AVIT Stringing

Busy couple of weeks on the stringing front. Various rackets done using an electronic stringing machine to specific player tensions and requests.

It’s been another busy week sandwiched by travelling with 8 rackets collected, restrung and returned to their owners.

We’ve had some special string requests from customers this week which means we have invested in a new reel of Tecnifibre Dynamix VP which is now available to all customers. We also have the capability to order smaller string sets that will cover one racket (e.g. the Dunlop rackets pictured were restrung with Karakal Hot Zone 120 of varying colours), so be sure to shout if you have any particular requests.

We’ve dealt with just about every kind of racket shape, stringing pattern, string and tension this week which has kept the job extra interesting. As always, thanks to our customers, both new and old, for their continued support!

Talking of personal Carboflex rackets in the previous post, I decided to take some time at the start of this week to restring my own Carboflex Heritage rackets before another stint of travelling.

These rackets only arrived last week and after a couple matches with factory strings, it was time for an upgrade. Both rackets have now been strung with Tecnifibre 305 at 24lb and are now looking extra colourful!

Saturday morning saw a productive start to the weekend with the restringing of three more rackets, each with different strings and stringing patterns.

First up was the Prince Venom Tour racket strung as a two-piece with our most popular string, Ashaway SuperNick XL, at 26lb. Featuring both a power ring and O-ports, this racket requires careful thought and the use of the stringing machine brake. Always a satisfying racket to restring when complete however!

Next up was the Tecnifibre Dynergy strung with another of our very popular strings, Tecnifibre 305, at 22lb. This racket also features a power ring, but there were no tricky O-ports to deal with this time, resulting in a slightly faster job.

Finally, the Tecnifibre Carboflex racket was strung with Ashaway SuperNick Micro at 22lb. Carboflex racket owners are one of our most common (and favourite) customers. As we also own Carboflex rackets we are well-accustomed to the ‘Around the World’ stringing pattern used on these rackets, and so the restring job effectively feels second nature.

Not bad for a

Getting back to business after a break travelling with three Dunlop rackets all strung at 24lb tension with Ashaway SuperNick XL string.

These rackets all have quite a dense string bed which meant they needed a little more string than normal, requiring some careful measuring.

Be sure to get in touch with any of your racket restringing needs in the Swindon and surrounding areas!

Some snaps of another two rackets returned to two happy customers last week.

The Prince O3 Tour racket is rather unique in that it has both a power ring and O-ports that stabilise the racket and give greater control on off-centre shots on the racket strings. This racket was restrung as a two-piece with Ashaway SuperNick XL Micro string at 22lb.

The Head Extreme 120 racket followed a more basic one-piece stringing pattern using Ashaway SuperNick XL string at a low tension of 20lb to provide the user with greater power.

Busy weekend restringing three different racket head shapes resulting in three different string patterns.

First up was the Karakal FF Core Pro with the ever popular power ring strung with Ashaway SuperNick string at 20lb, plus a new set of grommet strips.

This was followed by two Unsquashable Y-Tec Power rackets strung with Tecnifibre 305 string at 24lb in the ‘Around the World’ pattern. This ensures the crosses are strung top to bottom to best protect the racket and ensure optimum performance.

Lastly, I decided to treat myself to a string upgrade on my Tecnifibre Suprem Curve with Tecnifibre 305 string, also at 24lb.

Seeing out the backlog with another two rackets ready to head out the door tonight. Matching Wilson Force 145 BLX rackets strung with Ashaway SuperNick XL at 24lb tension.

Trying to clear through a backlog.

Out today, 2 Dunlop Revelation HyperFibre+ 135 rackets strung with Ashaway SuperNick XL @ 18lb and a Tecnifibre Carboflex Heritage racket strung with the ever popular Tecnifibre 305 17 1.20 string @ 26lb.

The Dunlop’s needed extra care to ensure the mains were seated correctly at the shared grommets in the throat of the racket and don’t cross over, which is a very common mistake with these rackets.

The Tecnifibre, as always with these rackets, was strung in the UKRSA Around the World pattern which promotes better overall string bed tension and forces the cross strings to be strung from the head to the throat, which is kinder to the racket while pulling tension.

Wilson Federer Tennis racket in this week. Strung with Babolat hybrid strings. The mains are Babolat RPM Power 125/17 strings and the crosses are Babolat Xcel 130/16 strings.

Babolat RPM Power and Xcel offers great playability using a combination of comfort and spin. RPM Power is a co-polyester monofilament string which features excellent durability. This is used in combination with the power of Xcel which is a multifilament string.

Racketball this time. Done this racket a few times now and like most racketball rackets, it has some over-complicated fancy stinging pattern with the 3 centre mains being threaded down and around the grip. This then makes it important to ensure the crosses are weaved in the correct order to make the last cross sting a hard weave with the 3 random centre mains.

