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Prince Tournament Nylon String Review

Prince Tournament Nylon 15L/1.35 String
Price: $2.95

Upsides

  • Value
  • Control
  • All-around playability

Downsides

  • Not as much spin potential or durability as a polyester monofilament
  • Not as powerful as a multifilament or natural gut
Video Review

Summary

As one of the oldest and most enduring strings at Tennis Warehouse, Prince Tournament Nylon has stood the test of time. Granted, with its bare-bones construction, it has neither the luxurious feel of a natural gut nor the otherworldly spin potential of a polyester monofilament. However, judging from the scores and comments of our playtest team, this perennial starter string still manages to get the job done. In addition to giving our team excellent control, Prince Tournament Nylon earned an impressive overall score, indicating a degree of versatility that belies its ultra-low price. That said, this basic solid-core string should not be considered a substitute for its premium counterparts. This explains why our team of advanced polyester players had to make occasional stroke adjustments to execute their full range of shots. Ultimately, though, for the value hunter who wants an arm-friendly control string with impressive all-around playability, Prince Tournament Nylon is tough to beat, and the low, low price never gets old.

Prince Tournament Nylon String Scores

Power 65
Spin 75
Comfort 78
Control 84
Feel 73
Playability Duration 75
Durability 70
Overall 77

Control - Score: 84 / Power - Score: 65

With its thick 15L gauge and solid-core construction, it's not surprising that the highest score for this playtest was awarded for control. Although Chris yearned for the spin-friendly precision of his favorite polys, he still found enough control with Prince Tournament Nylon for aggressive shot making. He said, "Just as I remembered from using this string in my youth, Tournament Nylon 15L offered lots of control for aggressive hitting. I found excellent depth control on flat shots and was able to flirt with the baseline. When carving angles, I didn't get as much spin as most co-poly strings provide, so I had to play with a little more margin for error. I had the tension bumped up to 55 pounds compared to my usual 52 pounds, which gave the stringbed a crisp, slightly firm and controlled response."

Mark had no problem placing the ball with this string. He said, "Combining the solid-core construction with the thicker 1.35-mm gauge resulted in a lower powered response and a lower launch angle, especially compared to a livelier multifilament string. The overall result was very easy placement."

Spin - Score: 75

Prince Tournament Nylon doesn't have the sharp bite and vicious snapback of a polyester monofilament. That said, with proper mechanics, Mark was able to get plenty of spin. He said, "Access to spin was not as easy to develop compared to a co-poly, but it was still sufficient for effective topspin and slice. With a little extra focus on mechanics I was able to find a groove and construct points with plenty of spin on the ball."

Chris also had to make some adjustments to get enough spin from this string. He said, "I had better control on my slice shots compared to my topspin shots with Nylon 15L. I was driving my backhand slice confidently, and I also liked the spin and control I had on my drop shots. I wasn't getting the ball rotating as much as usual when I hit with topspin, so I had to allow for more margin for error. Compared to hitting with something like Prince Tour XP, I had to work harder to get my aggressive shots to dip inside the lines since spin simply did not come as easily. I also hit Nylon 15L in a hybrid with a few different co-polys and found it to lock the stringbed, which prevented snapback and hindered spin production."

Comfort - Score: 78 / Feel - Score: 73

Although it's not as stiff as a poly, Prince Tournament Nylon, with its solid construction and thick 1.35-mm profile, is on the firmer side of the nylon-based string spectrum. As a result, it was a good match for Chris, who gravitates toward stiffer control strings. He explained, "I like firm, crisp playing strings and played Nylon 15L at a higher tension to emphasize that feel. I had zero comfort issues and found enough elasticity and response for it to be comfortable."

For Mark, who typically uses a stiff poly, this string proved quite comfortable. He said, "The semi-low powered response from the Prince Tournament Nylon 15L and high degree of comfort are the main reasons I like this string so much. In full-bed form, the comfort level was fine, and as uncharacteristic as this sounds, I felt this string was even more comfort-oriented paired as a hybrid with a polyester."

