From time to time there are new string manufacturers popping up with interesting offers and the market has become increasingly diverse. Another new player on the strings market is PLYGN strings from Germany, which is working with German factories and mainly offers poly strings of a broad variety. I was lucky enough to test their portfolio throughout the last weeks and want to share my insights with you.
All their tennis strings come in modern plastic packaging that looks clean with an all-black design, has a zip loc to it and has all the information printed on it. The logo is pretty basic but also looks quite nice, resembling a bolt which makes for a nice stencil as well. Their strings might not be as fancy as other new string brands around, but all their marketing seems to be well thought through and their offering is supplemented by the usual grips, shirts and accessories. But let’s have a look at the strings in store.
PLYGN Team One
Every brand has their own basic go-to string for customers, usually with a round profile and an even set of qualities. For PLYGN this is the Team One, which comes in black color and is supposedly a comfortable and controlled string for any kind of player. Indeed, this feels pretty soft and might not be for those who look for a dead string with maximum control, but offers power and a predictable response with some arm-friendliness. The only negative to me was that it started shifting pretty fast and then felt a bit less predictable than in the beginning.
Clearly, this string can be strung at your typical tension and doesn’t need to be adjusted softer. Spin isn’t the focus of Team One, but it is a great round offer which really can let the racket “speak” for itself in a way. If you want an aggressive and spin-heavy string, there are other ones for you in this portfolio, though.
PLYGN Pro Six
The counterpart on the shaped poly side to Team One may be the Pro Six, which is the basic spin offering for PLYGN. It has a hexagonal profile and seems to be not too far from the Team One in terms of materials, even though the black version is a bit more low-powered. It adds a serious amount of spin to the game and can really shine when playing aggressively, with a lot of shape to your balls. It shares the same qualities in part as the Team One, power and comfort, but also shares that it moves rather quickly and might not be a durability champion.
They recently added a yellow version of Pro Six, which mainly was introduced for cosmetic reasons I would guess. But as so often with lighter colored strings, this also felt a tad more powerful than its black version.
PLYGN Comp One & Comp Six
For the players looking to have a more dead and controlled string, a rather advanced approach if you want to say so, there is the PLYGN Comp line. Comp One is the round version, coming in a bronze kind of color called shell. It is significantly stiffer than Team One, already when stringing the racket and has a much stiffer and direct response to it. On the other hand, it also offers less comfort and free power due to this. The spin is comparable to Team One or other round strings on the market, while still being better than coated strings which do not move at all.
It lasts a long time compared to the previous strings mentioned and offers pin-point precision, if your arm can handle the increased stiffness. Comp Six is not only the exact same color, but most likely the same material as well, as it offers all the above with a lot more spin from its shape. PLYGN recommends stringing this 10-15% softer than your typical tension, which makes sense considering the stiffness and direct response. If you are sensitive in regard to tennis elbow, I would recommend trying another string from this brand and staying away here.
PLYGN Tour Eight
It seems that every brand also needs to have an octagonal string these days and Tour Eight is PLYGN’s very own version of that. It is noticeably sharper than RPM Blast and therefor also gives a lot more spin into the ball. It compliments this with a pretty even set of qualities, where it is in between Pro Six and Comp Six in terms of stiffness and response. You get a decent amount of power from it, but I would not qualify it as a rather soft or comfortable string. The shining point of this string, that is recommended to be strung 1 kg softer than usual, is its exceptional spin with good power.
The green version of Tour Eight is a tad more lively again, but the difference did not seem as big to me as with Pro Six. But it adds a nice touch of cosmetic to it which, particularly in a black or white racket, can make it look especially good.
PLYGN Hyper Four
This string reminds me of another popular string – Ultra Cable. It is four-sided with a nice yellow color and right from the moment you unpack this, you will feel that this is a stiff and spiky string. It is so stiff that I would not recommend playing it in a full bed, but rather add it in a hybrid (link to the hybrid article). The response of a full bed was boardy and really anything but comfortable. When combined with a soft string like Yonex Poly Tour Pro in the crosses, the string could really show its heavy spin potential without feeling like a board of plywood. This is a really special string and PLYGN recommends stringing this 10-15% softer again, which makes sense in a lot of ways.
I only tried the 1.23mm version, so there might be a less stiff response from their 1,18mm version if you want to go all out on the spin side here. But my real recommendation would be to pair this with a soft poly in the crosses and get the best of both worlds.
PLYGN Alu One / Alu One Soft
Another very common theme is for customers to look for a less expensive version of Alu Power. And while PLYGN Alu One might not be the perfect replacement if you want the same feeling as the legendary Luxilon string, it is an interesting take at a string with crystalline additions. The black version is the stiffer one, which from the sound to the response comes close to original, but clearly offers a more slippery coating and different qualities. It is responsive, offers good power and control, while playing pretty direct and never giving you the feeling of overhitting. Similar to other aluminium-enhanced strings, they go dead after a while, but offer longer snapback than other versions.
If you want a bit softer response, there is a soft version as well. It sacrifices a bit of the direct and responsive feeling for comfort, which especially helps players suffering from tennis elbow. I preferred the black version, as my arm is still holding on tough, but of course I understand why a softer version is helpful for a variety of players.
Conclusion
PLYGN is a new competitor on the market, which kind of took a more Germany based approach through social media first. Their strings seem of good quality and if you are looking for a different brand to try, these definitely are interesting options at a fair price. There are test sets available and especially their Comp strings are something which cannot be found in most of the larger brands’ offerings. If you ever try those, let us know in the comments what you think!
