Head to head

Gosen Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) vs Tecnifibre Razor Code 18 (1.20)

Razor Code 18 (1.20) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Razor Code 18 (1.20) is 27 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

Polylon Premium 16 (1.32)

Polyester · 16 ga

Tecnifibre

Razor Code 18 (1.20)

Polyester · 18 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21886th pct
21785th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3149th pct
2844th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8955th pct
8953rd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.876th pct
6.180th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.44754th pct
0.50981st pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.07717th pct
0.08331st 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 Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) at 52 lb

String Razor Code 18 (1.20) at 52.3 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from Razor Code 18 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) 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.

Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) mains / Razor Code 18 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness85th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss48th pct · 1 measured
Energy return54th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential77th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite60th pct · 1 measured
String friction20th pct · 1 measured

Razor Code 18 (1.20) mains / Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) crosses

Stiffness85th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss47th pct · 1 measured
Energy return54th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential80th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite77th pct · 1 measured
String friction28th 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.

Polylon Premium 16 (1.32)

~25 hours of play

Razor Code 18 (1.20)

~27 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) Polyester16find21831895.80.4470.077
Tecnifibre Razor Code 18 (1.20) Polyester18$14.9621728896.10.5090.083

Add a third string Polylon Premium 16 (1.32) in full Razor Code 18 (1.20) in full