Head to head

Head Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) vs Solinco X-Natural 17 (1.20)

X-Natural 17 (1.20) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) is 16 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Head

Reflex MLT 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Solinco

X-Natural 17 (1.20)

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15925th pct
15924th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2432nd pct
2123rd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9063rd pct
8956th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.159th pct
5.159th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.54790th pct
0.49174th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.10772nd pct
0.09759th 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 Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String X-Natural 17 (1.20) at 52.2 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from X-Natural 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) at 51.8 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.

Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) mains / X-Natural 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness24th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss29th pct · 1 measured
Energy return60th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential59th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite88th pct · 1 measured
String friction69th pct · 1 measured

X-Natural 17 (1.20) mains / Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness24th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss26th pct · 1 measured
Energy return59th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential59th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite77th 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.

Reflex MLT 16 (1.30)

~30 hours of play

X-Natural 17 (1.20)

~33 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Head Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) Nylon16$12.9915924905.10.5470.107
Solinco X-Natural 17 (1.20) Nylon17$10.8715921895.10.4910.097

Add a third string Reflex MLT 16 (1.30) in full X-Natural 17 (1.20) in full