I am going to order some FF string material.

Researching it there appears to be a lot of options.

Which material do y’all prefer and why?

From a pure performance stand point is one above the other?

What type of bow is it going on? There are a lot of different options out there. In reality, they are all pretty much the same. Basically, comes down to what in your budget. Yes there is performance gains compared to B50 or B55, but it's all relative. Do realize that if coming from a B50 type string to low stretch, it may require going to a stiffer spined arrow.

Personally, I've used 450+, Dyna97 in the low stretch materials as well as B50.

Low stretch materials that are available from BCY I would consider are Spectra 652, Dyna97, 450+, and 8125. 652 and D97 are going to be the ones that are a little more forgiving on the stretch side but offer performance over B50/ B55 materials.

Boker, remeber that FAst Flite is actually a trade name for a particular manufacturer's material.

You may want to get on the wensite of the folks that actually make the material and get their perspevtive on the different materials and the performance advantages. There are a couple of folks here who will give you accurate comparison's.

In most of the strings that I have seen made from lots of different low stretch materials the difference in proper construction and conditioning of the string has as much or more of an affect as material selection does when it comes to performance.

Boker, here is the link to the folks at BCY. All the answers that you want are right here. ANd in my experience, if you have a question that is not answered here, and you email them they will answer you very quickly.

http://www.bcyfibers.com/

Appreciate your help fdp.

I have googled the websites etc but I haven’t called them yet.

All my bows are later production or custom bows that are designed for FF strings.

I have built several b-55 strings but no where near a professional string builder that very well could play into the performance of my strings.

If I was a smart man I’d leave building strings to someone else and just shoot but I like to be all in on whatever I am doing so Here we are.

Just for my own purposes I’d like to build both side by side to compare.

Actually building strings is one of those things that (in my opinion) every archer should know how to do.

There are just so many variations of strings that yo can try determine for yourself overall performance difference.

Flemish strings, endless loop strings, braided strings (braided loops and splices/pigtails), back twisted strings, different strand counts, different conditioning methods and so on.

Brownell is still in business by the way, and is to be back in action in June, so don't dismiss them. I've got three different kinds in use now; BCY-X, Fury, and D-97 endless loop. I only make endless loop when I make them myself since that is how I first learned to make strings way back in the 1960's. That's likely what I will mostly be using.

I got a lot to learn, appreciate y’all

George have you seen any difference in noise between those?

Low stretch materials all creep some. Some materials stretch less but creep more. Some stretch a little more but creep almost none. Stretch bounces back, but creep is permanent and changes your tune eventually. For example dyneema has a tiny bit of stretch but almost no creep so acvording to the manufacturer makes a stronger, more durable, longer lasting string. I been doing alot of research recently because of leaving the low stretch on my low weight bows so this is all their words, not my experience.

GLF, not really but then my hearing isn't spectacular anymore either. The BCY-X on my takedown is very quiet. The D-97 seems to have more higher pitch noise but not enough that I wouldn't hunt using it. It's an endless loop of my own making. The Fury is about the same as the D-97.

The bows I have with it all have d97 they came with.

Not all low-stretch behaves the same. D97 was loud and twangy for me. Didn’t care for it.

On a 48# Redwing Hunter, I had to increase arrow spine from 500 to 400 going from 12 strand Rhino to 24 strand Rampage. Same type material, but Rampage is much thinner.

Ask Rick Barbee what he thinks of D97. He and George S convinced me to go low stretch on my ‘70-ish Wings and Howatts

Id get in touch with Alan at Ten Ring Strings or Trevor at TTT strings. These guys have a wealth of experience with string materials and can help guide you toward the characteristics that will best suit your needs.

I should say that I used the D-97 for my self made string because that is what I had on hand. Waste not, want not. :)

So far I have used Brownell Astro flight, D97,and braid fishing line. Braid ,and Astro flight are thinner diameter with more strand count, and all the different material seems to work just fine for me.I also use 9 strand B55 strings for most of my self bows which are in the 40 to 45lb range. Works good ,and cuts down on string cost.When I am looking for all the speed I can muster up with a self bow then I use low stretch.

Thank you George for the mention!

On the skinny strings how do you achieve correct nock fit ?

