Head to head

Signum Pro Hyperion 18 (1.18) vs Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Hyperion 18 (1.18) is 26 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Signum Pro

Hyperion 18 (1.18)

Polyester · 18 ga

Solinco

Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
18451st pct
18349th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3660th pct
3455th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8625th pct
8524th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.876th pct
5.671st pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.51683rd pct
0.59095th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08944th pct
0.10570th 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 Hyperion 18 (1.18) at 52 lb

String Barb Wire 16L (1.25) at 52.3 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from Barb Wire 16L (1.25) at 52 lb

String Hyperion 18 (1.18) at 51.7 lb 23.5 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.

Hyperion 18 (1.18) mains / Barb Wire 16L (1.25) crosses

Stiffness50th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss59th pct · 1 measured
Energy return24th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential74th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite86th pct · 1 measured
String friction53rd pct · 1 measured

Barb Wire 16L (1.25) mains / Hyperion 18 (1.18) crosses

Stiffness50th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss57th pct · 1 measured
Energy return24th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential72nd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite94th pct · 1 measured
String friction65th 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.

Hyperion 18 (1.18)

~22 hours of play

Barb Wire 16L (1.25)

~24 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Signum Pro Hyperion 18 (1.18) Polyester18find18436865.80.5160.089
Solinco Barb Wire 16L (1.25) Polyester16L$11.9918334855.60.5900.105

Add a third string Hyperion 18 (1.18) in full Barb Wire 16L (1.25) in full