Tecnifibre 305 Green is one of the most popular squash strings in the world. If you watch the pros play, you’ll see many of them sporting the famous green color of these strings.
I think most people want to use the 1.2, and if you want to try a thinner string, give the 1.1 a try.
I did a video of the 1.2:
Tecnifibre 305 1.1 / 18 gauge
This is the thinnest of the Tecnifibre 305 strings.
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These are the same product, just different packaging:
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Search:Tecnifibre 305 1.2 / 17 gauge
This is slightly thicker and more durable.
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Price: $16
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Search:Tecnifibre 305 1.3 / 16 gauge
This is the thickest version.
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Search:Reviews
After 20 years of playing squash, you’d think I might know a bit about squash string. Not true though.
Recently the factory strings broke on my Biomimetic GTX 130, and I decided to take this opportunity to learn a bit more about strings.
I asked Dean from my pro shop for help. My one request was “slippery strings”. That’s a technical term. Over the years I’ve noticed some strings are rough and have lots of grip. Others are smooth, “slippery” in my made-up terminology, and have less grip. I think I like smooth strings better because I think they help me keep my rails tighter. Notice how equivocal that statement is — I’ve never really done a proper comparison. But I went with my gut, haha, and started my string explorations by asking for slippery string.
The next question was the tension. I believe most squash rackets are strung at 25-30 pounds. In the past I’ve usually asked for my rackets to be strung at average tension, so I assume I’ve been having them strung at 27 or so pounds. This time I asked for the racket to be strung at 26. I’m more of a control player — I don’t generate tons of power from my swing — so I thought I’d try stringing it a bit light and see how that felt. A lower tension is supposed to give you more power (and less control). I’ve also been working on shortening my backswing, to give myself more attacking options. I thought a lower tension would help me generate adequate power even with a shorter backswing.
The final question was the string gauge. I asked for the thinnest gauge, which is usually 1.1. This is supposed to give you extra feel and I wanted to see what it felt like. I’m a bit concerned about the durability, but I figure I can always move up to a higher gauge if these strings break.
In the end, Dean and I settled on these Tecnifibre 305 1.1 squash strings. I’ve been using this setup for about two weeks and my feeling is “so far so good”. I am able to make a shorter backswing and still hit with power. I also get good feel when taking the ball in short, which I attribute to the thinner string gauge.
I will try some different setups in the future and see what I can learn, and of course I will share any insights with with you all.
D says
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Do you typically pre-stretch this string? I’ve been pre-stretching 5% and then stringing at about 26 pounds. Plays nice and seems to hold tension well but I break stings more often than I should be. Would not prestretching and stringing a bit tighter and then having it settle in around 26 pounds extend the life of the string?
M says
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I used to prestrech them before stringing and did not recognise a loss in lifetime. Where do they break? Which racquet do you use?
D says
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Often, a string will break near the top of the frame (but not at the frame). Rarely, it will last long enough to break in the sweet spot.
They have broken at the side of the frame on occasion as well but I don’t count those as that breakage could be due to other factors.
I have been using the Harrow Vibe and Harrow Spark. Am moving over to the new Paul Coll teardrop racquet shortly so will monitor if I can get more life out of the strings with that configuration.
When you did pre-stretch, what % did you use and how tight did you string your racquet?
Rod says
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In my experience it is quite odd to have strings break near the top of of the frame and not the sweet spot. In the past when it’s happened near the edge of the frame it is because there is a crack or sharp edge on a grommet and the friction from that crack causes it to break there.
Darrell says
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It has broken about an inch below the frame and it has happened on multiple racquets. I agree it is a bit absurd.
Perhaps the seemingly premature breakage is just part of playing with the thin 305 string.
I thought I would mention the pre-stretch part in case anybody else experienced something similar.
