Giving You (the) Gut(s)!
Written: Sep 09 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Soft, comfortable feel
Cons: It almost feels too soft if one is not used to such strings.
The Bottom Line: These strings can aid the advanced player to have an edge: at this level, every advantage helps!
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| mht's Full Review: Wilson NXT Max 16 Gauge Tennis String |
Wilson NXT grids my racquet right now as I get geared up to play in a U.S. Tennis Assoication (USTA) sanctioned tournament this Labor Day weekend. This string claims to play similarly to natural gut. It has a soft, comfortable feel to it. It rates very high in playability and moderately high in endurance. The Wilson NXT also comes out relatively high in price.
Feel
No, it isn't made of animal intestines, but it has a very soft feel to it. This feel, once one becomes grooved to it, is a plus in a way that "soft hands" for a wide receiver in football or a "soft touch" for shooting in basketball is a plus. Of course if one has no feel in one's strokes and muscle memory as it is already, this string would be a waste.
Endurance
The Wilson NXT comes out as a 7 out of 10 in Wilson's own self-rating of the string. If you're looking for maximum endurance, this is not it. To help this string last longer, the guy who strung it for me used wax to decrease the friction between the strings in the stringing process. While it has pretty decent endurance, I didn't get it for that purpose.
Control
This string should improve control. There's a sense of the strings holding (almost caressing!) the ball more. The more of a sense of hold, generally the better the control. While one's stroke mechanics provides most of the control, these strings help the effort.
Power
While giving a soft feel, these strings don't skimp on power. It can almost feel like one's power is being muted, but it only feels that way: the reality differs. A host of aces, winners and forcing shots have already come off of these strings, and I'd like to anticipate many more to come, including the tournament coming up this long weekend!
Sweet Spot
Wilson claims that these strings increase the sweet spot by 10%, which is a large increase for the strings to provide. I'm quite happy with the augmentation of the sweet spot, even more so after I had retinal re-attachment surgery in my right eye because of a close to point blank soccer shot in the face while playing goalie in A League action back at Wheaton College (IL). The huge sweet spot due to these strings and the N5 Code 110" racquet is larger than I have ever felt before: it's almost ridiculous!
Near Gut for Guts
In tennis, psychology is critical. High level play in tournaments call for every edge and advantage. Knowing that quality strings meet the ball with each stroke can ease the nerves and give the guts needed to go for one's shots rather than hesitating in the land of the tentative. The Wilson NXT, if you like the feel of this type of string, is designed to be close to natural gut to give you the guts to really swing away rather than choking. Of course, if you don't have the skills, no string can replace that...but if you do, Wilson NXT gives a sense of added control, feel and comfort to give an edge, especially for the intense, tournament player. I would recommend it for advanced players but not for beginners.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mht
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Member: Morse Tan, Esq.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Reviews written: 115
Trusted by: 31 members
About Me:
HappyHubby, DevotedDad, BookAddict, investor, TennisBrain, cellist, TravelNut, DogLover, law professor: learning to play!
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