I'm currently using 88D 4U with BG66UM, originally strung at 24x26 The first three weeks after i bought it, it felt fantastic. tons of repulsion and it still has that nice 'ting' sound when you do softer touch. However i didn't play for a month and recently when i played again, the string bed feels more like a trampoline and it lost the sharpness it has. Stringster measured the racket at 21.3 lbs. Currently thinking of going to BG80 since i heard that it's decent at holding tension but what are the other options that I should go for if i'm looking for a string that has decent to good repulsion and is good at holding its tension since I only play around 3 hours per week and don't want to get my racket re-strung once every 2 months
Li Ning No 1 ? Supposed to be the upgraded BG66UM better at holding tension and more durable, comes in pink as well !
I'm looking for the same thing. I play once a week 1,5h-2h so i'm in the same boat that I don't want to restring too often. So far I have tried Li-ning nr.1 and Yonex BG80, started around 24lbs and both dropped tension quite quickly and then seemed to plateau. So I thought that maybe next time I try to restring quite a bit higher, maybe even higher than i'm comfortable with, so that the tension would drop to the comfortable range and plateau there, so I could play with that tension for longer. Does anyone have any input about that idea?
You guys mean two different things. Holding tension is not equal to have a good feeling for a long time. And while you are right that BG80 don't drop much of tension, the repulsion goes quite fast. Since the OP used BG66UM the best option is to give LN No. 1 a try and don't be fixed on pings and stringster. No.1 drops some tension pretty fast, but the performance stays long. Same for BG80 Power. Alot people complain about the tension drop, but stays for me longer playable than BG80.
Curious, this is completely against what I felt with those strings. Granted, they were on different rackets and meager 24lbs tensions. But for me, Li-ning nr1 had great repulsion first week or two, then the strings went a bit numb, it didn't have the great repulsion it had when fresh (which seems to be the main draw of the strings) and the feeling wasn't that great either . BG80 started with less repulsion when fresh but it lost less repulsion while tension dropped, and i liked the feeling better, even after tension loss. So for me, starting at 24lb, it seemed that BG80 fared better when tension dropped. Maybe it's up to the tension and nr1 fares better at higher tensions? But are you saying that starting higher to keep the end-tension higher will not help and the good feel of the strings will go away no matter what?
With No1 I find there is a big difference in how long tension and repulsion are retained based on usage. If you don't use the racket then it will retain tension and repulsion amazingly well. If you play loads and a big hitter then the tension drops and eventually repulsion disappears. It depends how sensitive you are to the drop but I felt like 30 hours was the point where I really missed the pop and had to restring before reaching 40 hours. BG66UM is pretty much the same but it's 50/50 that it will snap before reaching 30 hours...for me.
I feel like currently the 66UM still has tons of repulsion but i felt that it has lost that sharp feeling you get when your string is fresh and tense. Is LN No.1 a hard feeling string? Hard feeling strings really seems to be what I enjoy. I got 66UM because i thought that 88D is pretty stiff but i would like to try harder feeling strings this time on it
No.1 plays longer decent compared to BG66UM. Also it feels harder than BG66UM. BG66UM is a soft feeling string, No.1 a medium+. If it's really the feel (feedback) I suggest to try BG66UM 2lbs higher and let it settle 2-3 days as well.
What about Nanogy 99? Compared to No.1 I feel like it is more durable and feels good for a long time. No clue how it hold tension though.
There is an initial drop of about 1-1.5 kgs/2-3lbs. But after that NBG99 holds its tension really well. You should string higher appropriately so that it lands in your comfort zone after the initial drop. Regarding feel: it feels quite well for a long time but I find that the roughness of the string is unfortunately gone pretty fast (10-15h). So imho you lose some control after that time.
