How to know when to increase string tension?

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by shot3gun, May 10, 2010.

  1. shot3gun

    shot3gun Regular Member

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    I have been using three rackets at my disposal, the lethal 70, arc 10, and the tantrum 300. They are all strung with different tensions, and all use .66mm string (one is with nbg97 the others with bg66).

    My lethal is strung at 26 with NBG98 and it feels GREAT. I get superb control and amazing power.

    However, I strung my arc10 with BG66 at 24lbs, and it feels a bit tight. I get lots of mishits and I lose a lot of power.

    On the other hand, my tantrum is strung at 22lbs, and the strings feel like crap so I'm going to cut them soon :p

    My question is, why can I generate more power and produce more control with my lethal at a higher tension than my arc?

    Isn't lower string tension=more power+less control and higher tension =less power+more control?
     
  2. Blitzzards

    Blitzzards Regular Member

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    First things first, are all the racquets strung by the same stringer using the same method/pattern (for example default Yonex 4 knot pattern)?
     
  3. weeyeh

    weeyeh Regular Member

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    You lose a lot of power when you mishit. This is just more significant at higher tensions due to the smaller sweetspot. OTOH, the L60 could just have a larger sweetspot.

    No. Higher tension gives more power but only if you can use it. I did a summary of the tensions in my blog.
     
  4. yippo888

    yippo888 Regular Member

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    yeh very much agree with u ther weeyeh!

    i think you just have to find a point where, you can still consistently hit the sweet spot, not have too much vibration running back through your arm, which should then give you the best trade off between power and control.

    but different strings feel different at different tensions aswell, particularly if they are of different gauge. i know bg85 will feel the same as bg65 of ng95 strung a couple lbs lower than them, purely because it has better repulsion, and its a thinner string.

    but also regarding your arc 10, its a very stiff racket, probably a much more difficult racket to use than lethal, which i find quite easy to use, it actually reminds me of the yonex mp100. and its quite rewarding to use. whereas the arc 10 you just have to be a bit more technically apt, hit it a bit sweeter to get the best out of it.

    but yeh your formula for power vs control is wrong. i think a lot of people make that mistake. in general physics terms i may make sense, but actually in practice there are other factors which support higher tension gives better power also, obviously to a point where the user needs the skill and technique to use it.
     
  5. Blitzzards

    Blitzzards Regular Member

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    I have been using MP100 for quite a while now for most of my doubles games with around 28lbs of tension and the stiffness is nowhere a match at all for the flexible Arc10 (which I've tried and don't like). Even Dinkalot mentions that the Arc10 is way too flexible for him in his comprehensive review in the forum. He also mentions that the Lethal 50/60/70 is way more stiff (he rates it as slightly stiffer than MP100 which I agree with) than the Arc10. Thus I don't believe that's the problem here.

    There's a lot more to discuss on the effect of stringing at a higher tension with a specific combination of string but the first thing to tackle is if all his racquets are strung by the same person using the same method.
     
  6. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Your experience is pretty common - it seems that EVERY racket has differences in characteristic (some more marked than others) in response to string tension.

    As to why your L70 is more powerful, it's almost certainly due, in part, to the fact that NBG98 is more powerful than BG66 anyway; it may also have a higher tolerance for mishits based on this info:). Other factors could include stringbed area (I have a SW35 that is significantly smaller than my NS9900) and sweetspot size/location: the higher the sweetspot extends up the bed, the more power you will end up with because the sweetspot moves through a bigger arc (my old Z Slash had a particularly high sweetspot, for example).

    In an ideal world you could have all three rackets strung in the same string at the same tension by the same person, to eliminate every possible variable.
     
  7. Matt

    Matt Regular Member

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    :eek:
    I wonder what string is this?!!! ROFL!
     
    #7 Matt, May 11, 2010
    Last edited: May 11, 2010
  8. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    I've recently increased a few pounds to 24 on all my rackets from around 20. It feels better and I'm still hitting shots long, probably more than I did with a soft stringbed and the associated "No effort required". So do I bump another pound or two? I'm still adjusting to the control around the net - too used to letting the shuttle just bounce off the spongey stringbed rather than playing it, but when I get it right it results in a far better shot.
     
  9. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Yeah, try up it. But be careful of mishits with zm62 at >24 lbs. ;)

    And net shots require a controlled push action not a hit.
     
  10. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Being a control player, my axiom is "keep going up a pound at a time until I can't forehand clear from corner to corner, then knock it back a pound".

    If you also have a control bias, this might apply to you:).
     
  11. |_Footwork_|

    |_Footwork_| Regular Member

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    only way to find out which tension to use, is to try deifferent tensions and see how it suits you.
    easy as that! there's no real shortcut.
     
  12. phaaam

    phaaam Regular Member

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    We have the same criterion :) More recently I've decided that if I can't do a straight backhand clear end to end then the tension or string is probably not suited for me. I say it's because of the tension because I can generally get a good distance on my backhand clears with other strings/tensions.
     
  13. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

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    When I hit out often, don't have the sharpness of the strokes, the stringbed feels too bouncy or I don't have enough control and the shuttle has correct speed I prefer to increase tension than modifying the shuttle. If you can clear under pressure forehand and backhand and have enough control then you have found the right tension.
     
  14. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    The backhand clear is a very rare shot for me (in doubles), so I tend to go by forehand clears; the added control of extra tension almost certainly wins me far more points than a 12-inch-short backhand clear will lose.
     

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