On my 14 Strand B-55 With .021 serving they are still Loose.

With 9 or 10 strands of B55 I double serve with dental floss in between the servings were your nock fits on the string.I use B55 for the serving. When I am done with the serving I give the serving a coat of crazy glue.

Wrap teflon plumbing tape under the serving area. Works like a charm.

Brownell seems to be following this thread so I will ask on here if they will continue to produce B-50 and if they are coming out with any new colors. I try and use B-50 exclusively but running out so I bought some B 55.

Regarding the question “why not build out the strike plate instead of going to a stiffer arrow?”

Simple answer, it was an experiment. And I had a quiver full of 400 spine arrows on hand.

Thanks for your question Jon. We will continue to make B-50 in a number of existing colors. You can see the colors on our site: https://brownellarchery.com/color-chart/

Distributors can ask us for custom orders too.

We've updated our labels. Here's what Rhino looks like.

Have a great weekend!

great- the Rhino is my favorite

"Just for my own purposes I’d like to build both side by side to compare."

Good idea. That would give you a hands on,real world experience for the initial question.

Brownell Archery....just curious why Crown serving was dropped from your line? Will it ever be brought back?

I haven't posted for years, but I may actually have a bit to contribute for a change. (Some may remember me as longbownut, but changed my handle a few years ago when I realized it doesn't make sense anymore since I shoot everything, and now someone else is using that handle.) I've always been picky about noise, and I also started shooting before low stretch strings even came along (anyone remember kevlar?). So much to BowAholic's dismay, LOL, I've always shot B-50 on a lot of my bows, and still do. I tried B-55 once, and I didn't like it because it seemed louder. When I thought Brownell was gone, I ordered some more B-55 for a second try, and also some new stuff called DacroGen by Flex Archery, but haven't made any strings from those materials yet. I remember when 450 Plus came out, it was all the rage for a while for stickbows (maybe in particular longbows), but I think it and any string with Vectran blended in it is intended more for reducing creep in compounds, and is not necessarily healthy or as pleasant shooting for recurves/longbows. The consensus for these days for Olympic bows seems to be that D-97, 8125 and similar 100% Dyneema strings are the best choice. That said, I've got an old Great Northern Traditional that came with 450+ string, and I've shot it for years that way because I needed to weaken the arrow to shoot my 1916's, and it feels fine and is quiet, so like everything, YMMV/try it and see. I find that dacron doesn't work well on the radical r/d longbows, sounds and feels horrible on most I've tried. On straight Hill Style and mild r/d's, it makes only a small difference sound-wise. On most of my recurves I usually use dacron, with the exception of Olympic target bows and metal riser stringwalking barebows (that's just noisy, period, LOL, and I have to just ignore it). If I'm wanting quiteness for hunting I find that by the time I hang enough silencers on a recurve, I've slowed it down to the point that the speed advantage isn't that significant. That said, I have a couple takedowns that are wonderfully quiet with D-97, in particular a Fox takedown, and also an RER Vital. I'm also not a skinny string fan (BowAholic cringes again!). I don't like the look, and have read in the Olympic archery books/websites that a string that is too light is not as accurate. I've shot skinny strings, and they're fine, and I'm sure I'll never be a good enough shot to tell in the accuracy department, so that's just a personal preference. If you don't mind endless strings, the quietest/fastest low- stretch material I've ever tried is Angel. Very expensive, hits the arrow even a little harder than D-97. They are not meant to be waxed, so not useable for flemish twist. You can find other threads about how to burnish them so that the strands stick together when removing from the bow, but I never do that. My Angel is ancient, so I need to try some of the new Majesty one of these days. Part of my sensitivity to noise may be that I now wear a hearing aid in my left ear, so it probably catches a lot of the sound reflecting off the back of the bows.

Glad to see Rhino is still available. I still have a good supply, but will eventually need more or different colors.

I personally still prefer RHINO over all of the newer materials I have experimented with.

RHINO is just a perfect material for building flemish strings, and is not out performed by any other.

450+ is a great old string material, that is no slouch.

Those two are my favorites.

I hate D97. It's only a small step better than polyester in my opinion. "In My Opinion". YMMV.

Rick

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here