Breakdown

Comfort: 8.8

The comfort of the KSwiss Hypercourt Pinnacles left little to be desired, and every tester praised the plush sensation underfoot. For Jason, the comfort of the dual-layer composite was superb after a brief break-in period. He explained, "I thought the Hypercourt Pinnacles felt a little stiff right out of the box, but after a short (1 to 2 hours) break-in, they felt great. The combination of the Shock Spring and Surgelite foams gave the shoes not just a plush underfoot feel, but a responsive one as well. The fit was a little snug, but not to the point where it felt too tight or caused any sort of rubbing. I also felt like the shoes breathed really well."

Similarly, Chris had an enjoyable experience with the Hypercourt Pinnacles comfort-wise on court. He said, "I loved the fit and feel of these shoes. I found the Hypercourt Pinnacles to break in easily, and it wasn't long before I was sprinting around the court in comfort. I was able to cinch the laces securely enough that I was not sliding around inside the shoes without having to tie them so tightly that I felt any uncomfortable lace pressure. The level of ventilation was good, which helped keep my feet cool on hot days and long hitting sessions. I also liked the level of cushioning. I felt protected from the impact with the court but not too elevated from it."

The comfort was ample enough that Troy didn't need to use his orthotic inserts. He explained, "When it came to comfort, a large part of what I liked about these Hypercourt Pinnacles had to do with the bootie constructed uppers. Although the bootie uppers don't always make it easy to get the shoes on my feet, once I'm inside, they feel contoured and glove-like. I also noticed a nice amount of padding on the heels and on top of my feet. I didn’t need to add my inserts because the arch support was high enough. The ventilation was pretty middle of the road; I never felt like they were too hot or stuffy, but they're also not the most breathable shoes I have played in. The cushioning in the midsoles wasn't as soft and plush as I usually prefer, but these shoes did have a more responsive feel that gave me some energy return when pushing off. I guess the cushioning was more firm and responsive than soft and plush."

The cushioning and ventilation of the Hypercourt Pinnacles were right in line with what Mark likes. He noted, "The Hypercourt Pinnacle's length and width were spot-on for my semi-narrow size 11 feet, and so was the upper's glove-like fit. The upper, combined with the Pinnacle's uni-tongue design, flexed and moved comfortably with my foot while delivering excellent support. Court temperatures around here never exceeded 80 degrees for this playtest, and my feet never felt overheated at all. The dual-layer midsole material, which includes a CRBN plate, felt firm, yet comfortable and very responsive. In terms of the arch support, the listed medium height nicely complemented my somewhat high instep."

Foot Support / Stability: 9.1

The Hypercourt Pinnacles provided our playtest team with impressive support and excellent side-to-side stability. Mark, one of our most efficient movers, could flow freely on court. He described, "I have to say that the support from the uppers was so good on its own that I did not have to rely much on the lacing system to feel locked in and ready to play. Stability-wise, the combination of the CRBN plate and the midsole construction provided me with plenty of overall shoe stability without sacrificing a speedy feel around the court."

Troy thought the lateral functionality was well above average. He explained, "The support and stability of the Hypercourt Pinnacles were very impressive. These shoes made me feel very secure and locked in. The fit was glove-like, except for maybe a bit of room in the forefoot, but for the most part I was able to move on the court without my feet sliding inside these shoes. I also found them to be very stable when moving laterally and coming to a quick stop; I could push off and not worry about any rolling or twisting."

The Hypercourt Pinnacles helped Jason move around the court to the best of his abilities. He said, "The stability and the support of these Hypercourt Pinnacles were top tier. The worst part was getting my feet into the shoes. It was a slight struggle to slip my feet in, but my feet felt super locked in and secure once I was in the shoes. The best compliment I could give is that I moved around the court the way I wanted to, without compromise and without fear."

Like the rest of the team, Chris found a lot to enjoy from how the Hypercourt Pinnacles supported his feet on court. He noted, "I was very impressed by both the support and stability I found in the Hypercourt Pinnacles. The shoes not only had me feeling secure on quick stops, but it also felt like they were helping me push off quickly. The fit was secure enough that I was not sliding around inside the shoes, and I never felt like I was jamming into the ends of them. The midfoot shank seemed to do a good job of both protecting my arches and providing the shoes with ample lateral rigidity."

Overall Sole Durability: 8.0

Our playtest team had mixed opinions regarding the Hypercourt Pinnacles' durability, with some finding the shoes surprisingly resilient and others noting significant wear by the end of the testing period. Durability was the least impressive category of this playtest for Chris. He said, "I found the Hypercourt Pinnacles to be decently durable, but this was their weakest performance trait for me. I wore a hole through the toe guard of my left shoe from toe dragging. I also drag the outsole under the big toe of my right foot, and the shoes were showing lots of wear there too."

