Pick The BEST String Material for Recurve Style Bows | Barebow & Traditional Too 

Re: Dyneema SK75 vs SK99, Dyneema is no longer manufacturing the sk75, as for the majority of their industry (ropes) the sk99 is all they use due to the properties, this is why X has been replaced with X99, and 452X has been replaced with 454 Some limb manufacturers will not cover warranty if you use any material with an X (vectran) blend...

This answered so many questions and concerns. Thank you!

Thank you Jake. Any of your instructions as a piece of gold for the archery enthusiasts.

@Jake Kaminski I'm enjoying binge watching your channel and realizing that most of what I deduced on my own is wrong. The vast majority of archers in my area shoot compound, which means I'm left to navigate the recurve world on my own. You are an oasis of knowledge in my desert of recurve experience.

Finally someone who could clarify that! Thanks a lot!

Great video, thanks! I agree with you totally. At 37 lbs I shot 18 strands of FF+, but recently I changed to Spectra.

Thank you for all your videos. You are a legend! I am returning to archery and setting up for barebow. You quite literally have all the answers to my questions. Massive thanks from me over in the UK.

Amazing about the sound. Watched a few shoots on RU-vid - there's a definite difference. Never paid attention to it until now.

Thank you for this info. I've never read or heard most of this concerning string materials on the spectrum from stiff to soft you showed.

Wow. Finally A perfect explanation from a world class source! Subbed and liked. 👍🏼

It is amazing that a "primitive" weapon, in the 21st century has become such a highly technical subject. Thanks for the info.

Great stuff, i appreciate the time and effort.

Thanks for the video, stay healthy! From Spain

Lots of valueable infos. Thx

Awesome, thank you very much. This is the best video I have come across on this topic

I just found this video in a RU-vid search and certainly needed it because I'm ordering components for an intermediate ILF target-recurve setup "even as we speak." Jake, your explanation was clear, logical, and immensely helpful. Like commenter "Hot Chihuahua," below, I'm 70 years old, and the softer, more forgiving qualities of the #659 string you highly recommend sound just right to me. Thank you very much.

Jake you got this and doing a great job Thank you so much

Great video bro 👍👍👍

Constantly amased of how this world works .. When you drew up the strands on the whiteboard, it looked exactly like the depictions of different Corona strains that are all over the news these days ... Hmm ????? P.s. I have shot olympic recurve, trad. And compound on and off since 1974 yet I learn a lot from your videos, thanks.

Gonna try bcy652 someday 🏹

The explanation u gave of the Brownell is very similar to something I used to do. I've never made a bowstring but I've strung hundreds of tennis rackets. Gut tennis strings were natural & very similar to the 652. However it does fray under certain conditions like the Dyneema. The other strings u described would very more for feel like most of the synthetic tennis strings out there. But after a while synthetic strings after a feel months will sound & feel brittle which isn't the case with Natural Gut. I usually used the oil filled Synthetic Gut which was the best of both worlds but there's no substitute for Natural Gut which has always been the Gold Standard.

Jake, 652 is a available from 60x but like you I’ve given up making my own strings and buy them ready made.

When I started in archery everybody used dacron. Then kevlar was introduced so we started using it because it gave higher velocity. Dacron would stretch with time and your brace height would change, kevlar never stretched so it was very consistent when making a string and brace height was consistent. It was surely harsher but we didn't notice it. We were mostly using Hoyt Takedown II and never had any damage to the limbs. Kevlar would only last about 1/3 as long, maybe 1000 shots each, so we had to keep track of the shots on our strings and not use a well worn string during competition.

If this is your recommendation don't look into modern trad hunting bows it'll terrify you 😄 majority of bow hunters and trad bow shooters are using from 12 to 14 standards of any given bowstring materials, they call everything FastFlight, with exception of B-50 material. Personally I use 12 strands ( fortified to 16 - 18 strands in the loops, flemish twist ) of 8125 for 45# bows ( very quiet and fast string ) 18 str. for 65# recurve, but again as trad bow hunters we shoot a very heavy arrows, 500 gr is the lightest I've ever shot. But I totally respect your expertise, learned a lot from you, thanks 👍

Jake, Looks like Brownell Bowstring was acquired by a Canadian company. Here's from their website: On October 26, 2019, The Badinotti Group of Companies announced the acquisition of all intellectual assets, patents, trademarks, brands and processes of Brownell Archery, Connecticut, USA.

