Head to head

Signum Pro Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) vs Tourna Black Zone 16

Black Zone 16 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) is 36 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Signum Pro

Poly Plasma 17 (1.23)

Polyester · 17 ga

Tourna

Black Zone 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
19867th pct
19765th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2638th pct
3047th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8844th pct
8848th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.467th pct
5.671st pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.48371st pct
0.41735th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08944th pct
0.07514th 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 Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) at 52 lb

String Black Zone 16 at 52.3 lb 23.7 kg

Coming from Black Zone 16 at 52 lb

String Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) 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.

Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) mains / Black Zone 16 crosses

Stiffness66th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss41st pct · 1 measured
Energy return45th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential68th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite67th pct · 1 measured
String friction35th pct · 1 measured

Black Zone 16 mains / Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) crosses

Stiffness65th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss43rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return48th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential70th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite42nd pct · 1 measured
String friction20th 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.

Poly Plasma 17 (1.23)

~29 hours of play

Black Zone 16

~26 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Signum Pro Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) Polyester17find19826885.40.4830.089
Tourna Black Zone 16 Polyester16find19730885.60.4170.075

Add a third string Poly Plasma 17 (1.23) in full Black Zone 16 in full