Head to head

Diadem Solstice Power 17 (1.20) vs Volkl Cyclone 18L (1.15)

Cyclone 18L (1.15) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is stiffness, where Cyclone 18L (1.15) is 10 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Diadem

Solstice Power 17 (1.20)

Polyester · 17 ga

Volkl

Cyclone 18L (1.15)

Polyester · 18L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19765th pct
18855th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2944th pct
2947th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8741st pct
8848th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
8.698th pct
9.099th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.62698th pct
0.64198th pct
Snapback lower = strings slide and snap back
0.0739th pct
0.0716th pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 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 Solstice Power 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Cyclone 18L (1.15) at 54.4 lb 24.7 kg

Coming from Cyclone 18L (1.15) at 52 lb

String Solstice Power 17 (1.20) at 49.7 lb 22.5 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.

Solstice Power 17 (1.20) mains / Cyclone 18L (1.15) crosses

Stiffness61st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss46th pct · 1 measured
Energy return43rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential98th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite98th pct · 1 measured
Snapback8th pct · 1 measured

Cyclone 18L (1.15) mains / Solstice Power 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness58th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss46th pct · 1 measured
Energy return45th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential99th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite98th pct · 1 measured
Snapback6th 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.

Solstice Power 17 (1.20)

~27 hours of play

Cyclone 18L (1.15)

~26 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugeStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFSnap COF
Diadem Solstice Power 17 (1.20) Polyester1719729878.60.6260.073
Volkl Cyclone 18L (1.15) Polyester18L18829889.00.6410.071

Add a third string Solstice Power 17 (1.20) in full Cyclone 18L (1.15) in full