# Alliance 117b vs Alliance file bands



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

As I reported before, Northerner sent me some Alliance 117b office rubber bands. I tested the 117bs against the Alliance file bands, both on my mutant ninja. For both set-ups I used two office bands per side, and chained the bands to the pouch. I followed Northerner's suggestion and fired off about 20 shots from the bands before testing the 117bs on my chrony. I used 3/8 inch steel ammo for the test.

Even after a 20 shot break in, I found the 117b set-up only permitted a maximum draw length of about 31 inches. On the other hand, the file bands gave a maximum draw length of about 37 inches. In both cases, the slack length of the assembled rig was about 7 1/8 inches. Here are the chrony results:

file bands: 218 fps

117b: 212 fps

In short, the difference between the two was pretty minimal ... less than 3%. I suspect the slightly faster performance of the file bands was attributable to the longer draw length. If you have a short draw length, you might well prefer the 117b.

If you decide to use either of these bands, be sure to lubricate the bands with talcum powder before assembling your rig.

Thanks again to Northerner for sending these bands along.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## AK Rick (Jan 11, 2013)

I just odered some Alliance bands....can't remeber what type though. What I can rememeber is one company wanting $83 for shipping and another wanting $40!!!!


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Good info, Charles. Thanks.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

AK Rick said:


> I just odered some Alliance bands....can't remeber what type though. What I can rememeber is one company wanting $83 for shipping and another wanting $40!!!!


Isn't Alaska somewhere on the back side of the moon???? :rofl:

I know that feeling. We here in Canada often get gouged for postage when things come from the US, and many companies will not even send stuff to Canada.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## BrotherDave (Oct 29, 2012)

Here's my current selection of 117b office rubber:









I had ordered the Alliance Sterlings and the Alliance Pale Crepe Golds before Charles posted about the Alliance "brites" file bands. Of course I ran out and got a package of the file bands when Charles entered the 300 Club with these.

I have some observations/comparisons for these 117 bands after shooting them a bit, with two bands per side, chained to the pouch and attached to rings at the fork. I don't have a chrony and didn't keep accurate shot counts, so this is subjective.

Alliance "brites" file bands: 


Longest lasting - just my subjective impression
Medium speed - a little slower than the Sterlings, and a lot faster than the Pale Crepe Golds
Medium draw weight - an 8 pound weight stretched out new bands to about 28 inches if I remember correctly
Medium draw length - could pull to my 32" anchor. Could be drawn to 36 inches after some breaking-in.
Colors - really cool or really annoying depending on your taste. I believe I'm man enough to shoot the pink ones, but haven't used any of them yet 

Alliance Pale Crepe Golds (and yes, I'd seen the warnings on the forum that these bands are slow and not worth trying, but I couldn't resist) :


Shortest life - surprising because they feel soft and stretch so easy, but I was stretching the heck of them.
Slowest speed - at my normal draw they were noticeably slow
Lightest draw weight - I didn't test them, but I'd guess 8 pounds would have stretched them 35-40 inches!
Longest draw length - I was pulling them partial butterfly, maybe 42 inches easily, because they were so slow at a shorter draw. They have some potential for practicing butterfly at low power.
Tactile appeal - I love the way they feel, soft and stretchy like there's a high latex content. Unfortunately they must be compounded with something that over-softens them.

Alliance Sterlings


Medium life - I was maxing these out, so I'm not sure how much this affected their life
Highest speed - I don't have a chrony, but the trajectory was a little flatter than the file bands. I believe they were easily the fastest when using the same draw length.
Heaviest draw weight - an 8 pound weight stretched new bands about 24 inches I think.
Shortest draw length - initially they were "stacking" at 30 inches. After about 30-40 shots I could pull them to 32 inches OK. After 100 shots I could pull past my anchor by an inch or two.

I'm pretty happy with either the Sterling or the file bands from Alliance in size 117b. With two bands per side they seem about as fast and more accurate the single 1842 tubes cut to 7 inches. Of course, I'm a newbie, and again, this is pretty subjective.

Thanks again to Charles for all the real testing on these bands. The information is invaluable. I want to try some of the "Platinum Crepe" Rubberband Gun ammo one of these days. I think the 125 size holds some promise in certain configurations.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Good info Brother. Thanks for this. The Alliance Sterling 117bs and the brite file bands are pretty comparable in my tests, and your account sounds much the same. Your experience with the crepe bands is what I would have expected based on the experience reported by others.

The bands from Rubberband gun have gotten good comments elsewhere. I have tried their red #32s, and was pleased with them:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/20509-surprising-performance-from-32s/

I like the 117b and the file bands better just because there is less frigging around to make a slingshot band. Anyway, I am interested in your experience with the Rubberband gun #125 bands.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## BrotherDave (Oct 29, 2012)

Charles said:


> I like the 117b and the file bands better just because there is less frigging around to make a slingshot band. Anyway, I am interested in your experience with the Rubberband gun #125 bands.


I like the non-fiddle factor of the 117 size also - a single band length is just about right for most draws. But the 125s are 5 inches long, so my thought was to make a pseudo taper with one band braided at the fork and one chained to the pouch (1, 0.5 in your terminology). This would give a slack length of about 7 inches, the advantage of tapering, and minimal fiddle.

I don't have them yet. At almost $29 a pound delivered, I'd have get the boss to sign the purchase order. How many times you think I gotta wash the dishes to get that signature? :nono:


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

BrotherDave said:


> I don't have them yet. At almost $29 a pound delivered, I'd have get the boss to sign the purchase order. How many times you think I gotta wash the dishes to get that signature? :nono:


Ahhh, yes .... The administration puts yet another roadblock on the path to creativity ... :banghead:

Cheers ..... Charles


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## AK Rick (Jan 11, 2013)

I would just like too get my bands at all! We found a place to ship at a reasonable price but they are going to be another week! Where are they shipping in from Neptune!?!?!?

Charles you would not believe how many times I have herd "we dont ship over seas" "Alaska is not over seas" "You're still not in the US sir!!".......Um the hell I am not we are the 49th state! Back when I was guiding I used to get "all I have is US currency" all the time. Even had a guy ask how far above sea level we were while kayaking on salt water!!!!!!

"Yer head is about 2 foot above and yer ass is 6 inches below sea level!!!"


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks Charles. Yah, I had the same issue with the Sterling 117Bs being difficult to draw to my 32" anchor. They get a bit better after shooting for a while but I doubt that they will last as long as a Chinese tube or TBG. The Alliance brite blues will go much longer than 32".

Cheers,

Northerner


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

The Alliance Sterling 117Bs work great on the little "Dankung Bat" frame. After some stretching, the 117Bs seem to work fine with an anchor point on my ear. They also work fine for "pickle fork" shooting style with the DK Bat. I'm not sure how well they would work with rounded top DK forks but dished tops like the Bat, Axe, & Terminator are no problem.

Cheers,

Northerner


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Hmmmm .... I should give them a try on my DK Luck Rings.

Cheers ..... Charles


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