Flatbow vs Longbow

[doublewhopper]

Can anyone point out the benefits/comparison of each and the differences?  I'm having a hard time figuring this out, besides the obvious shape.

[smoke]

A good question.  If you are talking about selfbows, often times bowyers use a bow design that is best suited to bring out the best performance for that species of wood.  That is, some woods tend to be more prone to breakage is made into a longbow and others may shoot faster is engineered to be one or the other.  For instance, you can make a longbow out of oak but the cast probably isn't going to be great and it is more likely to break as a longbow v. flatbow.  You can, however, get more out of the same wood by having the limbs wider and shorter.  Yew, on the other hand, tends to make a better longbow than a flatbow.  The Traditional Bowyers Bible volume I goes into great detail on this subject and I think you would find it very helpful.

[Apex Predator]

If you are talking strictly glass laminated bows, it is probably more nostalgia that anything else with the flat bow.  The limb width grew out of neccesity with most white woods, which make a fine bow.  As Smoke has mentioned, in all wood bows the woods density and grain structure dictates the design for an efficient bow.  Very dense heavy woods such as osage can make bows with a 1" limb width, but very light weights such as pine may need to be nearly three times that wide to disperse the tension and compression forces.

[Mark Baker]

I think, generally speaking, longbows tend to be of narrow width with a deeper "core" ....a thicker limb.   This style works better with a long working limb, hence, "longbow".   Typically, and this is just my opinion, true longbows are 64 plus inches long.   They may not be as fast as their shorter counterparts, but they can cast heavier arrows more effectivly, I think, and with little loss of speed.  In other words, you can shoot a variety of arrows, and the speed factor will change little.  In hunting situations, longbows shine with heavy arrows, and are forgiving and smooth to shoot.  That's why we like them.

Flatbows are shorter versions and many incorporate reflex/deflex or vicaversa designs to add speed or forgiveness and they can do this  with their thinner limb.   I do think there is a trade-off in accuracy.  This is more a function of the shooter...I struggle sometimes with a sloppy release, and the longer bows help with that.   Also, flatbows will lose cast quicker, the heavier the arrow settup, again, part of the thinner limb design, I think.  But the do tend to be faster with lighter weight arrows, and are a joy in heavy brush.

[doublewhopper]

thank you

[oops sorry]

I have to say I am a bit confounded by the terminology. I find it hard to differentiate given what many builders are calling longbows....then the reflex/deflex gets added and I really start to wonder. I am not being negative about the product or design, I own some. The terminology doesn't seem clear.

[old dog]

A true long bow is D shaped and flat backed, not les than 5 feet 6 inches long with horn nocks, and is made of wood only, laminations can be used.
Most of the so called long bows in the USA are flat bow or AFB's as they have arrow windows, shaped grip risers, reflex deflex limbs and glass laminations.
Hope this clears things up for you.
old dog (a longbow archer in the UK).