement today.

Hyper-G is as I remember it. It's a pretty muted, relatively soft string with average power levels and very good spin capability. Hyper-G Soft, surprisingly, has a much crisper feel with a more distinctive high pitched "thwack" off the strings. It has a very slight bit more power, and a slightly higher launch angle. Pocketing feel between the two is relatively similar, and the sensation is a bit stronger with Hyper-G Soft. Despite the enhanced impact crispness, Hyper-G Soft also is a little bit more comfortable. My wrist hurt less on mis-hits with Hyper-G Soft and felt less achiness after 30-35 minutes of straight hitting with it. The fast courts made me pretty consistently late on my forehand so I ended up hitting with a relatively immobile wrist to minimize the pain and maximize my ability to time the ball well, but I could definitely tell a difference between the two.

I forgot to charge up my phone so I only had the ability to record about ten minutes of video. I'll link to about eight of those minutes. In the last video, I even did an #oserver 360 spin-around at the 2:10 mark. First two videos are with Hyper-G Soft, and the last two with Hyper-G. I did hit for a couple of minutes with Hyper-G Soft right at the end to confirm if I still had the same impressions about it after hitting with regular Hyper-G, and it did.

RacquetTune says that the current tension is 45.9 on the Hyper-G Soft and 45.4 on Hyper-G. The tension drop that has been a slight amount less with Hyper-G Soft is probably within measurement error.

Solinco Revolution was a string I really liked. I last tested it probably 15 months or so ago and I preferred the crisper response and liveliness compared to Hyper-G, but it wore and broke quickly, and also suffered some playability changes as it lost tension. It seems like Hyper-G Soft has taken a big step towards the feel of Revolution.

The videos:

 

[Injured Again]

What is your string factor for hyper-g soft and how did you measure it? (Weight or sound)?

RacquetTune says I'm using a string factor of 1.58. I'm not sure how absolutely accurate that would be but I'm really using it just to track the changes over time. I didn't weigh the string or anything - I just chose a polyester string with a diameter of 1.20 mm.

 

[Injured Again]

Went out and played a set with them. Initial impression - Super interesting strings. I thought Hyper G played mushy, but this had plenty of pop off the string bed, surprisingly firm in blocking off bullets coming at you. The presence of ball pocketing was there, but felt more shallow when compared to Cyclone or Confidential (i was on the play test) - this isn't a knock, actually made me think that maybe the deep pocketing I'm accustom to is holding my game back. Great directional command off spin serves and heavy top spin shots. Volleys were firm to the touch.

Going to play with it for another few days....

Same surprise here. I expected it to be more muted and more elastic, but somehow it feels crisper/livelier and more comfortable.

I'm going to take a couple of days off to heal up and then will try some serves and try hitting harder to see how it holds up to that.

 

[djNEiGht]

@Injured Again hope the wrist gets better.

 

[High Lama]

@Injured Again It looks like your son is mainly interested in hitting winners off your rally balls.

 

[Nostradamus]

When is this string going on sale ? Thank you

 

[JOSHL]

What is your string factor for hyper-g soft and how did you measure it? (Weight or sound)?

I got a string factor of 1.98 on the 1.20 gauge. I used the sound method. Seems high.

 

[Injured Again]

@Injured Again It looks like your son is mainly interested in hitting winners off your rally balls.

I tell him to do that. One of the things I don't do well against my top age group peers is recognize quickly when they hit a shot that gets me into trouble. A lot of that is because I didn't play tennis for almost a 20 year period, and the other is that I only got to be a 4.5 in my early 50's so I have no tennis pedigree and am only seeing these kinds of shots for the last few years. There's a pretty amazing similarity in the direction and intent of shots he hits compared to the top age groupers, only he hits them with more pace. I feel like if I can get a better understanding on his shots and actually reach some of them, that can only help me. What doesn't help, though, is that he makes clean contact so often that he rarely coughs up short balls like even the best old guys do so I don't get a lot of forwards/backwards movement.

As far as how that drives my string selection, I've gone away from picking the string which maximizes my offensive capability to one which also gives me some help in defensive positions and is more forgiving. It's how I ended up using Cyclone Tour when S7T was better suited for me to play offense, but Cyclone Tour definitely feels as if it expands the sweetspot a bit. In this respect, both Hyper-G and Hyper-G Soft are about equal, but Hyper-G Soft just feels more confidence inspiring when I am hitting the ball with intent. That muted feeling of Hyper-G does make it feel comfortable, but Hyper-G Soft provides that psychological reward of a crisp, firm feeling that makes me feel like I've hit the ball better than I may have in reality.

