Head to head

Double AR 666 (1.30) vs Volkl Synthetic Gut 17

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where 666 (1.30) is 30 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Double AR

666 (1.30)

Nylon

Volkl

Synthetic Gut 17

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16228th pct
15924th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2432nd pct
2226th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9378th pct
9274th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.876th pct
5.262nd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.49174th pct
0.43044th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08534th pct
0.08229th 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 666 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Synthetic Gut 17 at 51.9 lb 23.5 kg

Coming from Synthetic Gut 17 at 52 lb

String 666 (1.30) at 52.1 lb 23.6 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.

666 (1.30) mains / Synthetic Gut 17 crosses

Stiffness26th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss31st pct · 1 measured
Energy return75th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential72nd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite70th pct · 1 measured
String friction33rd pct · 1 measured

Synthetic Gut 17 mains / 666 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness26th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss29th pct · 1 measured
Energy return75th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential65th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite50th pct · 1 measured
String friction30th 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.

666 (1.30)

~30 hours of play

Synthetic Gut 17

~32 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Double AR 666 (1.30) Nylonfind16224935.80.4910.085
Volkl Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon17find15922925.20.4300.082

Add a third string 666 (1.30) in full Synthetic Gut 17 in full