Diadem Solstice Black String Review

Control - Score: 76 / Power - Score: 69

As a polyester-based monofilament, Solstice Black is designed to give experienced players enough control to attack the ball with their most powerful strokes. As a result, it was good for Michelle's game, but it did require some tinkering to get the tension right. She explained, "It was apparent from the first hit that this string fits in the control, low-powered category. It is also worth noting it felt a bit softer than many strings I consider my favorites. I experimented with different tensions throughout this playtest and found that it played best after being pre-stretched. After a pre-stretch I found it to keep a consistent level of control, which wasn't necessarily the case without the pre-stretch. It dropped in playability a bit faster and became looser and a little more powerful and erratic if it wasn't pre-stretched. But don't get me wrong, there's definitely more control than power and a softer feel than most strings I use. I could bang balls from the baseline."

Although he appreciated this string's control at the beginning of the playtest, Chris found that Solstice Black got a little too springy over time. He said, "Right off the stringer, Solstice Black felt crisp and controlled. I was able to take full cuts at the ball and still keep my shots well within the lines. After a couple of hours of play (or even a day or so of the string just sitting in the racquet), the stringbed really opened up, and my shot trajectory became quite loopy. I was getting more depth on my shots and had to roll the ball with more spin to maintain control. I'd likely pre-stretch this string to eliminate that initial tension loss and to make the string play firmer and more controlled, which is what I look for in a co-poly."

Spin - Score: 90

With its grippy edges and impressive snapback, Solstice Black earned high marks for spin. For Chris, this string's spin-friendly response never wavered, even after the effects of tension loss set in. He said, "I liked the level of spin I found from Solstice Black. The stringbed provided that sensation of pocketing and gripping the ball. Both my slice and topspin shots exited the racquet face with plenty of rotation. Even when the strings lost tension, I was still able to generate enough spin to play aggressively and keep my shots inside the court."

Although Michelle has flatter mechanics, she immediately recognized this string's considerable spin potential. She described, "The first thing that stood out to me about this string was the shape and how much spin it offered. The star shape really added bite, and I could see how it added arch to my shots and helped the ball curve in at the baseline. While I hit a pretty flat ball most of the time, I do try to construct the point with a rally ball that is a bit higher over the net and out of my opponent's strike zone. I appreciate how easily I could add spin to control the ball's flight, and I relied on that extra grab from the strings to execute sharp angles and dippers."

Comfort - Score: 76 / Feel - Score: 75

With its firm monofilament construction, Solstice Black is not meant to offer a high level of comfort. That said, it has a lower stiffness rating than the majority of polys our team has playtested. It also has high initial tension loss, which further softens the stringbed. Thankfully, for Michelle, it avoided the mushy and "disconnected" feel that often afflicts softer co-polys. She explained, "This string, while firm and controlled, felt more comfortable than a lot of the polys that I play with. It felt a little firmer than Solstice Power, which I enjoyed. I had no arm pain, and paired with those tensions in the 50s, I was satisfied with how comfortable the string played without feeling mushy or too springy."

Although he gave Solstice Power a fairly high score for comfort, Chris favored its firmer feel at the beginning of the playtest. He said, "Solstice Black offered a decently soft feel considering co-polys are typically stiff strings. I actually preferred the feel of the string for the first couple of hours of play when it felt the firmest. Once the string had bedded in and lost some tension, it pocketed the ball better and offered a livelier response."

Playability Duration - Score: 48

Like most co-polys our playtesters have tried, Solstice Black has high initial tension loss, after which it plays much softer. This is great for the player who values comfort, but it also comes with a trade-off for players like Chris, who have a penchant for firmer, deader polys. He said, "To keep the firmer feel this string offered when fresh, I would have it installed with a pre-stretch. I found that stringing this one up without pre-stretching led to a quick drop-off in tension and a different feel and response. I could get a maximum of a couple of hours before the tension dropped and the playability changed. I then found the playability to hold until the ball started to fly on me after about two weeks of use."

"This might have been the one downside to this string," added Michelle. "It seemed to drop tension quickly. Luckily, since we playtested this for a few weeks, I was able to play around with some different setups, and in particular, got to try the string with a pre-stretch. That automatically helped, and it was my favorite way to play with this string. It was quite noticeable when I played the pre-stretched string against the non-stretched string side by side, especially after each string had been hit for a week or so. The non-stretched string definitely dropped tension, and it felt a bit springier and more powerful than the pre-stretched string."

Overall - Score: 78