dacron shooter wants to know about the new stuff

[ozy clint]

i'm thinking of trying some modern string material. what are they all and which one do you like and why? what are the characteristics of each?  i want some good info to base a decision on what to buy as i don't have the money to buy a spool of everything. thanks.

ps- has anyone shot both on the same bow? which did you stick with and why?

[JRY309]

I like D97,it is a good strong string.I feel it is quieter then the old type FF.A 12 strand D97 is strong enough for upto a 100# bow.I use 12 strands on bows from 50# to 83#,and with .024 Halo serving I get the same nock fit for all my bows.D97 cost alittle less then other types of modern low stretch string.Plus you can get D97 in 375'ft rolls,1/8# and 1/4# spools.You can get a 1/4# spool for around $28.70 and 1/8# spools for $16-17 and the 375'ft rolls for $11-12.I like dark brown in 1/4# and then got a couple of different colors in 1/8# spools.I didn't like black D97 because it bleed alittle color,dark brown didn't bleed at all.Dark brown looks good with the flo-orange and or yellow,there is alot of nice colors to choose from.

[ozy clint]

do you pad the loops?

[Focusource]

I shoot both on a Great Northern.  Right now I am going with the BCY 450+ string that came with the bow.  It is fast and quiet with a very small amount of wool for silencers.  I think Jerry Brumm did his homework on which string material would work best for his bows.  Fast Flight just doesn't seem to wear out.  Note: As expected, my arrows show a bit weaker when using FF.

That said, I really like the feel and low pitched 'thunk' of B50.

You and Fast Flight - I almost feel sorry the B.C. animals.      

Jeff

[ozy clint]

yeah... it's a shame i'm not allowed to hunt anything. looks like we are going back to oz. can't find a job and not allowed to hunt unless your a millionare.

[akbowbender]

I've just started using fastflight plus.

I had always used dacron b50 until just recently when I swapped for a 62" Whip. It came with a ff string and shot great, but I always used dacron, so I made a string for it. Only shot a few arrows with the new string, and then switched back to the ff. The ff string shot nice and firm, while the dacron string made the bow feel springy on release.

I did the same on my Kanati. It now has the ff string back on it.

Using ff does affect tuning and maybe your arrow selection. The Kanati with dacron shot my 2016's just fine. After putting on the ff string, I now have to shoot 2018's. The Whip was able to shoot the 2016's with both strings with minor adj. in the brace height.

Maybe just a ff string is in order for you to see for yourself how it works on your bow before investing in spools of this expensive material.

[Focusource]

Clint, I wish Canada had been better to you.  There are better days ahead.  If you do go back, Australia's gain is North America's loss.

Jeff

[Rob DiStefano]

if yer bow can handle modern string fiber, that's really the better way to go, imo - stronger, more durable, way less stretch/creep = less brace height fiddlin', allows experimenting with lower strand counts.

think of a bowstring as the bow's 'transmission'.  it plays a critical role in transferring the limb's stored energy to the arra.  all the modern hmpe string fibers (dyneema, vectran, etc.) are simply better at that job than lmpe fibers (dacron, etc).

dacron is absolutely not a bad choice for a bowstring fiber, but hmpe fiber is more efficient and durable = a better choice for me.

[JRY309]

ozy,I do like to pad the loops.I make a 12 strand and add 2 extra strands per bundle making it 16 strands in the loop ends.It is probalby not neccessary on FF rated bows,but it makes the loops a larger diameter that fills the string grooves fuller and spreading the load and I feel it helps to make a quieter string.Just the way I have always made my strings.

[ozy clint]

i've never had to much trouble with dacron creeping all the time. sure it creeps alot at 1st but after 100 shots the brace settles in and stays there.

do you pad the loops with the same material as the string or use dacron? i know you could do either, just wondering if one works better than the other as padding?

[JRY309]

I have padded with dacron or I just use the D97,so it is the same color.But most of the time I'll use D97 to pad.I didn't really see any difference,but have used dacron to pad when my D97 was running low.

[JL]

I think Rob brought up an important point. Make sure your bow is built to shoot FF material.

I personally like FF strings for my modern bows. I think I have D97 on most my bows and also experiened the original FF material. While it offered the advantages of a FF, it was a real hard string and it made some of my bows sound like a .22 going off. I can see the difference in performance between FF and B50. Half of my bow collection is vintage Bear Kodiaks and they have a steady diet of custom B50 strings. I like it all.

JL