03/31/2026
Got back from Vegas a little while ago. Had a great time on the BCY booth, and some really great discussions about strings and string materials. It brought up some thoughts I've had off and on for years. I can't confirm (or deny) them, and don't know of anyone else who can either. I'm not claiming to have all the answers, but I do have a lot of experience and a decent amount of logic and reason to back up my thoughts.
Here's what I've been thinking about. There's a few very vocal, self-proclaimed "experts", who insist that blended materials will damage your traditional bows. They pretty much invariably fall back on a "test" that Douglas Denton (former engineer for Hoyt Archery) did several years ago...but it wasn't a string or string material test, the paramaters and guidelines weren't set up to be a string or string material test, and it proves nothing when it comes to string and string materials...other than dry-firing your bow over and over will result in damaging your bow.
The "gotcha" is the failure rate was approximately twice or more higher with the blended material than with the "100% HMPE". That just tells me that the blended material is more efficient at transferring energy...maybe. I forget the numbers, but it took a LOT of dry fires to get a bow to fail. I will also note that polyester (dacron) strings were not part of the test, but I have no doubt the bow would have survived at least twice as many dry fires as the 100% HMPE string...so does that mean if you aren't using a dacron string you are destroying your bow? Of course not, and nobody will make that argument...but if they were consistent and honest about it, they would.
Dry firing your bow doesn't compare to normal usage. With a dry fire, all the energy that isn't lost in the string is transferred right back into the bow all at once. Very harsh on the bow.
When you shoot an arrow, the arrow absorbs that energy, other than what is lost in the string. It's no comparison to the force emitted to the bow in a dry fire. How much force that is will vary with bow design, draw weight, draw length, etc. That's one of the reasons there's no way to measure "optimal elasticity" in a string...besides the fact there is no such scale or way to measure, and even if you could every bow would have to be measured at a specific draw length with the individuals specific release, then design a specific material, strand count, etc. for that specific set up. But I digress...
Again, shoot the arrow, most of the bow's energy goes into the arrow. Some is lost in the string, even transferred back into the bow. We know it as "hand shock". Here's where it gets interesting, for me anyway.
Lower stretch materials consistently reduce hand shock. Reason and logic tell me that means they are transferring less energy into the bow...if they were harsher on the bow, why don't we get more hand shock with them rather than less???? What if the material that gives us the most hand shock (dacron) is actually the most harsh on the bow (when actually shooting arrows vs. hundreds of dry fires)?
I would absolutely LOVE to have this discussion with someone trained in engineering and/or physics, but unfortunately I don't know of anyone I can contact who will have a mature and honest discussion (I've tried with a few, short version I got thinly veiled threats for daring to question their opinions). I keep thinking I'll get Mr. Denton's contact info and ask his thoughts, but so far I haven't.
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