Head to head

Gamma Zo Magic 16 vs Pacific Poly Force 17

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Poly Force 17 is 35 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gamma

Zo Magic 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Pacific

Poly Force 17

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
24899th pct
23395th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3455th pct
3762nd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8957th pct
8952nd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.132nd pct
4.543rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.39520th pct
0.3563rd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09759th pct
0.08024th 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 Magic 16 at 52 lb

String Poly Force 17 at 59.4 lb 26.9 kg

Coming from Poly Force 17 at 52 lb

String Zo Magic 16 at 42.9 lb 19.5 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 Magic 16 mains / Poly Force 17 crosses

Stiffness98th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss58th pct · 1 measured
Energy return56th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential33rd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite17th pct · 1 measured
String friction52nd pct · 1 measured

Poly Force 17 mains / Zo Magic 16 crosses

Stiffness98th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss59th pct · 1 measured
Energy return54th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential41st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite5th pct · 1 measured
String friction33rd 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 Magic 16

~23 hours of play

Poly Force 17

~21 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gamma Zo Magic 16 Polyester16find24834894.10.3950.097
Pacific Poly Force 17 Polyester17find23337894.50.3560.080

Add a third string Zo Magic 16 in full Poly Force 17 in full