Head to head

Wilson K-Gut 16 vs Wilson NXT Duramax 15 (1.40)

NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) leads on 5 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where K-Gut 16 is 46 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Wilson

K-Gut 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Wilson

NXT Duramax 15 (1.40)

Nylon · 15 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
17239th pct
16228th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2017th pct
1810th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9063rd pct
9272nd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
4.440th pct
4.543rd pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.47568th pct
0.39822nd pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.10874th pct
0.08944th 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 K-Gut 16 at 52 lb

String NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) at 59.3 lb 26.9 kg

Coming from NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) at 52 lb

String K-Gut 16 at 45.7 lb 20.7 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.

K-Gut 16 mains / NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) crosses

Stiffness36th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss14th pct · 1 measured
Energy return66th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential41st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite63rd pct · 1 measured
String friction68th pct · 1 measured

NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) mains / K-Gut 16 crosses

Stiffness33rd pct · 1 measured
Tension loss12th pct · 1 measured
Energy return67th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential41st pct · 1 measured
Ball bite29th pct · 1 measured
String friction53rd 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.

K-Gut 16

~35 hours of play

NXT Duramax 15 (1.40)

~37 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Wilson K-Gut 16 Nylon16find17220904.40.4750.108
Wilson NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) Nylon15$22.9516218924.50.3980.089

Add a third string K-Gut 16 in full NXT Duramax 15 (1.40) in full