Volkl C10 Pro- string sensitivity? Please share experiences

[Dso]

I posted on another thread about the C10. I've heard now from a few people that this racquet is sensitive to strings and to be ready to try different set ups.

Can you share your experiences? I know you won't know much about my playing style but did you find it didn't like certain strings? Did you feel the need to go higher in tension than usual? Lower? Or did it just play terrible except within a small window of tension?

I have one coming and any help would be great. I've been mostly using Klip Legend natural gut 17Ga at about 50lbs in my Head Graphene XT Prestige Pro and PS97.

Thanks

 

[dgoran]

I found that it's very powerful so I play better with it at higher tension 58lb - 60 for me and that is with poly.

With gut I don't know what would I do 80lb I guess lol

 

[Dso]

LOL I'm 53 year old 4.0 player... and although I think I hit hard, my younger partner reminds me that I don't hit the balls that hard when I see his!

So… not so sure about tension yet. But I'll likely still use gut. Still trying to recover from elbow issues so I never push it too hard now.

 

[dgoran]

As I'm "only" 36 I am not sure how power drops off with age (I'm not looking forward to finding out lol).
If it's anything like my fitness drop off between in last 10 yrs between 25-35 I'm in trouble...and I will be stringing them at 35lb with gut by the time I'm your age.

One thing I can tell you is that this racquet (I have matte new c10) is incredibly comfy even at high poly tension, this thing plays like a pillow and few hrs later when my poly drops to around 45 it feels just as comfy so I don't think tension will have any effect on your arm with c10

 

[xtreme tennis]

It is string sensitive! but... "for me" raise the string tension by 2 or 3 lbs and it s ok, just love the xtra power, and as Dgoran pointed either way it s really confy!!!!

 

[gmorera]

I'm a 5.0 player, hard flat hitter. I normally play with Isopeed control16 on my frames (low powered and flexible frames) but with the c10 i made an exception and i tried some polys ( black widow, pacific x force, isospeed black fire, WC B5). The one i really liked and the one i'm still using is WC silvestring (1.25) @ 22kg . I love this combo

 

[Crocodile]

I'm happy to use gut or multi in the C10 because I bought the racquets in the first place because of its softness and that how I want them to remain. Low 50's is fine. I've tried poly' like Volkl Cyclone tour in a 1.2 gauge and it's fine as well (50lbs) but still prefer the super plush feeling of the softness you can get with gut.

 

[Dso]

OMG. I still am recovering from my elbow issues. So frustrating. Either way today I played with my Head Graphene XT Prestige Pro.. which generally feels arm friendly. After the match I brought out the C10… strung with Xones at 50 lbs. I didn't get to hit for too much time but the few minutes I had were bizarre. I swear I feel like a pillow was attached to the face of the racquet. It was odd. My arm was already tired so I can't wait to give it a full run this Tuesday! Heavy for sure (12.5 oz)… but a pillow for a string bed. Very interesting.

 

[dgoran]

Yes it's absolutely addicting feeling. Makes everything out there feel stiff...I can only imagine with gut

 

[Dso]

Yes it's absolutely addicting feeling. Makes everything out there feel stiff...I can only imagine with gut

These elbow issues are so crazy. On bad days it can really get you down. But I played with the C10 again tonight- more impressed than ever. I don't know if I just got a REAL good day but I haven't felt so damn good after 1.5 hrs of tennis in a LONG time. The Head was good but this is a different level of good. Fingers are crossed! It's a very interesting racquet for sure.

 

[fuzz nation]

I'm convinced that the flex through the hoop of the C10 effectively magnifies the arm-friendliness of this racquet. Even though its flex rating lists at 63, I believe that the "hoop flex" diminishes the harshness that can come with catching the ball too high on the string bed (toward the tip of the racquet).

I've used other frames with arm-friendly reputations, including both the Redondo MP and Ki 5 PSE from ProKennex, and also sampled others with even lower flex ratings than my Volkls - down in the high 50's. Even though a couple of true softies have been similarly cozy hitters, they haven't given me the performance I also enjoy with my C10's. That doesn't mean that I'm immune to the risks of stiffer strings when they're installed in this racquet. But even a poly hybrid can be completely comfortable for me in my C10's as long as its tension is reasonable - I'm doing fine right now at 48 or 50 lbs.

 

[Rabbit]

I've used everything in my C10s over the last hundred or so years. I'm currently using Wilson Sensation 17 at 52/49 (because I had a reel).