Hello everyone. I have resumed playing after years of being away, being inactive, and just plain laziness. I must admit to being surprised to see that there are now several brands of strings now. Years ago all I only remember seeing Yonex, Gosen and Ashaway. My question has to do with switching to a thinner string, most probably from the same manufacturer, on the same racket. For example, suppose I have strung Yonex BG65 (0.70mm) at 24 pounds, and from what I can tell, even after hitting several hard shots, the strings to not go too far out of alignment. However, when I switched to BG66 (0.66mm), same tension of 24 pounds, I notice that the strings start going out of alignment quite obviously. You know, both the main and cross strings not being straight anymore. Does this suggest that I should tie the thinner string at a slightly higher tension? Is this evidence that thinner strings are also more prone to losing tension more easily? And what would be the logic behind this? I would give exact details of the strings I am currently using on my rackets but I don't want to suggest the manufacturer is lousy or anything like that.
Its probable that the .66 isn’t holding the 24lbs any longer, you could try 26lbs (I reckon you loose 15% of the tension within a month). But don’t string at too high a tension as it will have an impact on your game. 0.7 at 24lbs is still a fairly typical factory set up.
I am not able to measure what the current tension is, but from what I can tell, compared to my two other rackets with 0.68mm thickness strings at 24 pounds, my 0.66mm setup is no longer at 24 pounds. The problem is that it is the 0.66 string that was strung only two weeks ago. This is what led me to think whether I should string thinner strings at a slightly higher tension to offset the more pronounced tension loss. Yes I agree I have to careful about increasing the tension because I myself doubt whether my arm and wrist strength has increased that much for me to get used to tensions of 25 pounds and above.
Here's an update on my current three rackets, choice of string and tension, type of stringing machine (digital/electronic or non-electronic) and name and location of stringer. Listed in order of least recent to most recent stringing. (1) Protech Max Nano 6000, Pacific PC80 (0.68mm) at 23 pounds, electronic machine, at 10&10 Sports at Bras Basah (1st floor). (2) Karakal Nano Titanium M-Tec 80, Ashaway MicroPower (0.66mm version) at 24 pounds, non-electronic machine, at Zenith Optical and Sports at Bras Basah (3rd floor). (3) Hart Infinite Nano Flex 81, Pacific PC66 (0.66mm) at 24 pounds, electronic machine, at Atric Pacific Sports at Sembawang Shopping Center (4th floor). As you can see, (1) to (3) right now happen to be three different rackets, strung with three different strings, at three different places. Actually henceforth I have decided string my rackets using only electronic machine, and I am inclined to no longer try the Ashaway MicroPower because it lost tension too fast and gets out of alignment too much for my liking. If you'd like a more detailed opinion, please send me a private message. Sincerely, tkteo.
