Hybrid builder

Two strings,one string bed.

The mains carry most of the load, take most of the deflection and are the only strings that snap back. A hybrid is not the average of its two strings, and which one you put in the mains changes the answer more than which two you picked. Pick both and see where the bed lands.

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

1 Your mains (the vertical strings)

These do most of the work. Usually the stiffer, more durable string, a polyester for most people who hybrid.

2 Your crosses (the horizontal strings)

These soften the bed and let the mains move. Usually gut or a multifilament.

Start over

FXP Power 17 mains / Compositemaster I 16 crosses

Head FXP Power 17 (Nylon) in the mains, Gosen Compositemaster I 16 (Nylon) in the crosses. Every figure below is estimated from the two strings' own lab measurements.

Where the bed lands

Stiffness31st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss25th pct · 1 measured
Energy return75th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential41st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite17th pct · 1 measured
String friction41st pct · 1 measured

Percentile against all 791 measured strings, as if this bed were one of them.

The bed against its own two halves

A hybrid is only worth the extra work if it lands somewhere neither string reaches on its own. This is where you find out whether yours does.

Measurement FXP Power 17 alone This hybrid Compositemaster I 16 alone
Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm 163 164 165
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it 22 22 21
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power 93 92 92
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed 4.5 4.4 4.2
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder 0.398 0.390 0.345
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back 0.089 0.088 0.083

What the crosses change

Against a full bed of FXP Power 17. Moves are in percentile points, and "better" always means more of the good thing whichever way the raw number points.

  • Ball bite −5 pts 0.398 → 0.390 COF mains weighted 85%

The other way round

Compositemaster I 16 in the mains and FXP Power 17 in the crosses is a different bed, not the same one described differently. Worth a look before you commit.

Stiffness31st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss24th pct · 1 measured
Energy return73rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential36th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite3rd pct · 1 measured
String friction33rd pct · 1 measured

Swap them round Compare the two strings head to head

How this is worked out

Each measurement is a weighted average of the two strings, with the mains carrying the larger share. The share is not the same for every metric: bed stiffness is close to 60/40 because the crosses genuinely soften the bed, but spin is nearer 80/20 because snapback is a mains phenomenon and the crosses barely participate in it.

These splits are the conventional stringer figures, not measurements. Nobody has put a hybrid bed on the machine and published the result, so this cannot be validated against anything. Treat it as a guide to which direction a pairing moves, and never as lab data. The full methodology →