Head to head

MSV Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25) vs Toroline Absolute 17 (1.20)

Absolute 17 (1.20) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is snapback, where Absolute 17 (1.20) is 22 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

MSV

Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25)

Polyester · 16L ga

Toroline

Absolute 17 (1.20)

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17341st pct
18147th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5493rd pct
4782nd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
826th pct
827th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
7.796th pct
9.399th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.61396th pct
0.58995th pct
Snapback lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08023rd pct
0.0631st 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 +38 16L (1.25) at 52 lb

String Absolute 17 (1.20) at 49.9 lb 22.6 kg

Coming from Absolute 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25) at 54.2 lb 24.6 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 +38 16L (1.25) mains / Absolute 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness44th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss90th pct · 1 measured
Energy return6th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential97th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite96th pct · 1 measured
Snapback14th pct · 1 measured

Absolute 17 (1.20) mains / Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25) crosses

Stiffness45th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss87th pct · 1 measured
Energy return6th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential99th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite95th pct · 1 measured
Snapback2nd 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 +38 16L (1.25)

~12 hours of play

Absolute 17 (1.20)

~15 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugeStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFSnap COF
MSV Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25) Polyester16L17354827.70.6130.080
Toroline Absolute 17 (1.20) Polyester1718147829.30.5890.063

Add a third string Focus-Hex +38 16L (1.25) in full Absolute 17 (1.20) in full