Genesis Black Magic 16 (1.29) vs IsoSpeed Black Fire 17

Measured, side by side

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.

• More spin and shape

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)121st

  Black Fire 17258th

• Easier on my arm

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)601st

  Black Fire 17575th

• More control, less launch

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)137th

  Black Fire 17205th

• More power and depth

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)599th

  Black Fire 17556th

• Plays the same for longer

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)490th

  Black Fire 17520th

• Lasts longer before it breaks

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)157th

  Black Fire 17160th

• Best feel and touch

  Black Magic 16 (1.29)588th

  Black Fire 17558th

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.

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.

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.

Both strings in full

Add a third string Black Magic 16 (1.29) in full Black Fire 17 in full