The gut/poly thread

mctennis said:
Grapplesnake Irukandji - great cross string for gut. It was designed for being used as a cross for gut strings. I use it and like it very much. Lasts longer than a lot of other poly and co-poly strings, IMO. Take a look at the Grapplesnake post here in the string section. Good inof about the Irukandji strings from Grapplesnake there.
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Thanks, I will check this one!
Would it last longer than 4G or 4GS? I didn't come across this brand very much since they don't seem to have a deal with TW and are sold directly only (at least here in Europe).
 
tom83Prg said:
Thanks, I will check this one!
Would it last longer than 4G or 4GS? I didn't come across this brand very much since they don't seem to have a deal with TW and are sold directly only (at least here in Europe).
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Irukandji can be a pain to string because the edges catch and the string twists as you weave the crosses.

Isospeed Rexxxer is oval shaped and works the same way as a gut/poly cross, but it doesn’t twist and TW Europe sells it.
 
tom83Prg said:
Thanks, I will check this one!
Would it last longer than 4G or 4GS? I didn't come across this brand very much since they don't seem to have a deal with TW and are sold directly only (at least here in Europe).
Click to expand...
I just strung up VS gut/irukandji and coincidentally my previous string job was vs gut/4g.
From initial impressions (playing once for 2h) I can't see irukandji lasting as long as 4g.

It's very flat, had the same experience as @happyandbob that it twists when you do the crosses.
As I didn't pay too much attention, I have some twists now which I assume might make for a quicker break.
Rexxxer is also oval but not as flattish as irukandji and works very well as a cross. It's also rather cheap here in europe so I'd rather get that.
From a pure tension maintenance standpoint I think 4g beats Rexxxer but not too crazy of a difference.
Imo 4g has a longer break in until it plays nice although that could just be a tension issue on my side.
 
veelium said:
I just strung up VS gut/irukandji and coincidentally my previous string job was vs gut/4g.
From initial impressions (playing once for 2h) I can't see irukandji lasting as long as 4g.

It's very flat, had the same experience as @happyandbob that it twists when you do the crosses.
As I didn't pay too much attention, I have some twists now which I assume might make for a quicker break.
Rexxxer is also oval but not as flattish as irukandji and works very well as a cross. It's also rather cheap here in europe so I'd rather get that.
From a pure tension maintenance standpoint I think 4g beats Rexxxer but not too crazy of a difference.
Imo 4g has a longer break in until it plays nice although that could just be a tension issue on my side.
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At the end of the day, it wouldn't matter to me that 4G is more expensive than the others, IF it last way longer and/or saves gut for longer period of the time. I always liked 4G and 4GS the most, so might consider this as well and compare the "buck per hour" of playability vs others.
 
tom83Prg said:
At the end of the day, it wouldn't matter to me that 4G is more expensive than the others, IF it last way longer and/or saves gut for longer period of the time. I always liked 4G and 4GS the most, so might consider this as well and compare the "buck per hour" of playability vs others.
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I've tried too many polys to pair with the gut and if we're only talking about the longevity and consistency, 4G or 4G soft is one of the best I've tested. It also seems more stable than other strings in very hot summer days.
 
Povl Carstensen said:
4G is stiff/high tension maintenance, så you might go a kg lower on crosses. I am using 25/22 kgs in my RF97.
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Your frame will be very distorted with this much offset. Gut is very elastic so it holds more stretch/tension than a stiff poly string, so it really pulls the frame in that direction. I usually only offset .5~1kg only, and my frames still ends up being shorter with the gut mains.
 
tom83Prg said:
At the end of the day, it wouldn't matter to me that 4G is more expensive than the others, IF it last way longer and/or saves gut for longer period of the time. I always liked 4G and 4GS the most, so might consider this as well and compare the "buck per hour" of playability vs others.
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Yeah I'd just try out some stuff, personally I haven't had many crosses where I really thought it sucked.
Not sure how hard you hit or what you tried so far but with all of Hawk Rough, rexxxer, 4g, wilson revolve, grey fire the gut lasting long enough was never the issue.
 
happyandbob said:
I was coming from Hyper-G at 50x48

To get the same launch angle and take the power I had to string VS 1.30 x rexxxer at 60x55

I wouldve probably done something like 59x56 if i had been coming from round poly.
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Will probably go with 57x54 then with either Wasabi X or Max Power Rough. Thanks!
 
HeavyHitter said:
Your frame will be very distorted with this much offset. Gut is very elastic so it holds more stretch/tension than a stiff poly string, so it really pulls the frame in that direction. I usually only offset .5~1kg only, and my frames still ends up being shorter with the gut mains.
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The frame is not "very distorted" compared with for instance another of my RF97s strung up 23/22kgs. If you can string gut/poly with 1-2 kgs difference using a soft-low tension maintenance poly (Alu power etc), you can certainly go 3 kgs with a stiffer-high tension maintenance (4G, Max Power etc). Ofcourse our opinion/experience may vary.
 
tom83Prg said:
Thanks, I will check this one!
Would it last longer than 4G or 4GS? I didn't come across this brand very much since they don't seem to have a deal with TW and are sold directly only (at least here in Europe).
Click to expand...
It lasts me longer and plays better than the 4G series. Plus I like the fact it it was made to be used as a cross for gut mains.
 
