The Best String Savers
Here are our top picks for string savers.
Babolat ElastoCross Tennis String Saver
Babolat claims their string savers increase the life of your strings by up to 50%. It’s that toughness that earns them a spot on our list.
They’re made of a strong plastic that effectively cuts down on the friction between the strings. If you use gut or multifilament strings, they’ll get you a lot more life and keep you from restringing–and dropping extra money on new strings–every few matches.
Babolat’s string savers are easy to install, too. They come with an applicator tool that employs hooks to lift up the strings and hold them open. These keep the strings from snapping off the applicator, wasting time and leaving you frustrated.
Finally, they’re a great value. For a low price, you can significantly increase the life of your strings, especially gut if you’re lucky enough to play with this high-end string. When you consider how much money it is replacing strings over and over, these string savers are a smart investment.
Tourna Cross String Savers
Pete Sampras used these on his racket when he won 14 Grand Slams. Like Pete Sampras, you can use these to take your strings to the edge of their lives and beyond. They lock strings in place to keep them from rubbing against each other when you hit the ball.
They’re small pieces of plastic that come in a rounded design that does a great job at reducing string movement. You’ll notice when you install them that they mold to the strings under pressure.
The applicator uses hooks to hold up the strings. Then you slide one of the string savers down into place. They go in easily, so installation only takes a few seconds.
The Tourna Cross string savers really take the gold when it comes to price. As one of the least expensive products on our list, you more than get a bang for your buck. Take a look at these string savers if price is your top concern.
Wilson Friction Fighter
These are the string savers of choice used by Roger Federer. Unfortunately, they’re not easy to find these days and may even have been discontinued for public use.
The Friction Fighters are shaped similar to the Babolat ElastoCross string savers. They’re also made of the same strong material that prevents friction where the strings intersect.
The applicator Wilson made for these string savers works great. It’s shaped with a bulge at the end, so it won’t slip out of your hand. You can just slide the string savers in, and you’re ready to play.
If you can find them, they also come at a great price.
Wilson String Glide
Wilson’s String Glide string savers look a little different than other models but don’t let that fool you. They’re still great at cutting down the friction between strings so you don’t get as many breaks.
These string savers are small round disks. As the name suggests, this shape provides a gliding, low-friction surface that saves strings from wear and tear. As an added bonus, you also get a long life out of the string savers themselves thanks to the smooth design.
The applicator is similar to that of other brands. The round string savers don’t line up like others, though, so they move freely inside the tool. You can easily move them into the insertion point with your finger and then insert them using the lever of the tool.
Like Wilson’s other model, String Glide string savers are a name-brand product at a great value. However, these string savers are just as hard to find as Wilson’s String Glide these days.
If you like experimenting with your gear, these are a great product to check out.
Discontinued: String-A-Lings
String-A-Lings were one of the original string-saver brands, but they’ve been discontinued. They were simple and well made, designed to reduce friction and help keep your strings fresh.
The tool that came with these string savers was different than those available for players these days. The string savers didn’t actually go inside the applicator. Instead, they came separately, and the tool was a small lever you could use to lift up the strings. This gave you control over the string saver as you set it in the intersection with your fingers.
While they’re no longer available for purchase, they’re still frequently referenced and searched for online.
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