Head to head

Diadem Impulse 17 (1.25) vs Head FXP Tour 16

FXP Tour 16 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where FXP Tour 16 is 12 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Diadem

Impulse 17 (1.25)

Nylon · 17 ga

Head

FXP Tour 16

Nylon/Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
1426th pct
1173rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2224th pct
2328th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9063rd pct
9269th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.132nd pct
4.235th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.40728th pct
0.42440th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09962nd pct
0.10063rd 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 Impulse 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String FXP Tour 16 at 63.2 lb 28.7 kg

Coming from FXP Tour 16 at 52 lb

String Impulse 17 (1.25) at 42.8 lb 19.4 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.

Impulse 17 (1.25) mains / FXP Tour 16 crosses

Stiffness4th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss25th pct · 1 measured
Energy return65th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential33rd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite29th pct · 1 measured
String friction62nd pct · 1 measured

FXP Tour 16 mains / Impulse 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness3rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss27th pct · 1 measured
Energy return66th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential33rd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite38th pct · 1 measured
String friction62nd 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.

Impulse 17 (1.25)

~33 hours of play

FXP Tour 16

~32 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Diadem Impulse 17 (1.25) Nylon17$14.9514222904.10.4070.099
Head FXP Tour 16 Nylon/Polyester16find11723924.20.4240.100

Add a third string Impulse 17 (1.25) in full FXP Tour 16 in full