@wollumeg as a previous collegiate player, you likely hit with more RHS than 90-95 % of the readers on this forum. The stringer at the local shop who picked RPM Team / Excel as a durable hybrid did themselves a favor not you. Multifilaments like Excel are the least durable strings you can buy. Multifilaments break faster than any other string other than ZX when stringing ZX
The Pure Aero VS is a 16x20 frame (although that last cross is so close to the bottom that it is nearly identical to a 16x19 frame.
Plenty of strings for you to choose from.
The strings I am currently using in my blind playtest (I simply string their frames without telling them anything about the strings) for 4.0 to 5.0 men if a player has no injuries and just wants to try several polys:
1) Solinco Hyper G (Green) 1.25mm
2) Tier One 1.25mm Boost (FireWire 1.25 mm mains/ Ghostwire 1.22mm crosses)
3) Lynx Tour 1.25mm
4) Volkl Cyclone Tour (VCT) 1.30mm if you have a sensitive elbow and like to play strings until breakage
For those players that are frequent string breakers of 1.25mm polys, I use 1.30mm strings in the playtest for these players.
Can you share more details about the blind playtest process?
This started when 4.5 and 5.0 guys were looking for string setups they like. I now offer this playtest to all players. The player gives me three frames of the same make/model if they have three frames and I ask these questions:
1) Any tennis elbow, wrist, or shoulder issues?
2) How often do you break strings?
3) What are you currently playing with and what tension?
They get three poly setups or three hybrids if they have tennis elbow/ wrist or shoulder issues. They don't get any info on the strings I put in their frames. None. Not the brand, string, gauge, or tension. Nada. They pay me nothing. They play with the three frames and if they like one setup, they give me back the two frames they didn't pick and I restring those two frames with the same string they did pick. They pay me $30 for stringing five frames and pay me the cost of strings for two packs of strings. $30 + cost for two sets of strings and they walk away with three strung frames. If they like none of them, they give me all three frames and the playtest continues with three more setups. Only one guy has given me back three frames, and eventually, he went head to head with Solinco Revolution 1.30mm vs TierOne Firewire 1.30mm, picking FireWire. He told me he picked FW because it was cheaper but he liked both strings equally and could play with either string.