Head to head

Gamma FXT 16 (1.30) vs Gamma Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25)

They split the measurements 3–3. The widest gap is ball bite, where FXT 16 (1.30) is 13 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gamma

FXT 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Gamma

Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25)

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15721st pct
16126th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
154th pct
121st pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9596th pct
9495th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.057th pct
5.159th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.45860th pct
0.43548th pct
Snapback lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09148th pct
0.08636th 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 FXT 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) at 50.9 lb 23.1 kg

Coming from Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String FXT 16 (1.30) at 53.1 lb 24.1 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.

FXT 16 (1.30) mains / Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness23rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss3rd pct · 1 measured
Energy return95th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential58th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite59th pct · 1 measured
Snapback45th pct · 1 measured

Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) mains / FXT 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness24th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss2nd pct · 1 measured
Energy return95th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential58th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite50th pct · 1 measured
Snapback41st 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.

FXT 16 (1.30)

~39 hours of play

Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25)

~40 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugeStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFSnap COF
Gamma FXT 16 (1.30) Nylon1615715955.00.4580.091
Gamma Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) Nylon1716112945.10.4350.086

Add a third string FXT 16 (1.30) in full Synthetic Gut 17 (1.25) in full