What is the cross section construction of Tourna Synthetic Gut Armor tennis string?
- Thread starter JamesV
- Start date
happyandbob
Legend
It’s a solid core synthetic gut with a thin ribbon of poly wrapped around the exterior. The poly is not another filament it’s more like a protective jacket wrapped diagonally like candy cane striping
Thanks. Well described. We're did you get this info? Is there a pic or video? I am comparing to head syn but pps, which the TW string comparison tool shows very similar stats. PPS clearly shows a cross section of its construction on the packaging. Syn Gut Armor does not. Again, thanks for your help.
happyandbob
Legend
It's my observation from using the strings. PPS plays differently than Syn Gut Armor. PPS is slicker, but the slickness only lasts an hour before the string starts sticking, and it's not durable at all. It breaks very quickly. SGA is less slick than PPS up front but it keeps its slickness a bit longer. SGA plays a bit stiffer and the outer jacket increases the durability at least double vs PPS, in my experience.
Brando
Professional
@happyandbob , have you tried Tourna Quasi Gut 16? I ask bc it has the highest elastic quality rating I've ever seen (90) and yet TWU research indicates it has literally zero spin potential. 'That bear out?
@JamesV - Here's the actual cross-section (courtesy of Stringforum.net):
As you can see it's a monofilament syn gut core wrapped in a twisted helix of 20 polyester monofilaments, fused together to form a single sheath (@happyandbob, I guess you could say "ribbons" perhaps), and finally a slick coating on the very outside. The Black and White variants get their color from the poly wrap. I haven't played White yet, but I would guess it would play very similarly to the Black.
More on characteristics -- SGA feels almost gummy in the hand, is very stretchable on the stringer, and plays well at a variety of typical syn gut tensions, from low 50's to upper 60's; lower if pairing it with poly, higher if pairing it with itself or other synthetics. I find it works best either full bed or as a cross to non-sharp poly mains, as that slick coating provides decent snapback (with a TWU-measured string-to-string CoF of .081). Durability is pretty good, but, like so many other coating-based strings, playability does change and snapback diminishes as the coating wears off, after which the string will notch and the bed with either fully lock (if playing full bed or hybriding with a synthetic of similar hardness) or half lock (if hybriding with a pure poly). This can happen in as little as an hour or two if hybriding with something too sharp or stiff, so bear that in mind.
Overall, good string for the average Joe, dare I say excellent for self-stringers and anyone who don't mind restringing a bit more often.
As you can see it's a monofilament syn gut core wrapped in a twisted helix of 20 polyester monofilaments, fused together to form a single sheath (@happyandbob, I guess you could say "ribbons" perhaps), and finally a slick coating on the very outside. The Black and White variants get their color from the poly wrap. I haven't played White yet, but I would guess it would play very similarly to the Black.
More on characteristics -- SGA feels almost gummy in the hand, is very stretchable on the stringer, and plays well at a variety of typical syn gut tensions, from low 50's to upper 60's; lower if pairing it with poly, higher if pairing it with itself or other synthetics. I find it works best either full bed or as a cross to non-sharp poly mains, as that slick coating provides decent snapback (with a TWU-measured string-to-string CoF of .081). Durability is pretty good, but, like so many other coating-based strings, playability does change and snapback diminishes as the coating wears off, after which the string will notch and the bed with either fully lock (if playing full bed or hybriding with a synthetic of similar hardness) or half lock (if hybriding with a pure poly). This can happen in as little as an hour or two if hybriding with something too sharp or stiff, so bear that in mind.
Overall, good string for the average Joe, dare I say excellent for self-stringers and anyone who don't mind restringing a bit more often.
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happyandbob
Legend
Have not, but what's elastic quality rating? I don't see that metric when I pull down their database
happyandbob
Legend
@JamesV - Here's the actual cross-section (courtesy of Stringforum.net):
As you can see it's a monofilament syn gut core wrapped with what appears to be 20 polyester filaments that are fused together to form a single sheath (@happyandbob, I guess you could say "ribbons" perhaps), and finally a slick coating on the very outside. Obviously per the picture, the Black colored version has black poly filaments, the White has white. I haven't played White yet, nor have I heard if it plays differently, but if I had to guess I would say it would play very similarly, as there isn't enough poly in the mix for pigment changes to effect playability too much.
More on characteristics -- SGA feels almost gummy in the hand, is very stretchable on the stringer, and plays well at a variety of typical syn gut tensions, from low 50's to upper 60's; lower if pairing it with poly, higher if pairing it with itself or other synthetics. I find it works best either full bed or as a cross to non-sharp poly mains, as that slick coating provides decent snapback (with a TWU-measured CoF of .081; the best CoF's usually being .066 to .08). Durability is decent overall, but, like so many other coating-based strings, playability does change as the coating wears off. The string will notch as this happens and the bed with either fully lock (if playing full bed or hybriding with a synthetic of similar hardness) or half lock (if hybriding with a pure poly). This can happen in as little as an hour or two if hybriding with something too sharp or stiff, so bear that in mind.
Overall, good string for the average Joe, dare I say excellent for self-stringers and anyone who don't mind restringing a bit more often.
Oh, that's great. I only see the black filaments once they start fraying, and it makes sense, but by the time I can see them I guess they've flattened out. But you can see that the black filaments run diagonally along the string and are not parallel to the solid core when they start fraying. Thanks!
Brando
Professional
TWU doesn't publish the eIongation figures that contribute to a string's Elastic Quality rating. Stringway--the tension and swingweight advisor co. out of Norway--does publish such.
KEY
Total Elongation when stretched = Elastic Elongation + Remaining Elongation [TE = EE + RE]
where:
Total Elongation = the % of its length a string elongates when stretched by ‘X’ amount of force.
Elastic Elongation = how much (% of length) the string snaps back after it's been stretched.
Remaining Elongation = the % that never snaps back.
To wit, here are Tourna Quasi Gut 16 's elongation stats:
3.3% TE = 3.0% EE (snapback) + 0.3% RE, making its ELASTIC QUALITY [EE/TE] = 90
1. The greater a string’s Elastic Elongation (the length that snaps back):
- The more powerful the stringbed (since elasticity rebounds the ball from the stringbed)
- The better the string’s tension maintenance in the frame
2. The greater a string’s Remaining Elongation (length that doesn’t snap back):
- The more static tension it loses off the stringer before play
- The more impact tension it loses during play
In terms of elasticity, STRING QUALITY is defined as Elastic Elongation ÷ Total Elongation because quality strings snap-back almost as much as they’re elongated. The higher the string quality, the more durable its resilience and the better its tension maintenance.
Polys score super low in EQ for obvious reasons, multis score surprisingly low too considering that their elasticity is a selling point; for instance, Tfibre's MultiFeel 16 (a great multi, IMO) scores only 52, as does Prince Premier Control 16:
Tecnifibre MultiFeel 16 ga: stiffness 155, spin potential 3.3
3.3% TE = 1.7% EE (snapback) + 1.6% RE, making its ELASTIC QUALITY [EE/TE] = 52
Prince Premier Control 16 ga: stiffness 159, spin potential 5.4
3.3% TE = 1.7% EE (snapback) + 1.6% RE, making its ELASTIC QUALITY [EE/TE] = 52
The big reveal is that syn guts score the highest EQs I've yet found. After Tourna Quasi Gut there's other 16s like Gosen OG Sheep Micro, Forten Sweet 16, and Prince Synthetic Gut Original, which are Elastic Quality rated 75, 70, and 67 respectively.
Am sorry @happyandbob , I'm sure this is far more detail than you bargained for, but I thought folks should know... even if to challenge these measures' relevance.
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