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Head to head

Gosen Polylon SP 16 (1.30) vs Luxilon M2 Pro 125/16

Polylon SP 16 (1.30) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Polylon SP 16 (1.30) is 33 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

Polylon SP 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Luxilon

M2 Pro 125/16

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
18551st pct
18248th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5392nd pct
5393rd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8414th pct
8310th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.030th pct
3.621st pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.41836th pct
0.3482nd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.10570th pct
0.09861st 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 SP 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String M2 Pro 125/16 at 51.6 lb 23.4 kg

Coming from M2 Pro 125/16 at 52 lb

String Polylon SP 16 (1.30) at 52.4 lb 23.8 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 SP 16 (1.30) mains / M2 Pro 125/16 crosses

Stiffness50th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss93rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return12th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential29th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite28th pct · 1 measured
String friction68th pct · 1 measured

M2 Pro 125/16 mains / Polylon SP 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness49th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss93rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return11th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential22nd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite4th pct · 1 measured
String friction62nd 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 SP 16 (1.30)

~12 hours of play

M2 Pro 125/16

~12 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen Polylon SP 16 (1.30) Polyester16find18553844.00.4180.105
Luxilon M2 Pro 125/16 Polyester16find18253833.60.3480.098

Add a third string Polylon SP 16 (1.30) in full M2 Pro 125/16 in full