Head to head

Dunlop DNA 17 (1.22) vs Gamma Asterisk Spin 16

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where DNA 17 (1.22) is 22 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Dunlop

DNA 17 (1.22)

Nylon · 17 ga

Gamma

Asterisk Spin 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
1458th pct
15012th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2843rd pct
2533rd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9272nd pct
9274th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.132nd pct
3.927th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.47668th pct
0.43346th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.11580th pct
0.11076th 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 DNA 17 (1.22) at 52 lb

String Asterisk Spin 16 at 48.7 lb 22.1 kg

Coming from Asterisk Spin 16 at 52 lb

String DNA 17 (1.22) at 55.4 lb 25.1 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.

DNA 17 (1.22) mains / Asterisk Spin 16 crosses

Stiffness10th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss40th pct · 1 measured
Energy return73rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential31st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite66th pct · 1 measured
String friction79th pct · 1 measured

Asterisk Spin 16 mains / DNA 17 (1.22) crosses

Stiffness10th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss38th pct · 1 measured
Energy return73rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential29th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite50th 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.

DNA 17 (1.22)

~27 hours of play

Asterisk Spin 16

~30 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Dunlop DNA 17 (1.22) Nylon17find14528924.10.4760.115
Gamma Asterisk Spin 16 Nylon16find15025923.90.4330.110

Add a third string DNA 17 (1.22) in full Asterisk Spin 16 in full