Head to head

Poly Star Classic 17 (1.20) vs Polyfibre TCS 16L

Classic 17 (1.20) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Classic 17 (1.20) is 14 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

Polyfibre

TCS 16L

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16735th pct
16735th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
6298th pct
6298th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
791st pct
792nd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.030th pct
3.824th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.3625th pct
0.37711th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09046th pct
0.09861st 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 TCS 16L at 52.7 lb 23.9 kg

Coming from TCS 16L at 52 lb

String Classic 17 (1.20) at 51.4 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.

Classic 17 (1.20) mains / TCS 16L crosses

Stiffness35th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss98th pct · 1 measured
Energy return2nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential29th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite6th pct · 1 measured
String friction50th pct · 1 measured

TCS 16L mains / Classic 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness35th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss98th pct · 1 measured
Energy return2nd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential25th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite10th 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.

Classic 17 (1.20)

~11 hours of play

TCS 16L

~11 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
Polyfibre TCS 16L Polyester16Lfind16762793.80.3770.098

Add a third string Classic 17 (1.20) in full TCS 16L in full