Hybrid builder

Two strings,one string bed.

The mains carry most of the load, take most of the deflection and are the only strings that snap back. A hybrid is not the average of its two strings, and which one you put in the mains changes the answer more than which two you picked. Pick both and see where the bed lands.

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.

1 Your mains (the vertical strings)

These do most of the work. Usually the stiffer, more durable string, a polyester for most people who hybrid.

2 Your crosses (the horizontal strings)

These soften the bed and let the mains move. Usually gut or a multifilament.

Start over

AK Pro 16 mains / TNT2 Rx 16 crosses

Gosen AK Pro 16 (Nylon) in the mains, Gamma TNT2 Rx 16 (Nylon) in the crosses. Every figure below is estimated from the two strings' own lab measurements.

Where the bed lands

Stiffness42nd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss27th pct · 1 measured
Energy return86th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential38th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite28th pct · 1 measured
String friction57th pct · 1 measured

Percentile against all 791 measured strings, as if this bed were one of them.

The bed against its own two halves

A hybrid is only worth the extra work if it lands somewhere neither string reaches on its own. This is where you find out whether yours does.

Measurement AK Pro 16 alone This hybrid TNT2 Rx 16 alone
Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm 174 174 173
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it 22 22 23
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power 93 93 94
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed 4.3 4.3 4.5
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder 0.398 0.409 0.471
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back 0.093 0.096 0.105

What the crosses change

Against a full bed of AK Pro 16. Moves are in percentile points, and "better" always means more of the good thing whichever way the raw number points.

  • Ball bite +6 pts 0.398 → 0.409 COF mains weighted 85%
  • Energy return +5 pts 93 → 93 % mains weighted 60%
  • String friction −4 pts 0.093 → 0.096 COF mains weighted 75%

The other way round

TNT2 Rx 16 in the mains and AK Pro 16 in the crosses is a different bed, not the same one described differently. Worth a look before you commit.

Stiffness42nd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss29th pct · 1 measured
Energy return89th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential41st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite61st pct · 1 measured
String friction67th pct · 1 measured

Swap them round Compare the two strings head to head

How this is worked out

Each measurement is a weighted average of the two strings, with the mains carrying the larger share. The share is not the same for every metric: bed stiffness is close to 60/40 because the crosses genuinely soften the bed, but spin is nearer 80/20 because snapback is a mains phenomenon and the crosses barely participate in it.

These splits are the conventional stringer figures, not measurements. Nobody has put a hybrid bed on the machine and published the result, so this cannot be validated against anything. Treat it as a guide to which direction a pairing moves, and never as lab data. The full methodology →