M says
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Breaking strings near the frame can be caused by off center hits. Especially with thin (1.1mm) TF 305. I prestreched the string as a whole using a fixed end and bodyweight. Stretched forth and back till the string was straight and not coiled anymore. Worked fine with xspeed 125 (denser pattern). Especially head have a quite sparse pattern so strings break even easier.
Strung my xspeed around 24-26 lbs.
D says
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Well, I am definitely guilty of an off-center hit from time to time. I am hoping going to a teardrop shaped racquet will afford me some lenience with a larger sweet spot. Hopefully, it will also reduce breakage from those off-center hits. A Graphene 360 Speed Plus 120 SB is en route and I will likely switch the strings shortly after I receive it to the 1.1mm TF 305 with 5% pre-stretch and ~26 pounds. Will work with the default (12/17) pattern first and if I find a lack of control, will try the denser (16/17) fan pattern.
Thanks for your feedback!
Farooq says
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I had two sets of the 305 (green) string break near the frame, each set lasted approx. 12-15 hrs of playtime with no major fraying. I had them strung at 26 lbs in my tecnifibre 125s.
Is this a problem you guys face too?
Rod says
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You might have a cracked grommet which is rubbing on the string by the frame and causing the string to break at the frame. Your stringer should be able to order you a new grommet strip and install it for you when you change your strings out.
Farooq says
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How long does a 305 normally last?
Rod says
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Totally depends on how hard you hit it, how much cut you put on the ball and what tension you have your rackets strung at. I haven’t used them in a long time but I’d probably only get a month or so out of them.
Rob Holmes says
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It appears that after watching M Shorbagy today at the TOC 2019 that he has switched back to the 305 from the DYNMAX!
Pierre says
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You’re right!
https://tocsquash.com/production/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/19TC10360.jpg
Niklas says
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I did a “Gaultier tension test” and strung my force Elite at about 17-16 lbs / 7-8 Kg (difficult to say exactly when the scale on my drop weight machine only goes down to 20 lbs) with TF 305 1.1mm. I must say it’s a bit of a weird tension to play with.
The positive parts: You get shitloads of power to the point that you can even shorten and/or slow down your swing but still hit fast balls with great length. Boasts and lobs are also easy to do with all that power and it gets much easier to dig those balls out of the back corners. I also feel that my accuracy to the back of the court did not get affected that much by the low tension. As a bonus all vibrations disappear with such a low tension, so your racket will become very comfortable with a very soft feel when hitting.
Now to the negative parts: Kill shots were very challenging to do at this tension because the strings grab the ball so hard, sending the ball downward, that I hit the tin way too often when attempting a winner. Drop shots are also painful to get right. I usually hit my drops with backspin but again the strings grab the ball so much that it gets very awkward to control. I could only hope that the ball would go where I wanted. I’ve noticed that Gaultier, from the front of the court, usually hits his drop shots flat or even with topspin. He might be doing this to get better control and maybe even he feels it’s difficult to do drop shots by traditional means with this tension. Volley drop shots became almost impossible to do and when volleying in general you could only guess where the ball was going to fly. But the again your opponent will be just as surprised.
Anyway I think it was an interesting test but in the long run not to my liking. I always played better with more traditional tensions. Maybe for those days when you feel a bit lackluster it might be a good option to have all that free power if you want to keep the ball fast and surprise your opponent.
Pierre says
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I might have to try this! Thanks
Tjeerd says
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Hi Niklas,
I was intrigued by your review and decided to tinker together my own “Gaultier setup”. Although, kind of, because my drop weight machine does not go below 8.5 kilograms.
My playing experience is similar as yours, with a small twist :
– Power : The setup is indeed very powerful and great for effortless playing of lobs en digging out shots from the back corners. However, I did not have the feeling that it gave me a ridiculous amount of power on drives. What I’ve got to mention, is that I’ve cut the top bumper of my Elites (2016 model), making them more even balanced and less powerful, so that could be of influence.
