I'm actually not too surprised by the others increasing their tensions. Although I did wonder about YYS because watching the Singapore Open it sounded way too nice for 30lbs.
I heard from Singapore victor stringers that everyone is moving towards VS890. But didn't get specifics. But I know Shin Baek Cheol, Eom Hye Won and Jang Ye Na were using VS890 as I saw those being strung up.
That's interesting. I've not heard of a single pro player using this string, but it is actually my favourite string. I have been using it exclusively since it came out.
Mhm. The stringer told me that the Malaysians had no love for 850 at all. I'm still giving it a shot but I don't think I can ever use it. It feels very weird for me. The string is definitely hard but it feels oddly spongy on impact. Massively kills my mid court touch shots.
Yeah the original 850 was ok, but the tension loss was ridiculous. 890 is extremely consistent, so I'm not surprised the pros are using it. It doesn't quite have the feel of fresh 850 but it is more than adequate. Power and control is excellent but consistency and tension hold is where it really shines. Give it a go if you've not tried it. I have mine at 33-34lb expecting it to drop a little initially after which it plays really well.
Ashwinni used it, and a couple of the Taipei players. Indeed, we hadn't brought any and we ended up getting requests for it.
Lee Sheng Mu used pinky. So it had not been VS850? Off Topic: @R20190 wasn't you the NBG99 guy? Maybe I'm wrong. What about the tension retention if you compare both? Maybe you can drop me a PM. <3
You've got a good memory! Yes I was the nbg99 guy, it's still a brilliant all round string which I recommend highly and wouldn't hesitate to use if 890 wasn't available. 890 is slightly harder and if I had to be super critical, it doesn't quite have the control of nbg99 but it retains tension better than nbg99 and is a very dependable string. Nbg99 has a very unique characteristic where it seems to keep the shuttle on the string bed a fraction longer than other strings, giving you a bit more control even at the 31-34lb tensions I use. But having said that, I've not had any problems in terms of control with 890. It may not produce the best sounds on impact (though not bad), but it performs very well, if you get a long with thicker strings, this is one for you. As a testament to how much I like this string, I have restrung all my 20+ victor racquets with this string.
A couple I forgot from Birmingham: Shin BC - 33/34 @ JS10 (up from two years ago), Lee Dong Keun - 33/34 @ MX80. Had some fun with those - I bloody hate Meteors, and I'd just taken Lee's sixth out of the machine. "That's it", I say to Paul. "Tell you what, Son Wan Ho had better not..." *knock at the door. Guess who it was.
