Wilson Clash 98 recommendation

[MAPE]

Hi,

This is what I’ve tried so far, as a reference:

RS Lyon 1.25, 23 kg. Very good feel and predictability. Some lack in the spin department. Held tension well.
Tour Bite Soft 1.25, 22 kg. Nice and plush feel and good spin. Tension maintenance not so good, it fell over a cliff. Played great when fresh.
Tier One Black Knight 17 gauge, 23 kg. Way too boardy, hurt my elbow. Had to cut it out.
Tier One Firewire Boost, 23/22 kg (mains/crosses). Nice feel, insane spin, plays better and better when strings break in. The only knock is some unpredictability maybe because of tension and string differential.

Now looking for a string (and tension) with at least decent spin, good feel and predictability that holds tension well. I was thinking of Hyper G Soft 1.25 at 22,5 kg. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[IVKI]

I'm currently a fan of Tourna Black Zone 17 in the crosses to soften up the string bed a bit, with Tour Bite 18 in my Clash Tour 100. Also quite liked regular Hyper-G 17 gauge.

 

[Wheelz]

Cyclone tour 1.30 strung higher then your usual tension. Could go around 54ish pounds
Signum Xperience strung lower in the clash could be good ! Around 46-48
Tourna Silver Tour 7 1.25 around 46-48lbs

 

[MAPE]

I'm currently a fan of Tourna Black Zone 17 in the crosses to soften up the string bed a bit, with Tour Bite 18 in my Clash Tour 100. Also quite liked regular Hyper-G 17 gauge.

Thanks! Tension for Hyper-G?

 

[WYK]

If you liked TB soft, try standard TB at a slightly lower tension. TB isn't known for tension holding, tho.
I like HyperG and Confidential because they hold tension rather well. They are a bit on the stiff side, tho. So be careful with tension.
Having said it, I can easily string the 17G version of them in my Clashes at 57lbs with no arm issues. Very good control at this tension, and slightly less launch angle.
I cross them with Yonex PTF at the same tension as mains.
I also tried the 16g version of HyperG soft with good results. Lasted a long time. I just get a bit more feel from the 17g version.

 

[IVKI]

Quite liked a full bed of Hyper-G 17 at 50lbs. Fine tuned from there to the tourna in the crosses, currently playing 52lbs mains (Hyper-G) with the Tourna at 54lbs in the crosses.

 

[MAPE]

Quite liked a full bed of Hyper-G 17 at 50lbs. Fine tuned from there to the tourna in the crosses, currently playing 52lbs mains (Hyper-G) with the Tourna at 54lbs in the crosses.

I will try Hyper G Soft 16L. Not sure about the tension tho, is it low powered or lively? I’ve seen all sorts of comments about that.

 

[Bluenose62]

Hi,

This is what I’ve tried so far, as a reference:

RS Lyon 1.25, 23 kg. Very good feel and predictability. Some lack in the spin department. Held tension well.
Tour Bite Soft 1.25, 22 kg. Nice and plush feel and good spin. Tension maintenance not so good, it fell over a cliff. Played great when fresh.
Tier One Black Knight 17 gauge, 23 kg. Way too boardy, hurt my elbow. Had to cut it out.
Tier One Firewire Boost, 23/22 kg (mains/crosses). Nice feel, insane spin, plays better and better when strings break in. The only knock is some unpredictability maybe because of tension and string differential.

Now looking for a string (and tension) with at least decent spin, good feel and predictability that holds tension well. I was thinking of Hyper G Soft 1.25 at 22,5 kg. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I play Clash 100 and found my favourite set up to be Firewire mains and ghost wire crosses, both 17g at 53lb

 

[Ryebread]

If you liked TB soft, try standard TB at a slightly lower tension. TB isn't known for tension holding, tho.
I like HyperG and Confidential because they hold tension rather well. They are a bit on the stiff side, tho. So be careful with tension.
Having said it, I can easily string the 17G version of them in my Clashes at 57lbs with no arm issues. Very good control at this tension, and slightly less launch angle.
I cross them with Yonex PTF at the same tension as mains.
I also tried the 16g version of HyperG soft with good results. Lasted a long time. I just get a bit more feel from the 17g version.

did 57lbs eliminate the inconsistency from the string bed?

 

[WYK]

did 57lbs eliminate the inconsistency from the string bed?

If you'll permit me to ramble a bit...

The way this thing works for me, is you control the ball with spin. The more flat I hit, the more power it has. Less flat - more control. Natural to me as I've always had loopy strokes.
I also had to let the racquet do more of the work for me vs my old player's sticks.
I use stiff strings, and I find that I like the control more in the 50-57lb range vs the usually suggested 45-48lb range for this frame.
I think if maybe I used something very dead like 4G or maybe a cross with BBO, that I could go to 45. But Luxilon asks a lot for their strings when there are more options than ever now...
Unless I am in a tournament, I do 'long haul' stringing. I string for an overall target tension because most polys lose so much tension the first few times out + after stringing.
For practice and recreation, I string higher(like 26kg in 17g) and let the strings settle in my spare racquet(s) for several days before I even use them. Then I play with them for 2-3wks, swapping from stick to stick each time, before restringing on my own machine. I find poly lasts well and is very consistent start to finish this way. For tournaments, I string the target tension before a match. For a match using Confidential or TB, I would go 50-52lbs on the 1.30 and 1.25 and 54lbs on 1.20 and restring every day.
Right now I am experimenting with 17g vs 16L and 16. Tournaments for us won't start until late summer, so I have a lot of time to find something I like in this stick since last year was a bust when I first got them. I am leaning back towards 16g for the control(and less launch angle) at the moment and the fact I can string it lower and it will hold the tension better than 17g. I am also considering 15L because the stick is so cushy, but this limits my options and power as kick serves are rather impressive with 17-16g shaped polys - more spin with more velocity for the same effort. But you have to use even more spin to live with 17G on these frames. I very much would like to use RPM Blast in these sticks as I feel it is a great match, but the string dies too quickly for my tastes and for its price point IMO. Still, I may try the 15g version.

I think if you are having control issues, I would go with a 1.30 or maybe even a 15L 1.35 string at 50lbs to start and see how she does.
I wonder will they come out with an 18X20 version of the 98 to test the waters...

 

[WYK]

I will try Hyper G Soft 16L. Not sure about the tension tho, is it low powered or lively? I’ve seen all sorts of comments about that.

I had HyG 16L soft in my 100 and I liked it a lot in the low 50's. Good control, good power, good consistency, and lasted long.

 

[Ryebread]

Currently playing with the C98….
Three days on this set up
9 hours maybe more in the sun.

So far so good

18g cyclone tour red @ 54 Mains
17g IsoSpeed Professional natural @ 53 Crosses

great power -yet control, when I’m focused.
Great directional control and feel!

 

[MAPE]

Thanks for your advices! I will try Hyper G Soft @ 48 pounds and see how it goes. I’m also considering WEISS Canon Silverstring in order to get an even more predictable response. I guess the fairly open 16x19 stringbed will be enough to create some spin (I hit fairly flat anyway).