Yonex Poly Tour Pro YPTP much stiffer in cold weather?

[Deleted member 120290]

My go-to setup is gut/yptp 1.20. When it is hot, warm or even cool, it is a wonderful setup with plenty of pop, spin, control and comfort. However when temp falls below 60, the stringbed seems to be much stiffer, and my arm is hurting although part of it is from overuse.

My friend has 2 identical rackets, 1 strung with full bed yptp and 1 with full bed Tourna Big Hitter Silver bhs 1.20. He told me yptp is significantly stiffer than bhs which I noticed, to my surprise. Is it that some polys such as yptp are especially weather sensitive while others are less so?

If yptp gets very stiff in cold weather, I need to switch to another poly cross for my gut mains. I ordered bhs 1.20 but am also reading that Weiss Cannon Silverstring ss 1.20 is even softer. I tried ss 1.20 in full bed a long time ago and it was lacking in spin. But I'm wondering if spin will be fine with gut/ss?

Has anyone else tried gut/yptp, gut/bhs, gut/ss? If so, is one better and softer than the others esp. in cold weather? We are facing extreme, frigid temps here in LA area where it can drop down to mid 50's sometimes.

 

[CopolyX]

LA areas....mid 50's really...i don't want to hear it..
Try living in NH!
Strings become less elastic as the temperature cools..
Sure you can try a more pliant string, natural gut or sync gut or a high quality multi for more pop/softness!
Just try dropping your tension a bit, always do it in 3lbs drops.
Until you find what tension works for you and the weather.
50's...come here...I show you cold...lol

Also try using regular-duty (softer feel) felt ball instead of the "extra's"
Best of luck and have fun man...

 

[Deleted member 120290]

That's an awesome pic but I'm glad it's you and not I.

 

[Hansen]

Has anyone else tried gut/yptp, gut/bhs, gut/ss

i also played this week with gut/yptp in an ig radical pro and although i strung the crosses too tight i have to agree that it felt pretty harsh in these cold temperatures (im from germany, playing indoors, but its still pretty cold in there). but in general i would say that the yptp is pretty comfy and low powered which makes a good cross for gut mains. if you want a really comfy poly cross for the winter season you should try isospeed cream.

 

[KaiserW]

Have you tried Tourna Black Zone? I find that a little more comfy then YPTP.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

i also played this week with gut/yptp in an ig radical pro and although i strung the crosses too tight i have to agree that it felt pretty harsh in these cold temperatures (im from germany, playing indoors, but its still pretty cold in there). but in general i would say that the yptp is pretty comfy and low powered which makes a good cross for gut mains. if you want a really comfy poly cross for the winter season you should try isospeed cream.

I tried gut/cream and it was very soft. I usually use 1.20 cross so 1.28 felt a little thick for me in my 18x19 MG Rad OS.

 

[Clintspin]

Yes, all strings will feel different in the cold. I think you feel it the most with poly.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Have you tried Tourna Black Zone? I find that a little more comfy then YPTP.

I have a set of Silverstring and RS Lyon on the way so I will test them first. Hopefully they will maintain softness better than yptp in cold weather.

 

[Tennisist]

I think all polys do this. The changes are drastic: no feel, no power, no spin. Complete deadness.
When winter comes, I transition to multis. It is the end of the season anyway, and time to replace all those polys even if they had not worn themselves out yet.

 

[stealthfighter69]

I use PTP 1.25 full bed and last week I played in a bubble that had a malfunctioning heater which made the bubble colder than usual. I didn't think the strings felt much stiffer or anything. I still played my usual shots and my arm was not hurting anywhere.

I've never played with Silverstring but stringing it, it felt softer than PTP. That said, Poly Tour Fire also strings much softer than PTP and though it plays like soft, isn't as soft as PTP.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

I played 4 sets of doubles yesterday. Gut/yptp felt great for the first 3 sets when temp was low 60's. Then when it dropped to mid 50's, I could really feel the stringbed stiffen up.
Yptp may or may not get any stiffer than other polys in cold weather. I will be trying out gut/rs lyon and maybe gut/silverstring to see how they compare with gut/yptp in cold weather.

 

[Kalin]

It's quite cold here now (8-10 Celsius) and I'm glad I have one PDR strung with Big Ace. Big Ace feels a bit too springy and lightweight when it's warm but plays very nicely in the cold weather.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

I had my first singles match in ages. It was a warm day, around 80F.
I started out warming up and playing with gut/rs lyon. It is plush and very low powered. My shots kept hitting the top of the net.
Spin was decent but not as much as gut/yptp. Gut/rs lyon felt comfortable and had good pocketing. But it did not have the dynamic pop and spin of gut/alu or gut/ltec 4s.
Gut/rs had excellent control however. It seemed like every shot stayed within the lines. Rs lyon would be a good fit for very hard hitters such as D1 young bucks or Robin Soderling himself.
Rec players like me will get easier pop and spin from gut/yptp.

 

[lucky44]

Hi TenFanLA, are you going to review Silverstring too? I have been facing the same issue and was eagerly waiting for your review. I am thinking of trying Head Lynx but holding off because in some reviews people have mentioned it drops tension really quick. I might try rs lyon too because I play with a powerful racquet and low powered cross actually might help me. Thanks for your review.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Hi TenFanLA, are you going to review Silverstring too? I have been facing the same issue and was eagerly waiting for your review. I am thinking of trying Head Lynx but holding off because in some reviews people have mentioned it drops tension really quick. I might try rs lyon too because I play with a powerful racquet and low powered cross actually might help me. Thanks for your review.

