Frequently Asked Questions​

For compounds, we recommend strings from Rhino, Rampage and Vantage. Some shooters prefer to use a blended material, such as Vantage on their cables and a 100% Dyneema material for their string. However, 100% Dyneema materials work well on both strings and cables.   The 100% Dyneema material provides a quieter shoot with less vibration. Blended materials provide a bit less creep.
Note: These are suggestions compiled from our R & D staff.

This will depend on several factors, such as cam design, shots fired and your maintenance routine. With good maintenance, a target or 3D shooter should replace the strings and cables every year and the average bow hunter every two years.

We recommend Fast Flight Plus for Olympic recurve bows.  This string provides a softer release versus other comparable strings available.  For older style traditional recurve bows, which do not have reinforce limb tips, we recommend our B-50 Dacron material. 

For end loops and end serving – 1D or Mini Serving work well. For areas which are prone to serving separation we suggest you use Bullwhip serving. Bullwhip works very well for tight end servings and is offered in black. For center serving, Diamondback is the preferred serving in the industry.

All Brownell materials are developed with speed and durability in mind. As a general rule, the more durable the material, the slower it will be. There’s only a 3 to 6 fps variance from the slowest to the fastest Brownell material.

Well, it depends on how often you use your bow and how many bows you own. If you have a single bow and you mainly use it during hunting season, then it would be more cost-effective to have a custom builder. If you own a couple of bows, hunt, and shoot at tournaments then learning to build your own custom strings is a good option. Brownell Archery offers all the materials and tools, including the string jig, you need to get started.

In one word – wax. The top maintenance action is to wax your bowstrings and cables on a regular basis. This is often the most neglected step. If you shoot frequently or your bow is exposed to the elements, wax at least every two weeks. Never expose your bow to extended periods of extreme heat such as leaving your bow in a closed vehicle during the summer.

“Creep” is the elongation of the bow string. Creep is a condition that permanently stretches the bow string; this stretching cannot be undone.  Creep throws the bow out of tune. Creep also rotates the peep sight which definitely impacts the performance and shooting ability of the bow.  We recommend using Vantage and Rhino which have very low to zero creep.

Dyneema is a registered trademark name from DSM of HMPE Fiber.
So what is HMPE, you may ask?
HMPE (High Modulus PolyEthylene) is a generic name for long polyethylene chain thermoplastics. It is also know as UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight PolyEthylene) and HPPE (High Performance PolyEthylene).  HMPE is an excellent material for making high performance bow strings. HMPE is also used for climbing equipment, fishing lines, yachting lines and sails and for armor applications. It is 8 to 15 times stronger than steel compared on a strength to weight ratio.