It's one of the best string materials imo.

 

I shot Mercury when my string builder was using the material. Since then I have been shooting X99 and like it about as much. Not as much of fan of the "greasy" feel of the VEC99, but a bunch of folks like it as well.

 

I also like X99. I have it on one of my bows now. It's good to hear your review of VEC99. As long as I can get great strings built with Mercury or X99, I can't imagine how VEC99 is worth the nearly double price, for me. I don't mind waxing. It's always an opportunity to closely inspect my strings whenever I do.

 

who made the strings for you?

 

A small EBay builder, Palmettooutdoors. There are tournament winners on AT who've used his strings.

 

Good to here. I have been using 8190, but finally ran out of it after my last set of threads that I built. Have bought a few spools of Mercury to make my next set when I need to change the current ones…….just good to here another plus for Mercury.

 

You probably already know this, but Mercury requires a prestretch to at least 350# for a certain length of time. I've read various times, ranging from 30 minutes to 4 hours, and some builders stretch it twice, before building. String building is the only archery related thing I don't do DIY, so all that is like a foreign language to me. I read some early negative reviews of Mercury, a few years ago, about it creeping and changing in temperature/humidity. I figured out that was all due to builders who didn't know how to work with it, when it first came out.

 

It's a fantastic material and has added speed to my bows too. I actually prefer the crisp feel of X-99 on the shot, but prefer the extra few fps I tend to get on Mercury or Fury over blended strings. Out of the bows I regularly use, I have Fury, Mercury and two with X-99. Mercury makes a slicker looking string, with a nice tight smooth bundle. I moved away from B99 due to the added hassle of getting a peep to stay where I put it.

 

If the Mercury adds speed as you say, is it as quiet as other material. I don't hunt with a bow, but I still like a very quiet bow.

 

It definitely is slightly quieter than my old string. It doesn't eliminate all shot noise though, just a bit softer sound. From what I've read to understand its characteristics, it has smaller, round strands and slightly more elasticity than most blended materials. When I ballparked the total BCY spec weight of 32 strands of Mercury vs 24 strands of 452X, typically used in most string builds, completed Mercury strings are slightly lighter weight overall. Naturally, lighter is faster and more elasticity may add a touch of zip and noise/shock absorption too. I noticed when adjusting my back wall, I had to make my DL about 1/16"- 3/32" shorter to get the same full stop. I'm thinking that's to adjust for very slight stretch of the 100% SK99 Dyneema. Bear in mind, that this minute stretch is not "creep", because the strings contract back to their correct length after each shot. Creep would mean they stayed stretched out after the tension release. Once the bow is adjusted, none of those dynamics are even noticeable when shooting though.

 

Just curious, is mercury producing more speed because it is lighter?

 

That's what I'm thinking. Please see my reply to willieM above. Of course, I'm sure there are other factors involved too, since I'm comparing a worn out 452X string set to a brand new Mercury set.

 

I love the mercury material as well. Built the set on my solution in it and it didn't budge all year. I pre stretch all the strings I make for 30-40 minutes.

 

Mercury is still my favorite material as well.

It has the best feel, speed and looks. Very stable as well if you have a good string builder.

 

dang....my 1 year old factory strings are doing well and i have a set of twisted x x99 waiting on me for this year in the mailing envelope....and y'all are gonna jedi mind trick me into buying some mercury threads now....

 

X99 is great too--I have a newish set on a different bow. Those also seem faster and definitely more durable than 452X, without the fuzz. I doubt you'd see as huge a difference between X99 and Mercury. I'll bet you'll see a difference over your factory strings though.

 

I have used Mercury, X99, and 452X and had no issues with any of them. I also tried VEC99, but wasn’t a fan of the coating.

What I find interesting is the top pros still shoot 452X or 454. If another material was better, they would definitely shoot it. Just food for thought.