The Miracle 'Have It All' Poly - Does It Exist??

[Kalin]

I've read through many pages until my eyes have bled and have paid particular attention to the last week's threads about soft polys, spinny polys and polys that keep tension well. I've even jotted down quite some comments and compared them (yes, I am like that). Seems that, like with many things in life, it is relatively easy to get any 2-part combination choosing between spin, power and tension maintenance but very hard or maybe even impossible to get all three.

How about the ultimate poly for us decent yet far-from-pro players (3.5-4.5). One that combines power, spin and tension maintenance? I, and I'm sure many others, love the added spin of polys but still like having power and tension maintenance like our previous strings. Does such a wonder string even exist?

And yes, I know about hybriding natural gut with polys. Any full-bed solution?? Any price is good but if it is affordable it will be like a big, red cherry on the cake

Edit: just to provide some references: I liked the tension maintenance of SPPP & Tourbite but they lacked power for me. I liked the power of Genesis Black Magic but it lacked spin and didn't last that long. ProSupex Big Ace was good but felt too elastic (it's a very light string); should be better on a 95 sqin frame not on the 102 open-patterned one I tried it on. So far the best allrounders seem to be Topspin Cyberblue and Volkl Cyclone Tour. I couldn't try SP Hyperion long enough since I sold the racquet away after 1 match.

 

[n8dawg6]

I'm convinced that it doesn't exist ... yet, at least. Soft poly is gonna have tension maintenance issues, period, and 4g or other stiff polys are probably gonna be too much string for someone at that level (well for me, at least). I'm about ready to go back to synthetic gut at 55-60 lbs. at least it breaks before it loses 20 lbs of tension ...

 

[esgee48]

All poly hybrids may be your answer. A triangular or square shaped main crossed with something like SPPP or 4G. 2 cents.

 

[Kalin]

All poly hybrids may be your answer. A triangular or square shaped main crossed with something like SPPP or 4G. 2 cents.

Thanks, I was thinking of that but where would the power come from then? I was actually thinking trying a spinny, durable mains (as you say) but with a powerful cross. I just remembered I tried Volkl Cyclone mains with Polystar Energy crosses once and it actually felt like having too much power after having had Tourbite and full-bed Cyclone on the same racquet (stiff, extended length, open bed).

 

[jdubbs]

Prince Beast. Sadly it looks like they discontinued it.

 

[Kalin]

Prince Beast. Sadly it looks like they discontinued it.

Someone was saying Prince Tour XP is the new version.... not sure if so

Edit: Beast XP is still available here where I live .... in green! Will try it, thanks!

 

[fgs]

"it might exist" is the rather unconventional answer to your question. for me, a heavy topspin player, the approach has been from the durability side. this is directly related to tension loss and the often talked about "death" of polys. i have found strings that provide the optimum for me in a 4hrs (2 hitting sessions) time window - kirschbaum helix and solinco tour bite(regular not soft) for instance.

therefore it might be interesting to "rephrase" your initial question giving a clue regarding the time window you need to go through the strings.

regarding the prince tour xp - in my set-up the 1,25 lasted slightly short of 2 hours and the 1,30 lasted 2,5hrs, but both basically had "bagged out" after one hour of serious hitting.

 

[Kalin]

...i have found strings that provide the optimum for me in a 4hrs (2 hitting sessions) time window - kirschbaum helix and solinco tour bite(regular not soft) for instance.

therefore it might be interesting to "rephrase" your initial question giving a clue regarding the time window you need to go through the strings.

I'd say 8 to 12 hours would be great; more would be a gift and anything under 6 would be unacceptable

I don't hit as hard as you, however, since I found the regular Tourbite not powerful enough plus it still feels the same after maybe 5-6 hours of play.

