Guys I was thinking about ordering a skinny string for my new long bow. How many strans and what FF string material is everyone using these day? The specs on my bow are 64" 51 @ 30". Hopefully LBR will chime in and give use the latest and greatest! :)
I'm using an 8 strand SBD on my bow.
Scott, I've used a couple of skinny strings and found they stretch too much for me. I would not go less than 10 strands on anything. I just received some BCY X from LBR. He speaks highly of it. I have not used it yet but it is very small diameter and will need 16-18 strands for nock fit from what I understand. I would contact LBR. Good luck.
Using 18 strand bcy-x and it is not a fat string. Very stable and solid. I have a 12 strand bcy-x and its is VERY skinny but seems to be holding up. I just like the extra insurance with the 18 strands in a hunting situation and don't see much performance difference.
LBR will explain it all, but how many strands depends on the material. The strands of some material are a lot skinnier than the strands of other materials. So, 8 stands of one material can be the same diameter as 16 of another material.
Bisch
as bisch stated, "skinny" is subjective. 6 strands of b55 is close to the same size as 12-14 strands of bcy X.
As far as the nock fit goes, that is one of the many reasons they make serving sizes all the way from .007 to .032.
Personally, I have had really good results with 12 strands of BCY X, and I have not heard anything about the strings stretching more than any other string.
Order from someone you trust, and then trust them.
Maybe one of my customers will chime in and give you some feedback about stretch. I do my best to prevent further stretching. I have found when letting a string stretch at higher poundages than you will ever get from a bow(#200 or more pounds), the materials will get to a settling point to where they don't stretch anymore. If it doesn't stretched with #150-200 of pressure on it, why would it stretch more with #50 on it? (just thinking aloud).
to add a little more, I know that Keith Zimmerman is shooting a 12 strand X on his bow that is close to #70 pounds at his draw.
LBR is not a Skinny String fan, but I'm sure he will build you one. Allen Schafer builds a nice string out of Fury material. He used to have a nice Ultra-cam string as well, but they discontinued making that material.
I have good luck with 8 strand or 10 strand D-10.
SBD (Silent but Deadly Bowstrings)made alot of the skinny strings I have had out of D-10.
I would like to try the BCY X like LBR uses or the Fury by 10 Ring Strings sometime.
The SBD D-10 seems to produce a very quiet and soft feeling shot.I have been very pleased with it overall.
I will throw in my 2 cents on skinny strings. I used to build a bunch of them using 8 strands of Ultra Cam. It made a very quiet string with little creep.
Since moving over to Brownell Fury, I have built and tested just about every strand count possible from 12 strands up to 26 strands. 12 strands of Fury is just about the same diameter as 8 strands of Ultra Cam or D10.
I have found 18 strands of Fury to be the best combination of stability, performance, and quietness. The 12 strand string is a TINY bit more quiet on my bows, but has more vibration after the shot. Performance between the different strand count strings is very little if any (I'm talking 1 fps on my bows). Accuracy for me is noticeably better with a moderate diameter string compared to an ultra thin string.
I use Daniel's strings with 12 strands of BCY X on the Fedora longbow in my signature. Similar specs to your bow. I have not experienced any abnormal stretch or creep and they are the quietest strings for that bow that I've used. I posted a review about Daniel's strings.
I just made one this past Saturday. 8 strands of 450+ padded to 12 in the loops for my 54# Wesley Special. Served with .024 Halo gives perfect nock fit for the Easton X Nocks. But Bisch nailed it - depends on the type of material and what arrow nock you are shooting. BCY 450+ is a pretty thick strand by comparison to BCY X so I can get by with using only 8 strands. No complaints about 450+. It's a blend of 70% dyneema and 30% Vectran. No creep and I can count on about 1/4" of stretching when I put it on the bow. And I think most of that is just my string settling in around the loops. After leaving it on the bow for about 3 hours - it don't move. Usually just need about 4 twists to get it to brace height and then good to go. Very good material that is stable and performs well. Good Luck!
Steve
Good info here. Skinny to me is ok but I mainly want a durable low creep string that is quiet and served well. So far I've been pleased with the ones I've bought but I want to try all of our sponsors at least once and that could take some time.
Ive had great results with ordering from SBD, Ryan Steadman, and Daniel. All are well built and perform flawlessly. Lately Ive been using Daniels strings. His turn around time is fast.
I have one of Allen's (Ten Ring Strings) fury strings on my Bear Montana. I highly recommend his strings. Really made a difference on my bow. In fact, it felt like a different bow after the fury string, and in a good way. Get one of Allen's strings.
Tom
The 12 strand bcy-x string on one of my bows came from Daniel, after initial breakin it has maintained a steady brace height on a 52# bow.
I still haven't found anything I like better then a 8 strand SBD.
Alans strings are a good choice. You can go skinnier but will have to watch more for creep.
I have used SBD strings for two months shooting every day.When I first string up the LB it sets one eight above my BH,after one or two shots its settles down to the correct BH.FF will influence the spine of your arrows some.You may need to re tune a little bit.
I am using 10 strands of d97 with loops padded to 16 on 60@29. I roll my own though.