Head to head

Dunlop Explosive 17 (1.26) vs Topspin Cyber Blue 17L (1.20)

Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is stiffness, where Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) is 8 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Dunlop

Explosive 17 (1.26)

Polyester · 17 ga

Topspin

Cyber Blue 17L (1.20)

Polyester · 17L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19259th pct
18551st pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3252nd pct
3455th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8739th pct
8741st pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.159th pct
5.159th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43648th pct
0.42541st pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08637th pct
0.08331st 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 Explosive 17 (1.26) at 52 lb

String Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) at 54.1 lb 24.5 kg

Coming from Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) at 52 lb

String Explosive 17 (1.26) at 50.0 lb 22.7 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.

Explosive 17 (1.26) mains / Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) crosses

Stiffness56th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss53rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return40th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential59th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite47th pct · 1 measured
String friction35th pct · 1 measured

Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) mains / Explosive 17 (1.26) crosses

Stiffness55th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss54th pct · 1 measured
Energy return40th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential59th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite42nd pct · 1 measured
String friction32nd 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.

Explosive 17 (1.26)

~24 hours of play

Cyber Blue 17L (1.20)

~23 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Dunlop Explosive 17 (1.26) Polyester17find19232875.10.4360.086
Topspin Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) Polyester17Lfind18534875.10.4250.083

Add a third string Explosive 17 (1.26) in full Cyber Blue 17L (1.20) in full