Head to head

Grapplesnake Tour M8 17 (1.25) vs Luxilon ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25)

Tour M8 17 (1.25) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is snapback, where Tour M8 17 (1.25) is 15 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Grapplesnake

Tour M8 17 (1.25)

Polyester · 17 ga

Luxilon

ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25)

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21080th pct
20978th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3457th pct
4066th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8738th pct
8741st pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
8.297th pct
6.586th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.54490th pct
0.49876th pct
Snapback lower = strings slide and snap back
0.0662nd pct
0.07717th pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 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 Tour M8 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) at 52.3 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) at 52 lb

String Tour M8 17 (1.25) 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.

Tour M8 17 (1.25) mains / ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) crosses

Stiffness79th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss60th pct · 1 measured
Energy return39th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential96th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite88th pct · 1 measured
Snapback3rd pct · 1 measured

ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) mains / Tour M8 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness79th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss64th pct · 1 measured
Energy return40th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential89th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite80th pct · 1 measured
Snapback13th 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.

Tour M8 17 (1.25)

~23 hours of play

ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25)

~20 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugeStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFSnap COF
Grapplesnake Tour M8 17 (1.25) Polyester1721034878.20.5440.066
Luxilon ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) Polyester16L20940876.50.4980.077

Add a third string Tour M8 17 (1.25) in full ALU Power Rough 16L (1.25) in full