FINAL THOUGHTS
String: Tier One Black Knight 128
Frame(s): Vcore Pro 97 330g
Tension: 48
I'll admit it, I don't have terribly high expectations for "new" strings on the market. The last non-major brand of strings that I was pleasantly surprised with was Black Mamba/Discho Iontec. Iontec was an every-day poly that fit a wide profile of needs. I'm happy to report, I think Black Knight fits the same category and then some. The marketing of a "well balanced string" for high level players fits the bill.
TLDR: Swing fast and hard with proper mechanics and you'll be rewarded with a paced, penetrating ball. Don't and you might just find some launchy results. Very well balanced with positive marks in all areas. Notable attributes: pop/ penetration of shot and durability.
Ground Strokes: Above average control all around and through the life of the string. Noticeable pocketing and good pop with increased RHS. Topspin is absolutely necessary for all shots to prevent "launch".
T1BK's strength comes from an all around balance that is focused on long, full strokes. Racquet head speed is essential to produce a penetrating ball. While I didn't find the "ultimate access to spin" as was advertised, control was premium provided I laced every stroke with some topspin. The key here is to maintain proper mechanics. Playing a "rally ball" kept the ball consistently within a foot or two of the service line. Extra knee bend, shoulder turn, and taking the ball on the rise and the ball consistently landed within a foot of the baseline. Angles are accessible as are slices that will penetrate deep in the court. What surprised me most about this string is the drastic discrepancy from stringing to stroke. I was expecting a much harsher play from the plasticky feel and seemingly "hard" construction. Yet, I found that there was a generous amount of pocketing and pop. While you're acutely aware of off-hits, I never found the string to be jarring or uncomfortable to play. What I most enjoyed about this string was that I was able to just play a stable, consistent game without giving up many "sitters". The combination of playing the 330g and T1BK allowed me to play a counter-puncher style game where I could move the ball around, set up points, and shift to offense when I had a court-position advantage, or a shorter ball. Keeping the ball deep in the court on those strokes allowed me to come in and finish at net if necessary.
Volleys: Pocketing and comfort are highlights. Even on blocked balls, there's enough pop and feedback that you'll remain in the point. Again, beware your mechanics. Open the frame too much or react late and it's easy to find yourself long on volleys.
Largely the same as first impressions--Here's where I felt this string/frame combination shined. The extra pocketing and snap on the ball is excellent. I never felt overwhelmed, or like my shot wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. T1BK has a good amount of punch without being unwieldy. The frame and string will return what you put in. Get lazy with your volleys and you'll find you're getting passed. Keep your footwork quick and your volleys crisp and the ball goes where you want it to. I have no sense of touch but a friend of mine was able to hit some beautiful angle and drop volleys with the frame. His feedback was that the noticeable pocketing allowed him to hedge his shots.
Serves and Overheads: Nice pace and punch to the ball. A 60% pace overhead was usually enough to put the ball away without concerns of it coming back.
T1BK packs a good amount of punch behind it. If you're not careful and don't lace a serve with spin you'll find yourself with a beautiful serve that lands a foot long. I found that on both overheads and serves, I didn't have to work as hard to get effective results. 65% power/pace/ swing, whatever you'd like to call it was the sweet spot to maintain enough pace and depth to be effective while still inspiring confidence to go after shots. Ramp up higher than that and there's a nice "BLAT!" as you smash the ball.
Feel/ Durability/ Play-life": Deceptively soft. The string feels hard in the hands similar to Hyper-G (definitely where the comparison ends!). It strings like it's tour-bite or Alu Rough but plays significantly softer. No durability concerns after 5.5h which is shocking.
The string plays on the soft side. It feels a bit plasticky without a full cut on the ball but once you're playing and truly bending the strings, you'll appreciate the difference. After 5+ hours there's still a decent amount of snap-back on the mains and they're not significantly notched as I'd come to expect. The strings are still sliding over each other and can get out of the notch-channels which is impressive. I know the string is thicker than my typical 17ga but at around 6h I expect poly to be boring, languid, and beaten up. No such thing here. There is definitely a difference from when the string was fresh and still had the shaped edges but I'm pretty confident in saying I'd have no qualms about playing a match with this stick. At 6h strings that are stubborn and won't pop are typically cut out for me or relegated to a hitting frame. I'd still go to war with this hammer.
Final thoughts: Thank you T1 for the playtest. Seriously, it's been a pleasure so far and I'm playing some of the most confident and comfortable tennis I have in months. In large part, I'd say it's because I found a great string/frame combo that's allowing me to elevate my base plateau and experiment with improvements in my game.
T1BK is not for you if you want to step on the court and play your weekly club match, have a couple cocktails and a steak, and discuss tomorrow's golf outing. It's not for you if you want to have the latest-flashy-$17.00-cutting edge-fancy-string on the market. It's not for you if you want instant, free, silly-spin string that's one dimensional. And you know what? I'm so happy that it isn't.
T1BK is the hard-working, no-frills, tournament player string. From my playtest it's an all around, gritty, get your hands dirty string where you want to log hours on court to make your game the best it can be; where you're going to focus on taking that explosive step in with a big cut and healthy knee bend to drive the ball into the corner, time after time. In
@J011yroger fashion, if I had to pick a lady, we're talking Lara Croft--tomb-raider; hair in a long braid, dirt smeared on her face, let's do it.
Future: I'm looking forward to putting a set in the 310g despite my growing list of play-test strings that I need to get around to. I'm very curious to see if the 20g diff will impact the feel and play of the string. Also... there's a 123 version... need me some of that!
