Does string gauge affect tension maintenance?

[Francis27]

Ello! i would just like to know if string gauge affects tension maintenance. If i does would a 17Gauge hold tension more than a 16Gauge?

I heard on some website that gauge does effect tension maintenance here is what it said:

Thin strings:

Generate more power
Generate more spin
Have less durability
Have more comfort
Have more tension loss

Thicker strings:

Generate less power
Generate less spin
Have more durability
Have less comfort

Can someone confirm this and answer my first question? thank you!

[rich s]

being that 17g is thinner than 16g .... if you apply equal tension to both gauges, you stress the 17g to a higher level than the 16g.....

with all other things being equal I would tend to agree that the thinner gage string will lose tension quicker because it is stressed to a higher level....

my $.02

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by Francis27

Ello! i would just like to know if string gauge affects tension maintenance. If i does would a 17Gauge hold tension more than a 16Gauge?

I heard on some website that gauge does effect tension maintenance here is what it said:

Thin strings:

Generate more power
Generate more spin
Have less durability
Have more comfort
Have more tension loss

Thicker strings:

Generate less power
Generate less spin
Have more durability
Have less comfort

Can someone confirm this and answer my first question? thank you!

First of all I hope you are talking about comparing similar strings. 17 gauge strings are thinner that 16 gauge strings so if tension each to 60 lbs the 17 gauge string will stretch farther. Applying a longer stretch to similar string reduces the power because its elasticity has been stretched out.

Tighter and or thinner strings bite into ball better and produce more spin

Thicker strings are more durable simply because there is more mass.

Assuming a thinner string is strung at a lower tension the softer string will be more comfortable.

Tension loss is a result of the string stretching. If you stretch the thinner string less with a lower tension the two strings loss should be about the same. f you use the same tension for 17 & 16 the 17 will be stretched farther, go dead faster, and have less to loose. S the thinner string has less tension loss if stretched at higher txensions.

[Steve Huff]

Similar to what Irvin said, but not quite: USRSA measured strings for elasticity and tension maintenance between different gauges, and guess what--it depends on the string. As Irvin pointed out, some thinner strings reach their max elasticity (molecules become linear), and therefore are stiffer. Other strings are made so that under normal tension, even up to 70lbs, the strings rarely reach their max elasticity, so the thicker is stiffer. Each was measured in approx 50% of the strings. This study was done prior to the new breed of polys out now, so who knows about them--not me.