I've built a lot of strings over the years, using a few different string materials. I've used Dacron, D97, D10, BCY-X, and 452X. I found a 12 strand BCY-X with the loops padded to 20 with B50 worked well and was pretty quiet, but I'm a little apprehensive to use a less expansive material on carbon limbs.

I have a new PMA coming with carbon limbs, and thought about playing around with something different. I heard Border Bows likes 652 Spectra, and thought about trying that, or maybe a different dyneema material like 8125.

Can anybody who's tested string materials give me any feedback on your experience? I loved how quiet Dacron strings were, but didn't like the feel of the bow at the shot.

I'm waiting on a bow... and I have a lot of time on my hands.

I let the bow tell me what fiber it likes best, in terms of stability, speed, and the noise factor.  The fibers I use for test strings are from BCY - B55 (polyester), DF'97 (100% SK75 Dyneema), 652 (Spectra), and Mercury (100% SK99 Dyneema).  I prefer to spin endless strings over twisted strings.  Loops are served with either B500 (nylon) or PowerGrip (Spectra/nylon), center serving is always Halo (100% Spectra).

For my lightweight holding bows of 37 to 42 pounds I use 14 strands of B55 or DF'97, 20 strands of Spectra, 32 strands of Mercury.  The higher strand counts mean thinner fiber that will result in rounder finished strings.

I just knew Rob would chime in!

I don't get too spun up, hung up with bowstrings, they're all good in their own ways. I make my own so I can be a little picky and trial different fibers and brace heights and twists.  Polyester ("Dacron"), Spectra, and Dyneema are what I like for fibers.  I don't like Vectran for stickbows, it's too much like Kevlar and that zero stretch stuff is a limb buster.

All the fibers I use will work well enuf so the noise factor is the prime decision factor. Low stretch/creep fibers are usually noisier than polyester and offer a "twang!" factor that polyester rarely does.

The AuSable longbow fitted with a Mercury string has a very loud high pitched twang that completely turned into a dull thud when I used B55 polyester.  Yeah, polyester has that stretch factor, so brace height needs to be monitored before and during a lotta shooting, but it's really safest for all stickbows.

Overall, if the bow approves, I prefer Mercury bowstrings.  Second would be Spectra.  Good ol' B55 will always get the job done, if all else fails.

Thanks for the feedback Rob. I have heard good things about mercury as well. I might just get a spool and see how it does.

I wonder how much noise dampening would happen if you padded the loops on a D97 with B50. I've never tried that.

I've gone with B50 polyester on a bow that was meant for fast flight yet it was too loud.  I'd rather have a quiet bow than the three feet per second. 

Dacron has definitely been quieter on every bow I've tried it on. And truthfully, the speed difference wasn't that big of a deal to me either. I did notice a completely different feel though on the widows I was shooting at the time. It seemed like the feedback in the limbs after the shot just hung around longer.

Weird thing is I've never really felt that on the older bows using B50.

I enjoy playing around with this stuff and tinkering. Maybe I'll accidentally build a better mouse trap.

OK , I've heard of someone using a hybrid string. Some FF and some B55 mixed in string. Anyone tried this? 

Quote from: kennym on May 21, 2025, 12:47:34 PMOK , I've heard of someone using a hybrid string. Some FF and some B55 mixed in string. Anyone tried this? 

Don't see the point of mixing different fibers.  The key feature of bowstring fiber is stretch/creep - yes, there are other features, but it's stretch/creep that's typically numero uno so that brace height and nock points don't drift. 

Mixing B55 (pure polyester) with FastFlight (pure Spectra) will probably yield something along the line of DF97 (SK75 Dyneema).  The bugaboo would probably be the uneven stretch/creep of those two different fibers, which may complicate shooting, dunno for sure, testing required. 

BUT, why complicate what can be achieved by making a fiber choice based either on a uniform guesstimate, or trialing a few different bowstring fiber variations.  I'd stay away from any fiber that's got Vectran, trial polyester first (B55), then Spectra (652 or FF), then the Dyneema flavors (DF'97, 8125, Mercury, Mercury2).   I currently have and test B55, 652, DF'97, DF'02, 8125 (thinner version of DF'97), and my fave is still Mercury (IF the bow likes it = no undue noise).  Mercury2 is just a larger diameter strand than Mercury, but I like Mercury better because of the high strand count (32 as opposed to 16) for a rounder string).

Rob;
Do you have a chart for up to 70# for all the materials?

Quote from: Rob DiStefano on May 21, 2025, 08:18:30 PM

Quote from: kennym on May 21, 2025, 12:47:34 PMOK , I've heard of someone using a hybrid string. Some FF and some B55 mixed in string. Anyone tried this? 

Don't see the point of mixing different fibers.  The key feature of bowstring fiber is stretch/creep - yes, there are other features, but it's stretch/creep that's typically numero uno so that brace height and nock points don't drift. 

Mixing B55 (pure polyester) with FastFlight (pure Spectra) will probably yield something along the line of DF97 (SK75 Dyneema).  The bugaboo would probably be the uneven stretch/creep of those two different fibers, which may complicate shooting, dunno for sure, testing required. 

BUT, why complicate what can be achieved by making a fiber choice based either on a uniform guesstimate, or trialing a few different bowstring fiber variations.  I'd stay away from any fiber that's got Vectran, trial polyester first (B55), then Spectra (652 or FF), then the Dyneema flavors (DF'97, 8125, Mercury, Mercury2).   I currently have and test B55, 652, DF'97, DF'02, 8125 (thinner version of DF'97), and my fave is still Mercury (IF the bow likes it = no undue noise).  Mercury2 is just a larger diameter strand than Mercury, but I like Mercury better because of the high strand count (32 as opposed to 16) for a rounder string).

Do you see any difference between mercury and the SK75 dyneemas like D97 as far as noise? Or do you just prefer it for the strand count?