# BCY's Mercury vs BCY-X



## EPLC

I've been using BCY's new Mercury since it's testing phase began last year and have been very impressed with this new material. Mercury is 100% SK99 Dyneema. 

I decided about a month ago to test it against another proven BCY material, BCY-X, which is a blend of SK90 Dyneema and Vectran. Any non-blended material that can hold up against a blended material has got to be good. Here's my test logic and results after 1 month:

The bow is a 50# Mathews TRG8 set at 28 1/2" Draw length. I chose this bow because the No-Cam is a two cable system which would show an apples to apples comparison of two cables made from different materials. After making two cables, one from BCY-X and one from Mercury, I shot the bow in with approximately 100 shots prior to messing with timing, tuning etc. After this break-in period I tuned the bow and set the timing dead center on the cable timing marks. Over the past month I've shot 2500-3000 arrows from this bow without making any adjustments to the string and/or cables. The timing marks on the bow are still dead center on both cams. Needless to say I am even more impressed with this new BCY product.


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## PK101

As a *amateur* string builder and always looking to improve, what has caused the serving separation on the first image, and how can i avoid getting the same result.


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## EPLC

PK101 said:


> As a *amateur* string builder and always looking to improve, what has caused the serving separation on the first image, and how can i avoid getting the same result.


That was due to something new that I was trying during the build and has been there since day one. This is where my tag ends crossed. I guess it was a learning experience.


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## lees

What's the difference in strand thickness, if any? Thanks!
lee


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## dwagoner

lees said:


> What's the difference in strand thickness, if any? Thanks!
> lee


X is 24 and mercury is 32 for roughly same bundle size... its strong..have on a buddies 80+LB bowtech....cant wait till they blend it too...gonna be even better...


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## lees

Ok, thanks. I'm an X and 452X type and I love both of those materials, but wanted to try this too. If it ever appears anywhere on sale?

lee


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## skynight

So if both work the same how are you deciding on future use?


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## dwagoner

skynight said:


> So if both work the same how are you deciding on future use?


bcy is going to take the new Mercury and add vectran like X but with newest strongest dyneema... so youll still have a choice if you want a blended or non blended material....just like you have now but with newest finest strongest materials out...


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## dwagoner

lees said:


> Ok, thanks. I'm an X and 452X type and I love both of those materials, but wanted to try this too. If it ever appears anywhere on sale?
> 
> lee


contact 60X im sure he can help you with some.....they have several colors available just not all so far....


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## lees

dwagoner said:


> contact 60X im sure he can help you with some.....they have several colors available just not all so far....


Ok, though maybe it might be worth it to wait for the blended version. That ought to be nearly indestructible stuff!

lee


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## EPLC

After 3 more weeks of steady shooting, still no movement on either the Mercury or BCY-X cables. Great materials!


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## highwaynorth

Did you gain any speed with the Mercury compared to X ?


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## EPLC

highwaynorth said:


> Did you gain any speed with the Mercury compared to X ?


Since I have both materials on the same bow there would be no measurable process. I have not done any speed comparison between the two. I would expect that the Mercury may be ever so slightly faster but I would not expect much.


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## dwagoner

people need to stop asking about if one material or another is faster... not one person can really do an accurate test on them. you have to be able to precisely measure string bundle, and length down to less than a 32nd of an inch... have to have same length, weight, bundle diameter, all that before you can say one is faster or not and even if someone could do this then i doubt youd see but 2fps..... and thats NOTHING... 

he mixed materials on his cables so that doesnt affect speed either....


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## lees

Agree, or at least I've never been able to measure an actual speed increase (or decrease) going from one material to another. On one of my bows, that normally takes a 24 strand 452X main string, I once made an 18 strand 8125G version just for the heck of it. I was unable to measure a consistent increase in speed that was outside of variation from a bad shot vs a good one. And it had peep rotation and made a lot of noise. 

So especially at the poundages most folks normally shoot, I doubt there will be a significant or even measurable difference in speed. All the materials we have available are so good these days I can't imagine it ever making a difference.

lee.


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## lunghit

Did you find you had to change your build formula when you switched to Mercury?


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## jim p

If mercury does not move, why would vectran be added? I thought that vectran was abrasive and caused damage and was only used before to stabilize the movement of the string. If I am wrong, please give me the scoop.


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## lees

That's my understanding also about adding Vectran. I would suppose that once the quality of the HMPE material portion of the string gets high enough that creep isn't a problem anymore, I too wouldn't see why Vectran would be needed. It's possible that SK 99 has achieved that? 

lee.


