I have been playing with the Solinco Barb Wire for over a year now. Super spin potential in this string. I now hybrid the Barb Wire with the Solinco Pro-Stack to soften it and give me a little more control, with no loss of topspin on ground strokes. With a change to the new Prince ESP racket 16x16 string pattern, I have had to experiment with string diameter. 17gauge was only lasting 2-3 hours. I felt like I lost a little spin with the 16 gauge, but it didnt break on me. The answer was the 16L. Great spin, and lasting 14-15 hours of hard play.