Head to head

IsoSpeed Pyramid 16 vs Volkl V-Star 16 (1.30)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where V-Star 16 (1.30) is 17 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

IsoSpeed

Pyramid 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Volkl

V-Star 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17543rd pct
17341st pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5896th pct
5594th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8411th pct
838th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
7.090th pct
6.989th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.57193rd pct
0.50178th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08126th pct
0.0739th 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 Pyramid 16 at 52 lb

String V-Star 16 (1.30) at 53.6 lb 24.3 kg

Coming from V-Star 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Pyramid 16 at 50.0 lb 22.7 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.

Pyramid 16 mains / V-Star 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness42nd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss96th pct · 1 measured
Energy return10th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential90th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite91st pct · 1 measured
String friction21st pct · 1 measured

V-Star 16 (1.30) mains / Pyramid 16 crosses

Stiffness42nd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss95th pct · 1 measured
Energy return9th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential90th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite82nd pct · 1 measured
String friction14th 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.

Pyramid 16

~11 hours of play

V-Star 16 (1.30)

~12 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
IsoSpeed Pyramid 16 Polyester16find17558847.00.5710.081
Volkl V-Star 16 (1.30) Polyester16$10.9917355836.90.5010.073

Add a third string Pyramid 16 in full V-Star 16 (1.30) in full