Solinco Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid String Review

Control - Score: 89 / Power - Score: 72

Unlike a single set of string, Solinco's Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid allows players to fine-tune the power level depending on which string is selected for the mains and crosses. Given that our playtesters prefer a more controlled setup, they put the stiff Tour Bite in the mains, with the soft Vanquish strings in the crosses to enhance feel and comfort. For Chris, who typically plays with a full bed of stiff polyester, this setup gave him the control he needs while also providing great feel. He explained, "I'm a big fan of Tour Bite, so I was interested to see how it would hold up in this hybrid. I was pleased to discover the crisp and clean feel of Tour Bite still dominated the experience, but I definitely noticed a little more pop from the softer Vanquish cross string. On topspin shots, the ball exited my racquet with a slightly higher launch, depth came easier, and the stringbed response felt softer. I had a lot of feel for the ball and still found plenty of control. I often find natural gut and co-poly hybrids to be too flighty and difficult to control. However, this hybrid still had me feeling dialed in and confident enough to go after my shots. Because the Vanquish is less powerful than gut, it made the stringbed more controllable, less tension sensitive and closer to the all-poly setups I usually use."

"I love it when something feels great and also functions well," said Mark, who appreciated the response of this hybrid. "The 17-gauge Tour Bite main offers durability, lots of control and easy access to spin. The aptly named Vanquish 16-gauge cross ever-so-slightly increases stringbed power while reducing any potential harshness from the monofilament main."

Spin - Score: 85

According to our playtesters, Tour Bite Vanquish Hybrid is extremely spin-friendly, especially with the shaped Tour Bite in the mains. For Mark, this hybrid had the perfect amount of grip on the ball. He explained, "I like my stringbeds the way I like the outsole traction of my tennis shoes — a good blend of grip versus slip. The denser spacing of my current racquet's 18x20 pattern is a bit too slippery with a round, smooth string, which affects my shot depth. The edginess of the Tour Bite main perfectly grips the ball, holding it in place and preventing it from skidding across the stringbed too much, which produces an effective, tight rotation on the ball."

"While not quite as spin-friendly as a full bed of Tour Bite or other co-polys, this hybrid wasn't far off," said Chris, who found more than enough spin to bring the ball down effectively. "I was happy with both the topspin and slice I found when testing this string. My angle shots were working nicely, and I was getting plenty of topspin for my shots to drop on target. My slice backhand was biting nicely, and I felt confident enough to knife the slice and trust I'd get the spin needed to keep control."

Comfort - Score: 85 / Feel - Score: 83

A major selling point of Solinco's Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid is that it delivers some of the benefits of polyester (spin and control) without the downsides (harsh feel). Although this setup was not as crisp and stiff as his typical full bed of polyester, Chris appreciated the feel and response this hybrid provided. He explained, "I liked the feel at contact. It felt decently lively, yet I also had plenty of control. I got the sense the ball pocketing was improved compared to just using Tour Bite on its own. The result was a higher launch angle and the sense I was carrying the ball longer through my swing. I also thought overall comfort was improved, as the stringbed felt more forgiving."

Like Chris, Mark enjoyed the arm-friendly feel of this hybrid. He said, "Sometimes after a long session playing with a full bed of a monofilament, my arm feels a little beat up, but that scenario never once occurred playing with Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid. Obviously, the performance of a hybrid is not comparable to a full set of natural gut, but I will go so far as to say the comfort level is. I was also impressed by the pocketing. I could feel the ball sink into the stringbed, and dwell time was long enough to noticeably help change the direction of my shots."

Playability Duration - Score: 84

Our playtesters gave Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid an excellent score for playability duration. Although Mark noticed some mild notching, neither player experienced control problems as the stringbed lost tension. In fact, for Chris, this hybrid aged better than some of its more expensive counterparts. He described, "I liked the way this hybrid felt over the duration of the test. The strings settled in nicely, and there was less of a change between the two materials compared to using a natural gut and co-poly setup where the gut holds tension while the poly drops off. For a player like me who wants to get several weeks out of a string, this was a better option since I got longer playability at a third of the price."

"I have around 10 hours of play on my Tour Bite & Vanquish Hybrid, and although there is some notching, it is minimal in my 18x20 racquet," said Mark. "I anticipate another solid 10 hours of play before it breaks, and the control has stayed consistent throughout the playtest."

Overall - Score: 86