ProStaff 6.0 85 with Full Poly

This racket elicits strong emotions from everyone. Those who have used it, keeps reminiscing about how well it felt and played. Those who have not tried it, could never resist the urge for a few swings.

The most dramatic incident I encountered while playing with a ProStaff, was a verbal lashing from an elderly man. 

Within minutes of taking this racket on court, he started scolding me for using that stick because I was not Pete Sampras. Then proceeded to grab/pry the stick from my hands, wanting to teach me how to wield it properly.

I held firmly, stood still and calmly asked:
"Then are you Pete Sampras? I don't think so. You would not know how to use this racket too. Please leave."

Despite having played for only about 20 minutes, he packed up and left the courts. 

I must have been doing great injustice to the ProStaff...

Having done full syn gut (link) and gut/poly (link), the next step would be to try how full poly would play in this 80/20 graphite/kevlar composite racket. 

I was curious how much spin could I extract from this old faithful? And how much more difficult to use would poly make this racket?

Nothing could compare with gut/poly. Against full syn gut, surprisingly, full poly was only marginally more demanding. Sweetspot size felt the same. Power was very close. Control was slightly better.

I thought it would have been a no contest against syn gut and was prepared for a lot of hard work. But it wasn't. Although I had mis-hits and framed shots, those that caught the stringbed were enjoyable - baseline rallies, high forehands/backhands, swinging volleys, drop shots, serves and return of serves.

Makes me wonder if the softness and playability of the latest poly strings has surpassed syn gut?

The choice to use the thinnest gauge (1.10mm) poly was good. It added a lot of spin which covered some of my other deficiencies. So I focused on hitting deep and spinny and got away winning the first set, although the energy expended on the heavy frame felt like I have already played several.

Still, if anyone wants to continue to use this antique piece, gut/poly is the best only way to keep it fit for use in today's fast-paced game. Even then, I would not suggest anyone use it for serious matches. Only for training and friendlies.