# Dykeema vs Alliance



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Some time back, Crapshot very kindly sent me some #109 rubber bands from Dykeema and asked me to test them out.

http://www.dykemarubberband.com/

In appearance, other than length, the Dykeema bands looked much the same as Alliance or Sparko #107s. So I set up a slingshot with full length Alliance 107s and another slingshot with the Dykeema bands tied to the same length.

Length of bands, fork to pouch: 12.5 inches

Draw length: 45 inches

In other words, I was drawing both to about 3/4 butterfly, as that was as far as my strength and arthritis would allow. I set my Chrony up indoors, where the room temperature was 68 degrees F. I was shooting 3/8 inch steel. I fired a couple of warm up shots with each band set and then fired 7 shots for speed. Here are the averages.

Dykeema velocity: 184.2 fps

Alliance velocity: 196.9 fps

So the Dykeema bands were significantly slower than the Alliance bands, although they gave quite acceptable velocities.

For comparison purposes, I put some other band sets to the test under the same temperature conditions:

Tapered latex bands, 8 inches, drawn to 36 inches: 200.9 fps

1745 tubes, 7.5 inches, 4 inches double, drawn to 36 inches: 210.9 fps

Alliance #107, 8.5 inches, drawn to 36 inches: 182.3 fps

The point I found interesting is that the 8.5 inch Alliance bands gave almost as high a velocity with a 36 inch draw as the 12.5 inch Dykeema bands gave with a 45 inch draw. Part of this result is due to the fact that because of the mechanics of my arm, I could get more stretch out of the shorter bands at a 36 inch draw as opposed to what I was able to do with the longer bands at a 45 inch draw. Nonetheless, in the exactly the same configuration, the Dykeema bands were significantly slower than the Alliance bands.

In conclusion, the Dykeema bands certainly gave an adequate performance; however, I would prefer the Alliance bands if they were available.

Cheers ....... Charles


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## bullseyeben! (Apr 24, 2011)

Good findings there Charles, ..... 
It's funny how different makes show different characteristics... The wife bought me a big bag of esselete 109s from office works with out me even mentioning office bands.., thinking they may come in handy sooner or later... (what a girl!) So the first thing I noticed (being a flat band perfectionist) was the sheer disgustingness on the edges of pretty much every band, that said, being quite thick rubber I wasnt concerned of breakage, more uglyness especially in comparison to what you sent me on the boo shooter...
From memory I chronied 8.3mm lead at av 220fps... slow in my eyes, but after say 30 odd break in shots, I was getting low 200fps with .454 lead,that seems an adequate and cheap hunting to me..


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## crapshot (May 3, 2011)

thanks for the chrony tests now i got 3 pounds of 109s to shoot up


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

Charles, that is about the same thing that I found out about Dykeema verses Alliance. The Dykeema bands that I had also had a very strong order (i had 5 1 pound boxes) that My wife did not want in the house. -- Tex


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Ben, you have quite a gal there! Better be nice to her or some old, ugly, long-haired, bearded, weirdo, hippie freak may try to steal her ... Well, those office bands last quite a long time, in my experience. As you say, they are a very cheap, readily available alternative. And as I keep saying, they are not the fastest bands on the planet, but they do handle heavy ammo quite well.

Tex, thanks for the confirmation. I sometimes wonder if the differences I find are just because of small batch differences. But if you got similar results, I suspect it really is something to do with the composition of the bands. I must say that my snotter is not the most sensitive organ in my body, but I have not noticed any odor associated with the Dykeema bands ... and my dog refuses to comment ...

Cheers .... Charles


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## bullseyeben! (Apr 24, 2011)

Haha yea she's a keeper... 
Another flaw I found with my 109s is like a blob where it appears the band has been joined? No real hassle as this is where I cut it any way, but its obviously how they're manufactured.. If I get time over the hollies I want to try a non symmetrical taper on them, and hope to see 250fps out of them, that would mean a plentiful supply of good Target bands for me...


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