Yes, I'm going to cut out rs lyon cross and replace it with silverstring. Gut should still be ok since I only used it for about 15 mins.
Going by the feel of the string in my hand, ss feels the softer than rs, yptp, bhs.

 

[Hansen]

I am thinking of trying Head Lynx but holding off because in some reviews people have mentioned it drops tension really quick.

i wouldn´t recommend lynx. i played with tonic/lynx last summer extensively and even in my lm radical the control suffers after a few hours due to the lively nature of lynx and the tension drop. for me isospeed cream although it is softer has better control (and enough for my racquet). in a powerful racquet i would at least use yptp or maybe even a stiffer poly like revolve, black zone, black fire or lyon.

 

[CopolyX]

I keep my reels of strings in the freezer. Keeps them nice and fresh, once that are thawed out in the microwave.

 

[lucky44]

Thanks Hansen, which of these you found to be the easiest on the arm? I used to play with Cofocus and then started using SPPP, both hurt my arm after I play long matches or if I play more than twice a week so looking for an arm friendly cross.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Thanks Hansen, which of these you found to be the easiest on the arm? I used to play with Cofocus and then started using SPPP, both hurt my arm after I play long matches or if I play more than twice a week so looking for an arm friendly cross.

Hansen may agree. I tried many, many poly crosses with gut mains. Like you I had arm pains with Cofocus, SPPP and ALU, Ltec 4s, 0s, YPTP (in cold weather), etc. I even tried Zyex but it felt buzzy and I couldn't get dialed in with it. Gut/cream was noticeably the easiest on the arm. It reminded me of Polystar Energy which is also very soft but has terrible tension maintenance. Cream has excellent tension maintenance.

If gut/silverstring is no better than what I've tried, I may have to give gut/cream another shot. I just wish they made cream in 1.20mm or even 1.23. At 1.28 it is a little thick for my 18 x 19 Radical OS.

 

[Hansen]

Thanks Hansen, which of these you found to be the easiest on the arm? I used to play with Cofocus and then started using SPPP, both hurt my arm after I play long matches or if I play more than twice a week so looking for an arm friendly cross.

because my racquet is relative control oriented (leaded up to 340gr and 335sw) i only played with soft poly crosses like lynx, cyclone tour, cream and yptp. spss , silverstring and msv cofocus i played long time ago as mains with multi crosses. lyon, blackfire and blackzone i haven´t played with, but according to twu and the gut/poly thread they qualify as a good cross string.
for my racquet cream is the best soft poly cross, hands-down. but my tension for the summer time when i play competetively is 60 pounds tonic 1,40 and 56 pounds cream. so if you have a powerfull racquet with an open string pattern, things could get wild. my advise would be (to use tonic longevity as main string) to try cream as a cross, if you don´t have enough control, try yptp. if thats not working try revolve, blackzone, lyon or blackfire.
theres on caveat though, cream only lasts 5h in my hybrid, which means it breaks before the gut. but since the gut lasts usually 10h before it breaks, i restring just the crosses 1 time (thereby i never play with dead poly).

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Played 7 sets of doubles (4 hours) in mid 50's weather with gut/silverstring today. Gut/ss is noticeably softer than gut/yptp in cold weather. Not by a whole lot but my arm feels the difference.

I did not have to change my shots at all going from gut/yptp to gut/ss. Power, control and spin are about the same. I stopped using ss in full bed a long time because lack of spin compared to cyclone. I thought gut/ss would have good pop, feel and control but I wasn't sure if it would give me enough spin. I'm not sure which setup has more spin but there wasn't enough difference where I had to alter my strokes.

I prefer the crisper feel of Gut/ss over muted feel of gut/yptp esp. on volleys and touch shots. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say gut/ss is softer, has a little more pop than gut/yptp. Gut/yptp may have a little more spin but again I can't say for sure because I did not have to change my strokes. I was able to hit well-angled slice serves and kick serves.

I have some Wilson natural gut coming. I would imagine wilson gut/ss would feel like butter and have even more pop. I will keep testing with gut/ss until I can make a definite decision.

 

[lucky44]

Thanks!Whats tensions you used for this setup?

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Thanks!Whats tensions you used for this setup?

I strung at 50 gut mains/45 ss cross constant pull machine. My racket is 18x19 string pattern.
I gotta say I really like the crisp gut/ss feel. I hit better lobs because I could feel the ball better on the stringbed whereas gut/yptp is a little dull and I can't really measure my lobs.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Gut/Silverstring: THE VERDICT

Played 3 hours of doubles and 30 mins of singles, using gut/ss and gut/yptp about equally.
Gut/ss: Softer, more crisp feel and better touch shots
Gut/yptp: Muted feel, more spin and heavier shots

My opponents told me I hit heavier shots esp. slice serves, kick serves and FH with gut/yptp. They are pushed back more and have a harder time when I'm using gut/yptp.
I love gut/ss feel on lobs and its arm friendliness but going on the offense with serves and FH is my bread and butter.
Therefore I have to stick with gut/yptp. As long as I don't play excessively in cold weather, it should be ok.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Duplicate post again.