Pro Kennex Black Ace 300
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GravitysElbow
Rookie
Just bumping this up the board as I'm also very interested, has nobody tried it? The specs look excellent but I'm wondering about the power. I'm guessing comfort ought to be great, but if it's very low powered and that requires mcuh more forceful hitting then that can also lead to problems I think
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
I had the BA 315 for a few weeks but ended up selling it. Comfort,feel,power,spin were all there and comparable to my modded prince 100x 305. above average in all those categories. the reason why i sold was because i couldnt get used to the beads in the frame shifting from the middle of the frame to the tip advertised as "moveable mass". This feeling made it feel like there is a varying amount of swingweight when swinging the racquet. I couldnt get used to it. I might have been happier with the BA 300.
DustinW
Professional
I owned one for a bit and played with it 3 or 4 times. It wasn't bad, but I really struggled with depth control. Sometimes I would hit a nice solid ball, but most of the time, groundstrokes were coming off super spinny and dropping short with no pace. The feel was really nice, and the flex reminded me of the old Fischers. Loved serving with it... I could hit big heavy kickers, because I could really feel the ball sink into the string bed. I never played doubles with hit, but practice volleys seemed good but maybe lacked a little punch. It was stable for its weight and wasn't as whippy as I was hoping, but mine measured to be less head light than it was supposed to be.
Steve Huff
G.O.A.T.
Couldn't be much "moveable" mass, as it would have been declared illegal to use. I've used other kinetic rackets (5g, ki5, ki 10 PSE), and although I could hear the beads when I shook it, never noticed them at all while playing. So, unless PK has decided on making illegal to use rackets, I doubt very seriously they could have any type of variable swingweight.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
I have hit with the 315 but not the 300 and all I can say it’s a very comfortable racquet with an interesting paint treatment. It’s got this rubbery, swade feel on the shaft. I would actually like to see these specs on their Q Tour series frames that have a more box beam profile which I miss in the Black Ace.
I am a fan of what PK do for the tennis industry in terms of arm comfort technology and wish they were more pro active in the market. The Core 6 for example is a beautifully made racquet and they do have a point of difference and price point that customers should appreciate but don’t. They are miles ahead of some of the major brands in what they offer. Don’t forget that arm injuries affect so many players and if they knew about these frames they would still be playing.
I am a fan of what PK do for the tennis industry in terms of arm comfort technology and wish they were more pro active in the market. The Core 6 for example is a beautifully made racquet and they do have a point of difference and price point that customers should appreciate but don’t. They are miles ahead of some of the major brands in what they offer. Don’t forget that arm injuries affect so many players and if they knew about these frames they would still be playing.
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
Im just saying thats how it felt like to me. Its a unique feeling that I couldn't get accustomed to. Even if it were illegal to use (lets hypothetically say enough beads or mass to be considered "illegal"), at the club level, who would enforce it?
TW only shows Andreas Seppi using PK racquets so I'm sure its not an issue at the pro level.
408tennisguy
Semi-Pro
The red version of BA has been leaked here on TW in another Black Ace thread and has slightly different specs, maybe you can check that one out soon.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
I saw Seppi playing with a limelight coloured PK recently. I wonder if that is coming as well.
the_faceless_player
Professional
That’s the upcoming update to the Q+ Tour series PK said on IG they’d be releasing info online soon. They had also put a post up for the Black Ace Pro.
My PK BA315 is weighted up to 340g with lead at 3 and 9. I also have a Ki5 315 and Q+5Pro 310. The BA has the most flex. I do think it‘s difficult to generate power from the baseline with the racquet. I wouldn’t recommend it to a baseliner. It works best for Serve and Volley, all court style with a lot of angles, and doubles. Feel is excellent as you would expect. I feel very confident on spin serves, bh slice, and volleys.
You are right. The micro beads move no more than about 1-1/2 inches
tennis347
Hall of Fame
Glad to hear that someone has had success with the BA!!
I am considering the 315 as well. Currently using a 5G.
What string/tension have u settled on?
Natural gut at 55 lb for me
I haven't played enough with the 315 yet to form a strong opinion. For what it's worth, the 300 seems stable enough for me.
Khadir General
Rookie
I have 300 ba for a year and it is good racket, but nothing exeptional, exept confort. It is solid, good feel, comfort, control. Little lacking in depth control, power is just enough for winers. The bigest isue for me is that sometimes i feel that the stroke should be fine, but it is not. Like sweetspot is moving.???? Strange, but i feel so. And sometimes it feels that i should make contact more to the head. Overall good racket with some minor isues. I use prince tt310 most of the time, and pk when i am off.
