Isospeed Pyramid 16 String Review

Control - Score: 88 / Power - Score: 46

Pyramid is a control string designed to help experienced players execute their biggest strokes without having to worry about overhitting. Unfortunately for Jason, this kind of string doesn't always pack enough punch. He said, "I felt like this was a low powered string, even for a poly. I found myself really trying to swing out on my groundstrokes to try to get more power on my shots. I definitely could've gone even lower than 52 lbs to up my power without sacrificing control."

Pyramid's exceptional control allowed Brittany to select ambitious targets and stay aggressive. She said, "I strung up this string in two different racquets: my current racquet of choice, the Yonex EZONE DR 100, and one of my favorite go-to racquets, the Babolat Pure Drive, around 54 lbs. Right off the bat, I noticed how low powered this string was. Because of the low power level I gravitated toward the Pure Drive because the racquet itself has some extra power potential. Nonetheless, I was really enjoying the control offered from the string and felt very comfortable being aggressive and going for riskier shots with both racquets. I could aim toward the lines and be confident about where the ball was going to land."

Spin - Score: 92

Given its firm construction and sharp edges, Pyramid is the perfect tool for loading the ball with heavy spin. Even Brittany, with her flatter mechanics, was able to get some serious ball rotation with this co-poly. She said, "This was my favorite part of the playtest. The spin potential of this string is huge. I loved it from all areas of the court. When I was hitting groundstrokes I noticed the ball dropping right in front of the baseline without me having to add more spin. I loved pulling my opponents wide with shorter, more angled approach shots that had them running into the side walls (sorry, Jason!). In doubles, I could keep the ball low and dip it at the volleyers' feet, forcing them to pop up their volleys. Lastly, I found success when hitting a slice serve out wide to the deuce side. It would pull my opponent off the court and leave an empty court to hit into to finish the point."

"Spin was a standout feature of this string for me," said Jason, whose topspin forehand was lethal with Pyramid. "Spin is a big part of my game, whether I'm hitting topspin forehands or slicing my backhand, and I definitely felt like this string was magnifying my spin potential. I compared my spin numbers against my average spin on PlaySight, and there was a 250-400 RPM increase on my shots."

Comfort - Score: 73

Although Pyramid has a firm composition and construction, our team gave it an impressive comfort score for comfort. This is not surprising since Isopeed (like Polyfibre and Double AR) seems to have a knack for creating comfortable control strings. Jason found Pyramid softer than his go-to Volkl Cyclone but he wasn't ready to dethrone Polyfibre TCS as the king of soft polys. He said, "This string kind of sits in between the two strings I use quite a bit an know well, Volkl Cyclone and Polyfibre TCS . It's not as soft as TCS and not as stiff as Cyclone. I'd compare the comfort of Pyramid to Double AR Diablo."

Brittany had zero complaints with Pyramid's comfort level, even on off-center hits. She said, "I found this polyester string to play on the soft side. It is not the softest polyester I have played with, but on the scale of softest to stiffest, it definitely is in the soft range. I will note that I have not had any issues with elbow, arm or wrist pains in the past. With that being said, I didn't notice any jarring or vibrations when hitting outside of the sweetspot."

Feel - Score: 83

The most common complaint against firm poly-based monofilaments like Pyramid is that they can feel too stiff, dead and unresponsive, especially on off-center contact. None of these common problems surfaced for Brittany. She said, "I found a consistent response from this string no matter where the ball hit in the stringbed. It was really easy to use from the very start of the playtest in both of the racquets I was using. I found the feel to be in between soft and stiff."

Jason also gave this co-poly high marks for feel. He said, "I thought the feel was fairly muted, but I still felt connected to my shots and had good results when going for a drop shot or touch volley. I also felt it pretty good when I shanked a ball out of the sweetspot."

Playability Duration - Score: 73

All good things comes to an end, especially co-polys, which tend to lose tension and playability faster than other types of string. For Jason Pyramid's performance declined as the test wore on. He explained, "After about one week I noticed a slight drop in playability, and after two weeks the string was pretty much dead. I tried using it after three weeks and found myself launching shots and missing my targets."

Brittany got a solid two weeks from this string, after which the original feel and control began to fade. She said, "This first two weeks with this string I was really grooving with it and thought it held its tension well. Like most polyesters I have hit with, when it did start to lose tension the playability dropped. I then found myself playing more with the Yonex EZONE DR 100 for a tad more control. However, I was noticing my shots weren't as precise as I wanted them to be."

Overall - Score: 82