This was strung with Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex 17 strings at 31lb which should give a mix of good power, control and durability.

All the 4’s - 4 different brand rackets, 4 different strings and 4 different colours.

All these strings are kept in stock on the reel so ready to go. Get in contact for all your stringing needs.

Couple of Head rackets strung with the ever popular Tecnifibre 305 string. The Head Radical 135 was done at 28lb and the Head Speed 120 was reverted from the Head AFP (Adaptive Fan Pattern) back to the traditional pattern at 26lb.

Couple more rackets out the door this week. Prince Pro Airstick strung with SuperNick XL Micro @ 22lb and a Tecnifibre Carboflex Basaltex 130, fitted with new grommets and bumper and strung with SuperNick XL @ 26lb.

A few of the rackets done this week…..

A Karakal Titanium, a Head Nano Ti and just completed a pair of Dunlop Sonic Core’s!

Free stencilling as always 🙌🏼

An interesting little project completed today. Had a brand new 2023 Head Speed SB 120 in and the customer wanted to try the Head AFP (Adaptive Fan Pattern) stringing pattern. This increases the main strings from 12 to 16 so it has a much denser stringbed, which apparently promotes more power and control.

Not going to lie, it’s a PIA to do and I should be charging double for the effort (jokes) but got it done in the end. It has been strung with 305 17 strings @ 28lb so interesting to see how it plays. Could be on the tighter side but the customer is a big hitter so sure he’ll still generate plenty of power and should now have even more feel and control with this AFP pattern.

Another Prince o3 Speedport completed todsy. Strung as a two piece with Ashaway SuperNick XL Micro @ 28lb for more control over power. As always, care was taken to make sure the cross strings were strung in the correct order to ensure a hard weave on the last cross.

3 teardrops all strung in the Around the World pattern. A pair of Wilson rackets string with Ashaway SuperNick ZX Micro @ 28lb and a Tecnifibre strung with matching Tecnifibre 305 17 strings @ 26lb with new bumpers and grommets.

And there they are. The two Basaltex 130’s and the 130S strung with Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 17 1.24 string @ 27lb. The Heritage 125 strung with Tecnifibre 305 17 1.20 string @ 26lb. All 4 rackets have had new bumpers and grommets fitted also.

As always, all 4 were strung in the ‘Around the World’ pattern, which promotes better overall string bed tension and forces the cross strings to be strung from head to throat, which is always the better way to string a racket and is different that the standard way to string these rackets.

The Tecnifibre Carboflex range of rackets are tried and tested. A great mix of power and precision. This week I have a good selection of rackets in for new bumpers and strings.

The Carboflex are my rackets of choice, and have been for a number of years. For anyone interested, here is a brief history of the Tecnifibre Carboflex…..

The Tecnifibre Carboflex series of rackets. They’re the elite, the Mac Daddy, they’re the creme-de-la-creme of squash rackets. Step into any squash club or tune into any PSA squash match and you’re bound to see more than a handful of these rackets in the hands of players.

At the top of the list of the most widely used Tecnifibre rackets, without a shadow of a doubt has to be their 125 gram model.

How did this racket become so popular?

It’s fair to say that Tecnifibre struck gold when they were able to sponsor both Mohamed Elshorbagy and Nour El Shirbini at the start of their rise to squash superstardom. Together the two players have put the racket in the squash limelight, with the Carboflex 125 appearing in most PSA World Tour finals thanks to their incredible efforts.

Looking past marketing, I think what truly makes this racket so popular, is the sheer fact that it’s just a brilliantly solid, all round racket that suits the majority of squash players’ games. Nothing more – Tecnifibre have made a great product, and the proof is in the numbers.

Here’s how the racket forged its way into the limelight

Tecnifibre started their squash dominance in 2009 with the Carboflex Basaltex. Initially the lightest racket in the range weighed 130 grams, with their star player at the time, Thierry Lincou, even opting for the 140 gram model.

Here’s a fun fact – Both Mohamed Elshorbagy and Nour El Shirbini used this racket as juniors, and in the same year they both won the Under 19 World Junior Championships. Nour was just 13 at the time!

In 2012, Tecnifibre cleaned up their design. They ditched the tribal tattoo paint and swirly fonts, and found a way to shave five grams from their lightest racket, and thus, the Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 was born.

With both Mohamed and Nour wielding this racket on their way up to the top of the adult rankings, it quickly gained a cult following. You’ll still see people in local squash clubs (myself included) using this racket today. In fact, it’s so popular that Tecnifibre continue to sell this particular racket, badged as their ‘Heritage’ edition.

