If you’re using a mechanical release aid, attaching it to a D loop for bow performance can make your shooting more consistent and comfortable, as well as extend the life of your bow string.
D loop material is a great choice, as it provides lots of stiffness, resists pinching and slipping, and has excellent knot retention. It also has a consistent burn, melting predictably, evenly, and reliably.
Pro tip: Some colors are stiffer than others. We believe this is due to the dye.
Product Features
- Braided polyester: Stiff, 2.0 mm material has a sturdy, rigid feel and minimizes slippage.
- Made to last: Reliable material reduces the frequency of replacements.
- Ease of use: Tying and burning is simple and straightforward.
- Proven reliability and performance: #24 is the industry standard.
- Show your style: We have 25 colors of D loop material to choose from to perfectly match your bow string.
- Buy only what you need: We sell BCY #24 in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 25, and 100 feet.
- Useful material: You can use BCY #24 for drop away rests and string loops.
Check out more archery supplies or take a look at our compound bow strings, custom crossbow strings, and longbow & recurve bow strings! Need to build your main bow string? Check out our Bow String Materials and Bow String Building page.
How to Tie a D Loop On a Bow
Check out our short, easy YouTube video showing you how to get the knots right.
Note: In our video, we aren’t using real BCY #24 D Loop material. We’re using a giant, brightly-colored cord tied into an enormous D loop so that you can see everything clearly. A real D loop for bows is going to be much smaller, about the thickness of your finger, and the cord is thinner.
FAQs
What are D loops?
Rather than releasing an arrow with your fingers, you can use a mechanical release aid for improved shooting performance. Rather than attaching this aid directly to the bow string, which will shorten the bow string’s life, you can attach a small amount of additional D Loop material to the main bow string. This creates a loop shaped like a small capital “D” on the bow string. You can then attach the mechanical release aid to the D loop.
How should a D loop be tied?
See our demonstration video on YouTube. You can also read our Styles of D Loops for Compound Bows blog post or our Placement of D Loops for Compound Bows blog post.
Why do the ends of a D loop cord need to be burned?
Burning the ends of your cord with a simple household candle lighter melts the fibers together, which prevents the knots from pulling through as easily.
What is a good D loop material for a bow?
We like to use stiffly braided polyester cords, specifically BCY #24.
How thick is a D loop cord?
The BCY #24 cord that we sell has an apex diameter of 2 mm (0.08 inches).
Why does my D-loop keep moving?
This often occurs because the new bow string stretches, so it looks like your D loop is moving. That’s one of the many reasons why we pre-stretch our bow strings. Another common reason is that the knot was tied incorrectly or not tightly enough. D loops may also move because the serving material underneath the D loop slips.
How tight should the D-loop be?
When tying BCY #24 D loop material, make sure it’s secured tightly enough so it doesn’t move on the bow string, but not so tight that it pinches the nock of your arrow at full draw.
Should you wax your D-loop?
While some archers wax their D loops to prolong the lifespan of the material, we don’t recommend it. The wax can behave like a lubricant, making it difficult to cinch your knot tightly and potentially causing the D loop for your bow to slip. The wax can also accumulate and attract dirt and debris, which can cause serving separation and/or degrade the material.
