Head to head

Boris Becker Pulse 16 (1.32) vs Tecnifibre E-Matrix 17

Pulse 16 (1.32) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Pulse 16 (1.32) is 52 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Boris Becker

Pulse 16 (1.32)

Nylon · 16 ga

Tecnifibre

E-Matrix 17

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
1447th pct
1437th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
178th pct
1914th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9276th pct
9274th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
3.314th pct
2.44th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.45156th pct
0.3594th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.13589th pct
0.15294th pct

Bars are percentile against all 791 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from Pulse 16 (1.32) at 52 lb

String E-Matrix 17 at 52.2 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from E-Matrix 17 at 52 lb

String Pulse 16 (1.32) at 51.8 lb 23.5 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

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.

Pulse 16 (1.32) mains / E-Matrix 17 crosses

Stiffness7th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss11th pct · 1 measured
Energy return75th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential12th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite49th pct · 1 measured
String friction91st pct · 1 measured

E-Matrix 17 mains / Pulse 16 (1.32) crosses

Stiffness7th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss12th pct · 1 measured
Energy return75th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential4th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite9th pct · 1 measured
String friction92nd pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

Pulse 16 (1.32)

~38 hours of play

E-Matrix 17

~36 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Boris Becker Pulse 16 (1.32) Nylon16find14417923.30.4510.135
Tecnifibre E-Matrix 17 Nylon17find14319922.40.3590.152

Add a third string Pulse 16 (1.32) in full E-Matrix 17 in full