Head to head

Babolat Origin 16 (1.30) vs Babolat Xalt 16 (1.30)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is string friction, where Origin 16 (1.30) is 33 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Babolat

Origin 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Babolat

Xalt 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16735th pct
16533rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
154th pct
167th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9490th pct
9597th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.671st pct
5.364th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.42943rd pct
0.48974th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.07717th pct
0.09250th 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 Origin 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Xalt 16 (1.30) at 52.5 lb 23.8 kg

Coming from Xalt 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Origin 16 (1.30) at 51.5 lb 23.4 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.

Origin 16 (1.30) mains / Xalt 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness34th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss6th pct · 1 measured
Energy return94th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential70th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite49th pct · 1 measured
String friction25th pct · 1 measured

Xalt 16 (1.30) mains / Origin 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness34th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss6th pct · 1 measured
Energy return95th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential65th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite70th pct · 1 measured
String friction43rd 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.

Origin 16 (1.30)

~39 hours of play

Xalt 16 (1.30)

~38 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Babolat Origin 16 (1.30) Nylon16find16715945.60.4290.077
Babolat Xalt 16 (1.30) Nylon16$24.0016516955.30.4890.092

Add a third string Origin 16 (1.30) in full Xalt 16 (1.30) in full