Head to head

MSV Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) vs Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 17 (1.25)

Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) is 26 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

MSV

Focus-Hex 16 (1.23)

Polyester · 16 ga

Tecnifibre

Black Code 4S 17 (1.25)

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21987th pct
20978th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2946th pct
2844th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8956th pct
8955th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
7.595th pct
9.899th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.61997th pct
0.65899th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08228th pct
0.0672nd 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 Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) at 52 lb

String Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) at 54.4 lb 24.7 kg

Coming from Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) at 49.7 lb 22.5 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.

Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) mains / Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness83rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss46th pct · 1 measured
Energy return56th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential96th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite97th pct · 1 measured
String friction19th pct · 1 measured

Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) mains / Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) crosses

Stiffness81st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss44th pct · 1 measured
Energy return56th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential99th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite99th pct · 1 measured
String friction5th 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.

Focus-Hex 16 (1.23)

~26 hours of play

Black Code 4S 17 (1.25)

~27 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
MSV Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) Polyester16find21929897.50.6190.082
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) Polyester17$12.9520928899.80.6580.067

Add a third string Focus-Hex 16 (1.23) in full Black Code 4S 17 (1.25) in full