Awesome Prostaff
New User
Hey guys, I’m probably gonna string my RF97 with the Tier 1 Black Knight and YTEX Quadro Twist, so anyone want to suggest what tension I should put it at , BK on the Mains, and QT on the Crosses
Tier 1 Black Knight
- Thread starter Awesome Prostaff
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topspn
G.O.A.T.
I have played both and like both especially BK but never hybrid them. Kinda of a strange decision in all honesty, I don’t get two shaped polys being combined. To what end? I string up between 48-50 depending on seasons and don’t see a reason not to hybrid at that tension if that’s what you want
Awesome Prostaff
New User
I’ve heard that the BK breaks pretty quickly compared to other strings? Is it true
Awesome Prostaff
New User
Does it break quicker than the Hyper G, the Hyper G lasted me around 2 weeks
Awesome Prostaff
New User
I had 17G Hyper G and in all I think played with it for about 15 hours, and yes im a big hitter and I usually break the most durable string in around a few weeks if I play around 7 hours a week
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Ok so you’re playing with 1.20mm gauge. In all honesty, I change my strings around 10hrs as its done by then. I have broken both strings before but within the 10 hr frame it is not excessive. I played QT 1.25 and BK 1.28 for reference
Awesome Prostaff
New User
Ok, and what exact tension would you recommend for both of the strings
LocNetMonster
Professional
Awesome Prostaff
New User
I string at 56
LocNetMonster
Professional
My starting point would be to string mains at 55# and QPT at 52#. Normally, I put my cross string 6# below the mains, but QPT is a lively string so I'm putting it in a little higher than normal.
Awesome Prostaff
New User
Hyper G is a great string, but I would recommend it to anyone who is a big hitter, I broke mine in like 7 hours or something
matchpoint9
Rookie
I'm not sure why you want to hybrid two shaped polys. I hybrid BK with another Tier One strings, the Ghostwire. They even sell the BK/GW hybrid in a set. Head and others also sell hybrid poly sets but generally the cross strings are smooth / round and slick. The GW is ideal for crosses and hybrid, even Tier One said so on their website.
I use 47/46 for my hybrid of BK/GW, I'm playing with 18x20 frame. BK is probably considered medium soft poly with phenomenal control and pocketing, GW is on the softer side. By hybriding BK/GW, the stringbed feels softer than using all BK (I've tried it), while the BK characteristics are still dominant. It's a great combo in my experience.
Sometimes "theory" doesn't mean a thing if it works for you, maybe BK/QT will work well -- I don't know. But look at Ghostwire.
As far as comparison to HyperG, BK is softer. Control is similar. I'd say Hyper G retains its tension or elasticity longer. I think BK becomes noticeably stiffer-feeling (aka "dead") after about 15-20 hours of playing.
Not sure if I'm allowed to post links of non-TW reviews, but if you search for "tier one black knight review" on youtube, the first result should be a guy that compares it to hyper-G for a portion of the review, and he also has a separate hyper-G review on his channel.
I tried Black Knight myself and prefer Hyper G overall if comparing the two because Hyper G provides me with a bit more pop and slightly better feel, but really liked Black Knight too. They both lasted about the same amount of time for me. Maybe it also depends on the racquet too? I tend to gravitate toward flexy, control oriented frames so I like having some extra pop from my strings which is why I preferred Hyper G over BK.
I tried Black Knight myself and prefer Hyper G overall if comparing the two because Hyper G provides me with a bit more pop and slightly better feel, but really liked Black Knight too. They both lasted about the same amount of time for me. Maybe it also depends on the racquet too? I tend to gravitate toward flexy, control oriented frames so I like having some extra pop from my strings which is why I preferred Hyper G over BK.
ls206
Hall of Fame
So I've played with Black Knight 1.23/Ghost Wire 1.22 a little recently and thought I'd add my thoughts.
I usually play with HyperG 1.25 @ 22/21kg on a modded Ultra Tour
I strung up the hybrid at 22/21kg, I was tempted to go up 0.5 or even 1kg to account for the lower gauge and softer cross string but didn't, in favour of a softer string bed.