20 years ago I switched to fast flight and less strands of string to gain a little speed , never thought about the stress it put on the limbs ! Based on your recommendations I’ll get the 652 with 20 strands on my 42 pound limbs ! With my almost 70 year old body my limb joints need a little softness ! 😁

Dear Jake Thankful for for the explanation on Recurve bowstrings you can make the same system to the strings for the compound please..

nice coach👍😊

I personally shot from 8125G and 8190F and the first one felt better for me. Others on the other hand liked 8190F more.

Dyneema only strings are the way to go on a recurve, especially traditional recurves. I don't know when D97 came out, but it is basically the same thing as 8125. It is just as fast as any other fastflight material, but has a tiny bit of give so it softens the shot without losing speed. That tiny bit of give could cause a peep sight to rotate though, so I wouldn't use it on a compound.

If you wax your string, it helps to round of the string if you are using thick strands.

Interesting, I have always preferred BCY-X and X99 for recurves, because it was quieter than 8125. I also seemed to get more consistent velocities. Somehow I was under the impression X and X99 had a little more give to them than 8125. I guess I was looking/thinking about it wrong.

I have been shooting BCY D97 since the early 90's and it still works well but the strand is a bit thicker than the 8125. I talked to the BCY reps at Vegas and they said it is the exact same material but the 8125 is a bit thinner and a single 8125 strand is made up of 4 separate strands woven together into a single strand while the D97 is a single strand, so only solid colors are available. . This allows them to make the variegated colors in the 8125 material.

Thanks for that it has cleared my question as to 8125 or 652, im more shooting trad bows for 3D and field. I have just finished the last spool of Brownell which said Dyaneema 75 fastflight. Ive had the materila for many years. I will try the 652. I noticed on our uk supliers website it states that for 652 18 to 24 strands tho. And for 8125 12 to 18. If you say its the same thickness from bcy then ill check it when it arrives. PS how about a video on the minefield or serving threads out there? For the average archer making there own strings they are probably looking for one thread type to serve centre and loop ends.

12:20 I certainly think that roundness is very esoteric reasoning.

Jake, thank you for this video. You're doing a great service to archery. What are your thoughts on Angel Majesty 777 string material, which I'm hearing is a new favorite among top recurve archers.

What’s your thoughts on using B-55 on recurves or older recurves

Good job, what do you think of the string silencer you put on the string?

If at any point you start doing affiliate links for Amazon Canada I'll do my day to day shopping with your links haha less to Amazon more to you haha.

I think I need to write this down

Hi Jake, thanks for this lesson! I guess this is the best explenation around string material on YT. I tried out many different stringtypes and at the end I decided to use 8125. But after your video I want to check out the Mercury, yust to see what the thickness of the strands makes to the feeling of the shot. Did you compare the arrow speed by using different string material?

awsome video, I have learned soo much from your videos and stuff that nobody could explain. However I cannot find a single website where they can make a string with bcy652 material. I can find websites that sell a spindle with bcy 652 but nowhere a website that can make a string with it Can somebody help me? Or maybe I am confused and missed something?

What do you think of the string silencer you put on the string?

Hi Jake, Love what you're doing, thank you and you've helped me massively. I prefer stiff bow strings. Could you advise me on number of strands to use. I'm holding 72lbs at 28", with medium limbs (Border Hex 7.5s) on 23" riser. Using string stops to and bottom and BCY652, 20 strands. But its creeping. Your advice would be much appreciated.

I have borrowed a mercury 30 strands, but wont able to nock an arrow with Easton small pin nock, may I know the size of the serving you are using?

Thanks a lot for this information ! I was wondering if you would recommend a different amount of strands depending on the draw height ? I have a long draw height (almost 33") and I was wondering if it could be nice for me to ad something like 2 strands (22strands at 48#).

Sound is so subjective, but I can't seem to get any of the softer strings to be "quiet" on my setup. I never have. I have always had my quietest sets with BCY-X. I know the X is supposed to be bad, but I've never had adverse affects. I can't get 8125 or 652 to behave quietly. Weird though that I can get Angel Majesty to act quietly, but not 8125 or 652.

