I find Li-Ning NS95 to be a good hybrid between the BG65's durability plus stiffness and BG80's sharp feel plus repulsion. It costs the same as BG80 Power but at its thickness of 0.70mm I beloved it will last much longer.
If you like BG80, you probably prefer its hard feel and solid punch on a shot. You will hardly find those on BG80 Power. It may sound a bit extreme, but from personal experience and some other users feedback BG80P is a softer feeling string. To me, BG80P does not work that great on lower tensions (24lbs), and it feels like strung 1-2 lbs lower than BG80 at the same tension. It feels dull, and to me it has worse feel than BG66UM, and Zymax 62/67 (2nd gen). It may work much better at higher tension, but I do not have first hand experience. It is quite an expensive string as well. I am not a big fan of it, but then again, everyone's preference may be different
Thanks for the heads up! I'll write my reviews as soon as I get my hands on it! Yeah, I'm already skeptical when they say it feels soft, and it costs $1ish more than 80's! This stuff has to be the next level for me to switch to it, otherwise it's back to good old 80's I usually string 32-34lbs, so this stuff will get tested at tensions that it says it performs best at!
Sorry to say but somehow i believe that the reason for your strings' breakages are excessive tension and you are a hard-hitter. Even the new zymax is only suggested by the manufacturer to be strung at 30lbs max. Also Gosen suggested their badminton strings to be strung at max 30lbs, which is only for Nano Cubic, a 0.70mm string. The other models in Gosen's line-up is only suggested to be strung under 26lbs. Why don't you try to lower yr tension n see if u can play as well n see if it does not break as often. No offense intended, just my 2cent.
At such high tension... Wouldn't you consider going to a thinner string and a lower tension to get the same feel?
That does not work at all. BG66 feels significantly different from BG65 even when both are of exactly the same composition even at -3lbs for BG66 and the same goes to BG66 Sharp and BG65 Power. The physics of impact pressure just does not add up to compensate for such change in diameter properly. Let alone comparing a unique string with an uneven string surface and vectran such as the BG80 with the available thinner strings with no such similar features at all! You obviously have not played with a thick string at high tensions.
What an informative opinion you gave above. Thank you. I have similar problem & opinion with yours on VS850. I have yet to try BG66Ultimax, my current go to string is BG85, previously BG80. I will give BG66 Ultimax a try really soon. What racket do you use for testing them all ? Is your BG66Ultimax JP Coded or SP Coded?
@mzc888: thanx for the update and review! the zymax 67, was it new or old version? new comes in black packaging with red letters, and is supposed to have a harder and better feel
mzc, maybe you should try BG80 power and give us a comparision Its only a bit more than BG80 in price.
Method to increase durability of BG80, BG66, BG66UM, ZM62... Rather than switch strings, one option may be to weave extra string at the top of the racquet to improve durability. My string of choice is ZM62 (great feel and repulsion, sweet sound), however a main WILL break during a hard mishit at the top of the racquet. The weaves increase my typical time before breakage from 2-4 hours to 20-25 hours! It's not like I'm hitting fewer mishits. Now I actually wear out the mains and crosses in the sweetspot (notched/frayed badly) prior to breakage, so I know I'm getting maximum life out of the string. Installing the weaves is done after the racquet is strung. Don't expect your stringer to do this for free as it does need to be done carefully and takes 15-20 minutes after stringing is complete. This is something you can do, just ask the stringer to leave the extra string on the racquet after tieing off the top knot. While I normally only do this with string less than 0.69mm, it can be of benefit even with thicker strings like BG65, it is player dependant. It also helps (to a much lesser extent however) to add an extra cross at the top of the racquet (in the image attached, the last cross at the top of the racquet is extra).
Hi, I currently using BG80P strung at 26-28... thinking to change new string...what model would you all recommend ? i prefer hard shooting ....
The above extra weavings prevents string breakage by absorbing excessive impact force that is imparted on the stringbed. However they should also reduce the stringbed repulsiveness aka POWER since they are loosely tied.
I agree that the weaves are not tight, although they should be done with some tension applied carefully so as not to move the mains. They prevent early mains failure not primarily by absorbing energy, but instead by distributing the force of impact across multiple mains. Their effect of reducing repulsion when hitting in the sweetspot is negligible imo.
Below is my personal opinion, hope it helps For best durability and soft feel, BG65. For heavy bombers, BG65Ti. For repulsion and durability, NBG95. For control, repulsion and durability, NBG99. For max repulsion, NBG98. For feel and high repulsion, BG66UM. For nice sound, BG68Ti. For ultimate hard feel, BG80. For the "even better" version of BG80 at the cost of reduced durability, BG85. For best feel and economy, VS-850. For best all around string, Zymax 65.
BG65 +2 lbs is what I'm using as a replacement for BG80. Both strings needs to be replaced regularly (every 3 months or so) but obviously BG65 is cheaper and more durable. Often, for BG80, I am replacing it because it snapped. For BG65, it's because the strings are losing tension.
How does the Zymax 65 compare to the BG80 in terms of performance, durability, and tension retention?
