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Head to head

Kirschbaum Competition 17 (1.25) vs Luxilon Monotec Zolo 15L

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where Competition 17 (1.25) is 49 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Kirschbaum

Competition 17 (1.25)

Polyester · 17 ga

Luxilon

Monotec Zolo 15L

Polyester · 15L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21080th pct
22087th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4883rd pct
4782nd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8516th pct
8414th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.543rd pct
4.645th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.46363rd pct
0.38214th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.10367th pct
0.08330th 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 Competition 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String Monotec Zolo 15L at 47.7 lb 21.6 kg

Coming from Monotec Zolo 15L at 52 lb

String Competition 17 (1.25) at 55.0 lb 24.9 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.

Competition 17 (1.25) mains / Monotec Zolo 15L crosses

Stiffness83rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss83rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return16th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential44th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite56th pct · 1 measured
String friction61st pct · 1 measured

Monotec Zolo 15L mains / Competition 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness84th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss82nd pct · 1 measured
Energy return15th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential44th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite20th pct · 1 measured
String friction42nd 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.

Competition 17 (1.25)

~15 hours of play

Monotec Zolo 15L

~16 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Kirschbaum Competition 17 (1.25) Polyester17find21048854.50.4630.103
Luxilon Monotec Zolo 15L Polyester15Lfind22047844.60.3820.083

Add a third string Competition 17 (1.25) in full Monotec Zolo 15L in full