I think maybe you can cover serving materials as well. Maybe not as important as the string material itself, but could be crucial.

Bcy Mercury is my favourite so far. Many small strands sk99 dynema. Very quick, maybe to quick. Almost double strand count due to the thin strands.

Just for my own reference later - 652 with 20 strands

Thanks for this information. Where is the best reference for recommendations on strand count and serving diameter depending on poundage? Thanks!

Hi Jake, for the loop of the string what you suggest the BCY Halo the one to use for the serving or the BCY 3D? Normally with the 8125 I use 16 strands, if I wanna try the mercury how many you suggest? Thanks

I moved up from 8125G to Mercury last year, it feels more sharp but it stiffer on fingers at the same time. Not sure which is better long run. Shooting at 38lbs

Can I use 652 spectra on uukha gobi 45# limbs? How many strands do you recommend?

What about flex archery serving evo-15 0.9 ? Is it good

What do you think of Bloodline material? I did buy your book on tuning my bow. Do you have a book on making a string. I just bought a string jig. Would like the best way. Hint hint advise? Lol

Fast Flight is a Spectra btw. BCY's 652 Spectra says: "same as the original Fast Flight..."

I just ordered a roll of BCY 55, for my 45 lb recurve, I'm a survivalist so I'm learning to do Flemish twist instead since I can do it without a jig, how many strands would you suggest for that?

Where did you buy that cool t-shirt?

What your recommendation for barebow...

Hey there, I couldn't find in your channel (if you have one, could you drop me a link?), but do you have a recommendation on resource for learning how to build our strings? I'm totally new to archery but in all my hobbies I'm a bit of a gear nerd, so I would live to learn. Or do you recommend buying a pre-made string at first? Lastly, how to tell the length of string we need? Thank you for any input! You definitely earned a subscriber. Best content I have seen in recurve and barebow!

Hi Jake, In your Apptitune app, you mentioned that you used a 26-strand 8125 string on a 52lbs bow, which should just require 22 strands according to this video and the Apptitune app. How do you determine if you need more/less strands compared to your recommendation?

Hi Jake. Good explanation about strings material and strands numbers. There must be some relationship between the number of strands and the weight of the string. In reality, we are playing with a mass that moves at great speed. Is there any advice regarding the weight of the string? Many thanks

This may be a dumb question, but where does Dacron land on this scale? I decided to start making my own strings and got some cheap rolls of Dacron to practice with. My bow is very loud, but this is the only string I've ever really used on it, so I don't have much to compare it to. I'm assuming Dacron is very stiff because it advertises "low stretch" . Probably much more on the Vectran side of the scale? (Looks like Dacron and B-55 are supposed to be very similar? Not sure where B-55 lands on here either)

What about the "new" Carreara 99 string?

I still use dacron since I'm still learning target archery. where I'm from they always make 12 strand dacron strings. interesting that you recommend 16 strand. would you still recommend 12 strand for dacron too?

A question, what is the diameter of these strands? Thanks.

Hi Jake, What is your view on Angel Majesty? Have you ever used it?

What you can say about Angel bowstring material ASB MAJESTY PRO

Awesome video! What thread counts do you recommend for B55? Also, where does DY97 fit in your scale?

Bow string material information availability is something that I have always been disappointed in. There are so many proprietary names for the material types, plus manufacturers have claims of 'secret sauces' that they add to the mix, it's almost unfathomable. The last time that I bought string material, I knew to avoid compound material, but beyond that I admit that I was pretty much guessing, buying almost at random, and that disappointed me. There is so little unbiased information out there. I ended up buying Angel, but I freely admit that I had no good reason for doing so. The manufacturers, understandably, will always say that their material is the best. But what surprises me is that I have never seen an adequate, unbiased comparison between manufacturers from any independent source. Your little white board is by far the best explanation that I have seen of materials to date. It would be great if it could be expanded to put some trade names on it and published somewhere for future reference.

With 652 being "spongier" would that result in a slower arrow, i.e. 8125 has a harsher feel because it is transferring more energy into the string?

Can you use a say 60lb. Strand fishing line to make a fast flight like bow string? It will have no stretch to it.

