The lowest gain to date is on a 50# AIM {Samick} Viper Longbow a friend owns, that had an endless loop string made from Dacron. This bow was shooting at 171 FPS until we made the change. Now it is shooting the same 475 gr arrow at 181FPS. Thats a 10 FPS gain for the price of a string. The only other way to shoot the same arrow10 FPS faster is to go up in draw weight by about 5# or more. That would mean a new bow. Randy also reports that the bow is quieter and has less shock and vibration.
The best performance increase is on my Firehawk longbow from Rodney Wright . After trying a 10 strand DF 97 in the earlier review I ordered a custom string for this bow from Rod. This bow looked like it should be faster than it was. I reviewed the Firehawk earlier and the chrono gave me 182 FPS At 28″ with a 412 gr arrow with a 16 strand FF string on it. The new padded loop 10 strand DF97 string is giving me a very impressive 203FPS with the same weight arrow. That’s 21FPS for free. This bow will also shoot a 100 gr heavier arrow 4 FPS faster now than it originally did at 28″. That’s performance enhancement! In this case it is like gaining 10 pounds of draw weight without the effort. I repeated these tests several times to confirm this substantial increase as it seemed too good to be true.
The IBEX Recurve I have also benefited greatly from the 10 strand great string. When I reviewed it this bow shot at 192 FPS with a 16 strand Fast flight string at 28″. It is now shooting the same arrow weight at 204FPS. Again the string is the only change I made to the bow. This is free Horse power. You can either take the speed or go up in weight and take the KE/Momentum it will give you. Either way it is like having at least 5 more pounds of draw weight without the effort.
Nock fit has not been a problem with the small diameter strings. I tell Rod what type of nocks I shoot and he serves the string to fit them. For my carbons he uses 030 size serving and the fit is perfect. I like a good looking string and each string is color coordinated to match the bow. This does nothing for performance but it looks great.
I just ordered a new string from Rod for a bow I gave my wife. We are going to test a new material that he has, called TS1. Early reports indicate this material is very close to 8125 and DF97 for performance, and noise levels are said to decrease. I will know the truth in a short while. This bow is a 56” / 49# static tip recurve. The string will be made with extra padding to decrease the noise levels caused by the string contacting the limbs. When a narrow string hits the limb it creates more noise. This is the reason many shooters use too many strands {16} and do not see the benefit these materials can give. Custom strings can be made to give the best of both worlds, performance and silence with a side order of good looks.
By providing Rod with a few details you can have a custom string that will breath new life and looks into your bow. Nock point location and the length of the contact area at the limb tips for recurves as well as the nock size you use will provide him with the information to make a true custom string for you.
The only bow that did not gain was my ACS. This bow comes with a 10 strand DF97 string, and Rod Jenkins is the string maker for O.L. Adcock.
The trade name “Great Strings” is a well chosen description for Rod Jenkins Bowstrings.
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