Solinco Tour Bite 19 String Review

Control - Score: 75 / Power - Score: 66

According to our testers, Tour Bite 19 has more power and a higher launch angle than the thicker polyester strings they typically use. On the upside, this string's robust trajectory made it easy to keep the ball deep, which helped when the court situation didn't permit a full cut. However, according to Troy, easy depth has its downsides. He explained, "Tour Bite 19 is livelier than the thicker polys I typically use, and it also gave me added launch off the stringbed. This proved both good and bad depending on the racquet I was using. In the powerful Yonex VCORE SV 98+ I found it harder to control the trajectory and power of Tour Bite 19. I could have increased the tension to get more control, but I didn't want to sacrifice comfort. Putting this string in my Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20 was a much better match. Although this 19 gauge string was sliding around a bit more than I would have liked, the power level paired well with this control-oriented player's racquet. Compared to thicker gauges of Tour Bite, I noticed some added pop and easier depth. Ultimately, while Tour Bite 19 might be too lively for a modern player's racquet with an open pattern, it works extremely well in a traditional, low-powered player's racquet."

This string's high launch angle resulted in some slight control problems for Chris, who needed a little extra spin to bring the ball down on schedule. He explained, "I immediately noticed a higher launch angle on my shots with this thin 19 gauge string. With more net clearance came easy access to depth, and that gave the string a more powerful feel compared to the 16 gauge Tour Bite I'm more familiar with. At first I thought the string might be a bit much for my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS, but I bumped the tension from 48 to 52 lbs and found more control. Even then, getting depth with this string was never an issue! When it came to control I had great placement when hitting with spin. Flat shots could be a little flighty, and I would miss long if I wasn't careful. Fortunately, Tour Bite 19 is very spin friendly so I was able to control the depth of my shots by adding spin."

Spin - Score: 91

With its ultra thin gauge and sharp teeth, it's not surprising that the highest score for this playtest was awarded for spin. For Chris, Tour Bite's massive spin potential was necessary to pull the ball down from its high trajectory. He said, "Tour Bite 19 proved to be a very, very spin-friendly string. The string more than lived up to its name by offering lots of bite on the ball. My ability to control the high launch angle of the string came primarily from being able to add lots of spin to my shots. I liked the action I got on my slice shots and found I could hit a knifing slice that drove through the court. My topspin shots were kicking up nicely, and I liked the spin I found when hitting angles. The amount of spin I could generate helped me get my touch shots to die quickly."

For Troy, this string's thin profile made it perfect for generating effective spin with a dense string pattern. He explained, "Tour Bite 19 lived up to its name. I found a high level of 'bite' on the ball, which definitely helped with spin. As I mentioned, this string was too lively for my VCORE SV 98+, making it harder for me to swing faster when adding extra spin to my shots. In contrast, I was very pleased with how this thin co-poly boosted the spin potential in the dense stringbed of my Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20. Typically with a dense string pattern the spin potential is very much dependent on racquet head speed. Tour Bite 19 helped bring the ball down sharply, which came in handy when trying to hit cross court angles into small spaces. I also found added kick and spin on my serves, with the ball jumping up a bit higher to my opponents. With Tour Bite 19 I could go for higher net clearance and have faith that the ball would land deep within the service box. Although this string can bring added spin potential to any racquet, I found it performed best in a racquet with a dense string pattern."

Comfort - Score: 59

Made primarily from firm polyester, Tour Bite 19 is not supposed to be soft and comfortable. As a result, Troy had to be mindful of string tension. He explained, "Tour Bite 19 felt a tad too stiff when it was strung at 47 lbs in my VCORE SV 98+. After the tension was lowered a couple of pounds this string added a nice level of comfort to the stiff and modern VCORE SV 98+. At this optimal tension Tour Bite 19 was crisp, but it also seemed to stretch more at impact and provide better pocketing than the thicker 16L and 17g versions. I initially strung Tour Bite 19 at 45 lbs in my Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20. Although I didn't experience any discomfort, I wasn't getting enough pocketing. After restringing at 42 lbs the comfort level was higher and the extra pocketing at impact was quite delightful."

For Chris, the comfort of Tour Bite 19 varied with stroke speed. He explained, "I found Tour Bite 19 to behave very differently in terms of comfort depending on the pace of play. When I was hitting at a medium pace or less the string played very comfortably. The easy access to depth meant I never had to work hard to hit deep shots. The string also felt like it stretched easier compared to thicker gauge polys, which gave it a comfortable and pocketing type of response. However, once the pace really picked up and the hitting got heavy Tour Bite 19 felt much firmer. It felt like I was maximizing the amount of give the string had, it wouldn't stretch any more and felt very stiff at that point. I imagine someone hitting a bigger ball might be able to shear it by stretching it to the point it breaks. I don't hit that hard, but the string felt like it didn't have much more to give when I was taking a full swing at a heavy incoming ball."

Feel - Score: 80

According to our team, Tour Bite 19 ultimately passed the feel test, which means it provided effective pocketing without being mushy, while also delivering a firm and connected feel without feeling too brassy or dead. In short, the overall feedback was sufficient for hitting. Despite noticing some minor variations in the feel over different stroke speeds, Chris was ultimately satisfied with the way Tour Bite 19 responded at impact. He said, "As mentioned in the comfort section, I thought the string felt soft and lively, but felt decidedly firmer during heavy hitting. Either way, I thought the string offered good feedback, and I felt confident in judging where the ball was going."

By optimizing the tension, Troy was able to get the perfect feel from Tour Bite 19. He said, "When reviewing the 16L version of Tour Bite in 2012 I discovered it to be on the firm side of the spectrum. The firm and crisp feel is something I like and have grown accustomed to over the years. When tensioned correctly, this 19 gauge version of Tour Bite achieves that crisp response while also providing nice levels of elasticity, comfort and ball pocketing."

Playability Duration - Score: 72

The Achilles heel of polyester-based monofilaments is tension loss, and Tour Bite 19 is no exception. By the end of the two-week playtest the overall playability declined and control suffered. To put this in context, it's worth noting that many professional players combat tension loss by changing racquets several times during the course of a single match. It's also worth noting that neither player snapped this co-poly, which is impressive considering its thin gauge. For Troy, this string held its playing characteristics better than the last 19g co-poly he tested, but he did have some issues with string displacement in an open pattern. He explained, "Although this 19 gauge version seemed to drop tension faster than the 16L and 17g versions of Tour Bite, I found that it held up better than the 19g version of Volkl Cyclone. A downside was that it slid around a bit much for my liking, especially in an open string pattern. I had to realign the strings more than I usually have to with co-poly strings."

Impressed with the durability of this thin co-poly, Chris reported average tension maintenance and playability duration. "Tour Bite 19 lasted my requisite two weeks in regards to holding tension well enough to retain playability. I'm also happy to report it didn't break, which was a concern of mine due to how thin it is."

Overall - Score: 74