Head to head

Poly Star Classic 17 (1.20) vs Poly Star Energy 17 (1.20)

Classic 17 (1.20) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Classic 17 (1.20) is 4 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Poly Star

Classic 17 (1.20)

Polyester · 17 ga

Poly Star

Energy 17 (1.20)

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16735th pct
16533rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
6298th pct
6499th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
791st pct
771st pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.030th pct
4.030th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.3625th pct
0.3667th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09046th pct
0.09250th 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 Classic 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Energy 17 (1.20) at 51.5 lb 23.4 kg

Coming from Energy 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Classic 17 (1.20) at 52.6 lb 23.9 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.

Classic 17 (1.20) mains / Energy 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness34th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss98th pct · 1 measured
Energy return1st pct · 1 measured
Spin potential30th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite6th pct · 1 measured
String friction48th pct · 1 measured

Energy 17 (1.20) mains / Classic 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness34th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss98th pct · 1 measured
Energy return1st pct · 1 measured
Spin potential30th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite7th pct · 1 measured
String friction48th 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.

Classic 17 (1.20)

~11 hours of play

Energy 17 (1.20)

~10 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Poly Star Classic 17 (1.20) Polyester17find16762794.00.3620.090
Poly Star Energy 17 (1.20) Polyester17find16564774.00.3660.092

Add a third string Classic 17 (1.20) in full Energy 17 (1.20) in full