Two Questions About Polys/Co-Polys

[Hominator]

I like to have two identical racquets with me when I play. However, I've heard that polys/co-polys do not hold their tension well.

1. If I string my secondary racquet with a poly or co-poly, such as Weiss Cannon Silverstring, and don't hit with it very often, can I expect the same amount of tension loss with the racquet as with my primary racquet? Both racquets would be strung with the same string.

2. Will the poly/co-poly strings in my secondary racquet "go dead" over time if I don't hit with it or do these kinds of strings only "go dead" with usage?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Toad]

There are some polys that hold tension very well I have been told. From what I have read, Signum Pro Poly Plasma is one of the best...I just strung my racket up with it yesterday so I can't comment on that yet. I have read Weiss Cannon Silverstring is also very good about maintaining tension...that's the next one I am trying.

In answer to 1 and 2: The racket that is sitting will lose tension, but it will be at a much slower rate than the one you are playing with. I suppose if it sits around long enough it could go dead.

If the rackets are identical, why don't you just rotate the usage of them...use one on one day, and use your other one the next. This would keep their tension loss very close solving your problem.

 

[ClubHoUno]

Do what Toad suggests, rotate between the 2 racquets and you won't see that one of them has died just from laying around in the bag.

A racquet that is never actually used will still lose some tension and eventually go dead, but as said at a much slower rate than the one, that is in play.

I rotate all my racquets and make sure to check if they feel dead, and then send two at a time to the stringer.

 

[Valjean]

I like to have two identical racquets with me when I play. However, I've heard that polys/co-polys do not hold their tension well.....

Right on; here's proof of same: http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/issues/200809/200809allstrings.html

 

[jrod]

Observations are accurate. Poly's die and lose their tension quicker than other string types.

There is a difference between tension loss and "going dead". Tension loss is accelerated by playing, but still occurs when the frame is not played (although the loss is less rapid). On the other hand, when a poly goes dead it usually is a result of hitting the ball which causes the string material to lose it's resilience and ultimately go "dead". This generally does not occur from non-use, but I suspect over a longer period of time there is probably a minor reduction in string resilience.

 

[Ken Honecker]

If I'm reading that chart right after 5 hits and 4 minutes some strings lose over 10% of their tension. Wow! It would have been nice to see another reading after say 24 hours or 200 hits to see if the decrease in action slows down which I would hope to be the case.

 

[BigT]

From experience, polys lose tension with time and go dead with usage. After a few weeks though, they will go dead much faster.