Can't speak for why MBS isn't carrying them but I ordered from stringersworld. Took awhile to get to Canada but everything was in order when it did arrive.
Mine arrived today - cheers, Dan. A few things I noticed during stringing: a) it looks nothing like a 0.62 to the eye, or to the micrometer, even under tension! b) it's best to dump one-weave-ahead once I get past the haflway point; this stuff twists like a poledancer on crank, and a couple of times during the string job I thought it'd be a goner on the next pull. c) I couldn't even get my usual knot on it - during the pulling of the third Parnell the coating came away; had to nip it back and make do with a double (which seems to have stood up, thankfully). Frequency off the machine was... drumroll please... 1455. Techically the highest I've ever measured, but my R4X110 came in at 1430, and that's a 0.68. Still, it survived one of my 32/33 PS jobs, so tension decay results and a review will follow!
The twisting caused me trouble too at first. Now I find it's okay, as long as I take care when pulling through near the top of the racket -- i.e. don't pull as fast, and untwist / guide it by hand as you pull through. I can weave one ahead for all the crosses. Also if it seems to be getting twisty near the top, I let go the end of the string and twirl it so that the twists "fall off" the end. What are you using to pull your knots? Pliers? The string coating does strip easily, and I kept having this problem with pliers. But I find it's not an issue with a starting clamp. I'm not stringing as tight as you, but I use your knot with this string.
I use a starting clamp for my knots, but the coating didn't go where I was pulling; it went because of knot friction. There's just so much overlap in my knot it's like pulling through three shared holes at once.
Interesting... that's about 300 Hz higher than my 62F at 22x23 lbs which is 10 lbs lower, so 300/10 = 30 Hz per lb... which fits well with my previous measurements.
62F review Victor JS-10 @ 32/33 +10% Impressions This just doesn't look like a 0.62; more like a 0.66. It doesn't have the "this is not of this world" thinness of either of the previous 62's, especially the first one. Coating, as with the other Fires, is excellent - really "premium", like BG80P. Stringing Gives quite a bit under prestretch but the "stop" is very sudden, which tracks with the tension loss curve we've all experienced. It strings very well for a (ostensible) 0.62, goes through shared holes easily, and it's a breeze to weave. However, it is extremely prone to kinking, and the marvellous coating will separate if you're too rough with it. It settles into place very quickly as well, so it's best to set off on the way up/down. Power Even at 32/33, this stuff hits extremely hard - I was banging backhand clears out for fun. There's a really nice sensation of the stringbed launching the shuttle away, as though it's helping you somehow. Unfortunately, the sweetspot seemed somewhat smaller than with the other Fires, and off-centre hits took a decent bite out of my power. Such hits were very rare, though, so it's not a dealbreaker. Control The "grippy but not rough" coating makes it excellent for slicing - it really brought BG80P to mind. Weirdly, the opposite of the "push" effect happens on softer shots, and the shuttle doesn't sit on the stringbed at all; it's there, and then it's just gone, so there's almost no vagueness. Like hitting spinners with a piece of glass, or something. Feel Ah. Picture it: a 0.62 at 32/33? It should feel like I'm high-fiving Ivan Drago... and it doesn't. While it's certainly better than the 66 and 69, it's nowhere near what I like. This is completely personal, but I like a racket to "ring", and while this has a not insignificant punch to it, it dissipates immediately. Hard, but not bright (like BG80 and the Gosen). (And yes - I do play with plastics, so the feather-snobs can feel free to disregard.) Sound Pretty much the same as the feel: very sharp and high, but dies off straight away. Sniper rifle, not tuning-fork. Tension loss The other Fires did poorly out of the machine, then locked up after a day or so. This one, though, girded its loins much earlier: less than 4% after 24 hours' rest, and less than 5% after three hours of me beating the living snot out of it. This is right up there with the best I've ever tested. Durability Survived 32/33 + 10% and three hours of plastic-bashing from me. Can't really say much more, but I've got another session of Friday. The Mk1 was one of the few I could break regularly, and that was back when I was playing sub-30; no way on earth it would have survived the stringjob. Conclusions This is by far the best, IMO, of the Fires. Power goes all the way up to 11, it doesn't turn into a frying pan at high tensions, and it cuts very nicely. But that feel... still not good enough for me. Better, certainly, but BG80 but won't be troubled. It's definitely worth a try. It's not a ludicrous as the previous 62's, but maybe that's a good thing.
[MENTION=11783]Mark A[/MENTION] .....thought the same thing about string thickness of ZM62F especially after the results of the ZM66FP...so did the same measurements again with the micrometre (fresh out of pack and after tensioned to 28lbs on racket)......this time not destroying a fresh string job
Really? To my eyes it looks comparable to BG66UM... do you happen to have that lying around to measure?
Here we go... got both side by side, though hard to tell visually with difference of a few microns. Also re-check of BG66UM....(0.667 now versus 0.670 in last posting...pretty consistent) As they say, Black is Slimming.... so maybe that's why it looks pretty much as thin as he ZM62F.....LOL! Cant explain, but visually looks the same but clearly measurements say otherwise.
I am somewhat curious about the greater change in string gauge for the Zymax strings after tension.... seem more than what we see for the BG66UM.....
I have tried ZM 62 fire recently and i can say the following: This string is feels even harder than the Victor VS850 and Yonex BG66 UM but somehow i was able to hit better clears and smashes than the VS850 but not the Yonex though and my only gripe with this string is the string seem to move a lot as compared with VS850 and BG66 UM, occasionally i will net my shots due to the string movement and that really pisses me off. Overall i would still rate the Yonex BG66 UM a better string than VS850 and ZM 62 fire, i still like the livelier and bouncier feel of BG66 UM.
The string movement definitely turns me away from Zymax, I had tried both the 62F and 66FP. Regardless of the gauge of the string or even the amount of notches that is created, there is still string movements. I had to adjust the strings after each rally. Granted though, maybe my tension is too low at 24?
Good that you chose to compare with VS850 and BG66UM, two very good strings for feel and repulsion... but ironically they are what's generally considered tournament strings only. That is, their properties only last for a few hours of play. In most of our experiences, perhaps at most 10-12 hrs. After that, you'll want to cut it out even if they don't break...
As strange as it sounds, I actually do not mind the string movement as it gives me something to fiddle with between points........ or just something to stall the game with whilst I regroup my thoughts......
