By this point, virtually everyone who's in or around the tennis world is familiar with polyester strings and their popularity. Television commentators consistently mention how much polyester has changed the game and players continue to rave about how much control and topspin they can produce with polyester strings. With that in mind, I'll spare everyone a detailed introduction and get right down to a review of Topspin's latest polyester offering—Culex Squarestring.
Culex Squarestring is a geometric polyester, so if you looked at the cross section of the string, you would see—you guessed it—a square. Geometric strings are really nothing new at this point; there are literally dozens of them on the market, including Babolat RPM, Wilson Spin Cycle, and Dunlop Black Widow, but Culex Squarestring is the first and only one I've ever seen that features a square cross section. In truth, I'm not sure whether a square profile necessarily provides any distinct advantage over any other geometric shapes (including triangles, gears, and traditional round strings), but that's a debate for another time. Questions of texture and shape aside, I really enjoyed Topspin Culex Squarestring and thought it was a very nice poly.
Stringing Culex Squarestring was pretty much on par with what I've come to expect whenever I string a textured or a geometric poly with sharp edges; it's hard on the fingers and generally not fun to weave—especially in a tight string pattern. On the upside, coil memory seemed to be quite low. I really had no issues at all with tangles, making this polyester somewhat less unpleasant to string, despite the sharp edges. Even so, I won't be signing up to break any "consecutive racquets strung with Squarestring" records.
As a side note, if you plan to use Squarestring as part of a hybrid, take care when installing your crosses, especially if you're using natural gut or a soft multifilament as the other component. Squarestring's edges are pretty sharp and pulling a soft string through quickly or carelessly on the crosses can really shred them, resulting in damaged cross strings that won't last as long as they should.
In terms of playability, Culex Squarestring is a polyester so it's simply not going to rival the feel of natural gut, but I do think it stacks up favorably against other polyester strings. I decided to string it up fairly loose at 51 pounds and I was really happy with the performance and feel of the strings. I didn't experience any discomfort and I felt like I was able to generate plenty of spin on groundstrokes as well as serves. The strings definitely seemed to snap back into position, imparting some extra spin so I could give the ball a good rip with plenty of confidence. At the net, I wished for a little more feel and forgiveness, but in truth, volleys aren't exactly my forte anyway and I'm pretty sure that Squarestring isn't to blame for my lack of finesse.
I played with the Squarestring about two hours after stringing it and I haven't had a chance to hit with it again, so I can't really comment on how well it maintains tension yet. Hopefully the weather will cut us all a break soon so I can get back on the courts and hit with it some more. Once I do, I'll post an update with some thoughts about Culex Squarestring's tension maintenance.
All in all, Topspin Culex Squarestring is a good string and it's definitely worthy of your consideration. Squarestring is priced reasonably too and in my opinion it was just as nice as some of the polyesters that cost five or six dollars more. That being said, I don't think Squarestring quite separated itself from the polyester pack enough to stand out as something really exceptional. For me, it fell more into the "very good" but not "great" category. Still, when it comes to strings, it's all about personal preference, so if you're looking for a new polyester to switch up your game, give Squarestring a try and let me know what you think!
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