Head to head

Signum Pro Tornado 18 (1.17) vs Tourna Big Hitter Black 7 17

Big Hitter Black 7 17 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Big Hitter Black 7 17 is 8 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Signum Pro

Tornado 18 (1.17)

Polyester · 18 ga

Tourna

Big Hitter Black 7 17

Polyester · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16736th pct
17644th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
3966th pct
4372nd pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8629th pct
8631st pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.978th pct
6.383rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.54690th pct
0.55291st pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09250th pct
0.08842nd 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 Tornado 18 (1.17) at 52 lb

String Big Hitter Black 7 17 at 49.6 lb 22.5 kg

Coming from Big Hitter Black 7 17 at 52 lb

String Tornado 18 (1.17) at 54.5 lb 24.7 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.

Tornado 18 (1.17) mains / Big Hitter Black 7 17 crosses

Stiffness39th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss68th pct · 1 measured
Energy return30th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential79th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite90th pct · 1 measured
String friction48th pct · 1 measured

Big Hitter Black 7 17 mains / Tornado 18 (1.17) crosses

Stiffness40th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss70th pct · 1 measured
Energy return30th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential83rd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite91st pct · 1 measured
String friction44th 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.

Tornado 18 (1.17)

~20 hours of play

Big Hitter Black 7 17

~18 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Signum Pro Tornado 18 (1.17) Polyester18find16739865.90.5460.092
Tourna Big Hitter Black 7 17 Polyester17$10.5017643866.30.5520.088

Add a third string Tornado 18 (1.17) in full Big Hitter Black 7 17 in full