The Best "Rough" Polys

[ryushen21]

As a recent convert to the gut/poly setups, I've found myself looking more and more at the so-called Rough polys as potential crosses since they appear to be the best option. Shaped polys are out since the consensus appears to be that they chew through the gut too fast.

So far, my favorite cross in my setups has been Hawk Rough. It was a bit of a sad discovery since that string has been discontinued. But that is the reason for this thread. My hope is to find a rough poly that I can use as a cross that will have a relatively good lifespan since it is paired with gut.

First things first, do not recommend ALU Power Rough. I already have experience with this string and I know how great it is and that for many, it is the be-all-end-all string. It dies too fast. And while some people my prefer dead ALU Rough to other polys, I do not.

So what do you string junkies have for me?

 

[mpournaras]

All rough polys seem to die quicker than their smooth counterparts.

My only recommendation as the lone exception (they are usually not as good over all as their smooth siblings) is Kirshbaum Max Power Rough

 

[Fighting phoenix]

I really like RPM Blast Rough, and I liked the feel of Eco Rough but it dropped tension too quickly so probs not worth pairing it with gut. I haven't tried it but have been reading good things about Solinco Tour Bite Diamond Rough - I'm a big fan of TB and TB soft, so for sure I want to try this one and I think the tension maintenance is supposed to be good.

 

[esgee48]

May I suggest just going 0.05mm smaller in the cross?

If that doesn’t fly, 4G rough.

 

[PurcellPower]

Max Power Rough and Pro Line II Rough are good options with good tension maintenance in my experience using them as crosses.

 

[Tronco20]

The only one I've tried and can not recommend is RPM B Rough 1.25 (black).
- too comfortable for my taste (I missed some stiffness, I'm used to regular RPM Blast, this one felt soft)
-the "rough" texture disappeared in the hitting area rather quickly, after say 2 hours it was RPM rough on the edges of the stringbed where you don't hit the ball and rpm mushy something in the middle of the stringbed, no signs of the former rough texture
-overall was disappointed with the string, for that price it should have kept its rough characteristics for longer

 

[ryushen21]

All rough polys seem to die quicker than their smooth counterparts.

My only recommendation as the lone exception (they are usually not as good over all as their smooth siblings) is Kirshbaum Max Power Rough

Max Power Rough and Pro Line II Rough are good options with good tension maintenance in my experience using them as crosses.

I'll add these to the list. I played with PLII way back in the day so it's been a minute since I've played with any Kirsch string.

I really like RPM Blast Rough, and I liked the feel of Eco Rough but it dropped tension too quickly so probs not worth pairing it with gut. I haven't tried it but have been reading good things about Solinco Tour Bite Diamond Rough - I'm a big fan of TB and TB soft, so for sure I want to try this one and I think the tension maintenance is supposed to be good.

The only one I've tried and can not recommend is RPM B Rough 1.25 (black).
- too comfortable for my taste (I missed some stiffness, I'm used to regular RPM Blast, this one felt soft)
-the "rough" texture disappeared in the hitting area rather quickly, after say 2 hours it was RPM rough on the edges of the stringbed where you don't hit the ball and rpm mushy something in the middle of the stringbed, no signs of the former rough texture
-overall was disappointed with the string, for that price it should have kept its rough characteristics for longer

I'm a little reluctant about Babolat polys. I've never really found one that I liked enough to play with consistently. The conflicting recommendations here don't do much to ease those concerns.

I do have Tour Bite Rough on hand and was planning that as my next experimental cross.

May I suggest just going 0.05mm smaller in the cross?

If that doesn’t fly, 4G rough.

I'm not necessarily opposed to 1.20. It's going to be a question of if the string is available in that gauge and how much it's going to affect SW. Because, yes, I can be that neurotic.

 

[Soho78]

I’m really liking Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough 18G in my VCore 95. comfort, control, power, spin all really great

 

[ryushen21]

I’m really liking Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough 18G in my VCore 95. comfort, control, power, spin all really great

The only issue with that string is that it's not actually a "rough" string. It's a shaped and twisted poly. I am curious about Tourna Grit though...

 

[RNBABOLAT]

The only issue with that string is that it's not actually a "rough" string. It's a shaped and twisted poly. I am curious about Tourna Grit though...

Please share your thoughts about TBDR I have a 17G reel and I want to mix it with multi on the mains. Just tried TB on my Strike VS and compared with Confidential, it felt really stiff so next time I would strung it lower and might try one set of TBDR to compare them

 

[ryushen21]

Please share your thoughts about TBDR I have a 17G and I wanted to mixed with a multi on the mains. Just tried TB on my Strike VS and compares with Confidential it feels really stiff so next time I would strung it lower and might try one set of TBDR to compare them

Will do. I should have my second P97 in hand this week and it will be getting the gut/TBDR setup. I have a feeling this will be an excellent combination.

