Head to head

Grapplesnake Alpha 17 (1.25) vs MSV Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25)

Alpha 17 (1.25) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Alpha 17 (1.25) is 22 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Grapplesnake

Alpha 17 (1.25)

Polyester · 17 ga

MSV

Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25)

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21886th pct
22893rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2947th pct
2947th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8957th pct
9168th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
6.788th pct
6.383rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.53287th pct
0.46965th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.07921st 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 Alpha 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) at 49.8 lb 22.6 kg

Coming from Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String Alpha 17 (1.25) at 54.3 lb 24.6 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.

Alpha 17 (1.25) mains / Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness89th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss47th pct · 1 measured
Energy return62nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential87th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite84th pct · 1 measured
String friction19th pct · 1 measured

Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) mains / Alpha 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness91st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss47th pct · 1 measured
Energy return64th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential84th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite69th pct · 1 measured
String friction15th 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.

Alpha 17 (1.25)

~26 hours of play

Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25)

~26 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Grapplesnake Alpha 17 (1.25) Polyester17find21829896.70.5320.079
MSV Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) Polyester17find22829916.30.4690.075

Add a third string Alpha 17 (1.25) in full Focus Hex Soft 17 (1.25) in full