– Comfort : Lower tensions indeed will bring more comfort, but going as low as this, gives a very “muted” feel (no “pop” or “ping”) and cuts off every bit of feedback from the stringbed. It almost seems as if it flattened out all the special 305 string characteristics.
All in all, it was a nice and playable setup without any control issues, but less extreme as you’ve might expect from the “mythical” stories you can read on the internet. However, over here – in The Netherlands – it’s winter now and courts are cold…maybe it will be more of a challenge to play with it on warmer courts. 🙂
Yours,
Tjeerd
Dan says
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I’ve used the 305 for about 3 years, and they were my first string upgrade over the factory Dunlop strings in my racquets. I’ve never used Ashaway, so can’t comment on the competition. Initially I used the 305 1.20mm @ 26 lbs and was happy. About half the time, I would get good durability to the point of fraying in the sweet spot, however the other times, they would break prematurely before any significant fraying.
I then tried the 1.10mm @ 25 lbs, and was ecstatic with the extra feel and ball cut I got from the thinner gauge (had to drop the tension to get the same feel compared to the previous setup), however the thinner strings would break prematurely a bit too much. Recently I had 3 string setups break near the frame within a month of restringing (after 5 sessions of games/practice sessions). Don’t think it was a grommet issue, so I conclude it was the strings.
I’m now trying out the 18 gauge DNAMX, which is 1.15mm, and right between the 305’s 17 and 18 gauges. So far so good…hopefully I’ll get the best of both worlds in terms of durability and feel!
Lesley says
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You should try the ashaway supernick zx. Orange colour. By far the best string i ever played.
Qua durability and power. Offcourse the tecnifiber is a nice string to play but there are mutch better strings now.
Kuba says
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I see that many people play with these strings nowadays. I gave them a try, bought the Orange ZX Micro and was totally disapointed. Tons of vibrations, no power, no feel.
I think my fav string is Ashaway SuperNick XL Micro and Tecnifibre 305
Dr Anil Jacob says
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Hi Pierre:
Very useful website and even more practical comments. I just got a Tecnifibre Carboflex 130, about three weeks ago.
I play about 5.5- 6 hours a week and noticed some fraying of the strings (Factory-strung with the black 305+ strings) at the white triangle/”sweet spot” just this week. Is this something I need to worry about? I’m relatively new to squash so would love to know your thinking or those of the more experienced players on this forum.
Best regards,
Anil
New Delhi
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks Anil, I think that’s normal. Those are multifilament strings i.e. made up of hundreds of tiny fibers so as you play they will wear away slowly, especially around where you strike the ball.
Dr Anil Jacob says
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Many thanks for the swift response, Pierre.
Gracias,
Anil
Masub says
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Hey is this powerful or biphase?????
Anil Jacob says
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Sorry for the late response Masub. The green strings were not the Biphase ones. I think they came strung with my Carboflex, so probably 305+.
David says
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Hi Pierre,
Not sure if you mentioned it but how long did this string last you before it snapped?
Pierre Bastien says
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Hi David,
The strings haven’t broken yet, though it’s because I haven’t been using the racket much. This year I have been playing with the Eye 120 Control and Titan Vendetta.
