This weekend I tried out VS Tonic Longevity mains with 4G 1.25 crosses. Result was far better control than my standard VS Touch mains.
I believe the reason is that Longevity is much thicker than Touch. On paper it may not sound like much: 1.30 vs 1.35+. But on court I could really feel the difference. Spin was at Least as good and maybe a little better. Because of the enhanced control I felt like I could hit hard too while maintaining control.
For those who don't know Babolat's naturgal gut comes in a number of types...
-VS Touch 16g
-VS Team 17g
-VS Tonic+ Ball Feel (1.30/16g or thinner...see below)
-VS Tonic+ Longevity (1.35/15Lg or thicker...see below)
There's also a new version of 15L Touch but I've only seen it at TW.
Touch and Team are the premier strings and consistent in gauge. The two versions of Tonic are their second line products and inconsistent in gauge. Thus the thicker or thinner definition.
The Longevity is obviously thicker by looks alone. The moment I picked up the frame it was glaringly obvious this was a super thick string. What I don't know is if this is an abberation or are all longevity packs this thick.
A side benefit is that Longevity is about $10 cheaper than Touch. It's also definitely lower powered than Touch.
I don't know how it works in full bed but if you're interested in taming the power of a gut/poly hybrid while maintaining its spin potential I can definitely recommend Longevity. It's my new go-to string for gut mains.
I believe the reason is that Longevity is much thicker than Touch. On paper it may not sound like much: 1.30 vs 1.35+. But on court I could really feel the difference. Spin was at Least as good and maybe a little better. Because of the enhanced control I felt like I could hit hard too while maintaining control.
For those who don't know Babolat's naturgal gut comes in a number of types...
-VS Touch 16g
-VS Team 17g
-VS Tonic+ Ball Feel (1.30/16g or thinner...see below)
-VS Tonic+ Longevity (1.35/15Lg or thicker...see below)
There's also a new version of 15L Touch but I've only seen it at TW.
Touch and Team are the premier strings and consistent in gauge. The two versions of Tonic are their second line products and inconsistent in gauge. Thus the thicker or thinner definition.
The Longevity is obviously thicker by looks alone. The moment I picked up the frame it was glaringly obvious this was a super thick string. What I don't know is if this is an abberation or are all longevity packs this thick.
A side benefit is that Longevity is about $10 cheaper than Touch. It's also definitely lower powered than Touch.
I don't know how it works in full bed but if you're interested in taming the power of a gut/poly hybrid while maintaining its spin potential I can definitely recommend Longevity. It's my new go-to string for gut mains.
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