Head to head

Gamma IO Soft 15L (1.40) vs Head Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)

IO Soft 15L (1.40) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) is 48 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gamma

IO Soft 15L (1.40)

Polyester · 15L ga

Head

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm

22087th pct

22993rd pct

Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it

3354th pct

3149th pct

Energy return higher = livelier, more free power

8846th pct

8843rd pct

Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed

6.384th pct

6.181st pct

Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder

0.41836th pct

0.51984th pct

String friction lower = strings slide and snap back

0.0662nd pct

0.08534th 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.

More spin and shape

IO Soft 15L (1.40)152nd

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)123rd
Easier on my arm

IO Soft 15L (1.40)645th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)686th
More control, less launch

IO Soft 15L (1.40)107th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)48th
More power and depth

IO Soft 15L (1.40)508th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)573rd
Plays the same for longer

IO Soft 15L (1.40)424th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)397th
Lasts longer before it breaks

IO Soft 15L (1.40)14th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)354th
Best feel and touch

IO Soft 15L (1.40)506th

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)565th

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 IO Soft 15L (1.40) at 52 lb

String Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) at 49.9 lb 22.6 kg

Coming from Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String IO Soft 15L (1.40) at 54.2 lb 24.6 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.

IO Soft 15L (1.40) mains / Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness90th pct · 1 measured

Tension loss52nd pct · 1 measured

Energy return45th pct · 1 measured

Spin potential83rd pct · 1 measured

Ball bite47th pct · 1 measured

String friction5th pct · 1 measured

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) mains / IO Soft 15L (1.40) crosses

Stiffness91st pct · 1 measured

Tension loss50th pct · 1 measured

Energy return43rd pct · 1 measured

Spin potential82nd pct · 1 measured

Ball bite79th pct · 1 measured

String friction25th 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.

IO Soft 15L (1.40)

~24 hours of play

Lynx Tour 16 (1.30)

~25 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
String	Gauge	Price	Stiff lb/in	Loss %	Power %	Spin	Bite COF	Friction COF
Gamma IO Soft 15L (1.40) Polyester	15L	find	220	33	88	6.3	0.418	0.066
Head Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) Polyester	16	$12.00	229	31	88	6.1	0.519	0.085

Add a third string IO Soft 15L (1.40) in full Lynx Tour 16 (1.30) in full