My Own Skinny String Testing

[MAT]

Using a homemade jig (plans I found here) I made endless loop strings of 8, 10, 14 of 452x, and I shot this against my standard 16 strand D97 on my Palmer recurve.  The 8 strand looks like a piece of dental floss, it’s basically equivalent to a 5 strand D97 (452x breaking strength 75#, D97 125#).   All strings had rubber cat whiskers and yarn padding on the ends for silencing, and short halo serving so they all were equal.  

Shooting thru my chronograph it appears that at most the gain is 2-3 fps with the skinny strings, but that’s within my normal variation when shooting fingers w/o a draw check.  Certianly not the 5+ fps gains that others have reported.  I would have been able to measure that.

There was no real difference in noise level either, however the frequency was higher and the sound was sharper with the thinner strings.  Makes sense if you think of how a guitar works.  As expected this was most pronounced with lighter arrows.  To me this sound would be very alarming to game.  Therefore the advantage was to the thicker string.  

I really wanted to believe that skinny would have a performance advantage as it sounds good in theory, so I didn’t initially believe in the results.   I ended up testing on 3 separate occasions over a 2 week period all with the same results.  I think I get better arrow flight with the thicker strings too but that hasn’t been tested conclusively.  

I'm not sure if a skinny D97 (8125) would be better, but I have to think the results would be the same. The nice part about 452x is it's very stable.  I have not had to twist the string after the break in.  I used a 2 color string, so it's all one continuos loop.  Despite my bow's reputation for being noisy, more than one person has commented on how quiet it is with the 16 strand 452x string that I have on it now.

[Jeff Strubberg]

MAT,

You might want to ask yoruself why your results don't match the scores of others who have tried this.  If it's not the material (and I have no experience whatsoever with 452x), then there's something awry with the test process itself.

We all get things wrong, but when dozens of others are getting similar results and your tests come out different...

There is a performance advantage to a skinny string, although it's not a large one.  I've found there is a very, very noticable difference in noise level, though.  And no, I don't get any higher pitch out of a skinny string than a fatter one.  If you are getting pitch change, you've got a lot of oscillation in your setup.

[Swamp Yankee]

Thanks for those results.  I've always been skeptical about just how much difference a few grains difference between strings and string accessories (nock points, silencers etc) could make in speed when you consider they are all pushing a relatively large 500-600+ grain arrow anyway.

[Bowwild]

Interesting. I've done nothing very robust to "test" skinny vs. normal bow strings. I do know that I was sent two "Bikini Strings" which were very skinny with my Annieversary Predator when I bought it this past spring. I put the string on and was struck by the high-pitched twang. Much more noticable to me than with the Dacron strings I had been using. I immediately retired the Bikini and didn't even open the package on the other.  

Now, I probably should have experiemented with Brace Ht and my arrows at 424 grains are pretty light. So, I didn't give the material a fair shot. I have the new FF AstroFlight on my "The Stick".  It isn't noisy at all.(I didn't even know it was FF until I talked to Tim). I'll also be using AstroFlight (Replaces Brownell's TS-1) on a new Super Wildcat coming from Rose Oak Creations NEXT MONTH.  If you want life to slow down, order a custom bow!

[rraming]

Thanks for the testing

[Onestringer]

I have done some testing and came to the same conclusion you have.

[Bjorn]

Interesting....................my bows all got quieter (11 bows), and less silencing material required to keep them that way. There was a speed gain of 4 fps across the board.

[ridge runner]

I'm with you Bjorn, Mat I think your test would have been better if you would have used the same string material  for the normal and the skinny.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Mat, your tests match Ken Beck's tests (he's the Black Widow guru), so I think you're doing something right. However, many folks will disagree. After religion and politics, the number of strands in a string and the number of blades on a broadhead are the number one fighting conversations for traditional bowhunters. These have well-and-truly replaced arguments about arrow material, and even arguments about "What is true traditional bowhunting?". Perhaps in time these latter will come back into fashion.    

Anyway, as long as you're happy, your bow and game will be, too!

[Danny Rowan]

I don't know Ben. My PCH was so loud with the string that came on it I almost sold it right away. Ordered a 10 strand D10 from SBD strings and now it is mouse quiet. Never had another bow that needed a skinny string but the PCH does in my opinion. All my other bows, except my Tall Tines that came with an SBD string and my Zipper ZSR which has and SBD string on it, have standard flemish D97 or 450+ strings on them. They are all quiet now, course they all have hushpuppies and bowhush on them. As far as a speed gain of 4 or 5 fps, I could care less. My main concern on all of my bows is the ability to get them quiet and tuned properly for my arrows.

[MAT]

As I stated I was one of those who wanted to believe!  A shooting machine would be needed to really prove anything, but I've been able to see a performance increase using a tie on nock pt vs brass, so my margin of error isn't that great.
But it was clear that decreasing the number of stands made a very small (if any) difference in performance, but was quite noticeable in sound.  

Maybe 452x stretches less than D97 so it might be louder to begin with, but any lighter thinner string will oscillate at a higher frequency than a thicker one.  That's just basic physics, and rock and roll guitar.

[JRY309]

I find too another reason like said my bow are quieter with a skinny string on some bows.It's not always about speed.