Head to head

Prince Tour XP 16 vs RS RS Lyon 17

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Tour XP 16 is 34 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Prince

Tour XP 16

Polyester · 16 ga

RS

RS Lyon 17

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19867th pct
19765th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3762nd pct
3660th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8955th pct
8850th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.569th pct
5.467th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.43648th pct
0.51181st pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.07921st pct
0.09455th 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 Tour XP 16 at 52 lb

String RS Lyon 17 at 55.9 lb 25.4 kg

Coming from RS Lyon 17 at 52 lb

String Tour XP 16 at 46.7 lb 21.2 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.

Tour XP 16 mains / RS Lyon 17 crosses

Stiffness65th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss61st pct · 1 measured
Energy return54th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential68th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite54th pct · 1 measured
String friction30th pct · 1 measured

RS Lyon 17 mains / Tour XP 16 crosses

Stiffness65th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss60th pct · 1 measured
Energy return53rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential68th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite77th 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.

Tour XP 16

~22 hours of play

RS Lyon 17

~22 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Prince Tour XP 16 Polyester16find19837895.50.4360.079
RS RS Lyon 17 Polyester17find19736885.40.5110.094

Add a third string Tour XP 16 in full RS Lyon 17 in full