Wilson RipSpin is the latest addition to the line of Wilson polyester tennis strings. There wasn’t a lot of buzz about the release of the Wilson RipSpin tennis strings. In fact, I had only heard about them just a few days prior to getting some sample sets.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Wilson RipSpin, though if I had any inkling of what was to come, it was a lot of RIP and SPIN…it is in the name after all, right?
Stringing Wilson RipSpin
What a pain. It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with such a tangle prone tennis string! Because Wilson RipSpin felt a bit firmer than many other poly tennis strings and that I was testing a 16 gauge string, I dropped a couple pounds in my tension (44 pounds instead of 46 that I was planning).
When I finally got the RipSpin to unravel properly, I started the installation process. The sheer amount of coil memory in this string turned me off from ever using this stuff again; I found the firmness of the tennis string made it so it would twist all too often. The outside coating of the monofilament was quite nice, it made weaving the crosses very quick. I tied my knots off and was ready to hit the courts!
Wilson RipSpin 16 review
When I got to hitting with Wilson RipSpin, I was a little indifferent; I think my expectations were a bit misguided because of the name of the string. I was expecting so much more, but so little in return.
Honestly, Wilson RipSpin is little of either; Rip or Spin. I reviewed Wilson RipSpin for quite some time, on different days, and each time it was a similar experience; I just wasn’t getting what I thought I was promised.
I’ll start with the spin factor, the strings were not producing much spin for me and I wasusing an open string pattern tennis racket (16×19). It’s not like I wasn’t getting any spin, I just wasn’t getting additional spin to my shots. Generally, a round poly string won’t produce as much as a shaped or textured poly; however, Wilson RipSpin couldn’t find the extra bite needed to get some serious RPM’s.
Wilson RipSpin is very low powered, very. Even at a lower tension, I expected a bit more depth and power on my shots, this just fell short. The Wilson RipSpin also felt incredibly muted, I was receiving very little feedback from the setup. I had to swing harder in order to feel like I was producing power, this was counterproductive as I was sacrificing control and court position. Had I known that I was going to be lacking power, I would have dropped even a couple more pounds of tension.
I did find a couple aspects that I liked about Wilson RipSpin tennis string. This stuff is durable, like industrial strength durable! I worked it for about 10 hours of play and the string had hardly notched at all. It was rather remarkable actually. Wilson intentionally designed with durability in mind, they treat the string with a special “low friction” additive, to allow the strings to move freely against each other. Many other polyester tennis strings I’ve used in my day notch very quickly, within my first hitting session.
I noticed that Wilson RipSpin maintains it’s tension incredibly well. In my Wilson RipSpin review, the string felt very consistent, like it was fresh off the machine every time. Even with the strings moving around, I felt that the tension remained close to what I strung it with.
Wilson RipSpin 16 conclusion
I understand that Wilson RipSpin was designed to be used in their Spin Effect tennis racquet with very open string patterns (16×15, 18×16 etc.) so I may have not gotten the full benefits of this tennis string. But, I like to review strings in my personal tennis racquets to make a fair assessment.
If you are expecting lively feel and lots of spin, either try the 17 gauge Wilson RipSpin or something else. The 16 gauge didn’t work out for me, I don’t think I would use this as a full bed.
If you are wanting incredibly durability and superior tension maintenance, then this is the tennis string for you! Wilson RipSpin will give you those characteristics undoubtedly!
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