This is what committed looks like
Are these for sale now?
Steve Huff
G.O.A.T.
More likely, no more than 1 1/2 mm.
Not true. I have taken the racquet apart. The beads in the handle are enclosed in a chamber with a length of about an inch.
There was also a photo of a sawed off PK 5G a couple of decades ago that revealed multiple micro-bearing chambers (like bubble packs) all around the racquet head. They can move about 1 to 1-1/2 inches.
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GravitysElbow
Rookie
Can anybody who has played this tell me how the weight is distributed in the head? I'm eyeing up both the Black Ace and the Ki Q+ Tour (which is really cheap on TWE at the moment), as I'd like to add a more precise but still comfortable racquet to go with my current Gravity S. Looking at the power map and sweetspot comparison on TW's database it looks as though the Q+ Tour might have a lot of weight at the tip, which I'm not really a fan of. I'm not really a fan of the polarised feel either. I guess that I should demo, but that isn't possible at the moment.
GravitysElbow
Rookie
Great, thank you
How do they compare in play?
Right now, I’m really loving the BA315 more because how much the racquet flex gives me feel. It is strung with Volkl Cyclone Tour 16. Amazing on backhand slice, touch volleys. It feels like a precise surgical instrument.
The Q+5 Pro is strung with TierOne FireWire Boost 16 hybrid. Even though this is suppose to be a soft setup it feels significantly firmer than the BA. I can serve much bigger, hit bigger from baseline, and hit better put away volleys.
Hi, I'm considering the BA 300 and the Ki Q+ 5. Anyone experiences with both and willing to explain the differences in feel / play?
I'm suffering from TE (doesn't heel with 2 weeks rest) and want to continue playing so I'm searching for the most comfy option (frame with focus on control).
I already demoed the Q+ Tour Pro 315 (didn't like the pallet/grip shape with my OHB) and the BA Pro 97 (very nice racket but I think a 100 will help me even more because of the bigger sweet spot).
Looking forward to your insights
I'm suffering from TE (doesn't heel with 2 weeks rest) and want to continue playing so I'm searching for the most comfy option (frame with focus on control).
I already demoed the Q+ Tour Pro 315 (didn't like the pallet/grip shape with my OHB) and the BA Pro 97 (very nice racket but I think a 100 will help me even more because of the bigger sweet spot).
Looking forward to your insights
I am a 3.5-4.0 player. I have become a fan of this lineup. I have the BA 315. Several of them actually. Gravitated to this after unrelenting TE. Tried several frames before settling on this. Played with gut for a few months and have now figured out that gut/soft poly hybrid works best for me. My tennis elbow has been healing inspite of no change in playing frequency or intensity 5-6 hrs of tennis every week. Try not to play back to back days.
Very highly recommended.
And if you can afford it, go with Luxilon Natural gut. The babolat just doesnt last for me.
Very highly recommended.
And if you can afford it, go with Luxilon Natural gut. The babolat just doesnt last for me.
Thx, that sounds promising! Did you also try the BA 300? And since hou have more than 1: any QC issues? (different swing weight)
Did not try the 300. They dont seem very different. I wanted a heavy stick.
No issues on any of them.... other than the hefty price.
The key thing was the string. I was playing with full bed of polys - which likely caused the TE. Changing to more forgiving strings is the game changer IMO.
Yeah I should also consider natural gut. Maybe changing rackets (I just bought a Yonex Vcore Pro 100 & 97HD) isn't even necessary.
A bit off topic but did you also try a full bed of natural gut?
And if you take the better durability and longer playability into account: is natural gut still more expensive than poly? (let's say per hour)
;The yonex 97HD was one of the ones I tried and really liked as well. It had lower launch angles on natural gut than I prefer. Havent tried with the Hybrid setup.
I did try natural gut with each frame I purchased. And loved it.
Cost wise, it is more expensive no matter how you cut it. And the more you try to adjust moving strings, the faster it breaks. I leave them alone.
As far as price for a fully functional arm is considered, I couldnt put a price on it. Gut for me wins every time.
The main reason for shifting to hybrid was the number of trips was I was making to the string guy, and the person I use and prefer is ways off and its very inconvenient when one is doing it every 2 weeks.
