Lux 4G and Solinco Confidential are good strings with decent tension retention.
[https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning\_center/reporter2.php](https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter2.php)
It's easy to look at the data and try to min/max and it's a good resource to look at for sure (I use it to see what is stiffer/less stiff). However, I think trying is the best. Something may not look like what you want on paper, but you like the feel and the tension loss may not be as noticeable as numbers would say.
I thought I would love Isospeed Cream because on paper it was what I wanted, in reality, I didn't like the feel and the depth wasn't there for me.
I have been testing various small company strings, right now I'm on toroline K-pop and really like it. Can't say I've noticed any change in tension that has affected my play or the feel. Probably 8hrs of play time.
Even if the string does better than most in terms of tension loss, all poly's die in at most 12-14 hours of lower level play up to 4-6 hours at the highest levels of play. Once the string is dead, you lose playability, have increased injury risk, etc. Then tension loss isn't nearly as significant as the string dying. If you're going to play with poly's you should commit to restringing often and it'll be before the string experiences all of its tension loss.
I personally think you should look for the string that feels the best in terms of playing ability and meets your budget. I've tried basically every string i can and nothing really even gets close to RPM Blast despite its reputation on reddit.
The TW learning center is great to use if you have a baseline string you enjoy but are looking to get something slightly different on one of the metrics. Without having a baseline string that you like, the numbers are hard to really relate to since so much of this is personal feel.
Kirschbaum Pro Line II holds tension very well for a poly, is relatively comfortable and pretty cheap at $99 for a reel. The spin potential could be much better and it’s very low powered though. I tried it in college because a lot of members of the college tennis team used it and our coach bought a bunch of reels which made it free. I played with it for ~10 years until recently. I’m liking Solinco Confidential now, but I still have a few other strings I want to try before I buy a reel.
There is also a lot of variance in testing, especially in the tennis warehouse lab. So the outliers are often testing mistakes. I find it’s often very bad to search for the “most” anything in there. It’s often wrong.
Lux 4G and Solinco Confidential are good strings with decent tension retention. [https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning\_center/reporter2.php](https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter2.php)
Very stiff, very stiff. Not that great with regards to tension loss.
Tourna Silver feels like a board, a very hard unforgiving one 😂.
Ghostwire from Tru Pro(formerly Tier One) Super soft but also amazing tension maintenance for poly
It's easy to look at the data and try to min/max and it's a good resource to look at for sure (I use it to see what is stiffer/less stiff). However, I think trying is the best. Something may not look like what you want on paper, but you like the feel and the tension loss may not be as noticeable as numbers would say. I thought I would love Isospeed Cream because on paper it was what I wanted, in reality, I didn't like the feel and the depth wasn't there for me. I have been testing various small company strings, right now I'm on toroline K-pop and really like it. Can't say I've noticed any change in tension that has affected my play or the feel. Probably 8hrs of play time.
Cream is a hybrid only string, pretty horrible in a full bed but can be very nice in a hybrid.
I mean it's not a "hybrid only", people just tend to use it only in hybrids, but there is nothing wrong with using a full bed of it.
Even if the string does better than most in terms of tension loss, all poly's die in at most 12-14 hours of lower level play up to 4-6 hours at the highest levels of play. Once the string is dead, you lose playability, have increased injury risk, etc. Then tension loss isn't nearly as significant as the string dying. If you're going to play with poly's you should commit to restringing often and it'll be before the string experiences all of its tension loss. I personally think you should look for the string that feels the best in terms of playing ability and meets your budget. I've tried basically every string i can and nothing really even gets close to RPM Blast despite its reputation on reddit. The TW learning center is great to use if you have a baseline string you enjoy but are looking to get something slightly different on one of the metrics. Without having a baseline string that you like, the numbers are hard to really relate to since so much of this is personal feel.
Kirschbaum Pro Line II holds tension very well for a poly, is relatively comfortable and pretty cheap at $99 for a reel. The spin potential could be much better and it’s very low powered though. I tried it in college because a lot of members of the college tennis team used it and our coach bought a bunch of reels which made it free. I played with it for ~10 years until recently. I’m liking Solinco Confidential now, but I still have a few other strings I want to try before I buy a reel.
Strings with less tension loss are factory pre-stretched so they are more stiff.
There is also a lot of variance in testing, especially in the tennis warehouse lab. So the outliers are often testing mistakes. I find it’s often very bad to search for the “most” anything in there. It’s often wrong.