Head to head

Babolat SG SpiralTek 16 vs Dunlop S-Gut 16 (1.32)

SG SpiralTek 16 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where SG SpiralTek 16 is 22 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Babolat

SG SpiralTek 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Dunlop

S-Gut 16 (1.32)

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16228th pct
15823rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
156th pct
166th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9378th pct
9276th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.132nd pct
3.723rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.3708th pct
0.38314th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09046th pct
0.10468th 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 SG SpiralTek 16 at 52 lb

String S-Gut 16 (1.32) at 53.1 lb 24.1 kg

Coming from S-Gut 16 (1.32) at 52 lb

String SG SpiralTek 16 at 50.9 lb 23.1 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.

SG SpiralTek 16 mains / S-Gut 16 (1.32) crosses

Stiffness26th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss6th pct · 1 measured
Energy return77th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential31st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite8th pct · 1 measured
String friction53rd pct · 1 measured

S-Gut 16 (1.32) mains / SG SpiralTek 16 crosses

Stiffness25th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss6th pct · 1 measured
Energy return77th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential24th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite13th pct · 1 measured
String friction64th 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.

SG SpiralTek 16

~38 hours of play

S-Gut 16 (1.32)

~38 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Babolat SG SpiralTek 16 Nylon16find16215934.10.3700.090
Dunlop S-Gut 16 (1.32) Nylon16$5.4915816923.70.3830.104

Add a third string SG SpiralTek 16 in full S-Gut 16 (1.32) in full