Category Archives: Elongation

Pro Stock Limited Reserve

This is a high-performance string that has gone unnoticed for a while and I don’t know why!

Pro Stock Limited Reserve is a string we purchased because it has interesting characteristics that appealed to us however the client base is small.  Recently, however, with the number of players that are moving away from a polyester string, this has become a popular alternative!

The plot below shows why!

Pro Stock Limited Reserve

In a word, this plot looks very much like that of natural gut, and whatever you think natural gut is still considered the best performance material for racquet string!

What are we seeing here:

  • Linearity, the more linear the string the more consistent (predictable)
  • Elongation, at 33.1 mm at 50 pounds
  • Elasticity, 71.9 %
    • This is the area where the advantages of pre-stretching will be seen.
    • The curve will become essentially one line meaning the string returns to a nominal length after stretching.
  • Ultimate Tensile Strength, 163.6 pounds to fail (high), @107.2 mm deflection
  • Knot strength, @102.4 pounds, and surpasses natural gut in this property.

What we can’t see in the plot is the construction of this multifilament string.  Each strand is a thin, flat ribbon of polyolefin material.  The ribbons are much like the natural gut.


The plot below is a comparison of natural gut string and is included as a visual to compare to Pro Stock Limited Reserve and show how much natural gut fibers are the same for any string manufacturer.  Of course, manufacturing techniques, bonding agents, and coatings make the difference between a good gut and a not-so-good gut!

If you compare the Pro Stock Limited Reserve to natural gut you can quickly see why it may be a good string to try!

And by the way, it is probably at least $25.00 less than natural gut!

 

The Same but Different!

How can two totally different things be the same in so many ways?

Here is a good example:

Wilson Sensation 16, natural v Wilson Sensation Plus 17, black.

Same but Different!

Looking a the stress/strain portion of the graph, it is nearly impossible to see any difference!

Both strings exhibit good elongation and elasticity.

Finally, when it comes to UTS the Sensation is a little stronger, as you would expect, for a 1.33mm string.

The Sensation Plus measures 1.26mm!  So, the UTS is pretty good!

So what’s the deal?  

If you have been using Sensation but would like a black, thin string from Wilson simply use Sensation Plus!

 

 

Our Questron in Action!

As you know, Racquet Quest is a data-driven business, and data requires numbers. To generate those numbers, we have designed and built several devices.

One device is the Questron!

The Questron is used to test every string we receive, and the data is compiled to understand where that particular string fits.

So, instead of talking about it we have included a short video!

Thank you for watching our Questron in Action!  If you have a question, or a particular string of interest, please let us know.  We may have already taken the data!  On GASP.network there are many graphs of previous tests.  GASP.network is a membership ($40.00 one time) site.

 

 

The Elephant in the Room!

I suspect we all have heard that expression!

It means there is something that everyone tries to ignore, but it is too large to do so!

I recently read an article in Racquet Sports Industries authored by Georgetta L. Morque. The title is “Tackling Tennis Elbow.” Tennis elbow is an important topic and deserves much attention. Georgetta is writing about ways to mitigate tennis elbow after the fact.

So, here is the elephant in the room; STIFF string!

 

Let’s try to prevent tennis elbow, so it does not need to be treated!

When we say stiff, it means a string with less than 4% elongation at 60 pounds which is our testing parameter. Most strings, and for this discussion, strings exhibiting that property will be monofilament PET-based (polyester).

Fully understanding this required a lot of testing, both lab and play, for many playing styles and racquets. To make a long story short, as a racquet technologies business, we decided not to promote polyester strings for most players. That sounds silly, but why take a chance when you don’t have to!

Our success is based on helping you, the player, perform the best you can, so it does not make sense to promote something contrary to that philosophy. Probably 75% of our clients have come to us for something different, so we have a “head start.” 

So why do so many players use it or want to use it? 

We believe it is because they have not been exposed to alternative string materials. Some outstanding players at the pro level use it, so it must be good, and it is for about 10-11 games. Of coursemanufacturers and marketers of polyester string stand to make a nice profit! It is in their best interest to promote products by adding some terminology and material to make the string less stiff.

A polyester string is deficient in power and needs to be walloped, and the harder it is hit, the stiffer it becomes, which is the problem. Developing bodies can’t tolerate that level of impact for long.

Please let us know your experience with strings of any type!

 

Head Lynx Touch! Two for One?

Several weeks ago we received the first sets of Head Lynx Touch 17 gauge strings.  Yesterday we received the Lynx Touch 16 gauge version and want to share the differences…numerically!

Quickly, this string is composed of two (2) separate but “combined” filaments.  So, is this a monofilament or a multifilament?  The numbers indicate it reacts like a monofilament as we have become familiar with it.

Head Lynx Touch

Visually the string components are obvious.

The inner filament is black and the outer covering is translucent.

 

Let’s start with the 17 gauge version:

  Lynx Touch 17

The area under the heavy red lines is the “stress/strain” curve and we see that this string takes 23.5mm to reach the 50-pound mark.  This is just a number unless it is compared to other strings so it is neither good nor bad, right now!

You can see that the string will hold up to 149.8 pounds before it breaks.  This is tensile strength and may be important when considering the amount of “notching” that can occur.  The “knot” strength of this version is 132.4 pounds.

Now let’s look at the 16 gauge version:

Lynx Touch 16

The difference is subtle.  The 16 gauge version is a little stiffer (expected) and a little stronger in tension  (also expected).  The “knot” strength of this version is 133.6 pounds.

What is interesting is the “grouping” of the stress/strain cycles on both strings.  They indicate a good elasticity.  The closer to the “zero” point on unloading the better!

In our opinion, both versions of the string would be considered “stiff” and suitable for the player looking for a stiff but stable string as our creep test confirmed.

If you currently use stiff strings and would like better consistency this would definitely be a candidate ./