The outsoles proved more durable than expected for Jason, even with his tendency to slide. He noted, "The Hypercourt Pinnacles' outsoles held up exceptionally well. I was able to put 15 or so hours on them and barely noticed a dent in the outsole, which is even more impressive considering the traction did allow me to slide a bit, and that puts even more stress on the shoes."

While Mark wasn't quite blown away by the Hypercourt Pinnacle's toughness, he did note that the toe guard was exceptionally well made. He explained, "The durability of the Hypercourt Pinnacle's outsole was better than good but not quite excellent. However, I did find the Pinnacles to have one of the best and most heavily reinforced toe caps that I have seen on a tennis shoe, which is good news for players who drag and skid their feet on a hard court."

Outside of some minor outsole balding, the Hypercourt Pinnacles had above-average durability for Troy, though he would have appreciated a durability guarantee from KSwiss. He said, "The outsole rubber held up pretty well throughout the playtest. I had some slight balding on the very front of the outsole, but for the most part the outsole was pretty tough. The Dragguard protection around the toes helped protect the upper material anytime I dragged my toes. I don't frequently slide on hard courts or drag my feet on the medial side, but the wear level on these shoes was pretty solid after 20 to 25 hours of playtesting. With that said, I am a big fan of the KSwiss Ultrashot 4s and their durability guarantee."

Traction: 9.0

All of our playtesters enjoyed the overall traction of the Hypercourt Pinnacles. Troy experienced some stickiness at first, but he found the shoes to open up quite nicely after breaking them in. He described, "I found the level of traction to be really good. I found the outsoles to be a bit on the grippy side my first couple of times on court. After a couple of wears the balance of grip and give seemed to be just right. There was plenty of grip when I made quick stops, but the stops felt smooth and not too abrupt. Like I mentioned before, I am not much of a hard court slider, but the outsoles provided that little bit of give at the end of a stop, which I actually enjoyed."

After some initial grippiness, the Hypercourt Pinnacles started to work well for Mark's on-court movement. He said, "For the first several rallies the traction of the KSwiss Hypercourt Pinnacles was a little sticky. From that point on, the traction and stopping power were excellent, and they were on par with the rest of the Pinnacle's high-performance capabilities."

Jason found nearly perfect traction from the Hypercourt Pinnacles' outsoles. He explained, "I loved that the outsoles had some nice give to them. They weren't as slick as Asics shoes, but they felt pretty easy to slide out of shots in. The outsoles aren’t too slick either, so I wasn't having problems pushing off. I'm really impressed."

The Hypercourt Pinnacle's balanced traction gave Chris the confidence to make the most of his movements. He said, "I was able to sprint around the court and be confident I would get the traction needed to move quickly and safely. When I made small adjustment steps or pivots, I found enough give from the outsoles to keep me from feeling like I was too stuck in position."

Weight: 8.4

Despite being on the heavier side of the scale, the Hypercourt Pinnacles didn't seem to restrict our playtesters' mobility. Chris said, "I never really thought about the weight of the Hypercourt Pinnacles when playing. I always take that as a good sign that the shoes feel natural to move in. I never felt weighed down or lacking support, so the shoes were doing their job and letting me focus on my tennis."

The weight didn't cause any problems for Jason when he was moving on court. He said, "The Hypercourt Pinnacles are certainly not lightweight shoes, but with all their bells and whistles, I didn't expect them to be. These shoes have some heft to them, but that didn’t cause any problems. They were an afterthought from the second I stepped on the court."

After the break-in period, Troy was pleasantly surprised by how light and speedy the Hypercourt Pinnacles felt on court. He explained, "The weight of these Hypercourt Pinnacles was pretty middle of the road for me -- not too heavy, not too light. I would say for my first wear these shoes were a little firm, and it took me like an hour or two of wear to feel smooth and natural moving in them. Once I broke them in just a bit, I felt like these shoes were pretty quick and speedy. As I wore them more, they actually felt a bit lighter than the weight on the scale would indicate, and I think the carbon plate gave them an explosive feel."

The Hypercourt Pinnacle's weight was working with Mark instead of against him. He said, "My size 11 shoe weighed just slightly north of 15 ounces, which is pretty average compared to other tennis shoes that provide a lot of support. Overall, KSwiss has crafted an impressive first-generation shoe that caters to a variety of players, with top-notch stability and support to make on-court movement easier than ever."

Breakdown Summary