 

[fgs]

the regular tour bite is a rather stiff and extremely low powered string and i was not suggesting it to you, i was rather trying to illustrate my approach. moreso, i have an extremely weird stick set-up with very high sw, so what i experience on impact (stick set-up with stroke mechanics) is hardly similar to a more "regular" set-up.

i would nevertheless like to mention that i had really good experience with ashaway monogut zx, also from the point of durability - it lasted me 7 hours (but since it is rather expensive it still in not economically viable for me). this string comes packed with a good portion of power (i strung it some 12% higher than i do my usual poly mains), did provide me with "almost" poly-type spin and is in my opinion a highly recommendable string for players looking for durability and incredibly good tension maintenance.

 

[esgee48]

There are threads by Shroud and Travlerjm about using kevlar and Monogut ZX. If you use ZX, you do have to prestretch it as it is fairly elastic. I think Shroud has moved on from ZX because he has exceeded the elastic deformation limits of ZX when stringing at his desired cross tension. To answer your question about 'power', you can always lower the tension. Tour Bite plays well in the 40's and the SPPP is just along to provide support.

 

[Kalin]

Thanks guys, I've looked into ZX but sounds a bit too complicated with the prestretching since I use an outside stringer. Some good ideas so far, though- two poly hybrids, lower tension, the Prince thermo-polys... Keep them coming!

And the high-SW racquet idea is good. I have some old veritable monster sticks that I'm yet to try poly on; they may bring life to some of the stiffer polys.

 

[fgs]

my experience with zyex regarding prestretching was as follows: i prestretched manually, ie pulling against a doorknob with my bodyweight for about 20 times, pulling against the strings while stringing and before clamping off as i have a constant pull, so there is a tension adjustment when doing this, and basically leaving the sticks 24hrs to settle before taking them to court. with this treatment i experienced only a minimal tension drop on court, as most of it happened within the first 24hrs after stringing. as i know my range, i know what i have to go for on the machine in order to have what i want on court - and the machine was set at 23kg mains (approx. 47-48lbs).

yes, high sw do "soften" up even the harshest polys - but i also string usually in the 45lbs range, have a rather high bat speed and brush up on the ball quite a lot. if i were to play flat, the impact would be felt completely different. pair this with also a lower bat sped and some strings would be completely unplayable without running a huge risk of joint damage.

 

[Zaerop]

Spin, power and tension maintenance is abundant in a string like RPM team 17, but you left out durability as a category. RPM team notches very fast; after the first 2-3 hours it lost a ton of spin potential and a bit of control. Right now, I'm on a hunt for a shaped poly that has good spin, durability, and tension maintenance. I haven't tried solinco tour bite yet, but it's #1 on my list right now.

 

[Booger]

No perfect strings, which is why a billion of them exist. I think soft, shaped poly strings are the future of amateur tennis. Tour bite soft, poly tour spin, and diadem solstice power are my current favorite strings.

 

[Zaerop]

No perfect strings, which is why a billion of them exist. I think soft, shaped poly strings are the future of amateur tennis. Tour bite soft, poly tour spin, and diadem solstice power are my current favorite strings.

How is poly tour spin's tension maintenance, durability, and spin potential?

 

[Kalin]

yes, high sw do "soften" up even the harshest polys - but i also string usually in the 45lbs range, have a rather high bat speed and brush up on the ball quite a lot. if i were to play flat, the impact would be felt completely different. pair this with also a lower bat sped and some strings would be completely unplayable without running a huge risk of joint damage.

I'll try some polys on my old Prince Graphite II's - these are very heavy, very stiff and with a very open pattern (14 x 18 on a rounded head). Will be a fun experiment. The potential for sick spin is there for sure.

Spin, power and tension maintenance is abundant in a string like RPM team 17, but you left out durability as a category. RPM team notches very fast; after the first 2-3 hours it lost a ton of spin potential and a bit of control...

I'm not a string breaker so I didn't mention durability per se but I didn't think of the notching. Will have to try the RPM Team then, thanks!

 

[El_Yotamo]

Dude! I test double poly hybrids all the time and my go to setup is LTec 4S mains/Kirschbaum Max Power crosses. The shape of the 4S is perfect due to the rounded shape and both are stiff polys with great tension maintenance so you also get awesome control from the stiffness.