Playability Duration - Score: 75

Although not as durable as polyester monofilament strings, Prince Tournament Nylon holds its tension and playability longer than the co-polys our playtesters typically use. Thanks to its thick gauge, it also outlasts the majority of synthetic guts on the market. For Mark, it held up very well over time before eventually succumbing to notching. He said, "With a full set of the Tournament Nylon 15L, I got approximately 15 hours of play before the strings notched. The strings broke after the 20th hour of play. Using the 15L Tournament Nylon as a cross string to a polyester, I experienced good string snapback, and it was not until maybe 25 hours of play that I noticed the lack of string snapback due to notching."

"I used to break Tournament Nylon 15L in 30 minutes of hitting when playing in college," said Chris. "Today this string lasts me much longer, and I can get many hours on a set. I don't hit as much spin these days, so I don't have the issue of the mains and crosses sawing through each other. I also use a racquet with a denser string pattern and smaller head, which helps with string durability. Hopefully some of the increase in durability is racquet based and not just me slowing down! With the strings lasting longer, I was finally able to test tension hold. I found the tension to last decently and not bag out as quickly as a lot of co-poly strings."

Overall - Score: 77

What type of player would you recommend this to?

Chris - "Players looking for a budget string that offers lots of control, a firm feel and decent durability will get the most out of Nylon 15L. I think it's especially a good fit for flatter hitters looking for control."

Mark - "I would suggest Prince Tournament Nylon 15L to a variety of players, and for precisely the same reasons I like this string. It's a great alternative to a full bed of polyester due to its combo of larger diameter and solid core (low launch angle, low energy return). It works especially well as a hybrid to a mono/polyester string."

Likes

Mark - "A nylon synthetic gut string is an alternative to a pure monofilament string because it is semi-low powered, so can you can drop tension without a huge increase in stringbed power. Another reason I have already purchased extra sets for myself is that a 1.35-mm string is thick enough to slightly lower the launch angle in any stringbed. If you want to tame the high launch angle of an open patterned frame, using this 15L string is an easy way to do it. Did I mention that a set costs less than a gallon of gas did not so long ago?"

Chris - "Super affordable and offers lots of control."

Dislikes

Chris - "Lacks spin compared to a co-poly."

Mark - "It is more of a reality than a dislike, as even polyesters eventually become notched, but the softer material exhibits that sawing effect a bit sooner."

Comparing the string to others they've tried, our testers said:

Mark - "Relative to the 15L gauge, the Gamma TNT2 15L, Gamma Synthetic Gut Wearguard 15L, Forten Nylon 15L, Prince Topspin Synthetic Gut 15L and Tecnifibre RPX 15L are all pretty similar to the Prince Tournament Nylon 15L — just not in price."

Chris - "This was a fun test for me, as Nylon 15L was my go-to string back in college. I played this string back then because it offered durability and control, but most importantly because it was very affordable. Nylon 15L still offers those traits today, although now I prefer the better spin production with co-polys. I found Nylon 15L to offer a similarly firm and crisp feel. On flat shots, it offered similar control to hitting with a co-poly and more control than most multifilaments."

Scores

Chris' Scores
Power7Feel7.5
Spin7Playability Duration7
Comfort7.5Durability7
Control7.8
Overall7.4
Mark's Scores
Power6Feel7
Spin8Playability Duration8
Comfort8Durability7
Control9
Overall8

Playtester String Setups

Chris:
Playtest Racquet: Head Speed Pro 2022
Playtest Tension: 55 lbs
Typical String: Head Lynx Tour 16

Mark:
Playtest Racquet: Head Boom Pro
Playtest Tension: 51/53 lbs
Typical String: Polyester monofilament 1.30mm

Tension Diagnostic

String Installation Grade: A
Coil memory: Low
Friction burn on crosses: Low
Knot tying: Easy
Notching: Very little during installation
Clouding: N/A
Other problems: None

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