1.25mm Boost feels stiffer than 1.30mm VCT to me, but certainly not stiff enough to bother my elbow. I've been using VCT for eight years 3-4 days a week. Only when I play 7-9 times a week has it ever caused me any elbow pain. Hitting 7-9 times a week just isn't normal for me. VCT 1.30mm plays softer than every 1.25mm copoly I have tried except for Yonex Poly Tour Air 1.25mm and 1.28mm Isospeed Cream. I cut out the 1.25mm Boost today at just over 16 hours, but I can use VCT 1.30mm for 20-24 hours mostly doubles with no elbow issues whatsoever. Tire One Boost 1.25 has a ton of spin, control, and is a string I could switch to, so one of my Pure Aero+ frames is on my Alpha Ghost and will be strung again with Boost tomorrow am at 55M/53X. Going to mark the bottom cross string with a sharpie for every two hours of play doubles on the left and singles on the right. I tried the 1.20mm Boost today and didn't like it as much as the 1.25mm version, so I cut it out when I got home.
Something I didn't expect: I love serving with Boost 1.25 mm much more than VCT 1.30, and really like this string other than how ugly my frame is with red/white strings. Hey, my frame is ugly, it's not the Tier One strings.
One poster on here commented to privately me "seems like you are on a mission to convert the whole world to VCT 1.30" If that is the way I am perceived, I would like to clear that up. That assertion couldn't be further from the truth. I just share information, and the fact is I string more VCT 1.30 for 4.5 and 5.0 players than all other copolys I stock which includes: Volk Cyclone, Solinco Hyper G, Revolution, RPM Blast, RPM Blast Rough, Lux Alu Power, Lux 4G, Lux 4G Soft, Head Hawk, Hawk Touch, Yonex Poly Tour Pro & Poly Tour Air, Dunlop Black Widow, Tourna BHS7T, Wilson Revolve, Isospeed Cream, Tire One Firewire, and Ghostwire.
VCT 1.30mm just works well for a lot of 4.0 to 5.0 men in their 40s and 50s. TierOne Boost would work equally well for many of these same players if they would restring their frames around 15 hours, but
the fact is 90% of players don't restring frequently enough. I can count on two hands the number of players who bring me frames that don't have broken strings. If you are going to be someone who plays until breakage, VCT 1.30mm plays until breakage without wrecking elbows, wrists and shoulders for the 4.0-5.0 guys. I can't say that about another copoly string that I stock. I suspect YPTA and Isospeed Cream would also break prior to an injury, but Cream doesn't get the love VCT gets from these players. Even the 4.5 players with TE have given me a
on Cream when I tried it in their mains.
I stock a lot of different copoly string and get no deals from Volkl or any other company. If a company is kind enough to send me free strings, I will get these strings in the frames of the appropriate level player for no fee to the player, so I can get the feedback from the player. I pride myself to be like Consumer Reports who accept no advertising. There are tons of players who use strings that don't match their game, whether it is 3.0 and 3.5 players using Hyper G in Blade 98s, or guys using other polys in 1.30mm gauges for months. And yes the Hyper G/ Blade 98 color matching combo is a full-blown epidemic for 3.0 and 3.5 women at the home of the Volvo Car Open who sells Wilson frames and Solinco strings.
@TierOneSportsOfficial is a gentleman who was kind enough to get me some Black Knight/Ghostwire (even though I have two reels of Ghostwire). I have 1.23mm BK in the frame of one 5.0 player in his 30s using a Wilson Ultra Tour (18x20). I wanted him to try the BK 1.23mm/GW 1.22mm but he wanted to try the 1.23mm BK @48 lbs in a full bed to compare it to 1.25mm Hyper G @48lbs. His text to me today was:
"Hey, I played one time, so far so good. Definitely a soft string on the arm. Lacking a little bit of power but too early to know. I am planning to hit with those two more times before I give you a full review."
I will get more Tier One String in the frames of 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 players and really want the feedback of the 5.0s on BK/GW. I have one 4.5 guy who has four sons who play tennis, one of whom is a current Pac 12 tennis player. His brother played for an Ivy League team. I am trying to get Tier One strings in the frames of players at this level, so no, I don't have a mission to convert the whole world to VCT 1.30mm. But if players are going to play until breakage with a copoly, yes, I suggest VCT 1.30mm and perhaps that is why so many 4.5 guys love it. If you are a 4.0 to 4.5 player, I would highly suggest 1.25 mm Tier One Boost. I don't recommend a lot of copolys, but yes Tier One Boost 1.25mm is something I truly like. I much prefer putting strings in a player's frame without them knowing anything about the strings in their frames, removing all bias, and thereby allowing the player to pick a string without preconceived notations.
My wishlist: to see Tier One Firewire in black or gray, but I understand it is called Firewire and hence red. Thankfully they didn't make it orange.
