Head to head

Kirschbaum Pro Line II 17L (1.20) vs Kirschbaum Pro Line II 18 (1.15)

Pro Line II 17L (1.20) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Pro Line II 17L (1.20) is 12 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Kirschbaum

Pro Line II 17L (1.20)

Polyester · 17L ga

Kirschbaum

Pro Line II 18 (1.15)

Polyester · 18 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19361st pct
18349th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4679th pct
4681st pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8631st pct
8843rd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.851st pct
4.543rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43648th pct
0.43547th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09046th 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 Pro Line II 17L (1.20) at 52 lb

String Pro Line II 18 (1.15) at 56.7 lb 25.7 kg

Coming from Pro Line II 18 (1.15) at 52 lb

String Pro Line II 17L (1.20) at 48.5 lb 22.0 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.

Pro Line II 17L (1.20) mains / Pro Line II 18 (1.15) crosses

Stiffness56th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss80th pct · 1 measured
Energy return35th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential49th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite48th pct · 1 measured
String friction48th pct · 1 measured

Pro Line II 18 (1.15) mains / Pro Line II 17L (1.20) crosses

Stiffness55th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss80th pct · 1 measured
Energy return39th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential44th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite48th pct · 1 measured
String friction57th 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.

Pro Line II 17L (1.20)

~16 hours of play

Pro Line II 18 (1.15)

~16 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Kirschbaum Pro Line II 17L (1.20) Polyester17Lfind19346864.80.4360.090
Kirschbaum Pro Line II 18 (1.15) Polyester18find18346884.50.4350.097

Add a third string Pro Line II 17L (1.20) in full Pro Line II 18 (1.15) in full