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That’s Just Twisted!

This entry was posted in MSV Strings, Strings and tagged by GGTennis. Bookmark the permalink.

At Guts and Glory Tennis we have been intensely playtesting poly-based strings of various profiles since the end of 2010.  Prior to that we were among the very first to introduce a “twisted” string to the market when we introduced the completely unique offering from WeissCANNON, TurboTwist.  The second twisted string we found to meet our quality standards was the Signum Pro Tornado.  Last, but certainly not least, the most recent twisted string we added to our selection is the MSV Hepta – Twist.

During our testing, we have made 5 basic observations about twisted string products that we believe may be interesting to our readers.  We have playtested twisted strings of various profiles, including, triangular, heptagonal, hexagonal, pentagonal and octagonal.  Based on the feedback from our playtesters we have concluded that the profile of a twisted string does not tend to make a significant difference in the overall performance.  Rather, the materials/construction of the string seem to be a greater factor.

As stated, some of our top 5 observations may be interesting and surprising to our readers.

1.  Twisted strings appear to the eye and the touch as if they will produce insane amounts of spin.  While visually powerful,  in a full setup we have found the spin generated is quite good, but it generally does NOT produce the awesome spin results the player may expect.  It is not poor by any stretch of the imagination, but it does not live up to the visual impact of the product in terms of spin production.  We suspect the construction of the twisted profile does not allow the same sliding action as non-twisted strings.  Since sliding action is a large part of the production of spin and it is lessened in a full bed, the sharpness of the edges is somewhat neutralized.

2.  Twisted strings are softer/more comfortable than their non-twisted siblings.  This can be a significant factor as all of the twisted poly-based strings we tested felt good on the arm and lacked the jarring of some of the non-twisted offerings.

3.  Twisted strings, in general, tended to be more prone to friction wear/breakage than their non-twisted counterparts.  (Not a significant difference, but noteworthy)

4.  Twisted strings tended to offer great power/ball speed than not twisted poly-based offerings.

5.  Many of the twisted strings we playtested produced very similar feedback, regardless of brand or profile.

Of all the twisted strings we have tested our favorites remain, by a long-shot, the MSV Hepta Twist and the WeissCANNON TurboTwist.  Because the properties of TT are so unique and have already been discussed in previous posts, we are going to set that string aside for the rest of this discussion.

What we like best about the MSV Hepta Twist is the coating.  The finish on this string is solid.  It is slicker than many other profiled strings and thus allows for slightly more sliding action which in our opinion gives it a significant edge over others in the market.

We have found that twisted strings tend to give optimal performance when used as a cross string with a non-twisted main.  In this configuration there are several advantages.

1.  Spin and control are increased.

2.  The twisted string softens the stringbed producing a more pleasant feel for the player.

3.  The string bed becomes more lively creating more potential for greater power with lesser physical exertion.

We prefer to use a twisted poly-based string that is thinner than the main in a full poly-based hybrid setup.  This creates several advantages that we already described in a recent blog entry on full-poly hybrids.

This is the first entry for our new blog site.  We hope our readers will enjoy the new look!  Also note that the site includes some additional functionality over the old site.  Specifically a discussion forum.  While readers can still comment directly on the blog entry, the entry is now automatically sent as a discussion topic to our forum where we hope further conversation will take place.

Please note that we realize readers may want to view our positive reviews and comments of brands we carry as self-serving.  We fully understand this perception.  However, at the same time there is a reason we carry the strings we choose to make available to our customers.  We carry them because we believe strongly in their quality and we believe in many cases they are superior  to other brands.  We are passionate about our products, but do not promote them with false bravado.  We believe in them.  In the case of the MSV Hepta-Twist we truly believe it is the top-performing profiled twisted poly-based string that we have tested and are proud to share that finding with our readers.

One thought on “That’s Just Twisted!

  1. http://iacaiberry.info/ on said:

    Very interesting points you have remarked, thankyou for posting . “A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.” by John C. Maxwell.

    Reply

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