We have tested HEAD’s first eco string, a tennis string made from plastic bottles. This is our HEAD Hawk Tour String Review.
HEAD are not alone in producing eco-friendly strings. Luxilon has been on the bandwagon with their Eco Power and Spin strings. There are also other brands, like Velocity, pushing eco-friendly strings.
Paired with the eco-focused HEAD Boom Raw racquet, HEAD Hawk Tour makes a lot of sense. Sure, this is not revolutionizing tennis waste, but it is a step in the right direction towards making the sport a little more eco aware. Although many of the good tennis strings stand for loads of plastic waste, the balls, and specifically the yellow fluff, is the biggest issue in making tennis a greener sport.
But I am no eco expert and the point of Tennisnerd is not rate how bio-friendly or not certain products are. We are all about playability and I am happy to report that Hawk Tour is one of HEAD’s best poly strings to date.
HEAD Hawk Tour, Specifications
HEAD Hawk Tour is a white, seven-sided co-polyester string delivering spin and control. It is a medium firm string that is available in 1.25 and 1.30 gauge.
The price for HEAD Hawk Tour is 18.90 euro at Tennis Warehouse Europe. You can get 10% off your purchase using TNERD10. It is not yet available at Tennis Warehouse or Tennis Only.
Playability
The playability of HEAD Hawk Tour is impressive. I felt like it delivered a near-perfect balance of spin, control, touch and durability. It held tension well during the play-test, where I mainly tried it in the HEAD Boom RAW, but also in racquets like the HEAD Extreme Pro and HEAD Prestige Pro.
I have tried other eco strings in the past and noticed tension maintenance issues compared to standard co-poly strings, but not with Hawk Tour. It held up well even in 100 sq inch racquets with open string patterns and I believe most players will be pleased with the durability of HEAD Hawk Tour.
The feel is, obviously, a little plasticy, which is to expected from a poly string. But I was not bothered by it one bit. I thought Hawk Power was a good string, but it dropped tension quickly. This string is quickly becoming my favorite HEAD string alongside Lynx Tour. But Lynx Tour is firmer than Hawk Tour and can be more “racquet dependant”.
I enjoyed the sensation it provided in a racquet with some pocketing, like the HEAD Boom MP. It also had a pleasant thwack sound when you hit the ball.
Looking for new gear?
Get your tennis racquets from Tennis Only.
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Looking for new gear?
Get your new strings from Tennis Warehouse Europe!
Use the code TNERD10 for a 10% discount right now.
Looking for new gear?
Get your new strings from Tennis Warehouse.
Our recommended tennis store for North America!
Summary
I test so many strings on a yearly basis and it takes a lot to impress me the way HEAD Hawk Tour did. My fellow racquet nerd, Henrik Wallensten, also tried the string and he is usually not enthusiastic to test new strings (he prefers shoes or helping out with how to choose a racquet), but he told me that Hawk Tour is his new fave HEAD string and can become a regular setup in his racquets.
I am keen to hear about your experiences with HEAD Hawk Tour in the comments.
