Tension(s) used for playtest - 43# - 2 piece on my Prince Neos
Regular string set-up - I normally use a full bed of Natural Gut, preferably a thin gauge (17 Babolat or 18 Kirschbaum). I’ve also tried a few Luxilons, Hurricane, Pro Line II, but generally return to my full bed of gut.
Racquet brand and model used for test - Prince Tour 100 18x20
Power of test string - I thought the power level was good. It didn’t really stand out from other strings though. But it certainly didn’t lack power either. It was spot on for my game.
Feel (Stiff? Mushy? Muted? Crisp?) I was expecting a very stiff string bed, as it felt tighter than I wanted coming off my stringer. But once I played with it, it was surprisingly tolerable. From the baseline, this string was great and the ball felt wonderful coming off my racquet. Coming up to the net to put away easy sitters was also great. In doubles matches, however, I found myself having to switch back to my gut racquets. The touch and predictability just wasn’t there with this string. It was a bit too crisp for doubles.
At about 5 hrs of play, it started to really soften up for me, and I brought it back out for doubles. My baselines shots still stayed in and weren’t spraying everywhere, but I was able to have a bit more touch at the net.
Spin I absolutely loved the spin on this string. It’s the best spin I’ve gotten out of strings. I really appreciated what it added to my baseline singles games. The string seems to have an almost square shape and really bites into the ball. I was able to get the best backhand slice I’ve ever gotten with this string.
Comfort This string was so much more comfortable than I was expecting. My usual setup - the Prince Tour 100 with full gut is designed for comfort. Having gone through wrist surgery in the past, I need to be careful with what I use. But my usual setup does me no favors in my singles game (such as it is). I found it quite amazing my arm was able to play with this, in an 18x20 racquet to boot. Long term, I’m not sure if the comfort will hold up, but for the length of this playtest so far, it’s been fine. I’d like to see if I can hybrid it with Gut just to be on the safe side. But as it was, I was quite surprised with how comfortable the string was, especially since my stringbed felt stiffer than I’m used to.
Durability I’m not a string-breaker, so it’s plenty durable so far, and I expect it to stay that way for me.
Playability Duration (share thoughts on if/how the playability changed over time) After 10 hours, no drop-off. Still playing great. There isn’t any noticeable difference, just a tad bit softer.
Control (predictable trajectory? Easy to control depth? performance on different strokes and swing speeds?) In singles, it had perfect control, much more so than my normal setup.
Compare the performance characteristics to the string you use most often. I think it’s hard to really compare this string to the natural gut I use most often. But out of all the strings I’ve tried, this one has the most spin, and for a co-poly, the most comfort. I’ve had to cut other strings out after one session because they were too stiff. But this has a great blend of comfort and spin. The power is just right and I’m quite impressed with this string.
Tension recommendations (after hitting it, would you recommend a different tension? Why?) I liked the tension I used. I might experiment going a tad bit lower, just to see if it adds any comfort, but I’m happy with where it was at.
List any additional thoughts (optional) I love this string, and hope it’s available in 17 or 18 gauge version, as I like the thinner strings. I plan to keep trying out this string, and also hybrid it to see if I can make it a tad bit better for doubles. I’m quite impressed, and that is not the usual case with me.