I prob don't shoot as much as most but I am pretty confident in my shooting ability and lack the time to shoot everyday. I am a hunter not a professional, so I don't get paid to do shoot. I normally start shooting in august and kill a doe opening weekend and will shoot most everyday until I shoot one more. By November I am done shooting for the most part. Maybe on an occasional off weekend I will shoot for 30 min or so. I have had no trouble with strings freying the first year. I try to change mine out every other year. So far when I have needed new strings I have upgraded my bow. This year was year 2 with my Black Ice and I love it. So I am now in the market for new strings. I would say if you shoot as little as I do then you can get by with every other year. But at the same time I agree with everyone else that they should be changed every year. Better safe than sorry. If you have every seen them explode it is not a pretty sight.