Dacron vs fastflite

[jhg]

I will say that when I went o a big ol production dacron string on my longbow to a nice hand made dacron string, the difference in pleasure at the shot was noticeable. One was like shooting an arrow using a hawser. Everything sucked about that string.
There will always be a little witchery in string making. And lets be thankful for that!

Joshua

[jhk1]

Totally agree with what Chad says above:

"When swapping from Dacron/polyester to HMPE, you generally get a noticeable reduction in hand shock--especially if the bow is a design known for shock."

I've made 12- or 14-strand (loops padded with B50) 8125 flemish-twist strings for several of my Hill-style longbows (a couple of Howard Hills, 2 Jerry Hills, a Pearson Ol' Ben 5000 and a Binghams kit bow) that had Dacron strings and my experience has been that the 8125 string ALWAYS reduces hand shock on these bows.  My 68" 50# Hill Big Five had very, very little hand shock with a B50 string, but with the 8125 string it has virtually none.  The 68" Jerry Hills had a fair amount of hand shock with B50 string, but the 8125 string really tames the hand shock-- these have become a couple of my favorite shooters.

I put phenolic/hardwood tip overlays on the Pearson Ol' Ben and Jerry Hill Yellow Hawk because they had no tip overlays or wedges, but that probably wasn't necessary as long as the HMPE string loops are padded with several strands of B50 or B55.

The only reason I use 8125 instead of D97 or other HMPE material is because it's what I've got on hand.  I expect that I'd get similar results with other HMPE materials.

[LBR]

Some will think it makes less noise and some will think it makes more but all that can only be measured by a decimeter,...

EXACTLY!  I think this is where a lot of confusion comes in.  You also have variables like how good your release is, arrow weight, nock fit, different gloves and tabs, etc.

The following is from one of the top guys at BCY.

 

We've tested everything extensively with our Instron tester and with basic shot repetition.  Obviously there's a big performance and strength difference between B55 and our blended materials.  But say, comparing BCY-X to 452X,  string weight is important, but really doesn't do a lot unless the difference is huge. ... the bow itself also makes a huge difference.  Some bows just shoot better with a certain material and certain size string and not so well with something else.

Most of their testing is done with wheel bows, but in my experience the exact same holds true with traditional bows.  Way too many variables for a simple test to cover it all.  An entire book could be devoted to the subject and still not cover it all.

My goal is to find a happy medium that works well on any bow.  So far that has always been a moderate strand count--not too heavy, not too light--and it can vary depending on the bow.  

With very small diameter materials like 8190 and BCY-X, the strand count for a particular draw weight appears to be less important, at least on most bows, versus larger materials like Dynaflight '97.  

18-20 strands isn't tiny, but it isn't huge either, and so far works really well with light and medium weight bows.  I haven't done anything with heavy weights yet, but have no reason to think it will be any different with those.

Chad

[LBR]

I'll also note that the big differences in HMPE materials are stretch, creep, durability, and noise.  Sometimes these differences aren't so big, and all of them can be affected by how well (or not so well) the string is made.

100% HMPE or UHMWPE materials may show a slight benefit in performance, because Vectran is heavier.  However, in a material like BCY-X the percentage of Vectran is so low (17%) that the difference is hardly noticeable even on wheel bows, much less ours.

Materials with Vectran seem to be a little quieter--or maybe it's just a lower pitch.  I don't have the instrument to measure noise, so I'm going by the human ear--mine and many others.

Vectran will make a material more stable, especially when the temperatures go up.  Even the highest grade of Dyneema (SK90) can be affected by heat.  The lower the strand count, the heavier the draw weight, and/or the longer the string the more it will stretch/creep in higher temps.  Not a lot and nowhere near the amount you will get from Dacron/polyester, but more than you will get from the HMPE/Vectran blends.

In the end, shoot what you like.  If you can, try out different materials and strand counts and see what works best for you.  Don't base your decisions on smoke and mirrors and secret formulas.  Ask lots of questions.  Don't be afraid to go to the source.  I know BCY is great about answering questions about their materials.

Chad