 

[jangotango]

I have now hit with this string for two drilling sessions, one ball-machine session, a doubles match, and a singles match. 6 hours conservative estimate.

- The string (crosses) are starting to thin out. There's maybe another week and a half or two left before it heads to snap city, since I know Solinco strings do have a tendency to literally hang on by a thread.
- Not as lively as when freshly strung, which is a good thing. The feel is still very nice, if anything it's softer and a tad more muted than it was in the first outing.
- No issues with comfort whatsoever.

 

[SinneGOAT]

I have now hit with this string for two drilling sessions, one ball-machine session, a doubles match, and a singles match. 6 hours conservative estimate.

- The string (crosses) are starting to thin out. There's maybe another week and a half or two left before it heads to snap city, since I know Solinco strings do have a tendency to literally hang on by a thread.
- Not as lively as when freshly strung, which is a good thing. The feel is still very nice, if anything it's softer and a tad more muted than it was in the first outing.
- No issues with comfort whatsoever.

Would you think it would have kept its shape had you used a thicker gauge like 1.25?

 

[jangotango]

Would you think it would have kept its shape had you used a thicker gauge like 1.25?

Probably would've kept it's shape for one or two more practice sessions, but still flattened out. The edges are still pretty sharp though. Regular Hyper G has more durable, "harder" edges.

 

[haqq777]

I snapped mine early this morning at practice. Was roughly at 6 and a half hour mark and I was also seeing the edges thin out a bit. Review will be up in a bit.

 

[High Lama]

@Injured Again How is the tension maintenance/ playability duration for cyclone tour? I typically play with cyclone, hyper g soft, or confidential. I’ve also been gravitating towards more powerful setups as I age.

 

[tomato123]

Lots of great tt reviewers on this playtest, looking forward to reading them all soon

 

[SinneGOAT]

@Injured Again How is the tension maintenance/ playability duration for cyclone tour? I typically play with cyclone, hyper g soft, or confidential. I’ve also been gravitating towards more powerful setups as I age.

I’ve hit with cyclone tour in my prestige pro for about 7 hours, it’s lost a bit of tension. I use the 16 gauge cause I heard it’s the only one that holds tension best, I had it at 53, now it’s at about 51, still holding on well.

 

[haqq777]

Playtest Review: Solinco Hyper-G Soft​

Gauge received:
1.25

Tension used for playtest:
50 lbs full bed.

Regular string set up & tension:
Volkl Cyclone 16 strung at 50 lbs

Racquet used for test:
2013 Aeropro Drive

Power/Control of test string:
I felt that the power level for Hyper-G Soft was slightly higher than regular Hyper-G. Stringbed felt more lively on ball contact. I would rate overall power as medium for a poly.

Control was excellent. Hyper-G Soft had similar control levels as the regular Hyper-G. Full swings were generating more than enough spin to bring ball back down. I was able to hit angles well. Stringbed response felt very consistent and I could feel the ball better on strings as this did not feel as muted as regular Hyper-G to me.

Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp? Comfortable?):
I would describe the feel as very comfortable. The string felt a little bit livelier than regular Hyper-G and and a bit less muted, but overall it is still hyper-g like in nature and plenty muted for me. It also felt better to me than regular Hyper-G which has a tendency to get a bit plasticky at times. This Soft version felt more comfortable, less muted and more powerful, comparatively.

Spin:
Excellent spin, just like you get from regular Hyper-G. I was getting very similar level of spin on full swings on ground strokes and my slice and kick serves were very similar as well. The ball was pocketing well and string was biting the ball generating some very good spin.

Durability:
I have never been a chronic stringbreaker so durability for 1.25 guage has never been an issue for me. This string however snapped on me at roughly 6 and a half hour mark. I could see some denting and notching after a couple hours of hitting with it, and then I could see edges wear out and getting thinner over time as well until this morning it snapped. Regular Hyper-G in this guage lasts me longer for sure.

Playability Duration (did you notice changes to the feel & response over time?):
I think the Hyper-G soft was very similar to Hyper G in that regard. I did not feel a massive change in stringbed over time and response was consistent. Once the string settled in after first 10 mins or so the ball didn't feel like it was jumping off the stringbed as much. I did not feel like tension dropped off a cliff at any point either. String kept its characteristics for me till it broke.