 

[RNBABOLAT]

Will do. I should have my second P97 in hand this week and it will be getting the gut/TBDR setup. I have a feeling this will be an excellent combination.

I hope it will! Some reviews said its unpredictable and softer than regular TB... hopefully in between Confidential and TB. Kind regards

 

[LOBALOT]

I'll add these to the list. I played with PLII way back in the day so it's been a minute since I've played with any Kirsch string.



I'm a little reluctant about Babolat polys. I've never really found one that I liked enough to play with consistently. The conflicting recommendations here don't do much to ease those concerns.

I do have Tour Bite Rough on hand and was planning that as my next experimental cross.


I'm not necessarily opposed to 1.20. It's going to be a question of if the string is available in that gauge and how much it's going to affect SW. Because, yes, I can be that neurotic.

I would try RPM Rough at least once to rule it out. It is pricy but I think is different and a better string than RPM. It is softer than some of the other options (i.e. Kirschbaum), holds tension about the same, and is more "slippery".

 

[veelium]

I would try RPM Rough at least once to rule it out. It is pricy but I think is different and a better string than RPM. It is softer than some of the other options (i.e. Kirschbaum), holds tension about the same, and is more "slippery".

From my knowledge, RPM Rough is just RPM with holes stamped out.

 

[RNBABOLAT]

I would try RPM Rough at least once to rule it out. It is pricy but I think is different and a better string than RPM. It is softer than some of the other options (i.e. Kirschbaum), holds tension about the same, and is more "slippery".

I tried the red 1.25 with Excel on the crosses... Really weird in that hybrid, I remember a really unpredictable feel on impact and never get the bite I expected from the string. I was currently using TBDR with Signum Pro micronite and I was hoping for a bit more spin and not that mushyness from the stringbed

 

[LOBALOT]

I tried the red 1.25 with Excel on the crosses... Really weird in that hybrid, I remember a really unpredictable feel on impact and never get the bite I expected from the string. I was currently using TBDR with Signum Pro micronite and I was hoping for a bit more spin and not that mushyness from the stringbed

Not a fan of the setup or the use of Excel in the cross so not really surprised as to the lack of bite. Not sure why one would expect a well perfuming racquet with a rough poly main and a soft multi cross in the first place.

 

[RNBABOLAT]

Not a fan of the setup or the use of Excel in the cross so not really surprised as to the lack of bite. Not sure why one would expect a well perfuming racquet with a rough poly main and a soft multi cross in the first place.

I thought excel was Babolat premium multi and actually is the one sell in sets with rpm and hurricane... that why I tried it

 

[LOBALOT]

I thought excel was Babolat premium poly and actually is the one sell in sets with rpm and hurricane... that why I tried it

\
Excel is a multi not poly. It is pricy that is true. I think there are better and cheaper options for multi but either way a rough poly main and a multi cross is going to lock up in no time no mater which multi you use. I would flip them.

 

[RNBABOLAT]

\
Excel is a multi not poly. It is pricy that is true. I think there are better and cheaper options for multi but either way a rough poly main and a multi cross is going to lock up in no time no mater which multi you use. I would flip them.

Sorry for the tipo...

 

[ryushen21]

Had my first hitting session with my gut/TBDR setup this morning. I strung the racquet up last night at 55/53 and didn't get to play with it until this morning.

It's always hard to tell with poly in that first session off the stringer and the TBDR definitely felt firmer than the Hawk Rough I have been using but not necessarily in a bad way. It also offered more crispness than the HR. I also noticed more definition of the sweet spot. I could tell when I was just out of it and when I really nailed it.

My concern is that the TBDR will die quickly similarly to regular TB. HR has had some diminished performance as the hours have racked up on it but it is still performing pretty well.

 

[ryushen21]

My hopes of TBDR being the go-to rough cross are effectively over. Those first few hours off the stringer were actually quite nice and gave me some hope. However, as I put more time on them, the performance and feel deteriorated quite a bit. I'm still playing them but it has gone a little too soft and vague.

Time to move on to the next set of candidates.

