string saver?

**tfc** · 09-24-2002, 03:11 AM

A lot of tennis players use string saver to prevent string movement and
make string last longer. It also increase the effective tension of the string
job. Anyone uses them in badmenton?

***Cheung*** · 09-24-2002, 07:11 AM

Never seen them used for badminton

**Winex West Can** · 09-24-2002, 11:55 AM

Never seen them used in badminton. I don't think that they are legal for use in tournaments.

***kwun*** · 09-24-2002, 04:06 PM

i think they are pointless, and detrimental to the feel of the hit.

badminton is a game with delicate touches, you are trying to hit and control a 5g feather contraption within centimeters of accuracy, you want as much touch as you can. we spent months and years looking for the best string that will give us the best control and touches, and then why put pieces of plastic to ruin that?

**cooler** · 09-24-2002, 04:50 PM

kwun, i can't agree with you more except for that in net shots, we are dealing with millimeters, the difference of rolling the shuttle over the tape and not.

**tfc** · 09-24-2002, 06:27 PM

I am not suggesting the use of tennis string saver. It is obvious that string
saver would be helpful to maitain string bed uniformity. So it can only help
the control. One can image using a badminton version of the string saver
to help inprove control.

**cooler** · 09-24-2002, 06:56 PM

tfc, just look at the pro tennis and badminton players, do they use string saver? No because they want control, not less. I also think string uniformity is overrated, maybe except when strings were strung at super low tension. After the first badminton smash or tennis slice serve, the string moved already, do i see players stop and adjust their strings in between shots? In long rallies, they (and we) keep on playing, string unformity is the last thing on their (our) mind.

**Californian** · 09-24-2002, 08:03 PM

Wow, reading this post jogged something back in the distant reaches of my memory. I think there was something like this back in the 70s, and I think I even tried them out, but I didn't use them for long (I think they kept popping out). I don't know if you can still get them, or if you'd even want them.

**tfc** · 09-24-2002, 09:17 PM

I seems to remember peter sampras putting string saver on his racket at the
hight of his career. He strings his racket at high 70 lb. and he as SV player
needs the most control possible. In fact, he cuts all the string off after every
match. Talk about uniformity in string job.

I can give as many reasons as the next guy on why we don't need string saver
in badminton. Until someone tells me the fact on the issue, it is just opnion.

**cooler** · 09-24-2002, 09:41 PM

excuse my ignorance on tennis as i don't watch tennis players too closely like badminton players. However common sense still rules.

If sampras cut his strings after every match, why does he need a string saver? At 70 lb, tennis strings don't move very much at all.

Here is a fact, facts and opinions are in the eyes of the beholder.

**modious** · 09-24-2002, 09:47 PM

Indeed.
I was about to say that at 26lbs and above, international badminton players do not need to use such things because the strings do not move much at all! Furthermore, international players use stencil ink and it helps to keep the strings in place.

**tfc** · 09-24-2002, 10:14 PM

If you read from the begining, you will see that there are THREE functions
of the string saver. 1. string uniformity; 2. increase effective tension;
3. make string last longer.

Do you think Sampras does things just for the fun of it on the tennis court?
If you don't distinguish the fact from opnion, I wonder how much
benifit people read this forum would get.

We all know how the stencil ink holds the string after the first hard smash.

**cooler** · 09-24-2002, 10:45 PM

Originally posted by tfc
If you read from the begining, you will see that there are THREE functions
of the string saver. 1. string uniformity; 2. increase effective tension;
3. make string last longer.

are those facts or opinions?? we all know that if sampras want to increase effective tension, he could go to 100 lbs.

Do you think Sampras does things just for the fun of it on the tennis court? If you don't distinguish the fact from opnion, I wonder how much benifit people read this forum would get.

So goes for all the forums in the internet

We all know how the stencil ink holds the string after the first hard smash.

Is that a fact or opinion?? I know for sure there are at least 2 kind of inks used on badminton strings out there.

**badrad** · 09-25-2002, 12:13 AM

Come on fellas, let's check out Yonex's position on this. Seeing as how Yonex has seem to be the leading edge on badminton technology, (gimmicks included) I'm sure if there was some benefit to be achieved using string savers they would be first on the bandwagon to push it. Is there such a product from Yonex?

***kwun*** · 09-25-2002, 12:31 AM

tfc,

no doubt, if you put some sort of string saver product on the string, it does the 3 things you mentioned. those are the benefits of the product.

however, we also should consider if there is any ill effects. and it is for the user him/herself to decide if the benefits is worth the ill effects. the ill effects i can think of is:

1. extra weight. no matter how light it is, it is still of some weight. and even a gram of two is very noticable on a badminton racket.
2. control. putting something between strings will alter the elastic characteristic of the string, as a result, it will be a different feel.
3. as Cali mention, these things flies off. mainly due to the fact that badminton strings are strung at lower tension than tennis.
4. air friction? at 200mph racket head speed, i think these things will create a lot of friction.
5. extra damping? try this. stick a piece of balsa wood or foam between some of the strings near the T. and the try hitting the birdie with it. you will find that it dampens the vibration by a lot. while a lot of people thinks vibration is bad, it is actually the other way around if there is too little of it. you will not be able to feel the racket and as a result, no touch.

as i said, it is for you to judge if the benefits you mentioned is worth it. just remember, for everything you add to the racket, there are plus and minuses. this contraption is by no means cutting edge technology and has been around for a bit. if there are only advantage to using it, then the whole world would be using it by now.

also remember, tennis is not badminton, there are a lot of much more delicate shots in badminton than in tennis. so we are comparing apples and oranges here.

***Cheung*** · 09-25-2002, 03:18 AM

I guess a tennis match lasts longer than a badminton match so the tension would decrease over a course of a match.

Actually so many variables, badminton stringing is denser, racquet head smaller so tension should be more uniform. What is the effect of smaller guage strings? Dunno.

For the stated advantages in tennis of a string saver, (prevent string movement,
make string last longer, increase tension), I actually doubt it increases tension by a significant amount. Though for the first two reasons it sounds plausible.

tfc imagines that a badminton string saver would help control of the shuttle. But unfortuantely uses Pete Sampras' use of this equipment as an example.

I think we should just keep an open mind on the issue though there seem to be more reasons against the use of badminton string saver (including the things flying off into your partners eye during a rally)