The curious case of Confidential….
- Thread starter Blade_X
- Start date
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
It seems like with any poly, there are advanced players who hit hard enough to either break it or notice quickly when it goes dead as the performance drops dramatically after impact from their harder shots for a few hours. Then there are others who don’t break it and also don’t notice the slower decline in performance when it goes dead from impact with their slower shots over many weeks - these guys play too long with dead poly and end up getting injured.
So, what you might get is this dichotomy depending on who you ask when it comes to Confidential also. It is a stiff string and you should play with it if that is what you are looking for. If you want more comfortable poly strings, there are many other softer options out there.
So, what you might get is this dichotomy depending on who you ask when it comes to Confidential also. It is a stiff string and you should play with it if that is what you are looking for. If you want more comfortable poly strings, there are many other softer options out there.
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S
Slicehand
Guest
i think it holds better than a lot of polys, or at least you dont get such a difference in performance as with hyper g when it starts to lose properties
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
What I meant is that for hard hitters, it breaks or goes dead noticeably much quicker and so they can clearly remember the drop in performance compared to a fresh stringjob. With slower hitters, it doesn’t break and because the decline in performance happens more slowly over a longer period, the players notice it only after many more hours of playing with it. If the second category of player always had a fresh stringjob to compare with, they would notice that their poly is dead quicker.You forgot those of us that don't break it but notice the decline in tension and performance
TennisJrDad
Professional
Alll 3 sizes:
I use 1.25 confidential sometimes. For me the first 1-3 hours there is too much power and I can't control my depth. After the 1-3 hours, control settles in and it has very good feel and control. It feels good until I get to a total of 8-10 hours. For that 5-9 hours of very good feel, I think confidential has a little bit too much power for me, but very close to perfect, but not perfect.
Blade_X
Professional
Which is your perfect one ?
Yonex Polytour Pro 1.25 yellow in my 95sqin.
Hyper G 1.20 in my 99sqin.
No break in period for both.
S
Slicehand
Guest
I dont think thats a good point because its about how it compares to other strings... a hard hitter has probably tried many strings and can tell if confidential lasts more than average for him, obviously a guy that hits harder restrings more often, but you can still tell when a string performance changes dramatically in little time, and i think confidential is pretty good at that, at least better than hyper g or even tour bite, which get much springier quicker
Tronco20
Rookie
I've played with Confidential quite a lot and I find it shocking that some people consider this a powerful poly! The string has so many benefits but if you look for power, look elsewhere. I find its spin, control, predictability and tension stability the best. I prefer the 1.20 version, it lasts me ca. 8.5hours on outdoor clay and keeps its characteristics throughout this time. The 1.25 lasts me ages, especially when strung low, is still playable no matter how old and worn out it is.
I prefer the feel of 1.20 but there are strings with better feel than this one.
those who want a reliable, control-oriented string that holds tension well, this is it
I prefer the feel of 1.20 but there are strings with better feel than this one.
those who want a reliable, control-oriented string that holds tension well, this is it
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
WHAT thats the opposite of what everyone here says which is that its too stiff at first but later becomes super powerful and loosens up
I know, extremely weird, but I've strung it at least 6 times, and it happened every time. I'm trying to sell the last 3 sets I have.
Purestriker
Legend
Blade_X
Professional
Which is your go to ?
Blade_X
Professional
Why ? And play with multi ?
HFK
Professional
Love you guys over there at poly police.
Purestriker
Legend
Purestriker
Legend
Because you are not going to fully realize the benefits of a poly. The reality is you’re not hitting hard enough to need them. So most end up playing with them too long (when they’re dead) and hurt their arm. If you have a modern swing then you will get enough spin out of a multi or synthetic gut.
HFK
Professional
I just want to thank you for being there to decide which strings I play with.
Purestriker
Legend
HFK
Professional
You mean the poly I broke when I played 16x19? Or the synthetic gut I break in 4-5 hours?
BTW have I thanked you for coming out of the woodwork to give me unsolicited advice about which strings I should play with???
Blade_X
Professional
The last 8 years i broke my strings only twice. And it was alu power 6 months old. I usually play with 4G and Lynx tour which is difficult to break them even if you swing hard. The problem with multies which I have tried most of them is lack of feel, pocketing and byte. Same goes for natural gut….. i don’t like their feel. I only enjoyed the feel of sensation which is a very cheap offering…. I hated triax, MLT, x one, babolat Vs gut etc.
