With its flexible construction, it's not surprising that POLYTOUR AIR scored slightly higher than its stiffer counterparts in the power department. According to Michelle, POLYTOUR AIR also excelled in the control department. She explained, "From the first hit, I knew POLYTOUR AIR was made to be soft. I was worried it would be too powerful, but I am happy to report that the string felt super predictable and offered control with great pocketing. Seeing the lab numbers from this string, I thought it would be ultra powerful, but that was not the case."

Although he typically uses firmer polys, Chris had no problem adjusting to this string's unique response. He said, "POLYTOUR AIR has an interesting response that at first feels powerful but then proves to be very controlled. The initial sense of power came from the high launch angle I got from this very soft playing co-poly. It felt like the ball sank deep into the stringbed, which gave me the sense that I was carrying the ball through my swing nicely. My shots had a high arc to them, so getting net clearance and depth was easy. On the first few swings it felt like the string might be a bit flighty in its response (lots of power, not so much control), but then I noticed my shots were dipping nicely inside the lines. I quickly found I could take very aggressive cuts at the ball with POLYTOUR AIR and still easily find my targets. For being such a soft and plush feeling co-poly, I thought the control level of this string was excellent. I usually prefer much stiffer co-polys, but POLYTOUR AIR has taught me I can still find a high level of control in a much, much softer playing string."

With its round profile, POLYTOUR AIR doesn't have the sharp bite of the game's leading shaped polys, but it proved very spin-friendly thanks to its exceptional pocketing and its ability to accommodate high stroke speeds. Needless to say, Chris had no problem generating spin. He said, "I liked the amount of spin I was able to put on the ball with POLYTOUR AIR. I got the sense the impressive dwell time I found from this string helped in its ability to grab the ball and add spin. My topspin shots had nice loop to them to give me ample margin for error over the net and were dipping nicely inside the lines thanks to the rotation I had on the ball. Likewise, my slice shots had solid bite to them, and I felt confident carrying lots of racquet head speed into that shot without fear of overhitting."

"I found great access to spin," added Michelle, who gave POLYTOUR AIR high marks in this category. "More pocketing from my stringbed usually translates into more spin and RPMs; I feel like the ball loads up and spits back out with some movement. I could also flatten shots out and penetrate the court with very little rotation, which I always enjoy!"

As the softest poly our playtesters have tested to date, it's not surprising that POLYTOUR AIR posted such a high comfort score. What is surprising is the fact that neither playtester felt like the softer feel hindered their connection to the ball or their command over shot trajectory and depth. Michelle was more than a little impressed with this string's feel. She said, "The feel was so nice! No matter the racquet or tension, it felt plush and comfortable without being mushy. I was able to appreciate the string in several setups and at several tensions, from below 48 pounds to above 55 pounds, and every time I got off the court I was impressed with how comfortable and controlled the string felt."

Although he typically prefers the feel and response of stiffer polys, Chris had no problems measuring his shots with this soft co-poly. He said, "POLYTOUR AIR is a very comfortable string. The stringbed felt a lot softer than I typically expect from a co-poly string. I always had a good sense of what I was getting on the ball in terms of pace, depth and direction. My drop shots were working well with this string thanks to solid control and spin characteristics."

The biggest downside of softer polys is that they tend to suffer the effects of tension loss more dramatically than their stiffer counterparts. Although POLYTOUR AIR loses its fair share of tension, Chris was quite pleased with how long it remained playable. He said, "Somehow POLYTOUR AIR seems immune to the common tension loss issues of soft co-poly strings. Sure this string lost tension, but the tension loss didn't come with a major step down in performance. While many soft co-polys feel great for the first hit or two, they quickly lose tension and playability. POLYTOUR AIR felt great from the first hit to the last. I had expected the ball to start flying on me and for the feel to bag out, but POLYTOUR AIR continued to feel controlled and connected. I also thought the surface held up well and seemed to resist notching."

"I was expecting it to be much worse, but I found the playability duration to be average," said Michelle. "I don't think I could necessarily pinpoint when the string started to lose some of its features, and it felt consistent for a month of use."