Possibly for many of you N90 users too. I've tested the K for about 15 doubles sets and 3 singles sets during the last two weeks, and my halfway assessment for it doesn't go that favorably.
Aside from those static factors like the material, string pattern, handle/neck lengths, paintjob and so on, the K has two critical downsides in the most important factor, performance.
Firstly, it seems to have quite a narrow range of playable string tension. At a bit lower tension, it sacrifices too much control while at a bit higher tension, it gets too stiff. This hasn't happened with my other sticks including the 85, Tour 90, N90, N90 Fed Ed. I haven't found or reached the optimum tension for it yet and I'm getting slightly suspicious about whether it has any Eureka point at all.
Secondly, and more importantly, it has quite a small sweet hitting area compared with the N90. Off-center hits give you back an unpleasant, harsh feel, sending weakly propelled balls astray. Only when you hit the ball squarely at the center at an easy waist-high position does the K give you the satisying buttery feel. Down/level swings for shoulder/chest-high balls and steep upward swings for short, low balls with the K produce way more mishits than with the N90 original. I suppose this has something to do with the more evenly spaced strings because somehow this happens more commonly with the 85, the N90 Fed Ed, and the K90, while the N90 original can press rising balls down and sweep falling balls up very easily.
These two 'defects' for ordinary players seem to boil down to one theme: generosity. For more advanced players with constantly accurate fast/long swings and better tecniques they may not be a problem. There could be some 'magic' in the K that only better players can find and enjoy. But at the moment it's not the best choice for me and I'd like to warn my fellow average 4.0~4.5 players to demo the K before the final decision.
Aside from those static factors like the material, string pattern, handle/neck lengths, paintjob and so on, the K has two critical downsides in the most important factor, performance.
Firstly, it seems to have quite a narrow range of playable string tension. At a bit lower tension, it sacrifices too much control while at a bit higher tension, it gets too stiff. This hasn't happened with my other sticks including the 85, Tour 90, N90, N90 Fed Ed. I haven't found or reached the optimum tension for it yet and I'm getting slightly suspicious about whether it has any Eureka point at all.
Secondly, and more importantly, it has quite a small sweet hitting area compared with the N90. Off-center hits give you back an unpleasant, harsh feel, sending weakly propelled balls astray. Only when you hit the ball squarely at the center at an easy waist-high position does the K give you the satisying buttery feel. Down/level swings for shoulder/chest-high balls and steep upward swings for short, low balls with the K produce way more mishits than with the N90 original. I suppose this has something to do with the more evenly spaced strings because somehow this happens more commonly with the 85, the N90 Fed Ed, and the K90, while the N90 original can press rising balls down and sweep falling balls up very easily.
These two 'defects' for ordinary players seem to boil down to one theme: generosity. For more advanced players with constantly accurate fast/long swings and better tecniques they may not be a problem. There could be some 'magic' in the K that only better players can find and enjoy. But at the moment it's not the best choice for me and I'd like to warn my fellow average 4.0~4.5 players to demo the K before the final decision.
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