Head to head

Prince Premier W/Softflex 16 vs Wilson Optimus 16 (1.30)

Optimus 16 (1.30) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Premier W/Softflex 16 is 11 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Prince

Premier W/Softflex 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Wilson

Optimus 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
1426th pct
1405th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2536th pct
2328th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9276th pct
9378th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
3.314th pct
3.621st pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43749th pct
0.42037th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.13489th pct
0.11680th 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 Premier W/Softflex 16 at 52 lb

String Optimus 16 (1.30) at 55.1 lb 25.0 kg

Coming from Optimus 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Premier W/Softflex 16 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.

Premier W/Softflex 16 mains / Optimus 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness6th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss33rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return77th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential15th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite47th pct · 1 measured
String friction87th pct · 1 measured

Optimus 16 (1.30) mains / Premier W/Softflex 16 crosses

Stiffness6th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss31st pct · 1 measured
Energy return77th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential19th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite39th pct · 1 measured
String friction83rd 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.

Premier W/Softflex 16

~29 hours of play

Optimus 16 (1.30)

~32 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Prince Premier W/Softflex 16 Nylon16find14225923.30.4370.134
Wilson Optimus 16 (1.30) Nylon16find14023933.60.4200.116

Add a third string Premier W/Softflex 16 in full Optimus 16 (1.30) in full