Drop-Away Rests and Stringwalking: The Challenge
A drop-away arrow rest designed for stringwalking has two almost oppositional requirements:
- It must guide the arrow.
This means the rest must keep the shaft:- Vertically supported at plunger height, and
- Horizontally guided into the plunger for consistent side-to-side control.
- It must not interfere with the arrow’s path.
Interference can include:- Fletching contact
- Bounce at different crawls
- Inconsistent support due to dropping too easily
- Failure to clear the arrow cleanly
If the arm drops too easily, the arrow loses both vertical and horizontal guidance.
If the arm is too strong, it may bounce or fail to clear the fletching.
The Main Liability of a Drop-Away Rest
Compared to a horizontal swing rest, a drop-away rest has a built-in disadvantage:
When the arm articulates, both vertical and horizontal guidance are lost at the same time.
A horizontal swing rest has a simpler job because vertical support downward is never lost — the arm cannot move lower than plunger height (though it can still cause problems by bouncing upward).
Why Horizontal Swing Rests Bounce
A swing rest typically relies on arm elasticity to absorb downward arrow force. That means the arm acts like a spring:
- The more it is depressed,
- The more rebound force builds,
- Until the arrow is bounced upward off the arm.
How the Ant Barebow Rest Reduces Bounce
The Ant Barebow Rest uses magnets in a way that behaves differently than a spring.
When the arm is depressed, the magnetic resistance gradually decreases, which reduces rebound and bounce. This allows the arm to remain strong enough to support the shaft at plunger height, while still clearing cleanly.
Slow-motion camera footage showed that using an arm lighter than necessary caused the arm to be kicked away more dramatically — but with no clear benefit, since crawl improvements did not change.
The Core Philosophy
The philosophy of the Ant Barebow Rest is simple:
Use the strongest arm you can tune without bounce or contact.
- Too strong = bounce and/or contact issues
- Too light = inconsistent support and poor guidance
Stringwalking works best when your setup is tuned near the “middle” of the system. This gives you the most usable range for different crawls and distances.
Also, minimizing vertical bounce allows you to use a smaller crawl for the same point of impact.
During early testing, we found that most mid-range magnetic strengths produced the same improved crawls when tuning was correct — so the logical conclusion became:
Why not use the strongest option that doesn’t bounce?
Current Rest Configurations
The rest is currently offered in three primary configurations:
1) Single Magnet Adjustable
2) Dual Light
3) Dual Standard
Both the Dual Light and Dual Standard modules include a recess in the brass body that allows for adding (“piggybacking”) one or two extra magnets. Piggybacking simply means an extra magnet is held in place by magnetism.
Because the recess captures the magnet securely, piggybacking is safe and reliable, with no realistic risk of losing magnets during use.
I consider the Dual Light and Dual Standard to be the mid-range strength options.
The Single Magnet Adjustable can be tuned to the lightest possible limit for this design, which I consider more of an “extreme low” range — but many shooters prefer it for very light arrows under 300gn. (although plenty of people also shoot dual setups successfully with light arrows).
Magnet Strength Breakdown (Relative Comparison)
The values below are listed in pounds (lbs), but these are advertised holding values per square inch. Different manufacturers publish different numbers, so the most useful way to view these is relative comparison, not absolute strength.
For example, if one magnet is rated at 4.0 lbs and another is 4.4 lbs, I treat that as roughly 10% stronger, not a strict measurement.
Single Adjustable
- One 1/4″ diameter x 1/4″ length magnet
- Rated at 4.2 lbs
Dual Light
- Two 1/4″ diameter x 3/32″ length magnets
- Rated at 2.0 lbs each
- Approximately 4.0 lbs total
(This appears weaker on paper than the single magnet, but in real-world use the dual setup ends up slightly stronger.)
Dual Standard
- Two 1/4″ diameter x 1/8″ length magnets
- Rated at 2.9 lbs each
- Approximately 5.8 lbs total
Why the Strongest Dual Option Was Discontinued
Initially, I offered a dual configuration using two 4.2 lb magnets.
However, since the same holding forces can be achieved through piggybacking on the Dual Light and Dual Standard setups, that configuration was eliminated — except for those who request it specifically.
Pros and Cons of Each Option
Each configuration has tradeoffs — there is no “free lunch” in barebow. Everything is a balance.
Single Magnet Adjustable
Pros
- Can be tuned to the lightest possible setting
- A great option for extremely light arrows
Cons
- Requires a set screw, adding complication; many will find adjusting lighter unnecessary so adjuster is more of a space filler
- Can be finicky to set up
- Only supports ~300gn. arrows at brace height without sagging
- Adjusting lighter tends to rotate the arm downward, requiring re-setting arm height to keep the shaft centered on the plunger
Dual Standard
Pros
- Extremely simple and hassle-free
- Very durable and “bomb-proof” a solid option for extremely heavy arrows or hunting
- Versatile for most setups
- Piggybacking usually unnecessary
- Matches the original design goal: simplicity + guidance + reliability
Cons
- Does not go as light as Single Adjustable or Dual Light
Dual Light
Pros
- Offers the widest usable range
- Can be reasonably light, but also strengthened through piggybacking
- With one piggyback magnet, it becomes approximately as strong as Dual Standard (making dual standard option unnecessary)
- With two piggyback magnets, it can be even stronger
- Especially useful for shooters experimenting with different arrow weights or light arrows or 1 rest that will work well for both indoor and field shooting
Cons
- No major drawbacks — if I only offered one version this would be it and it is my most popular and highly recommended version
Setup Guidance (Simple Rule)
As long as the magnet strength supports the shaft at brace height without sagging, no additional tinkering or piggybacking is necessary.
After that, tune normally:
- Arrow spine
- Arrow length and point weight
- Brace height
- Tiller
- Nocking point
Final Recommendation
Most shooters will be happiest with a mid-range setup.
Personally, I’m totally happy in the middle with the Dual Standard. It stays true to the original design ideals: simplicity, guidance, and durability.
The Dual Light has the most versatility overall. If I could only offer one configuration, it would be the Dual Light — because it covers the full spectrum through piggybacking.
If you know you prefer a very light drop, shoot 300gn. or less, and don’t mind added setup complexity, the Single Adjustable remains a fully capable option.