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String Materials
What Kind Of Strings
Are You Shooting?
Most archers know who built their strings. Fewer know what those strings are built from.
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Material Choice Changes How A String Behaves.
String material influences more than durability or marketing claims. It affects long-term stability, maintenance expectations, environmental behavior, finished diameter, and how a string system changes over time.
The better question is often not simply who built the strings. The better question is what material was chosen, and why.
Fiber Differences
Not All Modern String Materials Are Built Around The Same Fibers.
Many string materials continue using blends built around earlier generations of Dyneema®, including SK75, because those fibers established long histories of predictable behavior and reliability within the industry.
Newer fibers such as SK99 provide different characteristics, including increased tensile strength relative to size and reduced long-term creep characteristics compared with earlier generations.
Fiber choice alone does not determine quality. Construction methods, coatings, tensioning procedures, and manufacturing consistency all influence finished behavior.
Stretch
The Word “Stretch” Is Often Used Broadly.
Archers commonly describe movement over time as “the strings stretched.” Sometimes that explanation is accurate. Often, the reality is more complicated.
Changes in bundle compression, wax migration, coating behavior, settling, environmental exposure, and dimensional changes within the finished system may all contribute to movement perceived as stretch.
Traditional string systems frequently rely on higher wax content. Over time, wax may compress differently, migrate, or gradually leave the system during use. As diameter characteristics change, finished systems may behave differently.
That is one reason Squatch uses only waxless string materials. Instead of relying on heavy wax inside the bundle, our materials use fiber coatings designed to stay with the fiber. By removing wax migration from the equation, we reduce one more variable that can contribute to changes in diameter, feel, and long-term consistency.
VEC99
Stability Has Value.
VEC99 combines Dyneema® SK99 fibers with Vectran, creating a material often selected where long-term dimensional stability becomes a priority. Like every material we use at Squatch, VEC99 is waxless. Its fibers rely on a consistent coating rather than traditional heavy wax, helping eliminate wax migration as a source of change inside the finished string system.
In practical terms, this generally means archers choosing VEC99 may prioritize reduced long-term movement, consistency over extended use, minimal maintenance expectations, and stability of timing and specifications.
Materials containing Vectran are frequently chosen where preserving specifications over time becomes increasingly important.
From both material characteristics and years of observation, meaningful movement over time is exceptionally uncommon.
Nothing mechanical exists completely outside physics. However, after extensive real-world use, VEC99 has repeatedly demonstrated what many archers ultimately want:
A system requiring very little attention.
B99
Performance Has Value Too.
B99 utilizes pure Dyneema® SK99 fibers and represents a different balance of characteristics.
B99 is built around a waxless fiber system. Rather than relying on a traditional heavy wax that can migrate, compress, or work its way out of the string bundle over time, the fibers use a consistent coating designed to remain with the fiber. That helps reduce excess string mass and friction while providing cleaner, more consistent long-term behavior.
For the archer, that means less wax-related change inside the finished string, less maintenance mess, and a lighter system aimed at maximizing efficiency and performance.
From a theoretical material perspective, movement remains possible. However, theoretical possibility and observed behavior are not always identical.
After years of builds and observation, meaningful creep has not been commonly observed in our experience with B99. That observation should not replace material science. Both matter.
Material characteristics describe possibilities. Long-term observation reveals patterns.
VEC99 vs B99
A Practical Comparison
VEC99
Primary strength: Long-term stability
Fiber type: Dyneema® SK99 blended with Vectran
Best fit: Archers wanting minimal adjustment and maximum tune retention
Typical priority: Consistency over time
Maintenance expectation: Very low
Common choice for: Target archers and hunters who prefer set-it-and-forget-it confidence
Tradeoff: Typically faster than factory strings, but generally not as fast as B99 when maximum speed and efficiency are the priority
B99
Primary strength: Performance and efficiency
Fiber type: Pure Dyneema® SK99
Best fit: Archers wanting speed, reduced weight, and environmental durability
Typical priority: Maximum performance with strong long-term behavior
Maintenance expectation: Low, but occasional verification is smart
Common choice for: Hunters and performance-focused archers
Tradeoff: Theoretically more movement is possible than with VEC99, though meaningful creep has not been common in our experience
Choosing Material
Which Material Is Better?
The answer depends less on material names and more on priorities.
Archers prioritizing long-term stability, minimal maintenance, and consistency over extended periods may prefer materials emphasizing stability.
Archers prioritizing performance, environmental resistance, and weight reduction may prefer a different balance.
Neither approach is universally correct. The better choice depends on expectations.
The Best String Material
Depends less on marketing, and more on understanding how the equipment will be used.
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