Grapplesnake is an innovative, up-and-coming string brand. This is our Grapplesnake Aspera Triplum String review.
I tested this string together with frequent Tennisnerd contributor Simon Zeitler. We always try to have multiple reviewers on each product where possible to give you a more well-rounded insight.
This is how Grapplesnake describes their Aspera Triplum string.
Introduction by Grapplesnake
Aspera Triplum is the most comprehensive application of all technologies and poly-based additives that Grapplesnake has created and innovated with since our introduction into the market.
First, the spin potential it provides is unmatched. This is achieved with a triple approach – shape, surface, and roughness. Aspera Triplum is square with sharp edges, while also abrasive in its surface, and with diamond-shaped indentations for roughness.
Second, comfort and feel. This is very difficult to achieve in a square string, which normally tends to be relatively firm and muted. Aspera Triplum is soft, comfortable and communicative. As a comparison, Aspera Triplum is softer than Alpha, our very popular model, which is renowned for its comfort.
Additionally, tension maintenance is well above average – another extremely difficult characteristic to elevate in a sharp/square profile, and we have achieved it with Aspera Triplum.
Finally, power is abundant and very much well balanced with control. Comparable to Tour Mako Silver in this department, players will be able to use Aspera Triplum as a true weapon on the court in a new era of tennis where power, spin and groundstroke dominance is key.
Sounds pretty amazing, right? Let us get into Simon’s review and I will finish with some notes on my end.
Grapplesnake Aspera Triplum String Review by Simon
Spin strings are the trend of strings as of today, marking kind of the next evolution of polyester strings. There are mainly three ways that string companies promise to generate spin – shape, rough surface and snapback. The new Grapplesnake Aspera string utilizes at least shape and surface combined, with a four-sided profile and a rough structure added. But how does it perform on court?
Unboxing and stringing
Grapplesnake strings might be a smaller brand but with string like Tour Sniper or Tour M8, they have really made themselves a household name in the market. The strings are advertised to be made in Germany and they frequently add new options, such as Paradox Pro or Tour Mako recently, which feature new technologies as well. The strings are packaged in a nice and pragmatic plastic bag per set, 12 m are sufficient for any regular player’s racquet.
Straight from the go, the string feels rather stiff, although it is a lot softer than other four-sided options, such as Ultra Cable or PLYGN Hyper Four. The structure is super rough, like the diamond rough coatings from other brands and the color is the aggressive yellow that a lot of brands use for their spin options. While stringing, the string stretches quite a bit more than expected for a stiff 1,19mm poly. I went with 23 kgs in my Pure Aero 98, which gives an amazing overall look – a yellow string always looks great in an Aero.
First thoughts on the court
I hit the court for some groundstrokes first and took both my regular Aero 98 setup with RPM Blast and the Aspera Triplum. Right off the bat, you notice that the launch angle is higher and the ball will dip more, indicating more spin production. The string doesn’t feel as stiff as it did initially, which I will credit to the stretchy behavior on the stringing machine. It seems that Grapplesnake somehow made it more flexible in one direction while still keeping a stiff and spin-oriented response in the string bed.
After 30 minutes, I realized that the string was moving a lot already. Grapplsnake recently introduced strings, such as Paradox Pro, had a special coating to increase the slipping and snapback in the bed, and maybe they coated this one as well. It doesn’t affect the playing performance, but still requires you to adjust strings now and then, as they will start moving easily. Also, you will eat tennis balls for breakfast with this string, as it really seems to cut into the felt and even took out small chunks at later stages.
Performance – who is this string for
In total, the power level was nothing special or rather a bit underpowered. RPM Blast felt more powerful than this setup at a similar tension, but this isn’t this string’s specific stronghold. It is built to optimize spin, and it does so! With that being said, it somehow walks the line between spin and control, without losing too much on the latter. Usually, I struggle with the lateral control on aggressively shaped strings when going for down-the-line shots. Aspera Triplum somehow made me still trust those shots and allowed for touch shots and volleys. The strong point of this string however is clearly the spin production, which allows me to fully commit to forehands that will always dip in the end. I tried this on hard court and carpet so far, but on bouncy clay this should be lethal.
On serve, you can flatten out of course, but it is just so tempting to hit heavy slice and kick serves, as the string will give you an extra edge on these. At the same time, you need to take into consideration that sometimes you might need to hit a bit more up on the ball, as it will dip a lot on kick serves as well. But also here, they somehow found a way to minimize the erratic responses that other four-sided strings get at times.
Overall, I think this string is made for an advanced player that likes to hit heavy spin and wants that certain plus from their string, without sacrificing too much control. Four-sided strings are crazy sometimes in their response and a lot of companies either pack them into hybrids (e.g. Toroline Wasabi) or players will have to live with erratic shots at times. These still occur somewhat with Aspera Triplum, but the structure added will limit those somehow and make this more predictable. People prone to tennis elbow should be careful with this string and maybe string 1-2 kgs lighter than usual, which is working thanks to its controlled response.
Fact sheet
- Made in Germany
- Diameter: 1.19 mm
- Four-sided string with added rough surface structure
- Color: yellow
Pros: spin, control, firm response without feeling uncomfortable
Cons: moving strings, power level
This string is currently available through Grapplesnake’s homepage only, where you can get their entire range of products!
Jonas’ thoughts about Aspera Triplum
I will second pretty much everything Simon writes about Aspera Triplum. It sounds more like some kind of medicine than a string to me, but at least you kind of remember it.
I strung it up in the Tecnifbre Tfight 305S, because I wanted to see how it would perform in a dense 18/19 string pattern. And the “experiment” worked as intended, the string created a much higher launch angle and more spin potential than you would expect with this racquet.
To me it played a bit firmer than how Grapplesnake describes it, so like Simon writes, I would string it a tad lower and let the spin potential of this string control the ball. Like all aggressively shaped strings, there are some inconsistent responses at times, but it does deliver LOADS of spin. If you like when the ball just dips in before the line, then this string should be tested, because it really delivers.
This is a string I would put in racquets with dense patterns and lower launch angles to liven them up a little. If you have a Blade 98 V9 18/20 or HEAD Speed Pro, this string could help to increase the launch and spin potential. I would not use it in an already spinny racquet or open patterns since the string moves quite a bit already, it will make the response a bit erratic.
Overall, it’s a fun string, something different. It is a bit extreme for me to use in a match, then I would prefer Tour Sniper or M8 from Grapplesnake, but I’d happily put it in my Prestige MP 2019 to boost its spin generation and make the racquet a little more annoying to face.
Let me know if you have tried Grapplesnake Aspera Triplum and what you think about it.
Video review to come on Tennisnerd2. Please subscribe there, thanks.
