Introducing Signum Pro Yellow Jacket! As a co-polyester monofilament, this string is designed to give intermediate and advanced players the needed control to attack the ball. In addition to its low powered and ultra-predictable response, this string has a hexagonal shape for maximum bite. The result is massive spin potential. With its comfortably crisp feel, this is one of the best under $10 polys available.
Try this 1.30mm gauge for slightly more control and durability than the 1.22mm version
Signum Pro Yellow Jacket String Review Price: $9.99 ________ Upsides
Downsides
. Summary Signum Pro is no stranger to polyester strings. It's part of a handful of European string brands that got in on the ground floor of professional tennis' polyester revolution. Over the years, the company from Deggingen, Germany, has produced a number of impressive co-polys, including Poly Plasma, its flagship string. For 2018, Signum Pro may have outdone itself with the introduction of Yellow Jacket, a six-sided co-polyester with above average comfort and playability. On court, the first thing our playtesters noticed about Yellow Jacket was spin — and lots of it. Put simply, it rewarded their biggest swings with heavy balls that came down sharply and accurately. In addition to its exceptional scores for spin, control and durability, Yellow Jacket also received an impressive score for feel. Unlike more traditional polys, this string didn't punish slower strokes and off-center hits with an overly dead or stiff response. Although we couldn't agree on any downsides, Yellow Jacket definitely loses some tension over time (like the majority of co-polys we've tested). As a result, many players will have to cut it out before it snaps. Ultimately, for the player who wants a spin-friendly co-poly with great feel, Yellow Jacket is worth a serious look. The fact that you can pick up a set for under $10 makes it awfully hard to resist. . Signum Pro Yellow Jacket String Scores
. Control - Score: 90 / Power - Score: 56 As a polyester-based monofilament, Yellow Jacket is designed to give experienced players the control they need to stay on the attack. Judging from the exceptional score it received for control, the design definitely works. Having said that, this co-poly is far from muted. As a result, Chrisneeded to be mindful of string tension. He explained, "My first few outings with Yellow Jacket were with the string at 48 lbs in my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS. The string felt too lively at that tension, so I moved up to 52 lbs for more control. The change in tension dialed everything in. At 52 lbs, Yellow Jacket provided me with an ideal blend of power and control. I was able to take full, confident cuts at the ball without fear of overhitting. Generating depth and pace was still easy, but I had the control I needed to flirt with the lines." Finding great control along with sufficient power, Jason commented, "As is the case with most polyester strings, there was a lot of control with Yellow Jacket. Compared to other polys, this certainly wasn't a 'dead' string by any means. I found really nice ball pocketing on my shots and enough pop to not feel like I had to overswing. The balance of control and power was right in line with some of my other favorite polyester strings, so I didn't feel the need to adjust my regular tension." Troy also found excellent control, especially in the beginning of the playtest. He explained, "Compared to other co-polys, this string is on the control side of the spectrum. It provided a softer feel than most co-polys, but I always felt like I could get the ball right where I wanted it. After a few weeks of playtesting I started to notice significant tension loss. With this tension loss, as with most co-poly strings, my Yellow Jacket started to feel dead. This led to some loss in overall responsiveness, and I wasn't quite finding the level of pop off the stringbed that I enjoyed while it was fresh." Spin - Score: 94 With its six grippy edges, Yellow Jacket is built to put a tight grip on the ball. It also has a low-friction surface, which enables the mains to slide out of position before snapping the ball out of the stringbed with extra rotation. According to our crew, this created some impressive spin potential. Chris summed it up nicely, "I found Yellow Jacket to be a very spin-friendly string. It felt like the stringbed was pocketing the ball well and providing plenty of grab. Both my topspin and slice groundstrokes were getting plenty of rotation. I got enough spin from this string to find even more control on aggressive shots. I was able to up the rally pace whenever I desired, which helped me surprise opponents and keep them off rhythm." Like Chris, Jason also found that Yellow Jacket offered all the spin he needed. He explained, "The hexagonal shape provided above-average access to spin. I could get my topspin forehand shots to dip and land in near the baseline on shots that I thought would land long. It really helped enhance my slice and drop shots as well." Yellow Jacket's spin potential was right up there with some of Troy's favorite strings. He said, "I was finding plenty of spin. Hitting it side by side with Laserfibre JB Tour 100, I definitely found an increase in ball bite. Put technically, it had high string-to-ball friction. The spin potential was as good as Volkl Cyclone and Solinco Hyper-G, which are some of my favorite spin strings. The surface of Yellow Jacket had a nice slick feel to it, which allowed for easy snapback of the main strings. This seemed to benefit the overall level of spin I could impart on the ball. With spin strings like Yellow Jacket, I love flicking my forehand on the run; it's fun to see how much angle and bend I can put on the ball." Comfort - Score: 64 As a monofilament made primarily from polyester, Yellow Jacket doesn't have the ultra-plush feel of a multifilament or natural gut string. In fact, most of its appeal comes from its firm and durable construction. The good news is that none of our playtesters reported any issues with excessive impact shock, which is occasionally a problem with this type of string. Troy found a decently comfortable response. He described, "I found the comfort