The first thing I noticed, as to be expected, was the increased ball pocketing/dwell and comfort. This also came with a higher launch angle and the feeling of less control.
I think the main reason for the feeling of less control is that I couldn't feel the strings grip the ball as much as I do with HyperG. With HyperG you can swing at a moderate speed but still get some good bite and spin whereas with the BK/GW the swing/spin relationship seems more linear but easily matches HyperG at higher racquet speeds.
In terms of power, I've found that the BK/GW has a power ceiling. What I mean by this is that at some point, the power of the string plateaus and the harder you hit the ball doesn't necessarily equate to a much faster shot (but results in some very heavy spin). There were a couple of times I thought I had completely overhit but the ball landed in, even on flatter shots.
I attribute this to the Black Knight and I think this is probably why it has been recommended for 5.0 players up as it gives more control the harder you hit.
Overall it's a nice setup and gave me the extra comfort I was looking for.
I will be trying the combo again but may put 1.28mm in the mains to give a little more grip on slower swings (we don't all have Nadal's biceps!).
I usually play with HyperG 1.25 @ 22/21kg on a modded Ultra Tour
I strung up the hybrid at 22/21kg, I was tempted to go up 0.5 or even 1kg to account for the lower gauge and softer cross string but didn't, in favour of a softer string bed.
The first thing I noticed, as to be expected, was the increased ball pocketing/dwell and comfort. This also came with a higher launch angle and the feeling of less control.
I think the main reason for the feeling of less control is that I couldn't feel the strings grip the ball as much as I do with HyperG. With HyperG you can swing at a moderate speed but still get some good bite and spin whereas with the BK/GW the swing/spin relationship seems more linear but easily matches HyperG at higher racquet speeds.
In terms of power, I've found that the BK/GW has a power ceiling. What I mean by this is that at some point, the power of the string plateaus and the harder you hit the ball doesn't necessarily equate to a much faster shot (but results in some very heavy spin). There were a couple of times I thought I had completely overhit but the ball landed in, even on flatter shots.
I attribute this to the Black Knight and I think this is probably why it has been recommended for 5.0 players up as it gives more control the harder you hit.
Overall it's a nice setup and gave me the extra comfort I was looking for.
I will be trying the combo again but may put 1.28mm in the mains to give a little more grip on slower swings (we don't all have Nadal's biceps!).
wouldnt the 1.28 BK have less grip than the 1.23 BK?
williamthurman
New User
Can anyone comment on power differences between gauges? I have tried the 118 and 123 and didn't really see a significant change in power and was wondering about the 128. I didn't see as well big changes in performances between 118 and 123, maybe a little less durability between the two (1-2h diff)
megamind
Legend
only tried 1.23, but usually for strings, the thinner the gauge, the more powerful it is
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
is black knight better than solinco tourbite at same guage ??
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I'm about to find out. I played with tour bite for an entire season once. As soon as the weather breaks I'll be trying Black Knight.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
Did you love tour bite? Tried it once seemed like a super consistent spin monster easy to apply the same spin on every shot
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Tour Bite strung low in the mid 40s is probably one of... if not the best spin and control string I've ever used. But after playing two to three times a week for about seven months my shoulder was really sore. I think it was actually my bicep tendon where it attaches to the shoulder. Just too stiff for me.
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
Did you use 17 or thinner? Cause I noticed 16 in polys is harsh on me where 17 is usually or always okay, thinner really seems to help a lot. And tour bite goes super thin I think to like 18, 19, 20 something crazy
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I used 1.25 at first and then used 1.20 for pretty much the entire season.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
Maybe hybriding with a great slick cross string like black zone with more comfort would be the way to go, or something else ghost wire?
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
feel isn't very good, i admit. but is black knight have more power and spin compared to tourbite ?
Rorano_Fedalovic
Semi-Pro
only tested Tour Bite for 1 stringjob, BK being my go-to string I'd compare as following:
Power: TB > BK
Spin: TB > BK
Control: BK > TB
Consistency of launch angle: BK >> TB
Touch: BK >>> TB
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
How do you think BK will perform in hybrid like with good top line multi string ??