 

[Kalin]

Dude! I test double poly hybrids all the time and my go to setup is LTec 4S mains/Kirschbaum Max Power crosses. The shape of the 4S is perfect due to the rounded shape and both are stiff polys with great tension maintenance so you also get awesome control from the stiffness.

Thanks, is that Tecnifibre 4S? Which string gives the power, though? Is the Max Power living up to its name?

 

[TimothyO]

First off, Zyex is the industry's practical joke on players. It's pointless and even its most ardent supporters admit to going through tremendous effort to make it even mildly playable. There's simply no benefit unless you're one of the companies selling it. Then you just start squeezing out a nasty stream of cheap plastic and reap the profits from gullible players.

The best poly wrt tension maintainence is 4G. Nothing else comes close. It's only downside is that even soft gut mains dent 4G crosses. MSV Focus Hex provides amazing spin potential with gut mains but doesn't have 4G's long term control unless pre-stretched.

You can also mod any poly by pre-stretching it. Some manufacturers even pre-stretch some of their polys during the manufacturing process!

The best solution for long term playability, comfort, control and spin potential is gut/poly. Nothing else comes close.

Some TT rec players claim that Full poly allows one to play with a heavier, higher SW frame and not launch balls but even Federer and Djoker do just fine with their pro modded, heavy/high SW frames and gut/poly hyrbids (you gotta chuckle when TT rec players declare that they hit TOO hard to use gut/poly when everyone from Serena Williams to my 13 year old manage its power just fine).

 

[Muppet]

Unfortunately, you're asking for a contradiction with spin + power. A low powered string allows a faster stroke. This puts more spin on the ball. Better to find a good spinny string that you like and, as said above, adjust the power with tension.

 

[fgs]

@TimothyO
i wonder if you ever played monogut zx.
i'm definitely no ardent supporter of this string, nor am i selling it and after testing it i openly declared that in spite of the good performance it had it still is not economically viable for me - it broke after 7 hours of hitting whereas my "reference" polys do so around the 4hrs mark, but come at a considerably lower cost. in order to become an option for me it should be lasting around 10-12hrs, as it is 2,5times more expensive than the pricing i get on my "reference" polys.
nevertheless, i think you read too much of travlerajm's prestretching theories, which might be working for him, but i had a lot less hassle with this string, basically i went to the standard stringing procedure that i use on ALL my stringjobs, no matter if poly, multi, syngut or zyex.
it definitely plays different, but i'm tuning in on (almost) every string in less than 30mins. there are some i consider playing again and there are some i find not appropriate for my set-up and playing style, but that's a different issue. everybody is unique in his own right i dare say, and i can understand that some strings are unplayable for those who do not break strings, but then they have the natty option.

 

[El_Yotamo]

Thanks, is that Tecnifibre 4S? Which string gives the power, though? Is the Max Power living up to its name?

No it is not. It is LTec premium 4S. It plays very differently from Tec 4S and has slightly better tension maintenance. Also max power is truly awesome, and it works better in this setup than lux 4G due to the much added spin potential. You lose a small amount of tension maintenance in exchange.

 

[Uncoil]

If you can play tennis, you can play with any type of string. Go with one that feels the best for your type of game.

 

[Cfidave]

Like TimothyO says, gut/ poly hybrid can't be beat for all around performance. The top pros could use anything, but gut/ploy hybrids dominate. I have several customers who won't use anything else.

 

[blubird123]

Kirschbaum ProLine 2. End of story.

 

[blubird123]

Gut is way too expensive for us average folks.

 

[tk243]

Weisscannon silverstring 1.20. Now if only they made that in a pentagonal shape, I would be forever a happy man.

 

[Taveren]

@Kalin give Signum Pro Tornado a try, spin potential, good tension maintenance and decent power.

 

[Kalin]

Unfortunately, you're asking for a contradiction with spin + power. A low powered string allows a faster stroke. This puts more spin on the ball. Better to find a good spinny string that you like and, as said above, adjust the power with tension.

