As many of our blog readers are aware we have been undergoing an ongoing playtest with the incredible WeissCANNON Explosiv! multifil tennis string. The playtest has yielded amazing results. (Please see full article here!)
After more than 8 months of an extended playtest, we are going to voluntarily end the test. The string has not dropped tension in the past 6 months and 40 hours of court time. The extended playtest has proven the Explosiv! to be the absolute top performing multi available to date. If you have a customer who is not a string breaker, a customer who does not restring as frequently as he/she should then this string is definitely the string to use. It holds tension and playability for a remarkably long period of time, plus it is an extremely arm-friendly offering.
The playtest strings will most likely be removed this week as we have decided the playtest has run the course. We originally intended to end the test when the strings loss tension/playability or broke. Since none of these naturally occurring events have happened we are going to take the cutters to the string unless there is an outpouring of requests from our blog readers to continue the test.
One more update…we have a customer who installed the Explosiv! in her racquet on 7/28/08. At the time of stringing the racquet had a DT of 43. As of 2/1/09, (more than 6 months) the DT read 38, representing a loss of just 11.5%. She reportedly has logged more than 80 hours of court time to date with the strings.
PKS on said:
In your opinion, what qualities of this string are close to gut or better, or worse then gut?
Also this string compared WC super cable, what are the differences?
ggtennis on said:
Natural gut is still the king of the mountain. However, Explosiv! is an outstanding multi. The properties that are close to gut are tension maintenance, touch, feel and to a lesser extent pocketing. It does not offer the same level of power as natural gut and it is not as durable.
It is superior in almost all areas to SuperCable. SuperCable is a very nice string, but Explosiv! is special.
nyc tennis junkie on said:
I like to hit the tennis ball fairly hard and very frequently. Subsequently, I break tennis strings on a regular basis. The Racket Shop in Central Park hosts a motley crew of tennis stringers, who are each very unique and highly qualified. They string tennis rackets with visionary brilliance. They take the science of tennis stringing to another level. They lecture about hybrids and nylons and whatnot. They spew technical mumbo jumbo that just becomes too much for even my limited capacity. Tennis stringing needs to be kept in a small fraternity of experts, kind of like the staff in the Central Park Racket Shop. They hover over their tennis racket stringers, working diligently, making sure every racket finds it’s way back onto the court. Always busy, always willing to break into a longwinded diatribe about the latest string technology. These are dedicated professionals, and technicians. There to back tennis players like me, and help me play better tennis.
Adriel Lepretre on said:
Hi! I used Black5Edge as a main with gut as a cross, with a Babolat Aerprodrive GT racket. This string setup was not bad but still expecting more comfort to tame the stiffness of the Aeropro.
As I have said before, I hit with heavy topspin and tend to break strings.
So, what could be the expected number of playing hours that I could get from Explosiv before it breaks?
Any other multifilament suggestion?
Adriel Lepretre on said:
Hi! I used Black5Edge as a main with gut as a cross, with a Babolat Aerprodrive GT racket. This string setup was not bad but still expecting more comfort to tame the stiffness of the Aeropro. I will use shortly VS Black Gut as a main and B5E as a cross.
As I have said before, I hit with heavy topspin and tend to break strings.
So, what could be the apprroximate number of playing hours that I could get from Explosiv before it breaks or loosens tension?
ggtennis on said:
I do not recommend blending multis with polys. Natural gut hybrids are superior. It is impossible to say how long a multi would last for you, but I suspect you would not be happy with either the performance nor the durability.
Adriel Lepretre on said:
I was referring to Explosiv as a full bed, not in a hybrid setup.
ggtennis on said:
Impossible to guesstimate durability. For some it lasts an extremely long time and I have seen others shred it in a couple of matches. I can tell you it will hold playing properties for an extended period. Best multi we have tested in that category.
Devon on said:
I have an inquiry regarding the sweet spot and arm friendliness of Explosiv vs X-one BiPhase.
I have been playing Explosiv for the last 2 months with a tension of 60 in my POG. My other racquet was strung at what i thought was 56 x-one biphase.
After finally breaking the strings, I picked up my unplayed POG with x-one which had been sitting for 2 months. IT feels like a BOARD. My elbow hurts and off center hits — which I apparently do a lot of — feel less than half as comfortable. IT seems as though the sweet spot of the explosive extends way beyond a normal sweet spot? Elasticity? I have read of a break-in period for the X-one but it has been my string of choice with the exception of trying the explosive once before and a back-up racquet with some Prince Synthetic Gut…
Now I have to admit I just played 5 days in a row which I think I have never done. But at the same time I was ready to call my stringer to see if he mixed up the tensions and strung the x-on 16 at 60?
That’s the other thing, I was using 1, then 17, and now 16 with the x-one because I wanted it to last longer. Maybe the 165 should be strung a little lower but i though 56 on a 107 sq head was not that tight.
I just immediately ordered another set of Explosiv and was thinking of trying a couple more lbs to take out a little of the mushiness but I don’t want to ruin that awesome sweet spot…