Gamma Zo Verve 17, yet another textured tennis string that I have reviewed, and Gamma has done it again…introducing Gamma Zo Verve 17, another marvelous tennis string! I was skeptical at first, mainly because the release of this “two tone” textured string was released after Prince’s debut of their PolySpin 3D tennis string, which is essentially the same thing as far as design is concerned. Basically, it’s a monofilament string as the core and three “mini” strings positioned at the 12 o’clock, 4 o’clock, and 8 o’clock positions, all to generate more spin without sacrificing feel.
Gamma Zo Verve 17 review
When I received my set of Zo Verve, I was impressed with the look of the string, a red core and black “mini” strings accenting the entire set. It looked mean, and it looked even better installed on my tennis racquet. Stringing the Gamma string wasn’t bad or good, I had to be extra careful not to twist the string while installing the mains and crosses; I didn’t want to have a twisted string that is already textured. This is a stiffer polyester tennis string, so getting the string to behave was a pain (I don’t pre-stretch poly), the coils seemed to hold much longer that other strings. Tying off the knots were OK, I pulled too hard on my finishing knot and the string snapped at the clamp.
Warming up with the strings was exactly what I had expected from Gamma, a crisp feeling polyester with good POP! It was only when I starting hitting at full that I really got a feel for what this new string could do for my game. I really enjoyed hitting with this string, the crisp response made taking full swings from both wings a lot of fun, I was getting some tremendous power and depth. It felt like I was hitting the ball really hard, and sometimes I even did.
Now, the most important characteristic of the Zo Verve string is the spin potential, was it there? This review of the Gamma Zo Verve 17 does not give high marks for spin potential, the texture of this string is just too small to make a noticeable difference in the spin production. Even when hitting with an extreme western forehand grip and doing a “Nadal-like” reverse forehand, the spin was no different than that of a non textured poly tennis string. That was the one of the negatives of the strings. However, it was not a deal breaker, it is a good string, just for other characteristics.
Because I string at a lower tension than most people I know, the strings moved around quite a bit, which caused a sawing effect. Basically the main strings would rub against the cross-section of the string an cut into the main. So, I only got about 4.5 hours of play before I busted a main string. I was a little disappointed, I did enjoy the power and control of the string.
Final thoughts on Gamma Zo Verve 17 string
A few highlights of the Gamma Zo Verve 17:
– For a stiff poly, there was no sensation of vibration or soreness in the arm, it felt nice.
– Great power! Swing as hard as you want with this string, the ball will scream across the net and your opponent won’t know what to do.
– Control, I didn’t feel that I had to work hard to put the ball where I wanted it, the strings were not erratic which made for easy placement.
– Feel, this crisp tennis string awesome at the baseline and was decent at net, allowing me to hit some firm volleys.
Some of the things I didn’t like about Gamma Zo Verve 17:
– Durability, for the price ($17.45) I would expect the string to last me several hours of play, but getting just under 5 hours is unacceptable.
– Lack of spin, Gamma made this string to compete with the textured string phenomenon but they came up a little short, the ‘mini’ strings didn’t make much of an impact on the ball when trying to generate more spin.
The Gamma Zo Verve is a really nice tennis string for power and control, though it lacks in spin, it certainly makes up for it in other areas of play. I would absolutely recommend this string to those who are looking to add a thin poly to their tennis racket for additional power; though I would recommend that frequent string breakers stay clear from this string, it will hurt your wallet.
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