Having your archery gear in top shape is really important for your performance. People always wonder how to maintain their equipment, and one of the questions that always come up is how often one should replace their bowstring. I’ve researched the topic and wanted to share everything that I’ve found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bowstring should typically last up to 3 years. Its lifespan depends on the storage conditions, on the draw weight on your bow, and on regular maintenance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this post, we’re going to explore the topic of bowstrings, how to maintain them, and how and when they should be replaced. There’s a lot you can do to extend the life of your string, and I’m going to detail some methods you might be interested in using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I’ve detailed before, a bowstring in standard conditions should last around 3 years. This, of course, is relevant for hobbyist archers that keep good care of their equipment and take care of storage conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you’re releasing an arrow, your entire bow absorbs some of the released energy and vibrates. The bowstring takes a bulk of the released energy. These vibrations wear the bowstring, damages its strands, and cause it to lose elasticity. Over time, the bowstring loses some of its important qualities and eventually becomes dangerous to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely, the properties of the bow affect how much energy is stored and released. Your draw weight, draw length, brace height, and more<\/strong> have a large effect on how fast your bowstring will degrade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since it’s a portion of the stored energy that stays in the bow a causes the vibrations that end up damaging the bowstring, its degradation is proportional to the amount of energy the bow stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve actually discussed the topic of kinetic energy in a previous post<\/a>, and the idea here is that things that increase the amount of kinetic energy in your arrows, also intensify the vibrations. The more energy your bow can store, the faster your bowstring will become damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, proper maintenance can significantly extend the lifespan of your bowstring<\/strong>. By applying was to your bowstring, you can increase its ability to resist the wear damage, and so, make it last longer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Waxing your bowstring keeps it from becoming dry and frayed, keeps humidity out of it, and keeps it from developing twists. Most archery wax their bowstring when it feels dry, which is typically every 2 – 3 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since waxing the bowstring help it from developing bad qualities, it eliminates much of the wear and tear caused by usage and elemental conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Storage conditions<\/strong> also have a major effect on how long your bowstring is kept in usable condition. The main things to look out for are humidity and heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humid conditions can cause the strands in your string to separate, rendering your bowstring unusable. Heat can cause the string to expand and the wax on your string to melt. These are serious string killers, so make sure to properly store your bow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For these reasons, and much more, it’s important that whenever you can, keep your bow unstrung. I wouldn’t go as far to unstring your bow on every break you take from shooting, but if you’re not using to for over an hour, make sure to keep it unstrung. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re wondering what are the actual best ways to store your bow, I wrote a detailed post on how to store a recurve bow<\/a>. I have some great recommendations there, and things you might forget to consider, so make sure to read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe lifespan of a bowstring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to maintain a bowstring so it lasts longer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n