Head to head

Gamma Asterisk Spin 16 vs Weiss Cannon Explosiv 1.30

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is energy return, where Explosiv 1.30 is 10 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gamma

Asterisk Spin 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Weiss Cannon

Explosiv 1.30

Nylon

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15012th pct
15114th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2533rd pct
2536th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9274th pct
9384th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
3.927th pct
4.030th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43346th pct
0.42440th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.11076th pct
0.10570th 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 Asterisk Spin 16 at 52 lb

String Explosiv 1.30 at 52.9 lb 24.0 kg

Coming from Explosiv 1.30 at 52 lb

String Asterisk Spin 16 at 51.2 lb 23.2 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.

Asterisk Spin 16 mains / Explosiv 1.30 crosses

Stiffness12th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss34th pct · 1 measured
Energy return77th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential29th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite46th pct · 1 measured
String friction74th pct · 1 measured

Explosiv 1.30 mains / Asterisk Spin 16 crosses

Stiffness13th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss35th pct · 1 measured
Energy return80th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential29th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite42nd pct · 1 measured
String friction71st 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.

Asterisk Spin 16

~30 hours of play

Explosiv 1.30

~29 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gamma Asterisk Spin 16 Nylon16find15025923.90.4330.110
Weiss Cannon Explosiv 1.30 Nylonfind15125934.00.4240.105

Add a third string Asterisk Spin 16 in full Explosiv 1.30 in full