Anyone tried Babolat Finebraid Micro?

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by michael23, Jan 1, 2012.

  1. michael23

    michael23 Regular Member

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  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i got one sample from mybadmintonstore. i hope to string it up on my other sw35 and try it out next week. stay tuned.
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    so i got one from mybadmintonstore.com to try out.

    the one i got is a nice orange color one. the orange is slightly more translucent than the BG80P color. which is kinda nice and unique. but for people who prefers to match string color with the racket, orange will take some work! there is also white color available.

    anyway, strung it up and tried it out for a few games in the past week or two. this is a stiff string. i only strung it at 24lbs which is relatively medium tension, but it feels harder than BG80 at the same tension. so people who prefer soft strings probably won't like it.

    however, with the stiffness comes speed. it is a fast string that wants to be played fast and hard. smash when given enough omph will explode the shuttle. the emphasis in the induction of speed. an extra wrist snap will be handsomely rewarded.

    the feel is quite good but not excellent like vs850. even at 24lbs there is a slight feel of dampening to it. despite that though, the overall feeling leans to the crisp side.

    durability i cannot tell at the moment, but so far this .67mm string looks more durable than ZM62. ;)
     
  4. michael23

    michael23 Regular Member

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    Thanks for the update. It's sold on MBS at a premium compared to BG80P (SP). I know you only played a few games, but is it a better string?
     
  5. istringforyou

    istringforyou Regular Member

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    I second Kwun. This is possibly an improvement/replacement of Hyperbraid Micro. It is still powerful and hard, exactly like BG80 in my impression. I broke it after finally after close to 2 months of play in 28LB. Seems a slight improvement over my previous 3 experiences with Hyperbraid Micro, so it is an improvement :) And yes talk about crispiness, yes it incredibly still feels like a pack of Lay's, maybe it taste as good too :)
     
  6. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    they are quite different. while being a "BG80". the BG80P is actually a softer feeling string that is thicker and has slightly more damped feeling.

    the Finebraid Micro is all about stiff and crispness.

    i do feel that the Finebraid Micro feel more repulsive.

    beyond that, it is up to preferences.

    disclaimer/thanks to mybadmintonstore.com for the string sample.
     
  7. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    ok. so the Finebraid has start to become one of my favorite attack day string.

    the sound of the string is not very loud, but the velocity that it manages to create onto the shuttle is incredible. it likes to be hit hard and fast. i managed to smash through quite a few good players with this string.
     
  8. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    so mine finally snapped last week and i have a data point on its durability.

    and it is not very good.

    i have been using this string maybe 50% of the 2 months that it lasted. playing around 2-3 times a week. so that means it lasts around a month. pretty mediocore in terms of durability. but this is a performance string so that's a tradeoff.

    i have bought a few more packs and just restring my SW35 with this @28lbs. the stiffness will be unbearable but i want to see how it behaves in higher tension. i will report back.
     
  9. michael23

    michael23 Regular Member

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    Thanks for the update. How many hours do you play per session?

    How well does the string retain it's tension over the two months to BG80/P? And does the string perform best when freshly strung or when it's bedded in over a few sessions?
     
  10. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i say at least 2-3 hours game time per session.

    tension retention was quite good. not really noticable until the latter half of the life span. the stiff feeling remains throughout.

    for those people who like super stiff string and an extra omph, i think this is worth trying.

    as for BG80P, i am afraid i haven't spent enough time with it to make a comparison. for the one that i had, it didn't last very long and snapped. and the feeling was slightly towards the softer side (softer than BG80) so the comparison isn't very easy to make.
     
  11. justinwyyau

    justinwyyau Regular Member

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    Hi there (kwun and istringforyou specifically),

    Any more feedback on this string? Understand it is quite a stiff string and best strung at the lower tensions of 21-23lbs but keen to hear more feedback of prolong usage of this string.

    Am currently using NBG98SP @ approximately 25lbs (though I am questioning the string job itself and resulting tension) and keen to try out more uncommon strings.

    Thanks,

    Justin.
     
  12. asmd6230

    asmd6230 Regular Member

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    I love this string. It's simply awesome strung at 27 pounds on my pt1.0. Unfortunately it does not even last a week for me. This string starts to fray after the 5 or 6 game. And by the second day of play, after several games it will either fray beyond the point of playability or snap. I've used several packets and it does this ever time. A shame though , this had to be the best string I've used. It's got awesome snap for power and the stiffness for control. I've only ever strung it at 27 pounds. maybe it will last longer at a lower tension. it feels a lot like Bg80, but faster and lighter. Bg80 feels like a broad sword compared to the the babolat string. both are nice, the babolat feels nicer to play with.

    I have three pt1.0 s that I string with various strings so I can directly compare strings to see which one unlike better. and so far, apart from the dreadful durability, this has to be as good as I've had my racket feel during play. beats zymax 67 and nbg98, both of which are of course more durable.

    asmd.
     
  13. vicnard12

    vicnard12 Regular Member

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    i've tried the string, performance-wise, twas really good. but for me, it didn't even last for a (first) set in a doubles game. strung at 26lbs on a Babolat N-Tense Blast. Anyways, it was good until it lasted.
     
  14. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    yeah. good if you like ultimate stiffness in your string. i haven't tried anything stiffer than this yet.

    however, it also means this string is tiring to use. it likes to be hit hard.

    and of course there is the durability.

    adding all these together, i haven't strung this for a little while. too demanding for me. i also let a few clients who wanted to try something different to try it, and the feedback is just average. mind you that none of them are the all out attacking type.

    so unless i have a client who absolutely falls in love with this string and wouldn't have anything else, i am planning to stop stocking it and let the remaining stock run out.
     
  15. johnlowe88

    johnlowe88 Regular Member

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    I was just given a packet of this to try out. I intend to use it on my Babolat 6.5 Power since the strings are starting to lose a bit of tension, understand since the NBG-98 was strung over a year ago, and I hardly used the racquet until the past month or so.
     
    #15 johnlowe88, May 27, 2013
    Last edited: May 27, 2013

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