Racket Stringing Service based in Southport, Merseyside, England
Contact using twitter or email
  • HOME
  • Squash Service:
  • Tennis Service:
  • Contact:
  • Specials:
  • Links Page
  • Blog:
  • Testimonials:
  • FAQ
  • Wiltshire Stringers

One racket back to being a "weapon of mass destruction"

22/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I know it doesn't look much but this combination for me is the best ever!
A Powerangle Centric 18 x 18 diagonal strung racket and the co poly with the most "bite" and spin ever Pro's Pro Devil Spin If you have never tried either a Powerangle racket or the Devil Spin then you are missing out!
I know because I use my powerangle rackets as test beds for all strings, This is just great for my game.
Cheers!
Daveg

0 Comments

Babolat Origin as a full restring

27/9/2015

2 Comments

 
​
Picture
Here is what Tennis-warehouse says about Babolat Origin: resists easy classification. For starters, it is a monofilament, which is the construction most commonly associated with polyester. Unlike polyester, Origin is made from a "natural polyamide," which is a very pliable material similar in structure to nylon. This pliability helps explain why our playtesters were so impressed by the comfort. Even more impressive was the feel, which our team found to be wonderfully crisp and precise, as opposed to mushy or overly muted. We also found this string to be quite powerful, but with no reports of an unruly "trampoline effect" or unpredictable launch angle, two common afflictions of soft strings. Perhaps the most outstanding quality was the tension maintenance, which bordered on unbelievably good. With the exception of natural gut, Origin holds its playability longer than strings with comparable comfort and power. Ultimately, Origin's comfortably crisp feel, superior tension maintenance and impressive all around playability makes it one of the better soft strings we've hit in a while.

Ok I restrung my Powerangle (as above) on the 29 sept 2015 at 52 Ibs, played men's doubles, mixed doubles and 45 mins on the ball machine. 3 days later the tension was 51 Ibs wow only 1 pound loss!
It is now 12 Oct 2015 retested the tension it is now 48 Ibs, that is amazing.
This string  feels great, has good power, has lots of control, the only thing I miss is the amount of spin but the tension maintenance is so good I can get used to this string.

You can get a set of this string for about £12, this string keeps it's tension so well that you may be able to get 2-3 months play out of it, well over 30 hours playing time.

​


Go and get a set ! Try it !
If you like playing with Natural Gut this is as close as I have seen or played with.
You will not be unhappy with this string.

Cheers!

Daveg




2 Comments

What I have noticed when using my Powerangle rackets as test rackets!

10/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have been using Powerangle rackets for a long time now and I have also been using them as my string test bed racket. I have come to the conclusion that if any racket was suited to polyester strings then the Powerangle racket fits the bill, because if it's specifications 18 x 18 diagonal string pattern, massive sweet spot, lots of spin and control.
The main reason is the recommended tension of the strings for this racket: it's 54Ibs  (Max)
Now I normally string poly's from 50 - 54Ibs depending on the customer / racket specs, but this racket really suits the thinest  gauge poly, I have never broken a string even when I go down to a 1.10 mm poly.
This racket and string combination really works, When testing with other types of string it never feels quite right, something is always missing, but when strung with any poly it's like coming home :-)

0 Comments

Using two different colour strings in a Powerangle racket

11/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have done this quite a few times, using different colour stings from the same manufacture and same gauge, makes the diagonal string pattern stand out!

Picture
0 Comments

My New Powerangle Pro rackets

27/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture

Here they are my new Powerangle Pro rackets!
Played with them on Saturday on indoor courts, I like them!
Good power, control, feel and spin!
I have strung them with Pro's Pro Kingut multifilament and the combination is very good.





0 Comments

String Test "Energy Pro"

19/11/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Those nice people at Tennis Tech have sent me some strings to test!
These strings are manufactured in Germany and are called "Energy Pro"
They are a new very Soft Co-poly.
So I have strung one of my Powerangle rackets with a Blue 1.25 set and my Wilson Steam 99s with a Red 1.30 set.

Stringing with the "Energy Pro" is fine it has a little coil memory but doesn't kink like some, What you do notice is the string seems to stretch more when the tension is applied so this could be softer than most co-polys, The tension instructions for the string is 52-53Ibs so I have set the tension 52.5Ibs!
(This matches very well with the tension range of my Powerangle)
Playing with the Energy Pro Blue 1.25 in the Powerangle:
Wow! I have scored this string the highest in three categories, Comfort, Feel  and Control, power is slightly lower than (MSV Focus hex, my baseline string) This string feels so good and gives you the confidence to control a game, so much so that I played 12 -15 consecutive drop shots and only missed one! (my playing partner was not a happy bear!)
The string holds the tension well and plays really nice, For those players who have tried Polyester and haven't liked it, I would retry using this string,This has got to be one of the best Co-Polys that I have played with for Control, Feel and Comfort.
I will update you when I have used the Wilson racket, really looking forward to this!

