Head to head

Gosen G-Tour 16 (1.30) vs Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where Barb Wire 16L (1.25) is 19 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

G-Tour 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Solinco

Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
18451st pct
18349th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3150th pct
3455th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8735th pct
8524th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.364th pct
5.671st pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.49475th pct
0.59095th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09353rd 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 G-Tour 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Barb Wire 16L (1.25) at 52.3 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from Barb Wire 16L (1.25) at 52 lb

String G-Tour 16 (1.30) at 51.7 lb 23.5 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.

G-Tour 16 (1.30) mains / Barb Wire 16L (1.25) crosses

Stiffness50th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss52nd pct · 1 measured
Energy return32nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential65th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite81st pct · 1 measured
String friction57th pct · 1 measured

Barb Wire 16L (1.25) mains / G-Tour 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness50th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss53rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return28th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential70th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite93rd 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.

G-Tour 16 (1.30)

~25 hours of play

Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

~24 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen G-Tour 16 (1.30) Polyester16find18431875.30.4940.093
Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25) Polyester16L$11.9918334855.60.5900.105

Add a third string G-Tour 16 (1.30) in full Barb Wire 16L (1.25) in full