Any of you prefer B-50 over skinny strings?

[Brock]

I have shot B50, D97, 450+ and a couple others I am sure I was not aware of their material name.

First...I dont like the feel of the skinny strings on my bows...I know it can be fixed with double serving but dont feel the effort is worth it.

Secondly....I dont like my nocks to be that loose due to the diameter of string and serving.  Yes I know I can double serve as well...or heat my nocks and squeeze together....but why mess with it when I can get great nock fit on my 11/32 and 23/64 shafts with B50 and standard serving?

Third...I dont see a performance gain worth it to be truthful.  I am not a speed chaser...wanting to get every foot per second out of my equipment.  I want good arrow flight (if I have a good release)...an arrow that hits with some authority and a bow that can transfer the energy properly.  2-4fps does nothing for me at my shots of 20yds and less...

Lastly...I know a lot of people shoot it on their bows no matter manufacture date or style...with both regular and also padded loops.  I am not willing to risk damage with unpadded loops of no stretch material....and I am also not willing to pad the loops to make it safe.  My whole idea in traditional and primitive equipment is to be LESS ENCUMBERED with tech and modifications...it goes against my style.

I shot a lot of 450+ on my Habu and D97 on my Robertson recurves....but day in and day out I am more than satisfied with the B50.  Once shot in and settled...I dont find it to change signficantly when unbraced to braced position...a few pulls or a couple practice shots and it is back to brace height I desire.  14 strands with serving fits my snap on nocks almost perfect...

I think the only way I would shoot D97 all the time is if I made all my strings 14 strand just like I do with B50....but all I am gaining is low to no stretch....with keeping the same size string...so is the cost worth it for an inch of stretch/settling????

When my current rolls of B50 are gone I will buy some B55....less stretch than B50...which in my mind will make it nearly perfect for my uses and that of many others.  Characteristics of B50 without the large (relatively speaking) settling and stretch immediately after construction.


Thanks but will stick with B50 and move to try some B55 when I need more material.

[Bjorn]

Depends on the bow I give them what they want.

[Precurve]

I've tried every type of FF and was never happy with any of them for a hunting setup because I couldn't get them quiet enough.  With B50 I gave up a little performance but I had a silent bow.  Tried the new B55 in an endless loop and now have the best of both worlds: performance of a FF and silence of the B50 flemish.

I have come to the conclusion that 8-strand skinny FF strings are the ticket-- I have been able to quiet down (and speed up but that's not as important) a number of bows which stubbornly remained noisy with 16-strand strings. Don't see an upside to B50 on a modern bow aside from cost.

[Igor]

I shoot D-10 on all my bows - modern - vintage-primitive - mostly make 16 strand strings - a few skinny strings....that seems to quiet some of my recurves down...

><>>
Glenn

[Orion]

I shot B-50 for more than 40 years because theta's all there was, and it worked fine.  However, the low stretch materials today are superior to B-50.  They're faster, reduce hand shock, and , in most instances, quieter.  I don't build particularly skinny strings, usually stick with 12 strands of D-97 for bows in the 50-60# range.

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by ksbowman:
I mainly shoot older bows and use b50 strings. The older bows were made for the non-fastflight strings and even though some use them padded on older bows. I don't feel the gain in speed is worth using the FF. Just a personal thing.

That for me as well.

[LBR]

Just want to emphasize that, for a great many of us, HMPE ("Fast Flight") materials aren't about gaining a few fps.  The advantages are:  increased durability, reduced stretch, reduced creep, increased stability, reduced hand shock, etc.

I'd use HMPE materials if they were a little slower than polyester due to these benefits.

[halfseminole]

For some bows, inversely, those characteristics are lethal.  For example, I own a horn composite bow (thanks scars!) and per all builders, but quoting Adam Karpowicz in his book "Ottoman Turkish Bows, manufacture and design
" using FF strings destroys both the nock ends as well as can cause delamination.  He tried every permutation, only to end up losing bows, no matter if they were reinforced with rawhide, sinew, horn, or whatever.  While many who have contributed know about this property, I'm sure someone will have need of it.  

I wish I could use FF materials, but my nocks are tiny and would be cut through almost immediately.  B50 or silk are my only good choices.

[Mike Mecredy]

The advantages over B-50 and B-55 goes WAY beyond speed.  And if dacron is all you've used and all you'll ever use and everything else is overpriced and just hype, then you'll never know the difference. Keep doing what works for you.

I use to be  hardcore Dacron or nothing, but I tried D-10 and saw my error and never looked back,. INFACT, since switching to D-10 on the bows I make, I've spent less on string material.  I don't have to use as much D-10 as I do B-50/55.

[SELFBOW19953]

I had a long bow made for me 5 years ago and the bowyer supplied a FF endless loop skinny string.  In my opinion, that bow has never been hunting quiet-there was a high pitched vibration at the shot.  I've tried various string silencers, heavy arrows, very heavy arrows (800 gr out of 57#'s), adjusted brace height, nothing would quiet it down.  I put a B-50 string on it and it is virtually silent, a barely audible whisper.  I may hunt with it now.  
I have other bows with FF strings and they are very quiet.  I think it depends on the bow.  If you have a noisy bow shooting FF and nothing will quiet it down, try B-50.

My bow was the last one this bowyer made so there was no opportunity to discuss it with him.

[Mike Mecredy]

Continuous loop strings are louder no matter what the material is.