John says
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My 2 cents. I play with the Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 which comes with + . I came from Ramy’s great stick the Airstick 130 with 305 in it at 25 lbs. So I was used to and enjoyed the 305. I have used the x-one a while back in a Head Cyano 2 tremendous amount of power and once it frays nice control but since it is recommended by Tecnifibre to string it 10-20% lower tension than you usually use to get the most from the string that was 23-24. The string never settled in at that tension after every rally I would spend time realigning it. If you don’t, miss hits are the result of not straightening them. Great once it’s straight great power and nice control. Unfortunately this just breaks my concentration and doesn’t work. So upped the tension to 26 to try to keep the strings from moving. Still great power but for lobs and touch the ball would sail and the strings still moved around to much for my liking. So went away from the x-one to the 305. Just for reference have used the Powernick, UltraNick, Dura Ace…… Either to stiff or just wouldn’t settle in. So the + compared to the 305? Well since the + comes in the racquets I spent some time with it. Getting use to the racquet and string. Great Racquet best I have used and now own three. The + is very powerful, doesn’t fray and just goes dead when it is used up. It is stiffer than the 305 but not as stiff as the powernick or ultranick. Just can’t seem to put my finger on it but with all the power and stiffer strings your timing has to be dead on to keep the ball on the rails there is no room for error no forgiveness. Touch is good nice control though at times a little to much power during touch shots. For hard low kills great string. The 305 less power incredible control and touch, spin on serves and shots is great. Easier to keep the ball tight on the rails and great for lobs. The + feedback is over hyper every hit is sent up the arm the 305 you feel each hit but the feedback is usable if that makes sense as if controlling the ball not just hitting it. The + is a great string if you can control it or if you need more power and want to sacrifice control. The 305 is the best all around string does it all great. I have restrung one of the 125’s with 305 1.10 at 26 and I am enjoying the game.
Ayman says
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Just bought the carboflex 125 (2 of them) Have a review on amazon.com, with my opinion. Excellent racquet! I’ve come from a pirnce hybrid O3 Xtra Speed. Nice fast head light racket, but not enough power even with Powernick 19 at 23lb.
I’d say powernick 19 is very stiff (boardy feel). However, it has ample power and very good directional control. Can’t really say much about the touch, as it is not something I do frequently and definitely has been a long time since I was regularly playing.
For the 305+ 1.2, prestrung in racket, I’d say it is softer than PN19. Power in the CF125 is good, but can’t judge whether it is the racquet or the string at this point in time. I was planning to string one racquet with Bow Brand Gut 18 and the other with PN19, as a backup, with gut potentially becoming my go to setup. However, that still depends on how much incremental benefit I get from the gut (power and feel should be the biggest in theory) to make it worthwhile. In addition, your comments regarding 305+ are now making me second guess my plan to simply cut it out. Perhaps worth leaving it in one of the racquets for a while? Not sure yet.
Regardless, it is so nice to be back playing, with a great racquet!
lesley says
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the ashaway powernick is also a great string and great feeling and lives longer.
But when i have the technifibre 305 in my racket i play the best!
The 305 play,s better in my opinion.
Shane lim says
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Can’t wait to try this string 305 1.1 . currenlty using Ashaway XL micro 1.25 ..
Ben says
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Hi guys i know quite a bit about squash strings, and these are some of the best, and some of the most popular strings in the world. Tecnifibre do they string in three types of gauges ( 1.10, 1.20 and 1.30) 1.10 giving the best play ability, 1.20 giving a blend of durability and play ability and finally 1.30 giving durability. the Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 1.18 squash string (red) is there power string and, frays after some use but to hesitate to buy them because they are great strings and are meant to fray because it gives the strings more bite and cut on the ball. This affects the strings durability but improves the play ability and they do have decent durability for such a good string.
the 305+ string is a good blend of the X-One Biphase 1.18 and the 305 it too comes in three gauges (1.10, 1,20 and 1.30) what you get is all the power of the X-One Biphase with all the control of the 305, designed to get the best of both. and this does not fray, despite this the 305 (green) are my favorite strings.
Ben
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks Ben! I have been using the 305 + 1.2 for a while now (I think… it’s what came pre-strung in my Carboflex 130, black color). I like it. I feel like it’s a good combination of power and touch. I think I do prefer the green string though. Whenever these strings break I am going to go back to green.
Nektarios Katikas says
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Hi Pierre,
I have the same racket as well and I have to admit although have not played it enough i am not very happy. I think its ore of the string than the racket. So you think its will work if we use the green one for this racket? have you used it? Which one would you use 1,1 or 1,2?