to be above average among co-poly and monofilament strings. Compared to my go-to string, Yellow Jacket had a fairly similar comfort level to my go-to string, Volkl Cyclone. In the overall spectrum of soft to stiff, Yellow Jacket seemed to sit slightly on the soft side. Players who typically play with co-polys should have no comfort issues with Yellow Jacket." As a longtime polyester player, Chris predictably had no problems with discomfort. He said, "Even with my decision to go up in tension, I still found Yellow Jacket to be comfortable for a co-poly string. I found that it offered ample give and provided good pocketing. I had zero comfort issues with this string." "It felt somewhat firm, but not anywhere near the point where I felt it was uncomfortable," said Jason. "For me, it feels firmer than Volkl Cyclone Tour or Solinco Tour Bite Soft, but softer than Volkl Cyclone or Dunlop Black Widow." Feel - Score: 86 The biggest complaint with polyester strings is that they tend to feel too stiff, which results in harsh feedback on off-center hits and a dead response on slower, more compact strokes. According to our team, Yellow Jacket avoids these problems. Jason especially appreciated the balanced, connected feel this string offered. He said, "I really loved the feel of this string. It provides great feedback and doesn't feel too stiff. I'd say it had a comfortably firm feel that kept me connected to my shots without putting any undue strain on my wrist or elbow." Like Jason, Chris gave Yellow Jacket an exceptional score for feel. He commented, "Yellow Jacket offered great feel in my TFlash 300 PS. I could feel the ball sinking into the stringbed nicely, and I always felt very connected to my touch shots. Likewise, when rolling a lob or angle I had a solid sense of depth and placement. Feel was definitely a strong point for me with this string." For Troy, Yellow Jacket's feel was ultimately on par with some of the more arm-friendly co-polys he's tested. He explained, "The feel of Yellow Jacket, as far as stiffness is concerned, was medium to slightly softer than medium. For being in the mix with medium to softer co-polys, this string had more of a crisp response. It wasn't quite as crisp as Solinco Tour Bite, Luxilon ALU Power or Kirschbaum Max Power. The crispness level was more in line with softer strings like Cyclone Tour and ISOSPEED Cream." Playability Duration - Score: 72 Many professional tennis players switch racquets a few times over the course of a single match. This is because their strings lose tension, which typically compromises both feel and control. Although Yellow Jacket is not immune to this problem, our team found that it held its playing characteristics pretty well over the course of the playtest. For Troy, it lasted a little longer than most co-polys he's tried. He explained, "The tension maintenance and playability duration was a bit better than average for this type of string. I found slightly better tension maintenance than my usual Volkl Cyclone, but not quite as much as Solinco Hyper-G. Usually after about two weeks with Volkl Cyclone I prefer to cut it out and start over. Yellow Jacket seemed to give me about another week (or around 5 to 7 hours) of quality life." For Chris, reference tension was key to extending this string's playability. He said, "When I had Yellow Jacket strung at 48 lbs it felt too lively, and that got worse quickly as tension dropped out. Having the string installed at 52 lbs with a slight pre-stretch solved the issue. I was able to get a solid three weeks of hitting without feeling like the ball was flying on me." "Playability was pretty good up until the three-week mark," said Jason. "That's when I noticed a drop in both power and control, and I felt like I had to swing much harder to get the shots to go where I wanted. Up until that point, playability remained pretty stable throughout." Overall - Score: 83 What type of player would you recommend this to? Jason - "Intermediate to advanced players who want a budget-friendly polyester that provides really good spin, control and feel." Chris - "Players seeking a spin-friendly poly with excellent control and feel should give Yellow Jacket a try." Troy - "The poly player who wants a string with a high level of spin potential and decent tension maintenance without an overly stiff feel." Likes Troy - "Yellow Jacket has great spin and nice pop off the stringbed." Chris - "I love the spin, control, power and feel." Jason - "The feel, control, ball pocketing and price are all great." Dislikes Jason - "It could be a little more powerful." Chris - "It feels a tad too lively at my regular tension, but that's an easy fix." Troy - "It doesn't hold its tension quite as long as Solinco Hyper-G, although that's somewhat expected with its softer feel." Comparing the string to others they've tried, our testers said: Troy - "Yellow Jacket is a good middle-ground string for me. Comparing two of my favorite strings, Volkl Cyclone and Solinco Hyper-G, Yellow Jacket holds its tension a bit better than Cyclone and adds a bit of control. Yellow Jacket doesn't hold its tension quite as well as Solinco Hyper-G, but it feels softer." Chris - "It has been awhile since I tested Signum Pro Poly Plasma, but Yellow Jacket felt slightly livelier and softer. I would have to hit them side by side to get a deeper understanding of the differences since I'm using a different racquet now. Compared to the limited-edition Luxilon ALU Power I'm also currently testing, Yellow Jacket is softer and livelier. If you like polys like Isospeed Cream, I think you'll like Yellow Jacket." Jason - "Yellow Jacket feels pretty similar to Solinco Tour Bite Soft and Dunlop Black Widow." Scores (Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores) Chris' Scores Power 6.4 Feel 9 Spin 9 Playability Duration 6.8 Comfort 7 Durability 9 Control 9.2 Overall 9 Jason's Scores Power 6 Feel 9 Spin 8 Playability Duration 8 Comfort 6.5 Durability 9 Control 9 Overall 8.5 Troy's Scores Power 4.5 Feel 7.7 Spin 9 Playability Duration 6.9 Comfort 5.6 Durability 8.7 Control 8.7 Overall 7.5 Playtester String Setups Troy: Chris: Jason: Review date: August 2018. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us. |