Archery Bow Strings: Improve Performance with the Proper Bow String

How Bow Strings Affect Your Game

One’s success in archery is hinged on a lot of factors: a person’s focus, the wind, the distance to the target, the size of the target, and most importantly on the equipments used. And speaking about equipments, one of the factors affecting archery performance is the quality of the archery bow strings used. The bow string joins the two ends of the bow, and it is the one that launches the arrow. Hence, the resiliency and strength of the string is greatly desired because it could decidedly affect your game. Other features that are desired in archery bow strings are its weight, ability to resist abrasion, strength, and resistance to water. Importantly, it must be resilient enough to provide sufficient force to propel the arrow across great distances and maintain balance during flight.

Common Materials Used in Archery Bow Strings

The materials used in making strings may vary depending on the type of bow employed. Even so, it is still important to use the material that is appropriate for the bow. On the other hand, the most common materials used in making archery bow strings are the following:

1. Thermoplastic polyethylene. This is a very stretchable polyethylene material. Because it is very elastic, it provides enormous power to the arrow. Most importantly, because of the power it gives the arrow, this material is very stable and preferred more by recurve bow users.
   
2. Kevlar. Kevlar archery bow strings became very popular in the 1990s not because it is a sturdy material, but mainly because it is employed in military services as a bullet proof vest. Its sturdiness makes the material so stout that it could repel a speeding bullet. With some modification from the variety employed in the military, Kevlar is also used in archery as a bow string material. Kevlar is a crystal polymer material which results in faster arrow speed.
   
3. Fastflight. Some of the problems of using Kevlar is that it can suddenly break down and it has a very limited stretch. Hence, a better alternative was sought. The result was the use of Fastflight in archery bow strings. Fastflight is a polyethylene material that resembles and feels the same way as plastic. On the other hand, Fastflight is slippery, which requires wrappings to prevent slipping when in the motion of launching arrows.

Other materials commonly used in archery bow strings are linen, hemp, vegetable fibers, and other similar durable materials. However, these may not last as thermoplastic polyethylene, Kevlar, or Fastflight because they are not as resistant to water or as flexible as these three.

Frequent Designs of Archery Bow Strings

There are many ways to fashion strings in order to produce the maximum result so desired. The most common ways of fashioning them into a workable bow string are the following:

1. Simple strings. Simple strings are the easiest to make and are very effective. This is commonly made of fiber and it is twisted into a single chord. However, the flip side is that they are not really durable, and in the event that they are constantly under stress, they may come apart.
   
2. Reverse-twisted strings commonly employ hemp fiber and linen as its material. The string is made up of several bundles, usually twisted on opposing directions. The result is a far stronger and dependable design. Moreover, the thickness of the string passes around areas where wear is great, thereby making it more resistant to wear from continuous usage.
   
3. Looped strings tend to offset the wear that is commonly encountered at the loop areas. The design calls for continuous loops of the material to produce a sturdy and wear-resistant form.

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