Tronco20
Rookie
I have 3 actually (I've tried - unsuccessfully so far - to find a "perfect" string that combines all of the three's best characteristics, but there is probably no such string)
I have a reel of RPM Blast 1.25, because I know that when I string it at 25/24kg I have the best control for 4 hours possible. I swing freely and play well.
I have the same feeling with Yonex PTP, same gauge same tension, but it only lasts for 2-3 hours like this.
And I love Tour Bite 1.25 at 24/23kg because it has the best combination of feel, power and spin ever.
After a long time of just trying diff.setups I've come to the conclusion that with my current racquet - Bab Pure Strike 100 3rd Gen. I play best with a poly with energy return of 86-87% at 25/24kgs. Tour Bite is more lively/springy (88%) but I haven't had the courage to string it over 24/23 because of the high stiffness and for fear I'd not have the same feel with it at higher tension, 24/23 is perfect
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I've tried both the 1.25 and 1.20 Confidential and they do play fairly differently enough to be noticeable. The cross sectional difference is 9% and that feels close to about how different they are in stiffness. I'm using 1.20 Confidential at 49/45 in a 16x19 Babolat Aero 112 and I get about 8-10 hours before it breaks. There is a little bit of initial liveliness feel which goes away after a couple of hours but the ball response stays consistent just until before it breaks.
The good thing about using Confidential is that if you want a little more power, you can go thinner. Confidential 1.15 is again about 9% smaller in cross sectional area than 1.20 and so between 1.15, 1.20, and 1.25, and with changing the tension, you can alter the playing characteristics a fair amount. And if you want more change than that, there is Hyper-G, Hyper-G Soft, and Tour Bite which have the same shape and kind of surround Confidential in terms of power and crispness.
@Injured Again would you say confidential soft vs confidential similar to hyper G soft vs HG in terms of how the soft feels much more muted? I did not like HGS and much prefer thinner gauge of HG 1.20 at lower tension with SPPP 1.18 cross to soften up string bed. HGS and tour bite soft seem way too muted for me…
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
To me, there’s a lot more difference between Confidential and Confidential Soft than between Hyper-G and Hyper-G Soft.
I found that HGS and regular HG are pretty similar, with HGS giving slightly more feedback, which I thought was needed. I wrote about these two strings in the HGS playtest six years ago and my opinion is still the same today:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...est-solinco-hyper-g-soft.679846/post-14750857
To me, Confidential Soft is a much more lively, powerful, and soft string than Confidential, which in my mind is the quintessential control string, being pretty low powered but exceptional in how consistent it translates what the racquet is doing to what the ball does. Confidential Soft is a more lively and forgiving HGS, which is why I swirched to it.
I don’t know if I answered your question - I kind of feel like I didn’t…
i was referring to the feel…HGS felt SO muted and then id feel some arm pain after high impact shock from the ball but barely any feedback from the string. I wanted to know if confidential soft is like that. I tried Confidential 1.20 mains/signum pro poly plasma 1.18 in v7 blade and it playa quite well. Full bed confidential really requires a full swing.
thebigz
Professional
agree that they are more difficult than the HG sibling. But my experience is that Confidential Soft is more predictable with better control than regular hyper G for me despite being softer, especially in that the control retains much longer while HG falls off quicker.
thebigz
Professional
No. Best to try for yourself. Confidential Soft is clearly a more advanced formula to me achieving qualities that were opposite ends of trade offs before.
the feel is subjective and really can depend on what stick you hit it in. I don’t think CS is in the extreme of mushy or crisp, somewhere in the middle. Good feedback and good predictability for me personally. I can string it higher than the HG line to get even better control since the comfort is much better imo.
1.20mm CS feels significantly more lively than 1.25mm CS though. So you might also be aware of the gauge when reading internet experiences
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I found HGS to be less muted than HG, but it is still on the lower end of the feedback scale like you say. And you’re right that being so dampened and muted, the levels of impact shock may be higher than the feel would lead you to expect.
Confidential Soft has more feedback than HGS but without (to me) any of the harsh overtones from a traditional high feedback string like Tour Bite or Silver 7 Tour.
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