tension switching from poly to gut/poly
- Thread starter E46luver
- Start date
LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
You do not indicate the string you currently use and that makes a difference. If you play a stiffer poly I would not go up that much actually. I would put the cross at what you currently are stringing and then go up 2 pounds in the mains and try that.
I used to play a full bed of Volkl Cyclone Tour at 48-49 lbs. I now play natural gut/isospeed cream at 52/47.
I used to play a full bed of Volkl Cyclone Tour at 48-49 lbs. I now play natural gut/isospeed cream at 52/47.
E46luver
Professional
You play poly at 49, and gut at 52 ?
Seems almost the same tension.
Maybe I will try that combo of 52/47
i tried friends racket at 60/55 and that felt ok also
LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
No sorry, I play with gut at 52 and poly at 47 (Thus 52/47 as typically one indicates the mains first then the cross). I might bump that up a tad when summer comes around.
I went through the same analysis you did. I figured... I string my VCT at 48 lbs.... Gut is way softer so I started out with gut/cream at 56/49 thinking I would keep the cross with what I was used to. While it was nice, it was a bit firm for my liking and I did not feel I was getting enough of what is special about playing with gut/poly.
I then tried 54/49. It was fine too but again it was firmer than what I was used to and I did not feel I was getting as much spin or power out of the strings.
In the end I settled at basically where I was before with a full bed of poly. That is 52 with the gut mains and 47 with the poly crosses.
What I am saying is whatever you are using and stringing at today I wouldn't vary as much as you think.
To each their own but that was what I went through when switching from poly to gut/poly.
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LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
What I am saying is don't look at my tension as it sounds like it is not right for you. It is right for me. Look at your tension/setup and if you are keeping things similar as far as the cross string I think you will see that there is not a huge difference in tension by switching to gut/poly.
LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
Yes, I found a few pounds up was enough.
It is a fun setup so go ahead and experiment like I did but in the end I settled pretty close to what I had with a full set of poly.
It would be interesting to see where you end up. Good luck!
Yoneyama
Hall of Fame
I would put the gut at 60lb and the poly no lower than 50, however you could go 54 or so easily without noticing any major comfort change.
Because it is just poly in the crosses, you can up the tension of the poly to increase control without sacrificing comfort.
I play 62/58 or 60/56 or there abouts. Never had any discomfort with these tensions except when I used Luxilon 4G as the cross - and that is purely because it is such an outlier in terms of string stiffness.
P.s. I would also add that the better your technique the lower you can go with Gut. A lot of professionals play gut at 50 or less, however that is because they can control it. It is a very powerful string when strung at 50 or below so without very good technique it can be hard to manage that power. Having it up around 60 brings the power back down to more manageable levels that most recreational players can adapt too.
Because it is just poly in the crosses, you can up the tension of the poly to increase control without sacrificing comfort.
I play 62/58 or 60/56 or there abouts. Never had any discomfort with these tensions except when I used Luxilon 4G as the cross - and that is purely because it is such an outlier in terms of string stiffness.
P.s. I would also add that the better your technique the lower you can go with Gut. A lot of professionals play gut at 50 or less, however that is because they can control it. It is a very powerful string when strung at 50 or below so without very good technique it can be hard to manage that power. Having it up around 60 brings the power back down to more manageable levels that most recreational players can adapt too.
55/52
E46luver
Professional
thx for the data point.
i will try gut at lower tension and see how it plays
looks like it does not need to be 60
My experience is similar to others in that gut doesn’t need to be strung really high. I use 55 for gut mains but feel like 52-53 would be fine as well. Agree with lobalot- start with something you are familiar with so you are only changing one variable then adjust from there.
55/52 will help with controlling the free power you will get from the Natural gut mains. Have found that if players try to use their standard poly tension like 48 and just go up 5+ lbs on their mains they have great power and spin but a loss of control. Coming from a full poly you are accustomed to a controlled setup. The extra 2-3lbs on the poly cross and then up on the Gut mains of your preference will get you close.
May end up 57/54 or lower 53/50 but 55/52 will give you a place to start.
May end up 57/54 or lower 53/50 but 55/52 will give you a place to start.
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VacationTennis
Semi-Pro
I play full bed poly around 43 and full bed gut at 55, didn't feel like it needed to be any crisper than that. Depends on your strokes but I'd say around 55 is a good starting point, depending on the cross
landcookie
Semi-Pro
Recently had a gut/poly setup with overall string bed tension at 45lbs. Stupid, addictive power, but a little difficult to control. In a way it's a bit like full bed poly where you have to maintain RHS for spin otherwise balls just go long (whereas balls drop short with full poly).
Hnefi
Semi-Pro
No it does not need to be so high. I play gut/poly at 25kg/23.5kg in my yonex Xi98 (been using Luxilon gut recently as I got 4 packs at 50% off) and it plays great.
It's all about learning to control a ball with spin. If relationships between tension and power were linear, the pros would have to string at 2x the tension of amateurs because they hit 2x harder!
Hnefi
Semi-Pro
2.205lb/kg, gives you 55/52
LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
52/47 was pretty close to what works for me. I liked the performance for about 6 hours of play but feel like the gut went away a bit too quickly as it lost tension and with that spin and control went as well. I restrung last night at 53/47 which still puts me roughly at where I was at with a full bed of VCT 17G at 48 lbs.
LOBALOT
Hall of Fame
I am old, have had a lot of arm injuries from tennis when I was younger and was much better, and do not hit the ball hard at all because of the previous injuries.
The one piece of my game that remains is my serve where I still hit with decent pace, spins, kicker, and can place it. The rest of my game is awful in my opinion and gets worse and worse each day.
I captain and play on 4.0 teams.
FedIsBetterer
Rookie
I'm a 5.0 player, who formerly played D1. I've been using full bed poly for a while, and decided I wanted to try gut/poly hybrid. I have been playing with Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 (think that's the name) at relatively tight tensions (56-58 mains/54-56 crosses). I tested out klip legend natural gut mains with solinco confidential in the crosses at 58/56. Could not control my second serve at all as the gut feels like a crazy trampoline. Kick serves landing 5-10 feet long, returns landing quite a bit long as well, and not as much spin generated. Quite a different feel. I've got a tournament this weekend, so unfortunately, had to cut the gut/poly and restring with full poly.
I'd string up closer to 62-65 (maybe higher) next time if I were to try it again. But don't think I will.
I'd string up closer to 62-65 (maybe higher) next time if I were to try it again. But don't think I will.
E46luver
Professional
I hit with 50 gut / 47 poly and it was fine
i got plenty of spin, and i think I enjoyed the extra power.
some 2nd serves went long, but that means some balls that would have been short got extra distance also,
so it balances out.
so its also forces me to make sure I spin.
next i might try full bed gut
i got plenty of spin, and i think I enjoyed the extra power.
some 2nd serves went long, but that means some balls that would have been short got extra distance also,
so it balances out.
so its also forces me to make sure I spin.
next i might try full bed gut