 

[socallefty]

Polys die fast as you know. So, playing with shaped poly doesn’t always cut through the gut before the poly goes dead. Following the example of the Bryan brothers, I experimented with HyperG and HyperG Soft as crosses with VS gut mains as I like shaped polys in fullbed a lot. VS with HGS at 47/44 lbs has become my stringjob of choice and I get about 15 hours, playing a mix of singles and doubles. Round polys I‘ve tried like ALU Power and RPM Blast go dead long before I break the gut and so, it has been a deal-breaker for me although I haven’t tried some of the other popular round polys as my stringer doesn’t stock them.

The HG Soft goes dead around 15-18 hours for me. If I play only singles, the gut breaks around 12 hours. But playing a mix of singles and doubles, it breaks around 15 hours for me which is perfect as the poly will shortly after display the erratic control and wrist tightness I get when it goes dead. Good to experiment on your own as everyone’s game is different including how soon you will break gut with different crosses.

 

[ryushen21]

Polys die fast as you know. So, playing with shaped poly doesn’t always cut through the gut before the poly goes dead. Following the example of the Bryan brothers, I experimented with HyperG and HyperG Soft as crosses with VS gut mains as I like them in fullbed a lot. VS with HGS has become my stringjob of choice and I get about 15 hours, playing a mix of singles and doubles.

The HG Soft goes dead around 15-18 hours for me. If I play only singles, the gut breaks around 12 hours. But playing a mix of singles and doubles, it breaks around 15 hours for me which is perfect as the poly will shortly after display the erratic control and wrist tightness I get when it goes dead. Good to experiment on your own as everyone’s game is different including how soon you will break gut with different crosses.

Yeah, the poly struggle is real. HG and its related variants are all too muted for my taste. Otherwise, 15 hours would be amazing. I could try Tour Status oven though it is definitely on the sharper end of profiled poly. I know the longevity is there for sure.

I also may consider a couple of the Ytex polys even though they aren't technically rough.

 

[Fighting phoenix]

I have a reel of MSV swift that I plan to use as a cross to gut (round, soft-ish, good tension maintenance). I've also cut out poly crosses and restrung keeping the same gut strings to get longer playing time, with great success (I weave the crosses on the other side of the first set so they don't wear down the pre-existing notches on the gut further)

 

[2ndServe]

no one mentions it but tour bite rough is pretty good

 

[Fighting phoenix]

no one mentions it but tour bite rough is pretty good

That is what we've been referencing - TBDR

 

[EggSalad]

@ryushen21 - have you tried Pro Line Rough since you started this thread? Curious to hear your thoughts.

I grabbed a few sets via the TW sale. A responsive round string with a little extra ball bite is my hope. If it plays that way, I might finally be able to get off the poly string carousel.

 

[ryushen21]

no one mentions it but tour bite rough is pretty good

That's TBDR.

 

[the_faceless_player]

@ryushen21 - you mentioned it already but I would have thrown out Tourna Grit as something to maybe take a flyer on. I also wonder if I have any more sets of Hyper G Rough laying around I could send you. I know you said the HG variants are a bit muted for you but did you get the chance to try a sample set of the Rough version at all?

 

[2ndServe]

anyone use dunlop black widow its 6 or 8 sided

 

[ryushen21]

@ryushen21 - you mentioned it already but I would have thrown out Tourna Grit as something to maybe take a flyer on. I also wonder if I have any more sets of Hyper G Rough laying around I could send you. I know you said the HG variants are a bit muted for you but did you get the chance to try a sample set of the Rough version at all?

I tried HG Rough and absolutely hated it. Way too muted for my liking. It did perform well but I could not get past the god-awful feeling.

I haven't tried Grit yet but I probably will.

 

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Oehms Alu Pearl Rough!

 

[ryushen21]

Oehms Alu Pearl Rough!

Is that one a true rough? I thought it was a profiled poly.

 

[JOSHL]

Is that one a true rough? I thought it was a profiled poly.

It’s not rough. It’s shaped, kinda like silver 7 tour. Really good string though. Especially for the price.

 

[ryushen21]

@ryushen21 - have you tried Pro Line Rough since you started this thread? Curious to hear your thoughts.

I grabbed a few sets via the TW sale. A responsive round string with a little extra ball bite is my hope. If it plays that way, I might finally be able to get off the poly string carousel.

I haven't. I should have grabbed some but I had a few things come up that ate into my tennis budget.

I'm most likely going to try Tour Status next even though it isn't a rough string. I need to get PL Rough and a few others to try.

I also realized that I had a set of PT Strike on my shelf that I may consider as well even though it's neither rough nor profiled.

 

[ryushen21]

I came across a crazy good deal on Element Rough that I couldn't pass up on. I know I've loved this string in full poly setups so it will be interesting to see how I like it in my current frame with gut.