In addition do you know at how many lbs is the racket strung from technifibre? are you going to use the same tension or will you experiment? Sorry for asking so many things but I am trying to figure out whats happening.
p.s. fantastic website
Pierre Bastien says
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So far I am still using the black 305+ 1.2 that (I think) came with the racket. I will probably switch to these green 305 1.1 string eventually. I think they give a bit more control. To be totally honest though, I have a hard time telling the differences between these strings. I have not tried the 305 1.2.
Ben says
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no problem Pierre, anything you ever need to know about squash equipment i am your man! Loving the website keep it up!
M says
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Hi, i’ve been using serveral strings as well and i must say the tecnifibre 305 1.10 (green) are the possibly the best strings in the world. It is no wonder that it is by far the most popular strings on tour, used by ramy ashour and james willstrop etc. i string at a slightly lower tension, usually around 24 pounds as this gives a really nice trampoline effect (the ball being trapped by the strings for a short while then shooting it out nicely using the elasticity of the string) for a soft string like that. I would advise going with the lowest gauge (1.10) as this gives the best playability, feel and power off the strings. Durability hasn’t been much of an issue for me though admittedly i don’t pay much attention to how long each set lasts. But yes, the string still holds up well after it begins to fray.
I have tried the tecnifibre 305+ (black) as well at 1.20 gauge and i was quite disappointed. It was too stiff for my liking, almost like cables. However in terms of stiffness, nothing beats the ashaway powernick 18, nick matthew’s choice of strings. By no means are stiff strings bad, its just a personal preference.
I also used to use the tecnifibre x-one biphase red 1.18, but have since went in favour of the 305 green. The x-one actually feels quite nice after it has frayed to some extent.
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks for the review M! I also gave the red 1.18 a try at 26 pounds. I liked it well enough, but I agree with you — the green was much better. I didn’t have the red in my racket long enough to find out what it was like after the strings frayed (my frame broke).
Felix says
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Pierre, in case you try the black I’d be very curious to read of your experience with it.
It surely is a matter of personal preference and I’d like to learn what aspects of a string players appreciate. Thanks!
Felix says
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I’ve recently tried the black string (tecnifibre 305+, 1.1mm) and I wasn’t happy at all. I know the x-one biphase (red) and from advertisement I took that the 305+ should be like the 305 but with more power, somewhat like the x-one biphase.
I was very disappointed of its performance. It felt very tight and hard and generally didn’t provide a comfortable feeling on the shots. I know several players who say they have no issues with it. Maybe it’s just not suitable for my Racket (Tecnifibre Supreme NG130)?
I’ve been stringing my rackets myself for years and I’ve tried probably more than 20 different strings and found that the 305 (green) is the best in my opinion.
Pierre says
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Thanks for the feedback Felix! Right now I am trying out the Tecnifibre red x-one biphase 1.18. It feels nice and solid but I don’t experience the sane “pop” on the ball that I did with the green string. I haven’t tried the black, thanks for your insight there!
-Pierre
Ben says
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Hi Fellex, I use tecnifibre 305+ 1.30 in my prince airstick 130, and it took about 3 months to get used to but one day it finally clicked, and BANG! The string provides great control and power as it is meant to be a blend of the x-one biphase and the 305, so right now it seems to be working well, but you have to stick with it, however I will be using the 305 in my Prince Rebels when they arrive.
Ben
Kuba says
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I used 305+ on my Prince Airstick 130, but it was strung by my pakistani coach who is stringing the rackets with his bare hands. The strings were super loose, I guess something around 8 kg, but I really liked them. After this experiment I started stringing the airstick with lower tensions, mostly ashaway supernick xl micro.
However I also know from experience that Tecnifibre rackets suck with ashaway strings.
Felix says
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@ Brock: I cannot agree on the short string live of the tecnifibre 305 1.1mm. I’ve been using it for several years now and playing squash 7 hours a week on average the strings generally more than 2 months. Once they start to cut in at the crosses they still last a long time!