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For those that like a stiffer/controlled poly cross, what are you playing with?

I’ve liked MSV Bussard a lot as well as Hawk Rough. I have some Poly Tour Fire to try. I tend to like 4G more than 4G soft but I want to stay away from 4G. What other crosses should I look at? The main thing I want is some grab on my second serve.
 
EggSalad said:
For those that like a stiffer/controlled poly cross, what are you playing with?

I’ve liked MSV Bussard a lot as well as Hawk Rough. I have some Poly Tour Fire to try. I tend to like 4G more than 4G soft but I want to stay away from 4G. What other crosses should I look at? The main thing I want is some grab on my second serve.
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Max Power Rough is solid as a stiff cross and cost effective with great tension maintenance.
 
EggSalad said:
For those that like a stiffer/controlled poly cross, what are you playing with?

I’ve liked MSV Bussard a lot as well as Hawk Rough. I have some Poly Tour Fire to try. I tend to like 4G more than 4G soft but I want to stay away from 4G. What other crosses should I look at? The main thing I want is some grab on my second serve.
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I used yonex PT STrike for a while. It's been sometime though but it was really nice in an UltraTour 18x20. Maybe comparable to Alu Power so def not as stiff as 4G
 
EggSalad said:
For those that like a stiffer/controlled poly cross, what are you playing with?

I’ve liked MSV Bussard a lot as well as Hawk Rough. I have some Poly Tour Fire to try. I tend to like 4G more than 4G soft but I want to stay away from 4G. What other crosses should I look at? The main thing I want is some grab on my second serve.
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I would try Rexxxer. It’s not stiff, but it allows the mains to move really freely and snap back.
 
I'm sure others have written about this, but the gut I've historically purchased is 17 gauge (in the mains, round poly crosses). For a Blade v9 98 16x19, I'm wondering if it would be better to use 16g gut in the mains, as I love the feel but would like a little more spin/bite for my kick serves that I get with full poly. I'm thinking Wilson Gut 16G mains, 4G (desert bronze) 1.25 in the crosses. Any insights into this potential set up and other alternatives would be very helpful!
 
Fighting phoenix said:
I'm sure others have written about this, but the gut I've historically purchased is 17 gauge (in the mains, round poly crosses). For a Blade v9 98 16x19, I'm wondering if it would be better to use 16g gut in the mains, as I love the feel but would like a little more spin/bite for my kick serves that I get with full poly. I'm thinking Wilson Gut 16G mains, 4G (desert bronze) 1.25 in the crosses. Any insights into this potential set up and other alternatives would be very helpful!
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I would suggest using 16g gut in the mains. I have been using 16g gut in the mains and appreciate the feel and more spin it seems to give me.
 
Blade_X said:
I am using 1.30 too and 1.25 4G in the crosses. This combo lasts for ages….it only needs to be loosen / settle a little bit the first 30 minutes. Don’t go straight at competition :p
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I normally use 16g gut mains and a 17g cross. True, it does seem to take about 15-30 minutes to settle in. I found it depends on the temperature of how quickly it settles in.
 
I've reached the point in my gut/poly journey where I'm thinking about poly mains and gut crosses.

Anyone have strong feelings either way?
 
ryushen21 said:
I've reached the point in my gut/poly journey where I'm thinking about poly mains and gut crosses.

Anyone have strong feelings either way?
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It's a lot of money to just have them in the crosses - why not just go with multi in the crosses at that point? If I'm spending that much on a set, I want to benefit more from the feel I get by having them in the mains.
 
ryushen21 said:
I've reached the point in my gut/poly journey where I'm thinking about poly mains and gut crosses.

Anyone have strong feelings either way?
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A waste of a 1/2 set of gut strings if you put them in the crosses. Gut loses the main benefits by being just in the crosses. IMO. Just as Fighting professional stated use a decent multi in the crosses at that point instead of gut.
 
They can choose anything with an aim of maximising their performance & some of them choose gut crosses, even if, in some cases, they have to pay for the gut.
 
ryushen21 said:
I've reached the point in my gut/poly journey where I'm thinking about poly mains and gut crosses.

Anyone have strong feelings either way?
Click to expand...
Poly main will give you more spin, with all things being equal. Power potential cap is higher IMO, if you're a big hitter. Better control with depth and flight path of the ball, easier to play with. The downside of poly main is that you're at the mercy of the tension loss. Once the poly starts to lose tension, it falls off hard. I usually have to cut it out, as it becomes unplayable, and it doesn't take long to fall off. Finding the right tension and string for poly main hybrid can be tricky. I like the feel of this hybrid more.
 
A common advice here is to play with a gauge lower for the poly cross, which I’ve been doing. Wondering if anyone has tried going 2 or more gauges lower with a round/rough cross? Would it really cut through the gut much faster?
 
