Haven't played at all since pandemic and rackets sit in bag for 1.5 years. It was 26lb when strung. Will tension stay around 24-25lb? Also, if I restring to 27-28 lb and let it sit 1 month, will it play similar to 26 lb strung new?
My advise: Stop worriyng so much about numbers and make your decisions based on how the racket actually feels on court. If it feels too soft after a month and you would be able to use it a lot longer, then simply raise the initial tension next time. Going by the numbers of my recent tension loss experiment, the tension loss curve is not linear and appears to be more like a reverse exponential curve. Which means that the string loses the biggest amount of tension within the first 3-5 days and gets pretty stable for the following period of time. See: https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...riments-1-piece-vs-2-piece-and-others.188234/ As a rule of thumb, you can expect the tension loss to end up at around 10% of the initial tension over a longer period of time. Some strings might perform a bit better, others a bit worse. So again: Do not choose your string type and tension because of calculations (estimations?) and numbers. It might make sense to start with a new set of strings after 1.5 years though. Not because of tension loss alone, but most strings will simply lose their liveliness and feel over such a long period of time.
Each string had different characteristic, so i do agree to test it yourself, feel it, & decide yourself should you restring it or not. From my experience, I own 3 racket : Lining MP UC5000, TK770, AVP. Mainly i use TK770. Lining are my lazy flex racket, & AVP (not my liking) just for trolling around playing with my beginner friend. Last time when my friend borrow my Lining, it snap & i string it with LN66EX 26lbs. Initially it feel good, repulsive string & all. After around 6 month its in my bag, i take it out again for lazy play. It feel so lousy. Soft, mussy, less repulsive, & i just feel like to cut it myself. Then my AVP use BG66UM 26lbs. At that time i dislike string on Lining, my AVP string are 1 year old. I switch to AVP & i can still enjoy the dead feel of BG66UM than LN66EX.
After such a long break, I wouldn’t worry about tension of the strings. More of a factor is whether you can run to the right place and also hit the shuttle. When you are able to play regularly and have better “feel” for the hitting the shuttle, then think of changing the strings.
