Has to be said that strinfs to give power depends on not only the tension but the type of string as well. I've spent a good 4 months solid researching into stringing and string types and have come up with the following conclusions:

Tight (est. 28lbs) = Stiff feel, little power but better for control

Loose (est 23lbs) = Soft feel, little power, poor control

Mid-Tight (est 26lbs) = Medium feel, lots of power, good control

 

Best off using a multifilament string (ashaway or tecnifibre) but these do tend to break quicker than the multifilament wrapped monofilament core stuff.

 

If you need a practical example: Take a trampoline. Too tight it'll give little bounce with a greater tendancy to snap under pressure. Now make it too loose - it loses the ability to recoil back into it's starting postion and thus it absorbs the kinetic energy of the impact e.g. if you have strings too loose then you lose all power and the control is really bad too!

Reaching a middle ground is really important. Understanding what this is for you takes time and experience. Try as many racquets as you can and also vary your tensions until you feel most at ease with your choices.

Adz

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jbs24 - the tension probably does depend to some extent on the power the player generates from their swing, also male/female strength component.
I attended a very interesting lecture a BioMechanist, forget his name, from the University of WA, gave about tension and power.
The lesser tension does give a slingshot effect, so the ball actually goes back before it is propelled forward, and that is where a loss of accuracy can happen; now, to me what margin are we talking about as tennis has a bigger margin too, and bigger ball and bigger racket so I cannot compare the measure of tolerance between accurate and inaccurate.  Squash, to my mind, has a lesser margin for error.

From personal experience, a string too tight loses the feel, so the problem is playing touch with a high degree of accuracy from a surface that "feels" like a board.

I also know that, if a player hits mainly power, the tension in the strings does gradually give after a few weeks, so power hitters probably need to have slightly more tension for that reason. 

The composition of the strings also would probably have some bearing on the give/stretch - I know nylon guitar strings stretch like mad for weeks, and then when they are wearing out, they stretch almost nil...hey, like me!!

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This is a big tennis debate and the same rules don't necessarily apply to squash because the balls are quite different.

The tennis myth is that lower tension gives more power, while higher tensions provide control. Testing has shown there is only a percent or two increase in power at low tension and most of the 'power' is perceived for other reasons.

Squash balls compress much differently than tennis balls, and i have heard a number of squash pros say that they string at lower tension for more control and higher tension for more power. Too high though and you'll lose power because the strings can't stretch enough.

There was an interesting article in squashmagazine about which part of the stringbed to use for different shot. use the sweet spot for power, but use the strings near the upper head of the frame for more control and touch through the racquet.

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