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## EPLC

I have continued to use Mercury to this point without any movement or problems of any kind. This is truly a great non-blended material. For my application I have found nothing better. Let's not forget, SK99 is the highest grade of Dyneema ever produced. Will it eventually overtake the blended popularity, who knows?


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## GreggWNY

Have you heat tested the material for stability? It's something I think about during the summer with my 3D bows.


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## highwaynorth

lees said:


> That's my understanding also about adding Vectran. I would suppose that once the quality of the HMPE material portion of the string gets high enough that creep isn't a problem anymore, I too wouldn't see why Vectran would be needed. It's possible that SK 99 has achieved that?
> 
> lee.


The SK 90 dyneema used to make Fury has already been proven not to creep. It only makes sense the SK99 dyneema wouldn't either.


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## babyg

With 24 stands of X I used .014 Halo with no tag under center for GT Acculite nocks. With 32 stands of Mercury I had to change center serving dia to .014 Halo with tag end under. I will try .017 Halo center for GT Acculite nocks. Other than having to change center serving dia "again" I think it's gonna be great material.

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## Coug09

babyg said:


> With 24 stands of X I used .014 Halo with no tag under center for GT Acculite nocks. With 32 stands of Mercury I had to change center serving dia to .014 Halo with tag end under. I will try .017 Halo center for GT Acculite nocks. Other than having to change center serving dia "again" I think it's gonna be great material.
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


You need to try the BCY Powergrip for center serving. It's great


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## babyg

Good idea!! I have .014 Powergrip clear working good on cable ends with sharp bend. 

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## lees

highwaynorth said:


> The SK 90 dyneema used to make Fury has already been proven not to creep. It only makes sense the SK99 dyneema wouldn't either.


Makes total sense. And maybe the SK99 is even better. Guess I'll have to order a spool and try it out.

lee.


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## mattafliving

lees said:


> That's my understanding also about adding Vectran. I would suppose that once the quality of the HMPE material portion of the string gets high enough that creep isn't a problem anymore, I too wouldn't see why Vectran would be needed. It's possible that SK 99 has achieved that?
> 
> lee.


Vectran also acts as a dampener which would be another reason to use it in a string material. 


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## lees

Ah interesting, didn't know that....

lee.


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## EPLC

GreggWNY said:


> Have you heat tested the material for stability? It's something I think about during the summer with my 3D bows.


Not "officially" but the bow has been left in my hot car on several occasions for hours without any movement. This is truly a great material. Not only does it hold up from a performance standpoint but the durability is really good as well. The original set is gone now as I sold the bow it was on but my TRG7 is still going strong with the same amount of time on a duplicate set. After 4 months of high volume shooting the string set hasn't moved and they still are looking good... and I'm really tough on strings.


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## EPLC

mattafliving said:


> Vectran also acts as a dampener which would be another reason to use it in a string material.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I don't think I can agree with this. If anything the opposite would be true due to the lack of give in Vectran. I would expect a harsher shot with a blend than with a non-blended material.


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## mattafliving

EPLC said:


> I don't think I can agree with this. If anything the opposite would be true due to the lack of give in Vectran. I would expect a harsher shot with a blend than with a non-blended material.


This wasn't information I came up with on my own. This is from someone in the fiber industry. 


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## babyg

I see there's been no post on this thread in a while. I just wanted to mention I loving the Mercury strings & cables I built for my NBA Horizon back in May. I see minimal fuzz on the string that you see after shooting other material. I moved my peep, twisted untwisted strings and cables and it still holds its position, keeps peep aligned as if it was a new set.
So Mercury is my new favorite. 

Thanks for this thread EPLC!

Also lees I used Power Grip .014 for the center serving on a new string. Served with tag end under to get same as did with Halo .014 to get the same fit on my GT Acculite nocks.

Thanks all!

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## jmann28

Here's a few pics of a couple sets I made for my Prevail's with Mercury. It's the new Gunmetal with flo green and electric red. This stuff lays up very nice, certainly takes a while longer to full stretch out, almost triple what 452x does for me. 

36 strands on the control cable and string, and 40 strands on the buss. Super stable, hasn't moved yet on me with a few hundred shots on each set. 



































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## jim p

I am also thinking that since vectran if not in the material that it may last much longer. Are we looking at strings that can go for 50,000 shots?


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## lees

babyg said:


> Also lees I used Power Grip .014 for the center serving on a new string. Served with tag end under to get same as did with Halo .014 to get the same fit on my GT Acculite nocks.


Ok, thanks for the info. On the serving, I'm moving away from Halo in general, as I've never been that wild about it. My next builds will be with Angel Majesty which reportedly holds much better, but I might try the Powergrip too. But I think I'll try the Mercury on the next build also. I love my 452X strings, but they do rat out in a hurry and I'd like something a little more long lasting .

lee.