The original Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 was then superseded by the 125s in 2015, with a more subdued colour scheme and the ability to remove the bumper strip, its popularity continued to grow.

Both Mohamed and Nour found their way to the world #1 spot at the same time using this racket.

Fast forward to 2018, and Tecnifibre unleashed the 125 X-Speed, and at the same time introduced the Nour Sherbini signature frame – featuring the same weight specs but with a brighter colour scheme and a slightly thinner grip, which was primarily marketed towards female squash players.

In 2019, Tecnifibre partnered with Miguel Rodriguez to develop a slightly head heavier variant of the 125 – the Cannonball. Up until this point, Miguel was still using the original 125, which shows just how good that racket actually still is.

Featuring the Colombian flag on the side, it’s a seriously nice looking racket that consistently scores rave reviews.

In 2020 Tecnifibre released their latest update, the Airshaft. The Airshaft frame geometry is modified for more dynamic response and acceleration. X-Arms technology increases the strength of the structure for more stability. 4 enlarged main and cross strings encourage string movement and improve tolerance and effect.

From there, we now have the new Carboflex X-Top. The first plastic bumper-less racket from Tecnifibre. Those familiar with the previous generation of Carboflex, the Airshaft, will feel completely at home with the brand-new X-Top. The new racket features the same fundamental design as the previous version, including the ‘Airshaft’ frame, extended grommet holes for playability and tolerance, X-Arm design on the shaft of the racket for increased stiffness, and the same Dynamix VP 1.25 string as standard.

I think Tecnifibre has nailed the design on these rackets. The White, red and blue paint pays tribute to their French heritage, and the overall look is super-clean. The 3D texture on the Tecnifibre logo running down the side of the racket is also a nice touch and helps give the rackets a more premium feel.

Prince O3 Speedport Tour racket completed this morning. Strung as a two piece with Ashaway SuperNick XL Micro @ 22lb. As with all power ring type rackets, the cross strings need to be strung in a particular order to ensure that the last cross is a hard weave.

Couple of Wilson rackets completed this morning. One Squash Wilson Tempest Lite and a Racketball Wilson Blade Pro. The Tempest strung with Ashaway SuperNick XL @ 26lb and the Blade with Ashaway Super Kill XL @ 33lb.

A pair of Harrow rackets completed today. One with Tecnifibre 305 17 and the other with Ashaway SuperNick XL - Both strung at 26lb.

As always with teardrop rackets, I used the UKRSA Around the World stringing method to promote better overall stringbed tension and to reduce tension on the frame during the stringing process.

New racket day, sorted myself out with a pair of the new Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 X-Top rackets.

Sure they’ll improve my game by at least 20%, right? 🤔

A couple more rackets out the door today. Tecnifibre Airshaft 125 strung with 305 17 strings @ 26lb, finished with two tone stencilling and a Prince o3 Speedport Black, also strung at 26lb but with 2 piece Ashaway strings and as always, ensuring a hard weave on the last cross string.

A pair of Wilson’s done recently, Ashaway SuperNick XL in the normal Tempest Lite and Tecnifibre Dynamix VP strings used in the 120 BLK.

Clearing the backlog after a recent holiday, one beauty and one beast.

The Beauty 👸🏻 Dunlop AeroGel 4D strung with Ashaway Supernick XL @ 25lb. Super easy and quick to do.

The Beast 👹 Prince O3 Speedport, probably my least favourite racket to string. This racket requires stringing as a two piece and was also strung with Ashaway Supernick XL but @ 24lb. A PITA to do, shared grommets, Speedports and a Power Ring.

The Speedports mean you have to lock the racket in a certain position when tensioning the string, luckily the machine I use has a brake on it which makes this process somewhat easier.

And to my joy, when I dropped this racket off at the club, there was another one waiting for me to pickup. More fun coming my way. Need to start charging extra for these rackets 😅

They just keep coming at the moment, another few rackets out the door already this week with another 6 waiting in the wings.

A pair of Unsquashable Y-Tec Pros strung at 24lb with 305 strings using the ‘Around the World’ method, which helps promote better overall stringbed tension and reduces strain on the frame by stringing the crosses head down rather than throat up as it would be if strung traditionally.

And a Tecnifibre Carboflex strung at 26lb with Ashaway Supernick XL strings, also strung using the UKRSA Around the World method. Also finished this with two tone red and black logo stencilling.

Was time to work on my own rackets recently. One filled with Tecnifibre 305 17 and the other with Ashaway Supernick XL 17. Both strung @ 20lbs in the UKRSA ATW pattern.

My self proclaimed No.1 customer has recently taken a years work placement over the pond in the USofA, so I’ve sent them packing with two fresh beds of Tecnifibre 305 strings, very much complementing these Tecnifibre Suprem Curv 125 rackets!