Head to head

Poly Star Energy 16 (1.30) vs Poly Star Energy 17 (1.20)

Energy 17 (1.20) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is stiffness, where Energy 17 (1.20) is 9 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Poly Star

Energy 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Poly Star

Energy 17 (1.20)

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17341st pct
16533rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
66100th pct
6499th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
770th 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
0.3543rd pct
0.3667th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08944th 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 Energy 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Energy 17 (1.20) at 54.5 lb 24.7 kg

Coming from Energy 17 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Energy 16 (1.30) at 49.8 lb 22.6 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.

Energy 16 (1.30) mains / Energy 17 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness38th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss100th pct · 1 measured
Energy return0th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential30th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite3rd pct · 1 measured
String friction45th pct · 1 measured

Energy 17 (1.20) mains / Energy 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness36th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss99th pct · 1 measured
Energy return0th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential30th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite6th 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.

Energy 16 (1.30)

~10 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 Energy 16 (1.30) Polyester16find17366774.00.3540.089
Poly Star Energy 17 (1.20) Polyester17find16564774.00.3660.092

Add a third string Energy 16 (1.30) in full Energy 17 (1.20) in full