BOLT

String Recommendations for BOLT Racquets

We're sharing fresh insight from pros and players for string set-ups in BOLT racquets. Since rolling out our new racquet line earlier this season, we've continued to experiment in-house with a wide range of string types and string tensions to be sure we have just the right fit for our players and for our racquets. A BOLT achieves its amazing performance in a unique way and there is a great deal to understand about all it can do and about the string set-ups that optimize its capabilities.

We have the benefit now of many months of customer play-testing feedback which has helped immensely in our understanding of the racquets and in formulating our stringing recommendations. Thanks to everyone out there for taking time to give us their genuine observations and opinions. We've enjoyed getting to know our customers better and we've learned a lot in the process.

General Conclusions:

We recently completed play-testing of a BOLT racquet strung with steel cable string. In a BOLT, the steel string was comfortable, and surprisingly lively and playable. The point of the play-test was to demonstrate that any level of player can use any string, strung at any reasonable tension, and have a comfortable hitting experience in a BOLT. It's huge! This means that all players have great flexibility in what string they use with minimal risk of injury. It means that a BOLT can tame the biggest most brutal impact forces of modern high-impact tennis, while remaining stable, precise and powerful. The sky is the limit for string options, and for tennis.

The most important adjustment we've made to our in-house demo string set-ups is in the polyester hybrid combinations. We're no longer recommending the use of synthetic gut strings in combination with polyesters unless the synthetic gut has some texture on its surface. The very slick synthetic gut we've been using enables incredible lateral snap-back of the polyester as intended, generating massive spin, but it seems to be too much snap-back, at times adding a subtle element of unpredictability to the ball release from the string-bed.

Polyester Hybrid Adjustments

Simple modifications to the hybrid combinations make the ball release consistent as it should be. String with a slightly tacky or textured surface reduces snap-back when used together with a polyester, allowing the string-bed to work more cohesively. A multi-filament in combination with a polyester is a great option. Multi-filaments like natural gut, X-1, NXT, etc. are inherently tacky and hold snap-back to a minimum, generating great spin and having the feel of a cohesive string surface as well.

The hybrid stringing we've adapted for our in-house demos is a polyester/soft polyester (co-poly) combination. In a BOLT, it works extremely well for a wide range of players from intermediate level and up with average to above average racquet head speeds. For below average head speeds, the multi-filament hybrid is a better option. The poly/co-poly set-up enables generally controlled but significant snap-back, depending on the specific strings, and yet it delivers the consistent feel and spin of a cohesive string surface. Enhanced feel on volleys is a noticeable surprise, comparable to a multi-filament set-up - no bull.

In comparing straight polyester monofilament stringing with polyester/co-poly hybrids in a BOLT, we believe the poly/co-poly distinctly outperforms the pure poly set-up. The stiffness differential between the two strings is enough to enhance the snap action but not too much for the string-bed to lose its cohesiveness. It has the ball-compressing benefit of stiff poly, the slightly elastic response of co-poly, the stiffness differential to enable snap-back in a controlled way, and most importantly, the snap-back of a soft polyester (co-poly) across a stiff polyester produces a heavily-weighted accelerating spin on groundstrokes and serves unlike anything we've ever play-tested.

We're convinced that generally stiffer strings significantly enhance and complement the performance of a BOLT. In fact, we've found that even some of the lower power polyester and co-polyester type strings provide a great hitting experience for beginners. If possible, it's always good to consult with a coach who is familiar with your game to help determine best string options. We're happy to assist if we can - info@boltadvance.com . For further technical info visit boltadvance.com/technical .