Guys, i just strung my SW35 with VS-850 at 26lbs on a victor ecp machine. it's stiff and powerful. however, my net drop shots all went haywire, not enough bounce i guess.
My experience with VS 850 is thst this string performs very well but it isn't durable. It breaks after 2 month on my Super Inside Wave and on Brave Sowrd 10 it has noticeable signs of wear. The performs is awesome but in terms of durability I switch now to BG 80.
Now I am using Li ning AP 90, formerly i am using VS 850, what i like about this string is its good replusion, and its good. its better than all Yonex string .
Heh - my affair with VS850 has already come to an end: I just couldn't abide that tension loss. (Now I know why the Korean squad strings so tight...). Z62 FTW, for me.
Agree with Mark. Tension loss on the VS850 is so noticeable after a week or so of playing... thumbs down to VS850
It's not really a thumbs down, if you are a tournament player, then you can always train with BG80, and then cut it out before your tournament, and play with VS-850. As I think for immediate play the VS-850 is better.
Could the reason for tension lost due to the stringer techniques/machines? Does a string really have "retaining tension" characteristics?
In my opinion , VS 850 has good replusion and its better than all Yonex string . on Par with LI ning AS 95
There is no perfect string in the market and in fact nothing is perfect. All one need is to understand the characteristic of the string and find a way to come a round it. The plus factors for VS-850 is good repulsion, feel, fair durability and reasonable pricing. The downside of it is not so good tension retaining. So if you choose VS-850 your go to string, all you needed to do is just strung it 2-3lbs higher and pre stretch it. It will solve the tension dropping issue and could last you 2 months easily.
I have a question. 2 months ago i purchased Spira21 and strung it with VS-850 at 26lbs. not even one time i ever had any chance of touching it yet. Reason is, someone bought it for me during the Spira21 promotion and kept it until this coming Christmas (oh yeah.. my Santa prepared this as my Christmas gift). Based on your experience & estimation, by the time i touch my new Spira21 and play with it... how much string tension would still be on the racket? (Should i restring it to get tension between 23-25Lbs?) Note that the Spira21 has been "a sleeping beauty" since first bought in Oct 2010 strung with VS-850.
Your string tension should dropped by around 2-3lbs by now but still playable. Note that dropping in tension right after stringing and losing tension after 2 months of playing is entirely a different matter altogether. On my personal experience, VS-850 is best strung above 28lbs to get the full potential of it.
i had my SW35 strung with VS850 (@27lbs at the time) and its probably been 2 months. The sweet spot is literally littered with signs of fraying but its not snapping no matter what I do...I am very impressed with the performance and its pretty good durability.
Every time my string tension goes above 26 Lbs, my right shoulder would be painful. I play with right arm. Is there any factor that maybe i should adapt to lower tension?
Yes you should because your arm is giving signal to you (the pain) that you are above your current limit. On a side note, 26lbs is not really consider high tension but in your case maybe your technique and strength is not up to mark yet. Anyway when I mentioned VS-850 play the best when strung at 28lbs and above, its solely based on my personal experience and preference. Stick to whatever that makes you comfortable.
Thank you for the info. I was told the very same thing by my friends. It just doesn't make common sense to me yet as how higher tension would hurt my shoulder/arm? after all, i regularly do some workout at the gym, weight lifting, push up, and many things to increase my power in badminton, and yet a little 1-3 lbs higher than what i used to and i already end up shoulder-pain for 5 weeks after my current string snapped and i restrung to normal 25lbs. Too sad knowing the fact my level ain't reached above 26Lbs yet!! I was aiming to string upto 30Lbs but i guess would stuck forever to 25Lbs.
The big muscles (pecs/deltoid/lats), most often worked on with big weights in the gym, are not likely the problem. It's the small stabilizers/ rotator cuff muscles that hold things in place that are usually the victim. They are not "bulked up" with push-ups and arm curls and therefore may be no match for the increased forces larger muscles put on them with harder string beds. Is this possibly your scenario? (Picture a cell phone tower with it's guy wires supporting all round. Now decide to make the tower taller and increase the wind speed without changing the guy wires. Not so stable)