hmpe bowstrings are first and foremost about increased consistency over stretchy dacron.
I agree. They are also lots more durable.
As far as imparting more shock to the limb tips....
I know that I can put an HMPE string on a bow that is shocky with polyester ("dacron"), and the shock is greatly reduced. Seems to me if the lack of stretch was imparting more energy to the limb tips, we'd get more shock in the riser rather than less. I'll leave the explanation of why to folks who have a better understanding of physics than I do.
Dynaflight '97 and Dynaflight 10 (Force 10) are practically the same material (SK75 Dyneema vs. SK78 Dyneema), just a little different diameter. The feel can be different between colors, or even between batches of the same color.
I need to start making my own hmpe strings for my mild r/d longbows and my Hill bows. Which one is a good one to start with?
Dynaflight '97 and 8125G are still VERY good materials, but if you are going to stick with just one or two I'd go ahead and start with the best there is. For a 100% HMPE material, 8190. For a blend (and slightly softer feel, and even more stability) BCY-X.
8190 is 100% SK90 Dyneema--the highest grade available. BCY-X is 17% Vectran and 83% SK90 Dyneema. I like 18-20 strands with either one--both are very small diameter strands--about 1/2 the diameter of Dynaflight '97. Won't be a fat string, but not so skinny that you have to do anything special to get a proper nock fit.
BCY-X is my favorite to date. I've found it to be VERY quiet (only need one small set of cat whiskers), VERY stable, and so far very durable (haven't shot it enough to say for sure, but so far the string still looks new after quite a few shots). The test bow is a Samick Journey (retails for around $130).
If you want to try either of these, give me a holler and I can get you a deal.
Chad
Topic: strings: type, materials, and expectations. (Read 604 times)