By the way: strings breaking at the grommet is due to a misshit and generally is a sing of lacking skills -> if the ball is not tight to the wall there is no reason to hit it off-center. If the ball is glued to the wall the only way to play it safely (I’m talking of not making a poor shot and possibly loosing the rally) is to lift it up in order to get it to the back of the court with little power and maximum control.
On the other hand strings tend to break less easily at the grommet if the racket is strung at higher tension.
Lauri says
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Pretensioning is a feature that can be found on best stringing machines. You can adjust the pretensioning level. Basically it tightens the the string 10-30% more then looses the string and tightens it to desired level. Without pretensioning you can loose 10% in the first 24 hours.
305 is one of the best squash strings I’ve ever tried. Also the wilson NXT pro was great, even better, but for some reason they stopped manufacturing it and presented the new hollow core (not that good). The playing feel with 305 vs. NXT was quite similar. Did you know that wilson NXT was manufactured in same factory (technifibre, france)!
Now has anyone tried the new black 305+ string? It’s the thinnest from TF so far (1.05). Mo El Shorabagy and many others use it
Pierre says
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Thanks Lauri, that’s great info!
Ben says
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Hi Lauri, I have tried the 305+ 1.30 (in my prince airstick 130) and it is a great string, but takes a long time to get used to it, but when I did it was a great sting which gives great power and control, as it is meant to be a blend of the x-one biphase and the 305 string. Also you are getting confused with Ashaway PowerNick 19 which is the thinnest string in the world (1.05) as Tecnifibre do 1.10, 1.20 and 1.30
and no thinner or thicker.
Ben
Ron Chanderbhan says
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Pierre,
I have used the Technifibre 305 1.1 for the past 6 years at least. Best string I have ever used. In my experience with this string it needs to be pre-stretched to work optimally. I usually use them at 27-28 lbs tension.
Good luck on your string experiments and look forward to hearing more about your string trials.
Pierre says
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Thanks for the feedback Ron! I had never even heard of pre-stretching string. I found this video explanation, which is pretty interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=praasXlb0Ls
He says the benefits are:
Removing the “coil memory”
Maximizing tension life
Brock in HK says
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I use these strings on my Prince AirStick 130, Ramy’s racquet of choice. The strings have been good performers. I’ve been happy with the performance. The feel and sound are just right, I get a decent amount of cut on drops and shots hit with a lot of cut, and good power when hitting straight drives.
That said, the string has been quite fragile. Just when they get a little cut where they cross at the sweet spot and settle in, they break. It’s also a brittle string, so if you hit with a hard swing on the edge of the racquet, that can sometimes cause the strings to break. I can get between 5-20 games (depending on luck, I think) on a set of string, which isn’t that much. I had used TF1.18, which was much more durable. I’m keeping my pro busy with stringing, but I’ll probably stick with it for a while.
For comparison, I had compared the TF 1.1, the TF 1.18 and a couple Ashaway (Red, Black) over this past summer and the TF 1.1 was my favorite string of those I tried. Hope that helps.
Pierre says
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Hi Brock thanks for the feedback! I have already got that little cut around the sweet spot. We’ll see how long they last. I might also try some of those other strings you mentioned.
D says
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Pierre, have you seen some of the discussions on strings over at squashgame.info?
It dates back several years but is a good source of opinion about different strings.
Personally, I find TF strings expensive, and when I tried the 1.1, they snapped rather quickly. After trying TF 305 1.1 and 1.2, as well as TF X-One (nice, but even more expensive!), I’ve settled on Ashaway Ultranick 18g, the blue ones, which I really enjoy. Same amount of power as the Powernicks, but increased feel and much softer. Granted, they are textured, but worth a try!
D
D says
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http://www.squashgame.info/squashforum/1958
Pierre says
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Thanks D I will have a look through that thread! And thanks for the feedback! I might try those Ashaways as well.