Tension Recommendations (would you string it differently next time? Why?):
I would recommend stringing this a couple of pounds tighter than what you would string regular Hyper-G at. It is a bit softer and a bit livelier, and you will get more control without arm feeling any discomfort.

List any additional thoughts (optional):
I liked the string overall. I think this will be a great strings for those who like slightly higher tensions but want to keep the comfort.

It also lacks plasticky feedback you can get sometimes from regular Hyper-G so it is better feeling in that sense as well. Overall a great string. I don't foresee Hyper-G users switching to it for any one particular reason, but it is good enough on its own merits to get a few converts from other strings.

Finally, a big thank you very much to Tennis Warehouse @TW Staff and Solinco for providing this play test opportunity. Much appreciated. I was missing this due to the pandemic but glad that we are seeing more and more playtests again.

 

[tennisgurl]

@TW Staff have all string been shipped out? I still have not received mine and I usually get a UPS notification once they are shipped and haven't received that either. Thanks

 

[TW Staff]

tennisgurl,

They were sent in batches. I would expect all of them to arrive by end of this week.

Thanks,
TW Staff

 

[tennisgurl]

tennisgurl,

They were sent in batches. I would expect all of them to arrive by end of this week.

Thanks,
TW Staff

Ok thanks will keep a lookout.

 

[Injured Again]

@Injured Again How is the tension maintenance/ playability duration for cyclone tour? I typically play with cyclone, hyper g soft, or confidential. I’ve also been gravitating towards more powerful setups as I age.

It's not as good as Hyper-G or Hyper-G Soft but control hasn't suffered until just very recently when the strings have notched about 50% of the way through and started getting stuck out of place. I'm finding a few balls that I catch with a more flat swingpath than I intended and those are either missing or missing by larger margins than they did when the stringbed was fresher. It feels like the liveliness has dropped a bit as well. I don't recall using RacquetTune on Cyclone Tour when I first strung it but I did use 52/47 in the center mains and crosses versus 51/46 for Hyper-G/Hyper-G Soft and the ping frequency is significantly lower than the two (much fresher) Hyper-G stringjobs.

As of this moment, about 36 hours after last playing, both the Hyper-G and Hyper-G Soft strings have dropped another half pound of tension according to RacquetTune, measuring 45.4 for Hyper-G Soft and 44.9 for Hyper-G. Meanwhile, the Cyclone Tour that was strung a very slightly bit tighter is at 42.4.

 

[Injured Again]

@haqq777 I just more closely read your review and I might just plagiarize for my own review. It almost word for word describes my initial impressions of Hyper-G Soft.

 

[haqq777]

@haqq777 I just more closely read your review and I might just plagiarize for my own review. It almost word for word describes my initial impressions of Hyper-G Soft.

Haha, I'm sure some others playtesters might have very similar feedback on the string as us too. The only thing I couldn't check properly was maybe the playability after six hour mark or so because strings snapped. From what I felt it was very consistent till the end even when I could see wear etc. Would love to hear your thoughts on that in your review!

 

[joah310]

I got the 1.30 string. Strung it up in my prince triple threat rebel 95 at 48#, absoolutely loving this string, thought it felt very stiff when i strung it, but it is very plush and soft feeling. played for about an hour so impresstions are still early, stringing was average for a poly, but spin and control were quite nice

 

[g4driver]

Ok thanks will keep a lookout.

UPS updated my delivery...tonight by 715 pm. My neighborhood gets UPS deliveries very late in the day usually after 5 pm. That worked out because I had 11 frames come in for stringing the last two days and my frames are always last to get strung.

 

[Injured Again]

Played about 80 minutes today against a top age grouper on the slowest of our indoor courts. I last played him on these courts last week while using Cyclone Tour and the string differences had me changing the way I approached playing him. With Hyper-G Soft, the extra spin capability made looping topspin shots more effective and I used these fairly frequently while I almost never hit this kind of looping shot last week with Cyclone Tour. I did hit a lot more through the court last week, and it was a bit easier to get him in trouble using pace than today.

I didn't pull out my racquet with regular Hyper-G. RacquetTune now says that the string tension of the Hyper-G soft stringbed is between 44.7 and 44.9 pounds, so a drop of about a half-pound. I now have a bit over two hours on Hyper-G Soft and there's the beginning of some notching, but the strings are still returning to position.

