Head to head

Double AR Diablo (1.31) vs Volkl V-Star 16 (1.30)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where Diablo (1.31) is 19 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Double AR

Diablo (1.31)

Polyester

Volkl

V-Star 16 (1.30)

Polyester · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17038th pct
17341st pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
5695th pct
5594th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
815th pct
838th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
7.796th pct
6.989th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.61597th pct
0.50178th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.08023rd pct
0.0739th pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 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 Diablo (1.31) at 52 lb

String V-Star 16 (1.30) at 51.5 lb 23.4 kg

Coming from V-Star 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Diablo (1.31) at 52.6 lb 23.9 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.

Diablo (1.31) mains / V-Star 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness39th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss94th pct · 1 measured
Energy return6th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential95th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite95th pct · 1 measured
String friction19th pct · 1 measured

V-Star 16 (1.30) mains / Diablo (1.31) crosses

Stiffness39th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss94th pct · 1 measured
Energy return7th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential91st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite84th pct · 1 measured
String friction13th 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.

Diablo (1.31)

~11 hours of play

V-Star 16 (1.30)

~12 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Double AR Diablo (1.31) Polyesterfind17056817.70.6150.080
Volkl V-Star 16 (1.30) Polyester16$10.9917355836.90.5010.073

Add a third string Diablo (1.31) in full V-Star 16 (1.30) in full