in my opinion syn gut lasts longer. i had tried nxt and xcel, and i'm comparing it to ashaway liberty (all 16g) the liberty lasts longer. my experience is limited cause i have only played for just over a year. In terms of feel. i guess i can't really tell when thats gone, when i restring i can definitely tell the difference. However because during play the string gradually dies i can't tell if its "dead." But based solely on how long till it snaps i would definitely say syn gut for me lasts longer..