 

[Faris]

My strings arrived today.. thanks @TW Staff

Im currently stringing up at 54 lbs in Ezone 100 and will be out for a hit in the next hour or so..

 

[Yamin]

UPS updated my delivery...tonight by 715 pm. My neighborhood gets UPS deliveries very late in the day usually after 5 pm. That worked out because I had 11 frames come in for stringing the last two days and my frames are always last to get strung.

Looking forward to your assessment compared to VCT for softness and spin. I know how much you dislike hyper g lol.

 

[jangotango]

Loving this string more and more every hit. Played a scholastic doubles and singles match today... Was a little too tight and timid during doubles, lost in straights, but came back and played a fired-up singles match. Won 6-1,2-6,10-7. Hyper G Soft gave me loads of spin, power, and feel while being more comfortable than Poly Tour Pro, Grey Fire, and Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour. I believe this is a much better offering compared to regular Hyper G or Tour Bite.

 

[eah123]

I hit this morning with freshly strung Hyper-G Soft and Hyper-G, both in 1.20 gauge and in matched racquets. To summarize, these strings are much more similar to each other than different from each other.

I got about an 80 minute hit in with my son. Neither of us were feeling it this morning - I was suffering from wrist and general body soreness from going hard the past few days, and he's only hitting once a week. We were also playing on pretty fast indoor courts so we pulled out a bunch of once-used balls to try and slow things down. My sore wrist actually helped with discerning differences between the two strings but in general neither of us had stellar timing or movement today.

Hyper-G is as I remember it. It's a pretty muted, relatively soft string with average power levels and very good spin capability. Hyper-G Soft, surprisingly, has a much crisper feel with a more distinctive high pitched "thwack" off the strings. It has a very slight bit more power, and a slightly higher launch angle. Pocketing feel between the two is relatively similar, and the sensation is a bit stronger with Hyper-G Soft. Despite the enhanced impact crispness, Hyper-G Soft also is a little bit more comfortable. My wrist hurt less on mis-hits with Hyper-G Soft and felt less achiness after 30-35 minutes of straight hitting with it. The fast courts made me pretty consistently late on my forehand so I ended up hitting with a relatively immobile wrist to minimize the pain and maximize my ability to time the ball well, but I could definitely tell a difference between the two.

I forgot to charge up my phone so I only had the ability to record about ten minutes of video. I'll link to about eight of those minutes. In the last video, I even did an #oserver 360 spin-around at the 2:10 mark. First two videos are with Hyper-G Soft, and the last two with Hyper-G. I did hit for a couple of minutes with Hyper-G Soft right at the end to confirm if I still had the same impressions about it after hitting with regular Hyper-G, and it did.

RacquetTune says that the current tension is 45.9 on the Hyper-G Soft and 45.4 on Hyper-G. The tension drop that has been a slight amount less with Hyper-G Soft is probably within measurement error.

Solinco Revolution was a string I really liked. I last tested it probably 15 months or so ago and I preferred the crisper response and liveliness compared to Hyper-G, but it wore and broke quickly, and also suffered some playability changes as it lost tension. It seems like Hyper-G Soft has taken a big step towards the feel of Revolution.

The videos:

Very nice videos. They are a lot more helpful to me for understanding differences in playing characteristics than written descriptions which are overly subjective.

It’s fairly obvious to me that hyperG soft is less powerful than regular based on the depth of your shots. Both look to have similar spin potential.

 

[g4driver]

Looking forward to your assessment compared to VCT for softness and spin. I know how much you dislike hyper g lol.

Thanks, but please let me go on the record that you and others misunderstand my opinion of Hyper G. I don't dislike Hyper G. It's just not the string for most players, particularly players that don't generate sufficient RHS to get any benefit from Hyper G or strings like Hyper G. That message gets interrupted as "g4driver doesn't like Hyper G" which is simply incorrect. I love Porsche cars, particularly the 911, but a 911 isn't the car for someone with average driving skills, even if that person can afford a 911 Turbo S or a GT3 RS

You can ask Chris Edwards about a 911 and if you have never driven one, you should put that on your bucket list.

 

[Yamin]

Thanks, but please let me go on the record that you and others misunderstand my opinion of Hyper G. I don't dislike Hyper G.

Haha yeah just when you see the most negative posts about it it's assumed but I get it .

Hyper G soft is for sale on TW now.. Too bad I just put in an order last week...

 

[fed1]

Received mine yesterday, the 1.25 gauge, I will string it up in my Black Solinco Prototype at 47.