Not a bad point; the idea is to at least find some spinny strings who aren't absolutely 'powerless', so to say.

No it is not. It is LTec premium 4S. It plays very differently from Tec 4S and has slightly better tension maintenance. Also max power is truly awesome, and it works better in this setup than lux 4G due to the much added spin potential. ...

Kirschbaum ProLine 2. End of story.

Weisscannon silverstring 1.20. Now if only they made that in a pentagonal shape, I would be forever a happy man.

@Kalin give Signum Pro Tornado a try, spin potential, good tension maintenance and decent power.

Thanks, guys! Some good suggestions. So little time, so many strings to try

 

[Muppet]

Weisscannon silverstring 1.20. Now if only they made that in a pentagonal shape, I would be forever a happy man.

Black 5 Edge is supposed to be Silverstring in a pentagonal shape. But it takes a tension adjustment to nail it.

 

[gallen1999]

Gut is way too expensive for us average folks.

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
Although natural gut wholesale sells them for under $15. That is still pricier than most poly but is probably the best gut deal you will find.

 

[fuzz nation]

I string for a few of the boys on the high school team that I coach and one of them (our #1 singles player) had to completely bail on the poly this past spring when he was running into what seemed to be some progressive golfer's elbow. He was playing full RPM Blast 16 ga. in a standard Pure Drive.

Switched to multifibers and syn. guts, the elbow cooled out just fine, but this guy was eating up strings in no more than a few days of play. He switched into a heavier frame at the start of the summer, but also decided to sample a semi-soft poly hybrid in a search for some better string bed endurance. Lately he's been using Isospeed Baseline 1.20mm mains tensioned in the low 40's combined with Forten Nylon 15L crosses tensioned in the low 50's. His durability is much better with this layout (a few weeks instead of a few days with the multi or syn. gut) and he's also claiming to have significantly better (easier) power and control with this rig.

This "skinny poly" has been quite a hit (HA!!... sorry) with a few of the decent players I've been stringing for and I'm even enjoying it in a hybrid in one of my own frames. Nice performance and a feel that's on par with a snug set of syn. gut. Sorry for the long story, but this string seems to have a lot of potential upside and it's also among the most affordable reels around - maybe worth a look.

 

[Kalin]

...Lately he's been using Isospeed Baseline 1.20mm mains tensioned in the low 40's combined with Forten Nylon 15L crosses tensioned in the low 50's. His durability is much better with this layout (a few weeks instead of a few days with the multi or syn. gut) and he's also claiming to have significantly better (easier) power and control with this rig.
... Nice performance and a feel that's on par with a snug set of syn. gut. Sorry for the long story, but this string seems to have a lot of potential upside and it's also among the most affordable reels around - maybe worth a look.

Won't it be amazing if the perfect combo turns out to be the one between two of the most affordable strings on the market

 

[Ihatetennis]

It's not a poly but playabity is the same through out its life, cheap and lasts a long time

Try klipper soft kevlar, pre stretch it in 18 guage and then use either s thick nylon or a super thin poly

I've found badminton polys work well since they come in 20 guage for a cross


The slipperiness of the poly cross at a very high guage makes it last and makes it bite well with a thin kevlar

Pre stretch the poly though, and I would string 52 mains on kevlar and 56 crosses on a thin poly

Play around with it, but with an 60$ reel of kevlar that will get you 40 racquets, that's really budget string ing

 

[Kalin]

It's not a poly but playabity is the same through out its life, cheap and lasts a long time

Try klipper soft kevlar, pre stretch it in 18 guage and then use either s thick nylon or a super thin poly
...
The slipperiness of the poly cross at a very high guage makes it last and makes it bite well with a thin kevlar

Interesting, thanks! I have played Problend which is the stiffest of kevlars and my arm didn't fall off so I don't have any fear of it.

Is there power in the set-up, though? Problend is OK if you play it all the time but once you try a different string and go back to the kevlar you realise how underpowered it is. The soft thin kevlar may be better though. Not sure if available here, though, but can try some other thin kevlar instead.

