The new black knight 2012 catalogue is out you can find it at: http://playblackknight.com/pdf/black-knight-badminton-squash-2011-2012-catalogue.pdf I have found that in my opinion Black Knight has taken a step in the right direction with their new clothes and website. I also think that they have done the right thing by replacing the vortex series. I would like to know if the new "force Max" rackets are as nice as the vortex series they replaced. I would try them for myself, but I can't justify spending over 200$ on a racket I know nothing about. Thanks for input, BD NSB
Yeah...for over $200, I'd stick with Yonex or Victor. At least almost all their products have been reviewed. Did a google search for a review of the Black Knight Max Force series...and got nothing. If it was $100-150...I might be willing to take a chance at it. Just so I could be the first to post a review.
$200! agree. even with Victor / Babolat etc higher exposure brands, they go for around US$130 (Victor) or $90 (Babolat) in SE Asia and the price to pay to try them out is not that bad. but for a brand that almost has no visibility in the cheaper market we are forced to pay full N. America prices. it is hard to justify it anymore. even though i must say the Max Force looks quite good with what looks like exposed woven CF.
I wonder if it's manufactured in Canada. That might also help explain the price difference (ie. no cheap labour).
i somehow doubt it. if it were, most manufacturers will have no problem making sure everyone know of that fact.
also noticed that maxforce series is rated to 36lbs tension. on top of that, the maxforce 970 seems to be a slim frame as well. that's quite daring a rating. anyone gonna send me a sample...
Maybe you should contact them so they will send you a demo sample to review. Make it so that you will become a world renowned badminton tester and all rackets, strings, grips, etc will be sent to you free of charge. Maybe some *hush* $$ *hush* for a favorably review .
sorry for reviving this a bit but, why not ask BK to do a knight to remember? It's the best way to try out their racquets. As for the racquet itself, i tried it and it feels REALLY REALLY weird. 3 different ppl tried using it and it just feels totally off. We aren't sure if it's the strings or what (i'm told to restring it to see if it would help) but the 3 of us don't like it at all.
hesho (from the hometown of Shania Twain), What do you mean by "really really weird"?? Since you are the first to give this racquet any sort of review , could you be more specific?
uh.... all 3 of us couldn't hit hit the bird properly at all. It's really hard to explain. I've been to a bunch of knight to remembers and i never had this kind of feeling before. Like, when i tried clearing it felt like i was straining my elbow for me, friend said his wrist felt weird after using it. The 3rd person just said it was weird. We could not clear at all with it. We would be lucky to get it half court from the back service line. I admit though, i only tried using it for about 5 minutes but i switched racquets because my elbow was starting to hurt. We want to give it another try since we really think its' the strings more then anything. I'll get more specific tmr after it is restrung (it was strung at oh.. 18 ish lbs before) and we finally get to play again (stupid long weekend cancelled badminton on monday ) oh, for reference, the main racquets the 3 of us use are SL Photon XL, Xenon XL (which he hates because he broke his victor on his leg) and RSL X2 Blue. P.S. this is the first racquet that was "double grommets" at the top for cross strings that i get to string. Yay!! Oh, i love how right on the racquet it recommends using zymax strings with it.
ack... need an edit button. So i played with it a bit with the new strings. It made it feel much better though i find it's too head light. Maybe i'm used to my RSL blue but after playing 2 games with it, i still found it to feel weird. At least i could clear with it with the new strings. I don't know.. maybe myself and a friend just can't use the thing properly lol.
The maxforce 970 does feel a bit different, not enough weight in the head for me and the flex is not what i am used to, but a couple of the better players i have sold them to like them more each time they use it. one is strung 23' with zymax70 and the other 23' with zymax 67. I like the balance and flex of the vortex krypton xl myself. The maxforce frames also have a one year warranty and take up to 36'.
Stopped by at Tads (local shop in Vancouver). They have the Black Knight Maxforce 970 going for $220. Racket looks really nice but way overpriced. It's gotta be in the $150 range for me to consider buying it. And the 1 yr warranty is a gimmick....really now...how many of us break rackets on a yearly basis?
I got the chance to briefly try out the new black knight rackets at a display at a tournament. They. Felt. Amazing. If I had enough money, I would easily buy any of them. I used to be sponsored by Black Knight back when I trained more often, but I didn't actually like most of their rackets (with the exception of the PCV-85). However, the new max force and c2c taper series rackets seem to be of very high quality, and I would use almost any of them if I had enough money to buy them. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed when I found out that the prices are as high as JP-coded Yonex rackets. I think I'll stick with my $50 apacs ones until I win the lottery or something . also agree with racquetattack, the maxforce 970 feels a bit weird. It should either be less flexible or have more weight in the head IMO. The 930 was my favorite, nice and stiff.
I have sold several of each 930,and 970.Most prefer the 930 because of the balance.And yes the taper series are very nice also. Also like the nanospark 55xl.
Sorry for the off topic... Have anyone in here tried Knight Trainer by Black Knight? it seems really fun... how much does it cost?
It is by far the greatest training tool there is.Many clubs are using them. Contact your closest BK dealer for pricing.
Yeah so? MSRP for Yonex is the same. Actually selling price is much lower. And I can get a top end Yonex racket for the same price as a Black Knight. Sorry but Black Knight needs to be better priced to compete with all the other brands of racket too.
