I know people are always comparing string tensions but here goes, those of you that have read any of my posts before will know that I use gut strings at 23lbs The following observations are on a Carlton AS1 and in all cases are strung with BG65. 23lbs - not as good as gut, but gives good shots as compared with the gut once it has been used for a while. Clears and drops are much the same but I feel that smashes lack power.string is durable enough. It's not like the gut it refuses to go fluffy (joke). I don't like the noise of the string, instead of a crisp ping it's more of a thud. 30lbs - After a while playing it is much the same as with the 23lbs, the most noticable factor is the lack of spring in the bed of the string and the dull thud on impact when hitting. I have gotten used to this tension now and I feel like it gives much more control and also I feel that my net game has improved leaps and bounds. Once you engage in a net drive battle you notice that your arm acts as a shock absorber and will start to hurt after a while, I think that backhands are the same you have to watch what you do or you will get a sore arm soon. 35lbs - Virtually no give in the string bed and more of a plop noise when you hit the shuttle, once I got used to the 30lbs my smashes came back and I felt a bit more accurate, not so with this tension. I felt it was difficult to control the shots and felt as if I was hitting less and trying to use technique more to compensate for the lack of spring in the string. Drops ok, smash rubbish, net shots ok, backhand difficult to say the least. Clears and backhand did not go all the way to the back of the court when I can quite easily hit out of the back with both. I am getting an AS1 strung to 40lbs for tomorrow night and will update on Thursday at some stage. So far I like the 30lbs and am becoming used to it quite well. My reasoning for putting the tensions stupidly high was to see how much the racket could take before it shattered.
G'day, I have doubts about BG65 holding 40lbs tension whilst being strung.....I broke one whilst doing 36lbs... Good thing the racket was broken already (I was experimenting - a Yonex MP77), as the shock of string breaking cracked the racket as well....
What I have notices thus far is that the grommets are starting to split on the inside of the racket frame because the string is so tight, on the outside face they are badly compressed. So after players use tensions like this I would assume that they change the grommets every time they need a restring to keep the racket viable? Ayl, the stringer is under orders to string it at 40lbs, if the string breaks he will probably try it again then move on to another string. The two options that he said would probably hold were the BG65 and BG63.
40lbs is way up there. i don't believe many ppl will even consider such tension. i am surprised the AS1 managed to take 35lbs! i remember someone who strung a Ti-10 to 35lbs and it crumbled. the oval shape should hold tension better imho. you mention the grommets are starting to split, becareful though, that there may already be stress building up on the racket frame itself. but do let us know how 40lbs feels. i doubt i will ever try it but interesting info to know..
Porportional Stringing Just curious how the stringer will string the AS1 to a high tension. Will the string use proportional stringing method?
have anyone tried to string AT700 at 35lbs? I strung mine with bg65ti at 25lbs at first. I find it hard to control the shuttle and less power. Don't feel at solid when u hit the shuttle. But when i change the string to bg68ti at 30lbs. More solid hitting sound and control. Smash is more powerful. The head control is steady.
G'day, I have a friend who's super strong physically and use 27lbs on his Carltons Airblades which I have a tough time using, as the tension is just too high for me to generate any decent shots. Once I came across a Cab23 strung to 33lbs and it was almost impossible to use - it felt more like a timber bat than a racket. Makes me wonder what a racket will feel like at tensions above 33lbs. At 40lbs? I suspect the string will be so highly strung, unless the user has a mighty powerful swing I doubt it will be any good. Nonetheless I would love to hear the feed back Dill. Come to think of it. BG65 is the only string I can think of (Maybe BG65Power now) has the durability to be strung at such a high tension. I guess at 40lbs BG65 can be considered as "Ultra thin" string like BG66!
hmmm a piece of advice....... stringing at high tension is risking your hand to injury... unless your arm and wrist is very powerfull..... stringing at such high tension will only do more harm than good..
on the little product description that come with my AS-1 said the recommend string tension is "up to 40lb".....
really- they reccomend up to 40lbs?!! Surprising, raising more questions about yonex products, which even top models only up to 24lbs
Have you noticed that the frame on the AS-1 is about 30-40% wider (or thicker depending on how you look at it) than the usual Yonex racquet? Strength to hold high tensions doesn't come without a price.
The reason that I got the AS1 strung so high is because Carlton say that it will take the tension. Well here goes; I got the racket earlier on today and to look at it was slightly buckled. The stringer assured me that if I smashed it would basically fold. When I got the racket one of the guys tested the tension scientifically, you know push the string with your thumbs as if you know what differences can be detected through your thumbs? The top of the frame actually moved from side to side. The bad news is the racket is still in one piece and even though I hit hard smashes for about an hour it's ok (well in a loose sense anyway with the buckle). The stringer said that he thought that the graphite was stressed and it was almost like stringing an older racket at higher tensions of 25lbs or so, almost like the fibres are coming apart. As already mentioned you need a strong arm, the one thing that I have noticed the higher the tension the less distance the shuttle will travel. You will notice your forearm acting as a shock absorber. I have two options left (i) try smashing again until it goes, or (ii) get it strung at 45lbs? even the stringer an ex international will not try the racket for a hit about. What do you guys think?? P.S. ANTS, my stringer has strung an AT700 to 28lbs and its fine. He said that is the highest yet. P.P.S. NSMASH, the AS1 is still an incredibly light and agile racket, about 81g from what i've heard.
dill, why do u want to wreck your racket (at 45lb) and pay another string job for no benefical return?
From what I heard, the only 81g racquet from Carlton was the Airblade Yong Hock Kin (signature racquet) which was available a couple of years ago. The Airblade Superlite was supposed to replace it but Carlton's website says that it's 84g so maybe it's not quite the same.
DILL I strung my AT700 at 30lbs and its fine.. but i don't think it i will go beyond 30lbs thats is the limit for all my racquets.