 

[Ihatetennis]

Interesting, thanks! I have played Problend which is the stiffest of kevlars and my arm didn't fall off so I don't have any fear of it.

Is there power in the set-up, though? Problend is OK if you play it all the time but once you try a different string and go back to the kevlar you realise how underpowered it is. The soft thin kevlar may be better though. Not sure if available here, though, but can try some other thin kevlar instead.

the power comes from the crosses, if you need you can string them lower

When I used nylon in crosses I would string them at 55 which had good PPP

Give forten aramid gear a shot, crazy control and spin potential. Bites into the ball hard

That with a slippery cross would be a lethal combo

There's good power from crosses if you find the right balance

 

[Kalin]

the power comes from the crosses, if you need you can string them lower
When I used nylon in crosses I would string them at 55 which had good PPP
Give forten aramid gear a shot, crazy control and spin potential. Bites into the ball hard
That with a slippery cross would be a lethal combo
There's good power from crosses if you find the right balance

Excellent, thanks!! I think Aramid Gear is available here. Plus, I just made a nice nifty rhyme!

 

[Ihatetennis]

Excellent, thanks!! I think Aramid Gear is available here. Plus, I just made a nice nifty rhyme!

It has a 17 gauge core that's aramid and then this resin that makes it gear shaped, so there are teeth that are 15 guage.

The teeth do wear out, but they tear the felt of the ball

 

[Ihatetennis]

Excellent, thanks!! I think Aramid Gear is available here. Plus, I just made a nice nifty rhyme!

Try the smallest poly you can find in the crosses, either that or get a good nylon in there.

Slippery poly would be the best, but you might have to string it low if you're not getting the power you want.

Maybe a 44 pound cross with a 52 pound kevlar main

 

[Kalin]

Try the smallest poly you can find in the crosses, either that or get a good nylon in there.
Slippery poly would be the best, but you might have to string it low if you're not getting the power you want.
Maybe a 44 pound cross with a 52 pound kevlar main

Will try that; I also have some very slippery Babolat syngut that I want to try as a cross.

 

[Ihatetennis]

Will try that; I also have some very slippery Babolat syngut that I want to try as a cross.

That would be good too, I personally don't like nylons and syn guts because they seem to break too easy for me, they tend to lock up as well

 

[Kalin]

That would be good too, I personally don't like nylons and syn guts because they seem to break too easy for me, they tend to lock up as well

Yes, synguts lock up easily; I hope this one stays slippery longer especially with a non-syngut main.

 

[Ihatetennis]

Yes, synguts lock up easily; I hope this one stays slippery longer especially with a non-syngut main.

A super soft poly that's super thin seems to be the best option

 

[Kalin]

A super soft poly that's super thin seems to be the best option

Luckily badminton rules here so should be easy to find one, nice suggestion!

 

[Ihatetennis]

Luckily badminton rules here so should be easy to find one, nice suggestion!

Yeah there are some kllipper strings at 22 guage I think

 

[Kalin]

Yeah there are some kllipper strings at 22 guage I think

No Klipper here, AFAIK, but tons of Yonex, Gosen, Toa, Victor and some local brands like TAAN (I am in China). Lots of 22 gauge; just need to identify some polys among them

EDIT: Seems not such an easy jobs; looks like multis are all the rage with the badminton crowd. Figures, why would you want to spin a shuttlecock

 

[deth]

Yeah I kinda gave up on finding the all in one in polyester. I usually go with big banger alu power rough. Lasts just long enough. Although I just recently snapped it in about 8 hrs. But I'm switching to a different racquet with a smaller head. Just too much power anymore with my aeropro.

 

[insiderman]

Pacific X Force - for me, the 18-ga is perfect - comes also in 17 & 16L - for sure the best of the rest...

 

[marquette100]

Volkl V-star

 

[Kalin]

Volkl V-star

The V-Star looks intriguing and is also a very economical option, it seems. I have tried the Cyclone Tour and it's also not a bad string.