Head to head

Gamma Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) vs Wilson Spin Cycle 16L

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Spin Cycle 16L is 10 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gamma

Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18)

Polyester · 18 ga

Wilson

Spin Cycle 16L

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
20068th pct
20674th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4067th pct
3966th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8844th pct
8843rd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.030th pct
4.235th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43145th pct
0.42037th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.10874th pct
0.10063rd 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 Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) at 52 lb

String Spin Cycle 16L at 51.9 lb 23.5 kg

Coming from Spin Cycle 16L at 52 lb

String Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) at 52.2 lb 23.7 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.

Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) mains / Spin Cycle 16L crosses

Stiffness70th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss66th pct · 1 measured
Energy return43rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential31st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite43rd pct · 1 measured
String friction71st pct · 1 measured

Spin Cycle 16L mains / Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) crosses

Stiffness71st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss66th pct · 1 measured
Energy return43rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential33rd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite38th pct · 1 measured
String friction67th 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.

Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18)

~20 hours of play

Spin Cycle 16L

~20 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gamma Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) Polyester18find20040884.00.4310.108
Wilson Spin Cycle 16L Polyester16Lfind20639884.20.4200.100

Add a third string Zo Black Ice 18 (1.18) in full Spin Cycle 16L in full