Head to head

Gosen Polylon SP 17 (1.24) vs Gosen Polymaster I 16

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Polymaster I 16 is 26 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

Polylon SP 17 (1.24)

Polyester · 17 ga

Gosen

Polymaster I 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17543rd pct
18754th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5292nd pct
5291st pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8524th pct
8520th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.645th pct
4.748th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.39923rd pct
0.3492nd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08739th pct
0.07514th 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 17 (1.24) at 52 lb

String Polymaster I 16 at 49.1 lb 22.3 kg

Coming from Polymaster I 16 at 52 lb

String Polylon SP 17 (1.24) at 55.4 lb 25.1 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 17 (1.24) mains / Polymaster I 16 crosses

Stiffness46th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss92nd pct · 1 measured
Energy return23rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential47th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite18th pct · 1 measured
String friction32nd pct · 1 measured

Polymaster I 16 mains / Polylon SP 17 (1.24) crosses

Stiffness48th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss91st pct · 1 measured
Energy return22nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential47th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite4th pct · 1 measured
String friction18th 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 17 (1.24)

~12 hours of play

Polymaster I 16

~13 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen Polylon SP 17 (1.24) Polyester17find17552854.60.3990.087
Gosen Polymaster I 16 Polyester16find18752854.70.3490.075

Add a third string Polylon SP 17 (1.24) in full Polymaster I 16 in full