Dacron vs Fast Flight

[kodiak]

#7301

Does anyone know if their is a definitive answer on which one is better between Dacron and Fast Flight strings? Thanks for the info!!

[Hiram]

#60290

Its all personal preference.
Dacron stretchs more upon release when the shot hits brace heighth than FF, hence more arrow speed with FF.
FF generally gains you 3-7 FPS more than Dacron.
Dacron is more quiet due to the stretch it has during the dynamics of the shot.
It’s easier on your Bow also due to the stretch it has when the Bow hits brace during the shot.
Bowyers have built in more strenth to thier limbs in recent years to handle FF by adding limb tip phenolics etc. to thier limbs.
One needs to determine if his Bow is made for FF before he installs it on his Bow. Older Bows basically all used Dacron before the 80’s.
Trade offs and gains?
Well, FF having less to no stretch gives you more Bow efficiency by not stretching during the shot enabling the limbs to impart all or most of thier effieciency into the arrow (not wasted by stretch), but causes the Bow to generate more noise. Silencers installed on the string for hunting may cause a loss in speed due to thier weight. Wooly whispers or natural silencers tend to weigh less than rubber.
Dacron may be almost as fast a FF on your Bow due to less silenceing material on the string to quiet it down.
Depending on your needs, I recomend a chrono testing of both a Dacron and FF string on your Bow to actually see if any benefit is present to useing FF on your Bow.
I use D-97 on most my Bows but realize that by the time I get them quiet, I might have been better off with Dacron because of the added weight to the string for silence.
Remember to consult the Manufactorer before you shoot FF on your Bow! It must be designed to handle the extra stress on your limbs or failure could ocurr causeing injury.

[heydeerman]

#60359

I would respectfully disagree with Hiram about more noise with FF material. I have had the opposite experience and have been able to quiet noisy bows by replacing a B50 string with TS1 Plus. I find it especially true with longbows. I have never had a longbow become noisy with a modern string material. In fact it reduces handshock and quiets the bow. All most bowyers do to make a bow FF ready is build their tips with micarta, fiberglass, osage or some other hard material that can handle the stop when the bow comes to primary. There is a danger that the tips can be cut or sawn off with the modern materials.

I have not done it myself because all my bows are FF ready but I have heard of guys shooting older bows built before the modern string materials with FF and padded loops with success. I wish I had an old bow to try it for myself.

[Chris Shelton]

#60370

I have old bows and I will not try it!! It is just not worth it to me, with older bows you are holding a peice of archery history, and if you mess it up, because you want more speed or a quite bow, over some history . . . Idk personal preference!?

Fast flight is think, darcon is thick, that is the main difference, also the speed is definatly noticable, and to top it off like said before ff does nos stretch!

[Hiram]

#60388

Heydeerman, ever tried Dacron on your Bows?
My advise to you, Respectfully also, Not to shoot FF on an old Bow unless the Manufactorer approves of it. Injury (serious injury) to yourself or others by an errant arrow during the shot when the break happens could be the result.

[heydeerman]

#60861

Hiram,

I have over 20 spools of Dacron. I have made maybe a half dozen dacron strings in the last 5 or so years. The TS1 Plus works for me. I use it for padding loops and tying nocks and that’s about it. The one thing that is appealling about B50 is the price. Modern materials keep going up.

[SteveMcD]

#61028

I prefer Dacron. I’ll just leave it at that. 😀

[Chris Shelton]

#61115

Heydeerman,
I second that. . . that is the reason I have not yet made any strings of fast flight of ts1 or anything of the sort!! Its like 30 bucks for a spool of fast flight, is that because they are bigger?

[Jesse Minish]

#61154

I prefer FF. I think it is more quite. I have had bows that no matter what I did I couldn’t quite them down until I put on a FF string. My brother has an old bear bow and put a FF string with extra padded loops and that bow is way faster and way more quite. Oh and it has been quit a few years with that string and no problems.

[Hiram]

#61411

‘It’s all personal preference”:)

[MontanaFord]

#61518

On my bow, I shoot a Dacron string. It’s a Bear Grizzly, and my understanding is that that bow does not have reinforced limb tips to handle the Fast Flight string. I’ll shoot Dacron until I get a bow that is built for Fast Flight. My uncle shoots Fast Flight on his because his bow was built with reinforced limb tips. I don’t know if I can shoot a FF string, but I’m happy with how my bow shoots, so I’m not worried about it. I have no opinion either way as to which is better or worse.

Michael.

[Hiram]

#61757

I hear ya Montana, I’ve thought of useing good ole Dacron on all my Bows for the ease they have on limbs, and the silence they provide. FF only has a few gains over Dacron.:)

[Hubertus]

#62254

If you’ve already established your setup, be aware that changing string materials may affect the spine requirement of your arrows.
(speaking from experience)

[donw]

#62426

all good replies given here.

now…what’s the answer?:roll::wink::D

[heydeerman]

#62638

Don,

Modern materials are better for bows built to handle them and B50 is better for bows not made to handle the modern materials. 😀

[Hiram]

#62835

Neither one is better from the standpoint of durability or utility. “It’s all personal preference”!:)

[George D. Stout]

#12981

There has not been a study as to whether fastflight will harm olders bows, it has just been conjectured that it will because it doesn’t stretch much…if at all. I am currently working on my own study. You can’t go on one or two intances where bows have broken with fastflight, as they may have broken anyway. So I’m going to be the guinea pig on a couple of vintage bows.

I have a 1967 Shakespeare Necedah. Tip overlays are wenge and maple, the order of the day on that bow. I made sure the string grooves were sanded so not uneven lams protruded, and put an 8 strand 450+ string on it. The loops are padded with 12 strands…which I think is important for the older bows.
I also have a 1961 Bear Polar that I’m shooting a TS1 string on, and it is doing very well also. The Shakespeare has at least 1800 shots through it since putting the string on, and shows no signs of wear around the string nock, and actually is more dead in the hand on release than with dacron.

I’m not convinced that the new strings will hurt the old bows at all, and may be better for them. It certainly quieted down the Necedah and added performance. And, that extra stretch and vibration from the dacron, may be as hard on the bow anyway. It’s something we have to experiment with, rather than assume we can’t use the new strings.

I wouldn’t suggest anyone try it with a priceless old Bear that was passed down from grandpap, but I don’t think it should be overlooked on bows that can handle it….and I don’t mean ones that have been overbuilt with micarta. I just make sure the bow has overlays, and that the string groove is even all around and supports the string evenly around the limb tip. So far, I see no evidence that the 450+ string has any ill effect and may actually have more benefit than harm. We will see down the road.

[Hiram]

#12989

Interesting George, Keep it coming!

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