Playing with the Wilson Steam 99s with the Energy Pro Red 1.30
Yet again highest score for Comfort, Fell and Control,with the added bonus of a little bit more power.
This string transforms this racket into an exceptional control racket with Spin, Topspin drives and Serves kicked more with this string and the tension maintenance was good it did start to notch after 4 hrs but with this racket that would be expected!
Comments from my opponent: Definitely more kick on your drives and Serves. You were controlling the game with ball position not power, the drives and serves were pushing me back.
Update: Played another 6 hrs with the Wilson 99s and the Red 1.30 checked the strings and they are 1/3 way through the string (notching) so I will expect them to go in the next 4 hrs, so that is a total so far of about 12 Hr of singles and 4 of doubles, Which is not bad for this racket !
I would recommend both of these strings and will stock them when released by the supplier.
Update: 8-Dec-13 Red 1.30 strings just snapped today, the strings felt really good, so that's about 18hrs playing time for these strings, well worth it just for the feel and control this string gives.
Powerangle strings (Blue 1.25) still going strong showing no signs of ware,then again the Powerangle rackets are very kind to strings!

In the interest of being impartial I restrung a friends Wilson Blx with the Energy Pro 1.30 String, Now this player hates poly strings with a passion, He has now played with the string for about 4hrs and I quote " I can't believe this is a poly string, it has so much feel and the spin and power is really good!"

Update the supplier will release Energy Pro strings for sale in February 2014 (I will be first with my order!)


0 Comments

New String Test Racket Wilson Steam 99S

15/9/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture

Just purchased a new string test racket the Wilson Steam 99S
I will be using this racket as my string test bed, My Powerangle rackets are my preferred racket but as some people have mentioned "you are not testing in a mainsteam racket" , Hmm no that is true but the idea of testing a string is testing against a "known" datum line, but hey I've wanted to test one of "Wilson's  Spin" rackets, so I will test any string in both rackets the Powerangle 102, Centric  and the Wilson Steam 99S racket,  so this is going to be interesting!

Has this been done before?



0 Comments

High-Tech Natural Gut

25/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have been watching this High-Tech Natural Gut for a while,So I decided to buy some and give it a trial. 
It is made up of 80% Natural Gut,10% carbon nanofiber,10% patented high-tech fiber.

It has a coating that resists wear so in the interests of science (and me being inquisitive I stripped back the outer coating and found an inner core of what looks like Natural Gut coated in a resin type material.
The string is soft and does bruise easy in the clamps, stringing with it is as Natural Gut.
Ok so I've strung on of my Powerangle rackets (102) at 54Ibs and it looks and feels good!
Played with it and the feel is "buttery" very nice and has power and control, It does feel like Natural Gut and does fray like Gut.
I have played with it for about 6 hours (singles and doubles) it has held it's tension well (lost 5% in the first 24 hours which includes the 6 hours playing time)
It has started to notch the outer coating away and I can see the center core on a few of the strings but it is still playing very good.
I have decided to order some sets of this string and will offer this string as a very soft "Natural Gut".
A full restring with this will be £22
I am going to keep one of my Powerangle rackets with this String as I like the feel so much.
If you are interested in getting a full restring or Hybrid with this string please use the contact page and I will put a set aside for you.(I will let you know when the string arrives to arrange time /date for restring)
Update: I have played another 5 hours with the string and it has been fine, the outer coating has been worn away were the strings cross but apart from that the string is holding up well. I will keep playing with it and get back to you.
Update: The sets of string has arrived please us the contact page to save your set.
I have played with this string for over 18 hours and it is still playing well, This is a shame as I need the racket to test some other strings that have arrived, very sad to see this string go :-(

Picture
Probably the best ever combination for comfort and feel Powerangle Centric and High Tech Natural Gut
0 Comments

    Archives

    January 2025
    February 2024
    December 2023
    October 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    August 2022
    July 2022
    February 2022
    August 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    August 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Hi I'm Dave Giles, This is my Blog page, please feel free to leave a comment, I will of course review any comment before it is published.
    I have been involved with racket sports for over 40 yrs. I am a string tester for  various companies. I play mostly tennis nowadays but have been tempted back to squash coaching.

    Categories

    All
    Astro Tennis Courts
    Badminton Racket
    Ball Machine
    Blood Brothers
    Chippenham Tennis
    Constant V Lockout
    Custom Badminton Side Supports
    Doubles
    Equipment
    Iphone
    Net Play
    Oscar Wegner Modern Tennis
    Oscar Wegner - Modern Tennis
    Plantar Fasciilis
    Powerangle
    Racket Tuning
    Southport Tennis League
    Squash Coaching
    String
    String Selection
    String Selection
    Tennis Coach
    Tennis Elbow
    Wilson Blx 105s
    Wilson Steam 99s
    Wise 2086 Electronic Tension Head

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly