Really old stock may perhaps be brittle... What tension? This is where Fire is better in durability, but the feel unfortunately is more muted.
You can try both! I string a hybrid of GT5 (main) and ZM62F (cross). 32lbs on a JS10. It's divine. Right now I cut the BG-AB on my Mizuno Caliber Reg Okuhara and put Gosen RX110 (main) and ZM62F (cross) @ 29lbs. Will get to find out how it feels tomorrow. But just juggling a shuttle at home already tells me it'll be sweet.
I've been using 62F for quite a while. most impressive part is the durability. While repulsion of other strings last no longer than 2 weeks, 62F retains repulsion over 1 month. Performance is good in every aspect. After stringing, it takes 3 days for 62F to burn in. The best durability is at 26~27 lbs, and cut in half if strung over 28lbs.
Ordered a packet to try. Slightly more textured than No.1? GT5 was too weird at my tension or even slightly below so I thought I'd give this a try.
With people not caring about changing shuttles to medium speed due to winter, I decided to drop tension by 2lbs. However, it's still not low enough that it would make sense to bulk order all of old 62 packets left with e78 in Hong Kong so I decided to try out 62F instead. Stickiest string i've ever touched out of the packet btw. Insanely good control. Earlier on I kept switching between my TK9900 (week or so old) and my new-er toy D10 LCW (few hours old) so it was my bad that I didn't adjust to it quicker. But after 2 sessions (and a stencil to stop the horrid string movement) I was able to gel with it quite nicely. Shuttle was so easy to control that I couldn't believe it and this is coming from someone who had 80 till just last day (snapped). It felt like a complete string and almost like a softer feeling G Tone 5 at 26. I've been a big fan of Li Ning No.1's repulsion but it has always felt a little lacking in terms of control sometimes. You'd rather smash away or drive the shuttle at speed than play tactically whereas it wasn't the case with this. GT5 is out of it's comfort zone above 28 but this feels at home here almost as if it was made for this. Ended up hitting the sweetest panic backhand clear i've hit. It was like a whip and sounded like my smash. Shame I couldn't record it. One of the opponents was ready for a reverse slice and came forward but got confused after seeing the shot and gifted me a short clear . Still can't believe I hit it haha but hey moments like these make you that much happier about the string. I've finally found something with great control without sacrificing the repulsion of a .65 (or so..). Seems like the perfect string for my circumstances. Now to see how the durability and tension retention is. Seems like a .66 to me. I was using white btw. Should I order orange next time?
Yep, I prefer ZM62F over LN1 too, simply for it's better tension retention and rougher texture. And stick with white, it still feels the best. Once in a while, Stringer's World will have a 30% discount sale on Ashaway strings. Make sure you stock up!
Ah gotcha. Will stick with white then. Sadly due to our environment I think I'll be sticking to packets from HK. Neighbour country tho so shipping isn't much and there's no custom charge.
BG80 user here, normally ask for 25/26lbs. Got 62F on order, any thoughts on tension? Keep the same or higher/lower?
Interesting you'd suggest that. I was going to say +2 lbs with Zy to get a better feel and control as there's already way too much repulsion available. Settles nicely after the first drop as well which I rather like. Feels almost as tight after a few days as it did on the second day.
Well, it's a thinner string. But in terms of feel, nothing will feel as hard as BG80. And you can never have too much repulsion.
Some douche almost fell on me in the metro and I ended up posting a half finished reply. Edited it now.
quite of few people have commented on an initial drop then settling well. May stick with same tension as BG80 on my first try and see how it feels. Agree with Visor about 80 being a really hard feel, can definitely feel it in the elbow after a few hours.
How did it go? *Update - Ordered 3 more packets. Don't think I'll ever find a replacement for 66 (original one) but through different methods, this can deliver similar performance. What a string this is tho, dirt cheap, keeps tension for extremely long, good texture, great repulsion & power and takes my tension without a fuss. Perhaps one of the most durable .65 / 66 as well. Makes me sad people don't give other companies a chance here (in the country not bc) as there's so much out there.
