Head to head

Gosen OG Sheep Micro 18 vs Volkl Power-Fiber II 17

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where Power-Fiber II 17 is 21 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

OG Sheep Micro 18

Nylon · 18 ga

Volkl

Power-Fiber II 17

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15925th pct
15924th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2123rd pct
2016th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9495th pct
9492nd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
3.213th pct
2.76th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.3605th pct
0.40326th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.11479th pct
0.15094th 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 OG Sheep Micro 18 at 52 lb

String Power-Fiber II 17 at 53.1 lb 24.1 kg

Coming from Power-Fiber II 17 at 52 lb

String OG Sheep Micro 18 at 50.8 lb 23.0 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.

OG Sheep Micro 18 mains / Power-Fiber II 17 crosses

Stiffness24th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss21st pct · 1 measured
Energy return94th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential12th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite7th pct · 1 measured
String friction84th pct · 1 measured

Power-Fiber II 17 mains / OG Sheep Micro 18 crosses

Stiffness24th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss19th pct · 1 measured
Energy return94th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential7th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite21st pct · 1 measured
String friction91st 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.

OG Sheep Micro 18

~33 hours of play

Power-Fiber II 17

~35 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen OG Sheep Micro 18 Nylon18find15921943.20.3600.114
Volkl Power-Fiber II 17 Nylon17$14.9915920942.70.4030.150

Add a third string OG Sheep Micro 18 in full Power-Fiber II 17 in full