My gut mains are moving all over the place at ~10h mark, and pretty much unplayable at 15h. Is that notmal? Stringing technique issue? Not properly storage/cleaning?
 
mrravioli said:
My gut mains are moving all over the place at ~10h mark, and pretty much unplayable at 15h. Is that notmal? Stringing technique issue? Not properly storage/cleaning?
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Pretty common depending on what poly cross you are using. If I'm in a dense string pattern, I usually cut out the crosses around 10 hours and restring the crosses on the opposite side of the mains to try to get another 10 out of the gut. If I'm in an open pattern, the gut doesn't make it to 20 hrs before it pops.
 
happyandbob said:
Pretty common depending on what poly cross you are using. If I'm in a dense string pattern, I usually cut out the crosses around 10 hours and restring the crosses on the opposite side of the mains to try to get another 10 out of the gut. If I'm in an open pattern, the gut doesn't make it to 20 hrs before it pops.
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do you mean this is from cross losing tension? im using an open pattern. gut is notched at this point but still feel bad to just cut out at this point
veelium said:
Tension and racquet and cross?

Not abnormal in general.
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Wilson gut 130 main 4g soft 130 in cross at 56/53 in pro staff 97. playability and feel were in the first 3-4 sessions but went down hill from there. now it's making a high pitch pingy sound on every shot and gut won't snap back at all.
 
mrravioli said:
do you mean this is from cross losing tension? im using an open pattern. gut is notched at this point but still feel bad to just cut out at this point

Wilson gut 130 main 4g soft 130 in cross at 56/53 in pro staff 97. playability and feel were in the first 3-4 sessions but went down hill from there. now it's making a high pitch pingy sound on every shot and gut won't snap back at all.
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As @happyandbob said, you could restring just the crosses if you do it yourself.

In the end, depends how (hard) you hit the ball. I'm currently testing a prostaff 97 (old version, v10) with gut poly and I don't think I'm gonna get more than 15 hours out of it.
The high pitch pingy sound is most likely from the poly getting to a certain point but I've never tried 4G soft.
 
mrravioli said:
do you mean this is from cross losing tension? im using an open pattern. gut is notched at this point but still feel bad to just cut out at this point

Wilson gut 130 main 4g soft 130 in cross at 56/53 in pro staff 97. playability and feel were in the first 3-4 sessions but went down hill from there. now it's making a high pitch pingy sound on every shot and gut won't snap back at all.
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That's normal for 16x19 at that tension. 4G soft only comes in 1.25mm btw.
 
forzmr_b said:
A common advice here is to play with a gauge lower for the poly cross, which I’ve been doing. Wondering if anyone has tried going 2 or more gauges lower with a round/rough cross? Would it really cut through the gut much faster?
Click to expand...

I use a 1.19 PP Red Devil cross (round) with 16 or 17 NG mains. It doesn't cut them (for me). Medium topspin/pace.
 
mrravioli said:
My gut mains are moving all over the place at ~10h mark, and pretty much unplayable at 15h. Is that notmal? Stringing technique issue? Not properly storage/cleaning?
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I know I sound like a broken record, but put some Bab elastocrosses in there, and they'll slide back more easily.
 
I tried VS Touch main with ReString Sync cross and it maintains snapback and gut longevity quite well. But I am not a heavy hitter or string breaker.
Anyone else has any experience with this set up?
 
Now that we northern hemispherers have officially entered winter, I did have a question for those of you who live in colder climates. If you play tennis in the winter months indoors and you have to travel outdoors by walking or public transport to get to your courts, how does the natural gut handle the extreme change in temperature of 60s-70s indoors to low 30s or below for 10+ minutes back to 60s-70s on the courts? Do you have to do anything special to keep the strings protected while you travel through the cold, and do you notice any significant drop in durability/playability?
 
Even where I live now with temps rarely below 50 degrees when I play, (versus where I was 6 years ago and the temps reached freezing so we went indoors), I keep a warming pad between my racquets in the bag. It's one of those blue, chemical-filled things you can freeze or microwave. I warm it, slip it over the head of the center of 3 racquets in my bag so it is sandwiched between the 3, and my gut string is much happier. So is my poly and multi.
It only lasts a few hours and after 2 hours, it still feels 10+ degrees warmer than the outside air temp.

I only pay attention to playability and it helps. Durability seems inconsequential as I will change my strings in 12-15 hours anyway. Gut might be the exception but rarely.
 
We go from upper 90’s to 50’s here, no desire to play in the 30’s. Lower the tension a couple of lbs during the winter with Gut/poly. All good.

59/56- 57/54
 
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Rally said:
Now that we northern hemispherers have officially entered winter, I did have a question for those of you who live in colder climates. If you play tennis in the winter months indoors and you have to travel outdoors by walking or public transport to get to your courts, how does the natural gut handle the extreme change in temperature of 60s-70s indoors to low 30s or below for 10+ minutes back to 60s-70s on the courts? Do you have to do anything special to keep the strings protected while you travel through the cold, and do you notice any significant drop in durability/playability?
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It's below freezing where I live and I leave my bag in the trunk of my car and it feels more stable than my full poly setups. Durability feels the same if not better, since its less humid in the winter. I wouldn't worry too much.
 
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