Head to head

Diadem Impulse 17 (1.25) vs Mantis Comfort Synthetic 16

Impulse 17 (1.25) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Comfort Synthetic 16 is 22 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

Mantis

Comfort Synthetic 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
1426th pct
14912th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2224th pct
2433rd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9063rd pct
8957th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.132nd pct
3.824th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.40728th pct
0.43849th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09962nd pct
0.11580th 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 Comfort Synthetic 16 at 49.4 lb 22.4 kg

Coming from Comfort Synthetic 16 at 52 lb

String Impulse 17 (1.25) at 54.8 lb 24.9 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 / Comfort Synthetic 16 crosses

Stiffness8th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss27th pct · 1 measured
Energy return60th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential31st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite30th pct · 1 measured
String friction68th pct · 1 measured

Comfort Synthetic 16 mains / Impulse 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness9th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss30th pct · 1 measured
Energy return59th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential25th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite47th pct · 1 measured
String friction78th 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

Comfort Synthetic 16

~30 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
Mantis Comfort Synthetic 16 Nylon16find14924893.80.4380.115

Add a third string Impulse 17 (1.25) in full Comfort Synthetic 16 in full