Which Arm friendly string?

[g4driver]

@BPlain

HDMX or Discontined HDX Tour?

My .02 as a stringer for a lot of string breaking 4.0 to 5.5 clients, is use HDMX or RPX 1.35mm / 1.28mm Cream.

1.30mm is the min multi or multieyster I will string for a 4.0 male client because they are going to break it in less than a month. 8000+ frames strung on my Alpha Ghost. IMO your strings are too thin. What gauge multi did you break in 4 hours?

@Brando

you need to come to Charleston SC where 40+ year old guys who played tennis at the Univ of South Carolina, College of Charleson and the Citadel are now all playing as 4.0 guys..

I have dozens of 4.0 clients who break 1.25mm polys in 16x19 frames.. most refuse to restring prior to breakage.

 

[BPlain]

@BPlain

HDMX or Discontined HDX Tour?

My .02 as a stringer for a lot of string breaking 4.0 to 5.5 clients, is use HDMX or RPX 1.35mm / 1.28mm Cream.

1.30mm is the min multi or multieyster I will string for a 4.0 male client because they are going to break it in less than a month. 8000+ frames strung on my Alpha Ghost. IMO your strings are too thin. What gauge multi did you break in 4 hours?

@Brando

you need to come to Charleston SC where 40+ year old guys who played tennis at the Univ of South Carolina, College of Charleson and the Citadel are now all playing as 4.0 guys..

I have dozens of 4.0 clients who break 1.25mm polys in 16x19 frames.. most refuse to restring prior to breakage.

HDX Tour and yes, I will be going up in gauge. The HDX 1.24 / Cream 1.23 was just extra sets I had sitting around and I wanted a softer set up in my second frame for tomorrow’s session just in case.

Always appreciate your two cents @g4driver. I’ve used your MF/YPTA hybrid recommendation before too. Will give your suggestion above a shot too. Thanks.

 

[g4driver]

once guys push the high 4.0 range , most have too much RHS to use thinner multis without breaking them.

Even if a 4.5 guy doesn't hit as hard as other 4.5 guys, his strings are getting incoming balls with the pace of an avg 4.5 which is going to deflect and move his stings around on impact.

Buying HDMX , Triax on sale and in reels saves money.. packs are too expensive

 

[Aestheticsaboveallelse]

@BPlain & @DEW , you're both poly players experiencing arm pain. You know your best first option is to stop playing poly, even as a cross if your arms are hurting, during or after play. This is elementary.

Now ask yourselves, what string plays the most poly-like? It's syn gut. It's stiff and low powered like poly and its functional durability (elasticity and tension) lasts far longer unless you're a string breaker. Extruded, it slides like poly even if you have to finger it back into place. Comparing it to a premium soft copoly, the numbers tell all:

premium Soft Copoly	Stiffness	Tension	Spin	Energy	Price
vs. average Syn Gut​	(lbs./in.)​	Loss %​	Potential​	Return %​	USD​
Solinco Hyper G Soft 16L	172	29	5.2	88	$13
Babolat Synthetic Gut 16	169	17	5.8	93	$5.50
Difference %​	(2%)	(41%)	12%	6%	(58%)

@BPlain, I've played with the Black Ace Pro and loved it strung up at 53# with Babo SG, which gave me all the spin I could ask for. And with that 330 swing-weighted plow thru, impacts felt like buttah.

@DEW, with that 18x20 you'd want a 17 gauge and I frankly don't know which performs best in 17, but I believe @fuzz nation has recommended OGSM 17 as having the best combo of durability and performance.

I'm aware that a full bed of syn gut isn't sexy. But what do you have to lose but pain?

Ummm if this is true why hasn't synthetic gut caught on when its so cheap? I thought its just worse control or at least much worse spin than poly

 

[Brando]

The short answer is that there's an epidemic of tendon damage going on in the recreational tennis world, and it's not caused by poly but the misuse of it. Specifically the average rec player stringing it too tightly and keeping it their racquets until it breaks. If everyone had a stringer like @g4driver , who actually knows his clients' playstyles and has an exhaustive knowledge of poly strings, it wouldn't be happening. But sadly that is not the case.

Don't believe it? Read this letter from the Exec Director of the US Racquet Stringers Assn. (And more average players are catching on to syn guts but the margins are far higher on poly sales, so the sports stores and internet sellers keep pushing them.)

Collaborative Effort By Bob Patterson:

When it comes to poly strings, we all need to make sure adult recreational players and juniors know the facts. I speak to many manufacturers, coaches, and racquet technicians, and the consensus is that recreational adult players and junior players are using the wrong type of string, tension—or both. Stiff polyester strings are prevalent in the marketplace and dominate the pro tours, but are they suited for the average club or league player? Most in this industry don’t think so.

First, the very benefit of poly strings is their ability to bend and snap back faster than other materials. This snapback enhances spin on the ball. A pro can swing out and get more spin on the ball while generating a heavier shot. You might think that would be the same for your average junior or club player, but it is most definitely not the case. Most players can’t generate enough racquet-head speed to bend stiff poly strings in the first place. If the string doesn't bend, it can’t snap back, and there is little or no spin enhancement. Many recreational players who switch to a poly never adjust their tension.

I’m always amazed to hear of a 3.5 adult or junior using a full poly set-up at high tensions. This is a surefire way for a player to hurt his or her arm.

Second, monofilament poly strings lose their elasticity—or the ability to snap back—much faster than nylon or other string materials. Since poly strings have a fairly dead feeling to begin with, their decline is less noticeable for recreational players, who tend to not restring as often as they should, which only makes the problem worse.

Not only is poly string wrong for most recreational and junior players, it can be harmful. The stiffer string coupled with stiffer, lighter racquet creates much more shock to the player when the ball impacts the stringbed. In recent years, we’ve seen arm and wrist injuries sideline many top pros, and these athletes train and take every precaution to prevent injury. If we all know it is a problem, how do we fix it?

It starts with education: inform players about why they should alter their string set-up. It is better for their health and for their game. Manufacturers need to step up, too.

It is easy to market a string their top sponsored player is using, but companies need to make rec players aware that string may not be best for everyone. Then they need to offer a softer, better-suited string.

The bottom line is that we all need to address this issue. Injured players play less, and may stop playing altogether.

And that’s not good for anyone. •

Bob Patterson:
Executive Director of
the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association.
Tennis Industry: Nov/Dec 2017

EDIT: This letter was originally posted in these boards by @g4driver himself and, in the wee hours of the night, I forgot to credit him. My bad.

 

[Roketz]

@BPlain

HDMX or Discontined HDX Tour?

My .02 as a stringer for a lot of string breaking 4.0 to 5.5 clients, is use HDMX or RPX 1.35mm / 1.28mm Cream.

1.30mm is the min multi or multieyster I will string for a 4.0 male client because they are going to break it in less than a month. 8000+ frames strung on my Alpha Ghost. IMO your strings are too thin. What gauge multi did you break in 4 hours?

@Brando

you need to come to Charleston SC where 40+ year old guys who played tennis at the Univ of South Carolina, College of Charleson and the Citadel are now all playing as 4.0 guys..

I have dozens of 4.0 clients who break 1.25mm polys in 16x19 frames.. most refuse to restring prior to breakage.

What tension do you string them with?