Head to head

Head ETS 17 vs Tecnifibre NRG2 18 (1.18)

NRG2 18 (1.18) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where NRG2 18 (1.18) is 75 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Head

ETS 17

Nylon · 17 ga

Tecnifibre

NRG2 18 (1.18)

Nylon/Polyurethane · 18 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15215th pct
15114th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2123rd pct
2018th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9381st pct
9378th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
1.91st pct
2.65th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.3677th pct
0.51482nd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.19898th pct
0.19898th 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 ETS 17 at 52 lb

String NRG2 18 (1.18) at 51.9 lb 23.5 kg

Coming from NRG2 18 (1.18) at 52 lb

String ETS 17 at 52.1 lb 23.6 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.

ETS 17 mains / NRG2 18 (1.18) crosses

Stiffness15th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss21st pct · 1 measured
Energy return80th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential2nd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite17th pct · 1 measured
String friction98th pct · 1 measured

NRG2 18 (1.18) mains / ETS 17 crosses

Stiffness14th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss19th pct · 1 measured
Energy return80th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential4th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite74th pct · 1 measured
String friction98th 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.

ETS 17

~33 hours of play

NRG2 18 (1.18)

~35 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Head ETS 17 Nylon17find15221931.90.3670.198
Tecnifibre NRG2 18 (1.18) Nylon/Polyurethane18$14.9615120932.60.5140.198

Add a third string ETS 17 in full NRG2 18 (1.18) in full