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## babyg

I haven't tried the Angel Majesty. Please posts your results.

I am liking the Power Grip with Mercury. I believe you will prefer mercury over 452X. Though 452X is still great I started using BCY X when it came out for my personal strings. Now it looks like I will continue with Mercury over X for my Bows.

Great info! Thanks for sharing

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## jim p

Lets see some picture of strings with a few thousand shots on them. I bet that they still look new.


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## Wayne338

bcy is going to take the new Mercury and add vectran like X but with newest strongest dyneema...


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## Twiztd1

Where are you guys getting this info on BCY adding anything to Mercury? I spoke to Bob at the ATA and he said nothing about it.


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## KyleD88

Interesting thread. Looking at new materials to try. Something that doesn't stretch or fray. Have you found a wax that the Mercury prefers?


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## KyleD88

Interesting thread. Looking at new materials to try. Something that doesn't stretch or fray. Have you found a wax that the Mercury prefers?


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## Racinray

Bump it back up. Some interesting info on this thread , debating on trying the mercury had all intentions of using Bcy x ,still undecided.


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## babyg

Go with Mercury. Used both since they came out and my opinion BCY has made continuous improvements.


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## Racinray

Bump


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## babyg

Mercury string with a few thousand shots. 1st picture is from above the btm cam serving where the string normally shows wear from string slap, etc. The 2nd pic is the top half btwn peep and top cam serving.









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## Racinray

Does look good. What type of wax do you use ,fibers look very smooth was it recently waxed? If not looks great. Thanks.


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## babyg

Thanks. Pics are taken after shooting in the dust, pollen all weekend at ASA Augusta 3D shoot. I used BCY ML 6 about 1-month ago. They still look as good, slick, smooth as when I built them thousands of shots ago using BCY Mercury. 
I have used by BCY from 452, 452x, X, and Mercury since each matl was released. Since Mercury came out I believe it holds up the best after thousands of shots.

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## Racinray

Thanks.


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## SteveB

BCY just announced the release of X99 - the reformulated BCY X.
80 % SK 99 (same Dyneema as Mercury) and 20% Vectran.
Slightly smaller diameter than X was.


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## jmann28

SteveB said:


> BCY just announced the release of X99 - the reformulated BCY X.
> 80 % SK 99 (same Dyneema as Mercury) and 20% Vectran.
> Slightly smaller diameter than X was.


Where do you see this?


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## SteveB

jmann28 said:


> Where do you see this?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Several boards. And direct from them


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## lees

Lancaster has it as a "new arrival" on their site also. Not shipping yet, tho. 

lee.


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## Racinray

Ttt


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## SteveB

BCY is shipping. I've made several trad strings from the X99 - both flemish and endless. And a lot from Mercury.
The Mercury is just a hair thinner but not much. 20 strands of either are near impossible to tell apart.
Shooting wise I can't feel or measure a difference. Probably going to go with just the X99.


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## Racinray

LOL now another material to mull over,thanks for the info.


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## redman

452x is the best that is what most of all the pros are useing .


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## Racinray

Bump. Any new info ?


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## jmann28

Mtn berry and gun metal in x-99. Really good stuff. All the colors I’ve played with so far are very consistent in size and wax content. I’m doing 32 strand cables and 28 strand string on my hoyts. Comes out to a hair smaller than 24/28 of the average size 452x. (Some is too heavily waxed and comes out to a much larger overall diameter.)

Its every bit as steady as 452x with a cleaner finish. It was 96 degrees here in Michigan today, supposed to be hotter tomorrow. I might put the bow on my enclosed back porch where it’s a good 20 degrees hotter and see what the material does while sitting on the bow in that kind of heat for 6-8 hours. In fact I’m going too. Stay tuned


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## Racinray

Thanks will be watching.


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## Racinray

How did the experiment turn out ?


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## jmann28

Racinray said:


> How did the experiment turn out ?


So I’ve done quite a bit of playing around with this material in the little heat wave we had here in Michigan the last couple weeks. I let the bow sit on my porch which had to have been well over 105 degrees, for 5 hours. Checked the timing and had to add half a twist to each yoke leg to get the timing back to where it was. I’ve since shot 4-5 field rounds since I’m 87+ degree heat and my timing has stayed put. 

This stuff builds really nice and seems every bit as stable as 452x. If it can withstand that heat multiple times it will be a no brainer for anything indoor wise. 

And my prevail is absolutely quieter on the shot compared to 452x. The softer shot on the hoyt limbs is a nice bonus. I knew you’d get it with non blended materials but it’s a plus in my eyes to have along with the stability of vectran. 




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## Racinray

Thanks!


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