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Ashaway Crossfire Family of Tennis Strings Offers Range of Hybrid Options

November 11, 2019

Ashaway, RI – For many years now, hybrid stringing — the practice of using one string for the mains and another for the crosses — has been popular among many types of players, including some of the very best. Hybrid stringing allows players to fine-tune their racquets to their particular style of play, much as legendary baseball players have designed signature bats. They want more spin, more power, better drops, or simply some relief from the arm jarring impact of today’s ultra-stiff polyester strings. For these players, Ashaway Crossfire® strings offer more combinations of main and cross strings than any other brand.

“Many players don’t like the impact of polyesters,” said Ashaway’s Steve Crandall, “and normal everyday players just don’t get enough benefit from these strings to warrant the added cost. So more and more, they turn to more traditional multi-filament and synthetic gut strings, which offer a good combination of performance, economy and durability, or they start experimenting with hybrid stringing. Players of all stripes, including many of the players I saw at this year’s US Open, are using polyesters or aramids for stiffness and durability, but mixing them with a softer string for playability.”

Ashaway’s Crossfire family includes six different material and string gauge combinations to suit even the most discerning player’s taste. The earlier models — Crossfire II, 17, and 18 — utilize aramid (Kevlar®) mains and synthetic gut crosses to provide varying degrees of toughness and durability while enhancing playability.

Crossfire Plus combines a 1.25 mm (17 gauge) blend of braided aramid and PTFE fibers for the mains, and Synthetic Gut with an abrasion resistant wear layer for the crosses. The result is a tough, durable hybrid combination with a softer feel, superior resilience, and maximum ability to impart spin. Crossfire Plus is designed for chronic string breakers and top-spin players looking for a hybrid string combination that plays better than a heavier gauge aramid, but wears just as well.

The most recent additions to the Crossfire hybrid line incorporate Ashaway’s increasingly popular 100% PEEK monofilament strings. Included are Crossfire ZX, which combines Ashaway’s 17 gauge braided aramid/PTFE Kevlar +Plus mains with MonoGut® ZX Pro cross strings; and Crossfire ZX Tour, which includes Ashaway’s co-polymer string MonoGut Original mains with MonoGut ZX for the crosses.

Crossfire ZX is the lighter of the two hybrids, combining 1.25 mm Kevlar +Plus mains for superior durability and control with MonoGut ZX Pro crosses. The 17 gauge Kevlar +Plus is a blend of braided aramid and silky soft PTFE fibers that softens the string’s feel, while the 1.22 mm MonoGut ZX Pro is a 100% PEEK monofilament that has the closest dynamic stiffness to natural gut of any synthetic string and sets the benchmark for soft power and spin.

For heavier hitters there is Crossfire ZX Tour. This hybrid utilizes 1.27 mm MonoGut Original co-polymer monofilament strings in the mains for excellent durability and enhanced spin with 1.27 mm MonoGut ZX for the cross strings. This 100% PEEK monofilament maximizes power and improves the feel of the ball. The Crossfire ZX Tour hybrid allows players to experience playability and performance similar to the co-polymer/natural gut hybrid that is so popular on the tour, but with the extra advantage of optimum durability.

“If you’re one of the many players who find no single string exactly meets their needs,” said Crandall, “hybrid stringing is for you. And there is no more complete line of hybrid strings than Ashaway’s Crossfire family.”

Ashaway Racket Strings are made by Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Operated by the Crandall family since 1824, Ashaway has been making racquet strings since 1949, and is responsible for several important technical innovations. Ashaway has been the Official String of USA Racquetball for more than fifteen years. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications. For more information visit www.ashawayusa.com. Also, follow Steve Crandall on Instagram at ashawayusastring. Kevlar is a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. Inc.