What do you consider high tension ?

**Paritos** · 09-27-2008, 06:55 PM

I myself think that more than 24 pounds is high.

**Athelete1234** · 09-27-2008, 07:27 PM

I think any tension too high for you, or in the upper range of what you use, is high tension. The consensus for general "high tensions" is anything at 26lbs or more.

**phandrew** · 09-27-2008, 07:38 PM

It can vary from person to person. I say 26lbs+ is high tension.

**jhirata** · 09-27-2008, 09:10 PM

I agree with what Athelete said. I currently use 28lbs, and it felt a bit high for me, so I'd definitely call it high-tension. IMO, tensions above 26lbs is high tension. "low-tension" for me, is below 22lbs.

**micae** · 09-27-2008, 09:49 PM

one question comes to my mind : since string are affected by weather (humidity+temp), does "high tension" vary from one country to another? surely playing in indonesia during summer isnt the same as playing in danemark in winter. So is it possible that in some countries, players play at a much lower tension to give the same results as in another country?

or maybe i'm completely clueless, and strings arent affected by weather

**phandrew** · 09-27-2008, 09:58 PM

Yes string tension will increase in colder weather and decrease in hot weather.

**Athelete1234** · 09-27-2008, 09:58 PM

It's true. 26lbs strung in HK or something would probably stiffen up to like 27-28lbs here in canada, especially in the winter. That being said, if strings are strung to 26 lbs in asia, it should be the same 26lbs as a racquet strung in Canada.

**micae** · 09-27-2008, 10:03 PM

Interesting. Thanks for the input!
So that means that when people say they play at say 26lbs, we should check the condition of the country they play in!

As for myself, i consider "high tension" anything above the recommended tension ; for YY, above 24lbs is high tension because it means no more guarantee!

**Athelete1234** · 09-27-2008, 10:05 PM

Well for AT in 3U, NS in 2U, and ARC in 2U you're warrantied up to 25lbs.

**silentheart** · 09-28-2008, 12:12 AM

Also, depend on the frame size and shape too. I like my Cab30ms at 24lb while 26 lb for Cab30ms is consider high for me. While ISO such as NS8000, I like it at 25lb. 27 lb is high for me. AT700 is good between 22 to 24 lb.

**micae** · 09-28-2008, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Athelete1234

Well for AT in 3U, NS in 2U, and ARC in 2U you're warrantied up to 25lbs.

oooh good thing to know... my AT is stringed at 25... anyways since it's JP if it ever breaks i'll have no warranty... but it wont happens because i treat my racket better than my gf

**hflee79** · 09-28-2008, 12:49 AM

Originally Posted by micae

oooh good thing to know... my AT is stringed at 25... anyways since it's JP if it ever breaks i'll have no warranty... but it wont happens because i treat my racket better than my gf

Woah. If you have multiple rackets, are you then a polygamist?

My range is between 23-25, so anything above that is high tension for me personally.

**Pete LSD** · 09-28-2008, 01:00 AM

I am a PLSD so high tension is all fuzzy & fizzy

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**micae** · 09-28-2008, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by hflee79

Woah. If you have multiple rackets, are you then a polygamist?

My range is between 23-25, so anything above that is high tension for me personally.

i have two rackets, both don't know about each other (as i never takes both on the court) and i store them in separate places (one in my room, the other in my locker)

my AT900T requires more maintenance though, since i use towel grip on her! my Black Knight though, 'only' babolat VS grip...

and yeah, anything above 25lbs could be considered "high tension", although for an aluminum/graphite racket, 22lbs is quite high!

in general, i guess any tension higher than the recommended tension is "high"!

**Mark A** · 09-28-2008, 08:59 AM

I arrived at my current tension (between 28 and 30, depending on string gauge) by experimentation, before which I thought anything over 24 was "high". I used to play with "standard" 22 to 24, but I now play with no problems with 28 to 30.

My arm starts to hurt with anything past 32, so that's what I consider "high". Luckily, string doesn't last me very long at 32 anyway

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**noppy** · 09-28-2008, 11:37 AM

though i havnt been playing long when i started as most ppl do i picked up a racket didnt have a bloody clue that the string or racket made any difference, then joined a club and over the past yr n a half iv changed from what i call standard 21lbs now to 24lbs and i havnt tried higher, iv found so far that the higher tension is much nicer to play with so il probably try 25 or 26lbs at somepoint, saying this i do use 23lbs with my SOTX racket when i used Ashaway micropower mp as i find it tends to break quite easily at 24lbs probably just my bads shots, but when i use sotx bs-963 at 24lbs its unbreakable, just slightly less control.............so really this hasnt helped this topic as if you'd asked me a yr ago id of said 24lbs is high but now who knows i need to experiment.

im getting a SOTX Woven 7 next week should i try 25 or 26lbs on that?

**Mark A** · 09-28-2008, 04:17 PM

iv found so far that the higher tension is much nicer to play with

How often I've heard that once people actually try it

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Firstly, the Woven 7 is warrantied all the way up to 30 lbs, so you don't need to worry about breaking it.

It's a relatively heavy racket, so I find it better to err on the high side for tension to improve control, which is compromised slightly by the increase in weight; I use my W7 at 30 lbs, the top of my tension range, for this reason.

I would suggest you start with 25 lbs and if you can honestly play with it without losing power (or your arm hurting) then move to 26. Pay particular attention to smash blocks and drop shots from the back: if these fly too high/far it might be a sign to increase tension.