Tier 1 Prototype

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
@TierOneSportsOfficial was kind enough to send me a prototype of a new string to demo, just broke it.

Review to follow.

20211017-151859.jpg


Ok,

String arrived in a nondescript envelope looking somewhere between Christmas lights and earphone cords, but fortunately strung up normally with no ill effects from the kinks.

Strung in a 2020 Prestige Mid, with a splash of lead at 12, Wilson pallets/leather grip/buttcap. String tension was 44#.

About me:

I'm a 40ish year old 5.0, at times a little better. Haven't played much officially the past couple years due to Covid but I keep my game sharp teaching, playing with my high performance juniors and other coaches, more or less dragging my little quarantine belly around the court from dawn till they tell me I can go home. I am an offensively minded all-court player with a fairly modern game, strong FH/Serve, adequate everything else. I am famous on the internet for my condescending attitude, rampant consumerism, shoe and racquet collection, and beating the #1 4.5 in the Eastern Section with a wooden racquet. I also played some dude named Max because everyone wanted me to, and then after I did they all got mad at me.

About the string:

It's white, I don't particularly like white strings unless they have pearl coatings. Natural color is ok, or light tan, but not really white. I have no reason, or scientific basis for this, it's just been a lifetime of lackluster experience.

Initial hitting and feel:

It's on the softer side of polys, not harsh at all, has a nice little give to it and helps out a bit. Feels a little slippery.

Nice touch on volleys, good control for teaching, overall pretty pleasant.

More serious hitting:

It makes the freaking ball go fast I'll tell you that. PLENTY of power, you swing at the ball, and the ball goeth.

Unfortunately, it lacks bite so control, dips, angles, and kicking spin suffer a bit.

I played some of my better juniors (UTR 9-10) and a couple of other coaches, results were similar to my normal string, but I felt like I missed a little more than usual.

It just seemed like the control was a bit vague. My normal string setups are generally pretty precise feeling.

Serving/Returning:

Nice pop on the serve, lack of bite took some effectiveness off my spin serves and maybe caused a few second serves to go long (couldn't have been me, I never double fault lol.)

The free power was great for blocking back bigger serves or when I was stretched out, but I never felt comfortable attacking returns.

Slice/Volley:

Nice touch, good feel, lack of bite made it a little tough to really skid the ball.

Durability:

This string lasted a good long while, I suspect part of it was due to the string but also that there was less reward for hitting spin so I tended to play flatter with it.

Overall:

Another respectable offering from T1. Performance is not elite, but at a reasonable price it's a great string. I think it has great potential as a cross, and would not hesitate to recommend it in a full job to players with a more classic linear game.

J
 
Last edited:

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
@TierOneSportsOfficial was kind enough to send me a prototype of a new string to demo, just broke it.

Review to follow.

20211017-151859.jpg


Ok,

String arrived in a nondescript envelope looking somewhere between Christmas lights and earphone cords, but fortunately strung up normally with no ill effects from the kinks.

Strung in a 2020 Prestige Mid, with a splash of lead at 12, Wilson pallets/leather grip/buttcap. String tension was 44#.

About me:

I'm a 40ish year old 5.0, at times a little better. Haven't played much officially the past couple years due to Covid but I keep my game sharp teaching, playing with my high performance juniors and other coaches, more or less dragging my little quarantine belly around the court from dawn till they tell me I can go home. I am an offensively minded all-court player with a fairly modern game, strong FH/Serve, adequate everything else. I am famous on the internet for my condescending attitude, rampant consumerism, shoe and racquet collection, and beating the #1 4.5 in the Eastern Section with a wooden racquet. I also played some dude named Max because everyone wanted me to, and then after I did they all got mad at me.

About the string:

It's white, I don't particularly like white strings unless they have pearl coatings. Natural color is ok, or light tan, but not really white. I have no reason, or scientific basis for this, it's just been a lifetime of lackluster experience.

Initial hitting and feel:

It's on the softer side of polys, not harsh at all, has a nice little give to it and helps out a bit. Feels a little slippery.

Nice touch on volleys, good control for teaching, overall pretty pleasant.

More serious hitting:

It makes the freaking ball go fast I'll tell you that. PLENTY of power, you swing at the ball, and the ball goeth.

Unfortunately, it lacks bite so control, dips, angles, and kicking spin suffer a bit.

I played some of my better juniors (UTR 9-10) and a couple of other coaches, results were similar to my normal string, but I felt like I missed a little more than usual.

It just seemed like the control was a bit vague. My normal string setups are generally pretty precise feeling.

Serving/Returning:

Nice pop on the serve, lack of bite took some effectiveness off my spin serves and maybe caused a few second serves to go long (couldn't have been me, I never double fault lol.)

The free power was great for blocking back bigger serves or when I was stretched out, but I never felt comfortable attacking returns.

Slice/Volley:

Nice touch, good feel, lack of bite made it a little tough to really skid the ball.

Durability:

This string lasted a good long while, I suspect part of it was due to the string but also that there was less reward for hitting spin so I tended to play flatter with it.

Overall:

Another respectable offering from T1. Performance is not elite, but at a reasonable price it's a great string. I think it has great potential as a cross, and would not hesitate to recommend it in a full job to players with a more classic linear game.

J
Nice review. One question--You mentioned that it lacked control compared to your usual setup. What is your usual setup? It would make comparison easier. Thanks.
 

Grieeegoorr

Semi-Pro
Nice review. One question--You mentioned that it lacked control compared to your usual setup. What is your usual setup? It would make comparison easier. Thanks.
It’s out there in many threads, a quick search on Jolly the Guru should bring numerous results
 

ryushen21

Legend
I use either Black Knight mains and Grey Fire crosses, or full ALU.

J
I'm going to be trying out a Tour Status/Grey Fire hybrid soon. Tour Status has overtaken Black Knight for me thanks to its crisper feel but still having the longevity and performance characteristics that BK does.
 

jugheadfla

Semi-Pro
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Just got my proto set yesterday. Kind of reminds me of the mystery white air heads you would get as a kid. What gauge is it? Is it shaped? How does it compare to Hyper-G?

As for gauge I am going to have to guess 1.25, unfortunately I don't have a micrometer. It seems to feel round, although when I look at it closely with my camera zoomed in it may have very subtle edges, possibly? When I shine light on it it appears to have lines like having sides, similar to PT Rev.

Won't get to play with it until next week, but when I do I'll try to provide some info on it similar to Jolly's.
 
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