Tecnifibre Triax Review
Tecnifibre Triax is a new multifiliment string that includes, for the first time ever, both nylon and polyester filaments in its construction. In theory, this all-in-one hybrid string could render all other options irrelevant. Both Stephen and Beckett were on this play test. Stephen strung up two of his customized Volkl V8 Pro’s, one in a full be of Triax 16g at 55lbs, and one in a hybrid with GrappleSnake Tour Sniper mains at 55/55lbs. Beckett strung Triax 16g at 55lbs in a full bed in his customized Yonex VCore 95.
The typical issues with nylon strings is that they lack control, spin and most importantly, durability. Intro polyester, the king of control, spin and durability, but lacking in comfort and feel. This is way many player choose to hybrid, using poly in the mains and nylon in the crosses, or vice versa. On the pro tour, all time greats, Federer, Djokovic, Serena, will use gut instead of nylon for even more feel and power. Triax is a competitor for these hybrid setups. It offers a blend of feel, comfort, control and durability, much like a hybrid would.
After hours of testing multiple different setups, different racquets, full beds and hybrids, we found Triax to deliver on it’s promises. Control is higher than most nylons, in a similar range to polyester/single core nylon hybrids. The comfort is excellent, far beyond any polyester string I have ever tried, including ultra soft offerings like RPM Power or Luxilon Smart. Spin is superior to full nylon setups, but not even close to even the least spin friendly poly. Durability was similar to that of a hybrid as well, with the strings starting to fray after about 1.5 hours of hard hitting on clay up at Bear Mountain Tennis Club.
Let’s compare Triax to some other common setups. I think Triax’s main rival is a poly/multifilament nylon hybrid. Most performance aspects are pretty similar here, depending on which poly and which multi you choose. In general, the Triax should offer better comfort, but you’ll be sacrificing some durability. When I say durability, I mean time before you experience a breakage. The Triax main string simply won’t last as long as a poly main string before breaking. Playability duration is related, but different subject. This is how long the string actually plays well. I don’t not get very long playability duration out of most hybrid strings. This is because on ball impact, the polyester string is forced down before snapping back into place. This friction quickly were down any slippery coating on the nylon crosses. This mean even with spin friendly nylons like Head Velocity MLT, or synthetic guts like Prince Durlast, I only get about 40 minutes a decent spin. I got about 90 minutes of good spin and playability out of Triax before it started to fray.
In terms of actually feel, I think Triax in a full lands quite close to a gut mains, poly crosses hybrid. This is pretty big praise, as gut has been king for the past 150 or so years. You get that great pocketing feel with even shot, but it feels crisp and responsive, unlike some of the mushiness you can get with some poly/nylon hybrids. Durability and playability duration are quite similar in my experience. Gut mains actually last pretty long for me so long as the string job is taken care of properly. This bring us to the main benefit of Triax over a gut hybrid. Triax is easy to string and resistant to moisture. It low maintenance and you don’t have to worry about your home stringer kinking the string. This factor alone may make it worth choosing Triax.
Tecnifibre has done a phenomenal job developing a string that combines so much feel and comfort with solid levels of control and feel. If you are a poly player looking for better feel, a hybrid user of any kind, or a nylon player seeking more control, give Triax a shot. It’s a great offering that is worth you time and money.