I believe Mercury is not made so uniform or BCY keep adjusting the spec. Color makes a difference, as always, as some colors are much thicker than the rest. Wax is also something for Mercury. It varies a lot from spool to spool. From our experience with around 10 spools of different colors, at most 20-24 strand Mercury will be equivalent to 18-20 strand 8125G, none goes above it. A 30 strand Mercury string is so thick that it is impossible to nock even a large size nock onto the string. In the video it is well explained Mercury goes the stiffer end of spectrum. It can be felt by the shooter. With all these issues I am not meaning that I don't like the Mercury. In fact with some trial and error I found a 22 strand mercury without wax (Not sure if it is easy to get one in the market) works best for me, even better than 8125G which I have been using for over 10 years. It produces better feedback, less vibrations and noise, significantly increase the arrow speed hence add some sight. The only draw back is, as it is to the stiffer end, it is of slightly lower tolerance than 8125G. A few suggestions for those who would like to try with Mercury: 1) check the thickness of material before start making the string. The difference is so big that you can feel it with bare hand 2) give it a try with no wax spool 3) avoid flu. colors; and it is a good idea to start with black or white, as always Cannot compare with the 652 as I have never try the FF+ seriously in recent years. Arrow speed is significantly slower than when using 8125G so I consider it not working in my set-up.

Ok great info. Now I’m a hunting traditional old bow hunting archer. I shoot bows from the 1960’s and early 70’s. What string material is safe to shoot with that type bow? I know much your info geared to Olympic style shooters but we old school have questions also. Thank you for you Channel.

Hi Jake, can a Flemish bowstring be used on recurve bow or should it only be used on traditional bows?

Hi Jake! Can you help me? Can you please rate this type of bow string from good to best. BCY 452 X99 Angel 777 Only those type of strings are available here in a near archery shop. I hope you can help me. Thank you!

Hi Jake, By just looking at the string (no labeled reel) how to know if it is a BCY or Dyneema or Fastflight, etc.? Thanks in advance

Heck. That dark spot on the wall above Jake's head at the very top (shadow of a nail?) and the bright spot on the right at the height of his shoulder are totally freaking me out. I did check three times if my screen has bad pixels...

Have I got your idea right that Brownell Fast Flight Plus, BCY 652 Spectra and Fast Flight are different names of one type of string material with minor differences?

where would angel majesty 777 fit on the spectrum? i'm guessing somewhere between the 652 and 8125?

Struggling because I got some new arrows and they nock hard on my current bow. I'm trying to figure out which string to buy for my new bow and its serving size (that usually aren't even an option when buying a string) will click right for these new arrow nocks. Or am I just overthinking this?

But Jake, while adding number of strings don't we have to consider the nock width? Too many or too loose and nock won't fit.

ok but what about dacron?

how much it affects thicker string the arrow spine select?

What about 8190? And what about 8125g?

Small question that’s on my mind B55 got a breaking strength around 40lb. 652 is around 90lb a strand. For my barebow I make a Flemish string of 12 strands B55 when I switch to 652 can I go below that? Like 8 ore 10 strands. I pull 45# at 30,5”

Does the 40 pound rule apply to limb poundage or draw weight

I bought a second hand 26# bow and the string has only 14 strands.. it vibrates a lot after the arrow is gone. Will that change with 18 strands or does it only depend on type of material used?

Which string do you recommend for a lighter and easier pull, particularly for those with weaker arm strength?

HOW ABOUT FOR COMPOUND BOW SETUP ???

2022 Update: Here in the UK it's really hard to get hold of ready made 652 Spectra strings anymore, I have no idea why, has it been phased out? Have the pros moved onto something else? I've shot it since watching this video and LOVE it. The spools are still available so I guess I'll have to start making my own!

@jakekaminski How many strands of 652 or 8125 would you recommend for 72 inch bow 34inch draw 51lbs??

Material for D97 is just as the same as 8125 just the strand diameter is different, am I right?

So for a 60s classic bow I would want just a dacron string?

What do you think about 8190 and 8190F?

What do you think about brownell fury ?

Sir, make more knowledgeable videos on String Materials……👍👍👍🙂

are 60X strings good quality?

Brownell is back - see brownellarchery.com/about/#history. Looks like a reduced product line... no D75 and no Crown Center serving, but they do have Diamondback serving.