Nowadays, probably yes. I do remember that my old trainer, who did a lot of testing and research a long time ago, said he did some tests, or heard about it, where they cut open rackets and with microscopes they could see that other brand rackets often had little air bubbles between their carbon, where Yonex rackets didn't. He also told us that in the past the Danish national team got a new sponsor (I think it was Forza or something), but all the players still kept playing with their Yonex rackets. I saw it too with Kenneth Jonassen. In 2006 he was sponsored by Pro Kennex, but he still played with his Armortec 700. Now, it is not to say they stick with their old racket because of quality differences. Mostly because they haven't found a good replacement. However, it is kinda telling when a whole national team sticks with their old rackets, despite a new sponsor. And Kenneth kept playing with Yonex racket for the entire sponsorship from Pro Kennex, although it was brief. So there seems to be a reason or history why Yonex rackets are often considered the best.
I've been a bit lazy in making more videos lately - mostly because I'm missing good ideas what to show. Just asking in here: Would there be any interest in seeing a video covering that pattern in a more "tutorial" style? Meaning that I'm explaining the important steps and specialties of it? Or maybe I'll just add a clip showing how that pattern would look like on a 4+2 style racket like the Adidas P8?
I found this and the TTY video easy enough to follow with the instruction overlays like this. This was already 'tutorial-like' for me. Video ideas are tough, here are some thoughts: Maybe a follow up to the grommet vid with some grommets from different sources and show which ones are more durable? (hint, I think it will be the LN box, but I like thin T shaped ones for the 4+2 pattern ones top single cross/mains more for easier stringing) Maybe some tips for newbies, with some demo about single vs double pull results (calibration tool on the doublepulled string) and maybe the dropweight angle margin result in tension loss? Maybe one with tips to speed up stringing? (you take your time here, but still have the same time as my dropweight 2 piece stringing) Maybe one where you measure different strings dropping tension? Maybe one with different string characteristics and which to choose for what? (it's been done, but most only do Yonex and some victor strings) Maybe one where you get frustrated with the twisting of the aerobite cross string (aerosonic)! (shared pain is better than suffering alone ) Maybe one where you tell players what to look for when they choose a (new) stringer? Maybe one where you recommend when and how (and with what stuff) to start stringing? Our (with @Dekkert) results for impact of main/cross tension ratio methods on racket shape are almost ready to share on the forum, but we're not really video makers so will make a very elaborate thread instead. Can't really see that much with your eyes anyways.
Those are good ideas! Since I'm not having a drop weight machine around anymore, the one with the bar angle is off the table too - although that one would have been interesting too. Personally, I'm not that much into too much data collection and losing yourself in details when it comes to stringing. To me, it literally doesn't matter what percentage in tension string X or Y loses over the first 24 hours or the first session for example, and I don't want to motivate others to get too OCD over their strings. Also, I have a hard time putting different string types into different style-drawers since I'm convinced that you can play every style with every string as long as it feels right and you take enough time to get used to it properly. Hmmmm but maybe that could make a topic for a video by itself? But thanks for the suggestions, they give me some material to think about!
I get that, I totally agree not getting bogged down in details is the best policy. Sometimes I do think it adds something, especially when there have been many discussions and good insight and advice can be gained. (thats why we did the cross/main tension thingy) For string types: I am all for getting the string you feel best with, and adapting to a different string takes a bit of time. To me it's not a certain style that blends well with a string, but more a feel and control thing that fits what type of feedback and control you want and like. I like certain things in my strings, and dislike other things, it just doesn't feel natural to me, and I'd like to know a little bit overall about what I'm getting myself in to when choosing a string to try, or an area of strings to try when I'm looking for something. The detailed performance/durability data is not that important for this purpose. Maybe there is some math to be done for the dropweight and I'll try it out at home and see what I find if it's interesting enough for a post or video.
The math for that has been covered in a previous thread: and also in far more detail by Tenniswarehouse: https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...tsegmwDhq0eOLEYJwX1_G8BSYTOo3sVVUH6L4MFWbu1J4 In reality, there will be some extra friction here and there that will distort the theoretical values a little, but it will remain in that ballpark. The difficulty for such a topic would be that it's hard to impossible to cover that whole "feel" area in a video. You can try to describe it with words but bottom line, you cannot transport or explain a string's feel. It's the same why racket review videos are always missing the most important part there. But seriously, I think that "keep it simple!" idea could be something to elaborate on further.
