Head to head

Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) vs Tecnifibre Tecni-spin 16 (1.28)

Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) is 30 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Tecnifibre

Black Code 4S 18 (1.20)

Polyester · 18 ga

Tecnifibre

Tecni-spin 16 (1.28)

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
21079th pct
20875th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2537th pct
2740th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8850th pct
8850th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
6.180th pct
6.586th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.53287th pct
0.47568th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08739th pct
0.0739th 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 Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) at 52 lb

String Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) at 52.7 lb 23.9 kg

Coming from Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) at 52 lb

String Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) at 51.3 lb 23.3 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.

Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) mains / Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) crosses

Stiffness78th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss38th pct · 1 measured
Energy return50th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential81st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite85th pct · 1 measured
String friction32nd pct · 1 measured

Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) mains / Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) crosses

Stiffness78th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss39th pct · 1 measured
Energy return50th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential85th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite71st pct · 1 measured
String friction16th 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.

Black Code 4S 18 (1.20)

~29 hours of play

Tecni-spin 16 (1.28)

~28 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Tecnifibre Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) Polyester18$11.9621025886.10.5320.087
Tecnifibre Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) Polyester16find20827886.50.4750.073

Add a third string Black Code 4S 18 (1.20) in full Tecni-spin 16 (1.28) in full