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Head to head

Kirschbaum Spiky Shark 16 vs Prince Tour XR 15L (1.35)

Spiky Shark 16 leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is energy return, where Spiky Shark 16 is 19 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Kirschbaum

Spiky Shark 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Prince

Tour XR 15L (1.35)

Polyester · 15L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21684th pct
21382nd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4783rd pct
4986th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8625th pct
827th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
7.595th pct
6.788th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.54189th pct
0.48873rd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.0727th pct
0.0739th 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 Spiky Shark 16 at 52 lb

String Tour XR 15L (1.35) at 52.7 lb 23.9 kg

Coming from Tour XR 15L (1.35) at 52 lb

String Spiky Shark 16 at 51.3 lb 23.3 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.

Spiky Shark 16 mains / Tour XR 15L (1.35) crosses

Stiffness83rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss84th pct · 1 measured
Energy return15th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential94th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite88th pct · 1 measured
String friction8th pct · 1 measured

Tour XR 15L (1.35) mains / Spiky Shark 16 crosses

Stiffness83rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss85th pct · 1 measured
Energy return10th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential89th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite76th pct · 1 measured
String friction8th 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.

Spiky Shark 16

~15 hours of play

Tour XR 15L (1.35)

~14 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Kirschbaum Spiky Shark 16 Polyester16find21647867.50.5410.072
Prince Tour XR 15L (1.35) Polyester15Lfind21349826.70.4880.073

Add a third string Spiky Shark 16 in full Tour XR 15L (1.35) in full