B50 vs B55 Streeetchh?

[monterey]

Wondering if my next string material should be B55.  Nothing wrong with B50 but if 55 truly is less stretchy, then maybe it's time to switch.

[Roy from Pa]

Heck even some of us old guys have upgraded from B-50..  

[dragonheart]

I tried B-55.  I had Linda Brackenbury-stringmaker extraordinaire make me up some.  Her B-50 strings settle in with no problem.  I shoot B-50.  I did not care for it and the streeetch...

[halfseminole]

I've been wondering about it for my horn bow.  It's cheaper than surgical silk.

[monterey]

Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Heck even some of us old guys have upgraded from B-50..      

Don't rush me!  Not sure what to upgrade next.  The B50 or the Vega?¿?¿

[Roy from Pa]

How about PBR?  

[dragonheart]

I have tried 450 and 452.  To me it is the "in-between" material for a nonstretch bowstring.  You get kinda the "feel" on the draw of B-50, with the recoil reduction of fastflight.  If I was going to shoot a nonstretch it will be 450 or 452.  B-55 was a disappointment for me.  I wanted it to work, but found B-50 superior.

[monterey]

Dragon, thats good info thanks.

Roy, you're giving me flashbacks to the Enlisted Mens Club.  

[LittleBen]

Honestly, most of my experience is with FF type materials, specifically with BCY 8125. I've used b-50 prior to and after having experience with 8125.

I'm going to be really honest, if you try FF you will not go back to Dacron.
Basically zero stretch after extremely short break in period ...
Incredible performance. Noise reduction. Durability. Price.
It's just straight up better in every metric you can come up with.

[mikkekeswick]

And it's lighter and way stronger per strand.
Almost all of 'new' string materials use a fiber called dyneema. The numbers are just marketing. B50 is dacron.

[ColonelSandersLite]

This thread might interest.  This guy did some light testing of b50 vs b55 vs 8125 vs D97.

 http://piratesofarchery.net/bb/viewtopic.php?p=131293

[ColonelSandersLite]

Originally posted by dragonheart:
B-55 was a disappointment for me.  I wanted it to work, but found B-50 superior.

In what way?  Most comments I've seen on the two says that b-55 is just better, with a minority saying that there's just no noticeable difference.  You're the first I remember seeing post that you found b-55 to be inferior.

[PEARL DRUMS]

B-55 is dry and doesn't stick to itself, even with gobs of string wax on it. Plus, the colrs run horrible. I made at least 5-6 red/yellow strings and hated it. My reason for trying it several years ago was because I had already given up on B50 and switched to dyneema based material. When the advertisement said it had much less stretch than B50, I had to try for its cheap price tag.....Ill stick with anything dyneema on every bow I own and build, including some old glass recurves.

[LittleBen]

On another note, I can't remember ever having shot out a dyneme string ... Ever. I have shot out B-50 strings, actually I don't think they last long at all.

Im wondering if anyone has actually managed to shoot out a dyneeme string without just completely neglecting it (no wax etc.). I'm sure you can, but for me that period of time seems to be so long that it approaches the life of a wood bow.

So I thinks that's another reason to go for dynema, tune once, shoot a lot before tuning/new string is needed.

[monterey]

You guys have me thinking to leap frog the 55 and go straight to Dyneema.  I have a lot of B50 that I got a good deal on, but the stretching, and twisting to get back to brace height seem too frequent.  

I'm shooting in a wood bow in that I put an arbitrary string on that was just a bit short but went ahead anyway.  Even though that string had some use it stretched to the point where the brace height fell 1/2"  :eek:

[PEARL DRUMS]

I wouldn't hesitate Mike. I did the math once, it cost no more to use D97 for strings as opposed to B50. Maybe even less dependant on longevity and how you use/abuse your strings.

[Tim Finley]

I put a B50 on a bow recently and the buzz and bump were very noticeable compared to  the D97 funny we didn't feel that before fast flight . I don't think a D97 will hurt old bows unless you dry fire them and that goes for new bows also .

[Roy from Pa]

I've been using TS plus for a couple years, it's 100% dyneema. Use it on my bbo's and tri lams, but I also use horn tip over lays on those bows.

[hunting badger]

I have tried B-55 and have been very disappointed! They claim that it stretches less than B-50 but I have not found that to be the case, in fact I have found than it stretches more than B-50 and takes longer to stabilize.

[hunting badger]

I have tried B-55 and have been very disappointed! They claim that it stretches less than B-50 but I have not found that to be the case, in fact I have found than it stretches more than B-50 and takes longer to stabilize.