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
So you're saying that Tour Bite offers more power than Black Knight?
I thought that Tour Bite was very low powered. That's not what I wanted to hear.
Rorano_Fedalovic
Semi-Pro
So you're saying that Tour Bite offers more power than Black Knight?
they are both low powered; TB seemed to offer a wee bit more pop though.
Rorano_Fedalovic
Semi-Pro
I only ever did multi/poly hybrid with round polys, am definitely no expert on this sorry.
DrumWizOHBD
Semi-Pro
If you have big strokes, you will find Tour Bite has quite a bit of Pop compared to other similarly stiff co-polys. If you don't very hard, you won't find the pop. IMHO Tour Bite is Solinco's most powerful poly (on fast swings). When I became a Solinco dealer, I strung up each poly, same gauge 1.25, same tension (1st time 49ln, 2nd time 54lb) in my 5 Donnay Pro Ones. Tour Bite had the most Pop, also felt the harshest on the arm above 50lb. Strangely I found the thicker gauges of Tour Bite to have more of that "pop", where the 19 and 20G TB were more "dead" in the power dept. Again, just my experience. BK plays softer than TB, has better pinpoint control on all swings, and a little less inherent spin potential. All the gauges I've tried of BK play pretty similar, where I got a little less power the larger the gauge. BK also has great pocketing for a firmer poly. Tension maintenance is not 4G great, but it's better than Cyclone and Tour Bite for sure.So you're saying that Tour Bite offers more power than Black Knight?
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I just played with Black Knight this evening for the first time. I played with the 1.18 gauge strung full bed at 44 lbs. in a Speed Pro 360+ for about 90 minutes. Words I would use to describe this string are as follows.
Cheap, Plasticky, Dull, Lifeless, Ultra Low Powered, Junk, and Crap
Out of about 25 different poly's that I've tried in the past 5 years, this one easily ranks in the top 3 crappiest out of them all.
I'll be testing Tour Status next.
Cheap, Plasticky, Dull, Lifeless, Ultra Low Powered, Junk, and Crap
Out of about 25 different poly's that I've tried in the past 5 years, this one easily ranks in the top 3 crappiest out of them all.
I'll be testing Tour Status next.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
The guy in that video is an idiot.
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Seems people like it a lot more after a few hours. Give it another chance maybe.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
If a string doesn't play well after an hour it's crap. If you're playing competitively who has time to wait like that. A good string plays well right off of the stringer.
TRU PRO Official
Rookie
It always amazes us to see how different options about tennis strings can be. The other day we were contacted by a customer who asked for a more low-powered Tier One Sports string option than Black Knight since the setup felt too soft and lively. He strung his racket with Black Knight 16g at 56 lbs. So we referred him to Durafluxx 16g....
@TennisManiac Just out of curiosity, which 2 poly strings would you recommend to your tennis friends that you think offer ideal performance for 8-10 hours?
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
No poly on the market plays ideal for 8 to 10 hours. What kind of question is that?
FoldingChair
Semi-Pro
Surely it can’t be THAT bad
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TRU PRO Official
Rookie
What are your top 2 poly strings that you believe perform best and how long do you usually play them before you have to cut them out?
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Try it. You'll see
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
It's really good if you hit a heavy ball. If you are more of a touch player it can feel harsh.
The first time I tried it I thought it was really boardy and underpowered, but I used it for teaching and after a while it loosened up and started playing well, then it started playing really well.
In my experience it's the only poly that plays better as it wears out.
I've had some glorious training in the last 15 minutes of a BK string job.
I've gotten away from a full bed but still use it as my main with Isospeed Grey Fire crosses in my teaching and training racquets. I use ALU in matches now that I'm a Wilson dealer but I don't want to restring 6+ racquets a week so the BK saves me a ton of money.
J
TRU PRO Official
Rookie
yes, we certainly agree that Black knight is more suited for high level players with high racket speeds.
For touch players who want to play with a full set of poly or players with lower racket speeds we would rather recommend Ghost Wire or Firewire Boost.
