ILF limb system

[JohnnyBa]

Hi yet again. For a simple string n stick combo, things sure get complicated quickly when all the “engineers” in us get to the drawing board. Being relatively new to archery at a ripe old age, just can’t help but wonder about some things. Like many of you, I do like a take down recurve and always wondered why there wasn’t a “gold standard” of sorts with riser and limb fit-ment. Like why aren’t limbs attached in same fashion, making it possible to swap limbs out from one brand to another? Then I see DAS and ILF and see that the stab at this concept, at least in the ILF world, has come up with a workable solution but it is very far from perfect and I just did not see the need to create a new limb attachment method when the old way just needed to be standardized to create a world of endless riser/limb combo’s. Of course I had to have an ILF bow, a cheap Satori knock off, but reading all ILF reviews on YT, I see the ILF fitting problem is not just for the cheaper bows. Jake Kaminski has come up with a more close tolerance set of limb tiller bolts to make the fork fit tighter around the bolt but there is still lots of slop height wise. Why aren’t the limbs made to fit “precisely” into that slot? I could go on, but that’s where the noise comes from and I just see it as crappy design or designers that are not archers. Any thoughts?

[McDave]

While I have several ILF bows, I tend to agree that they leave something to be desired.  This is probably why companies such as Black Widow and Bob Lee haven't jumped on the ILF bandwagon.

I believe Bob Lee's Stabi-Lock limb attachment system is superior to the ILF system in several important respects, such as solidity and noise reduction.  Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust out that tiny bit of misalignment that is just enough to drive me crazy.  Probably it was put there on purpose to teach me not to sweat the small stuff.  It does allow for fast swapping out of limbs….as long as they are Bob Lee.

That said, if I had to pick just one bow to live with for the rest of my life, I would be hard pressed to choose between my Shikari, with its tiny bit of misalignment, and my Satori (not a knock off) with its clunkiness.

In the end, the ILF system will probably succumb to progress, like the Betamax and VHS tape players, and be replaced by something none of us can presently imagine.

[BUCKY]

Picked one up and said not for me. Im a one piece guy but if i had a td it would be a solid bolt down.

[PrimitivePete]

I wouldn't be so fast to shoot ILF down. I like to put together WARF bows and there it's a lot of fun getting an old Hoyt riser and converting it with metal plates and making it an ILF riser with hundreds of limb combinations. From the modest priced to the exotic. For me I stay on the low end, building WARF rigs that barely cost me over 200 bills yet shoot very well indeed. 

[5deer]

 

[M60gunner]

I have a few ILF rigs I can make up. I like the idea of being able to try different makers limbs on the same risers. Noise, no harder to get rid of than on my Bear Td’s.

[Godfrey]

Hi yet again. For a simple string n stick combo, things sure get complicated quickly when all the “engineers” in us get to the drawing board. Being relatively new to archery at a ripe old age, just can’t help but wonder about some things. Like many of you, I do like a take down recurve and always wondered why there wasn’t a “gold standard” of sorts with riser and limb fit-ment. Like why aren’t limbs attached in same fashion, making it possible to swap limbs out from one brand to another? Then I see DAS and ILF and see that the stab at this concept, at least in the ILF world, has come up with a workable solution but it is very far from perfect and I just did not see the need to create a new limb attachment method when the old way just needed to be standardized to create a world of endless riser/limb combo’s. Of course I had to have an ILF bow, a cheap Satori knock off, but reading all ILF reviews on YT, I see the ILF fitting problem is not just for the cheaper bows. Jake Kaminski has come up with a more close tolerance set of limb tiller bolts to make the fork fit tighter around the bolt but there is still lots of slop height wise. Why aren’t the limbs made to fit “precisely” into that slot? I could go on, but that’s where the noise comes from and I just see it as crappy design or designers that are not archers. Any thoughts?

Remember that what we now call "ILF" (originally "HDS" Hoyt Dovetail System) was never designed to be universal.  Hoyt designed it as a proprietary connection for it's advanced tuning options on Hoyt risers with Hoyt limbs, not the ability for Hoyt limbs to fit on other risers or other limbs to fit on theirs.  It wasn't until others started copying it that fitment became an issue.   

[katman]

While I love my 'simple' bows like my ASL, I also enjoy the adjustability; tiller, pondage and limb types of the 'ILF' format. I prefer the DAS connection over the dovetail as it is quieter and limbs won't pop off when unstrung. Much easier to tune an adjustable tiller bow using a fixed crawl.

The frustrating part of ILF for me is the lack of standard you speak of. Companies will rate limbs on x length riser at mid bolt or some at almost full in limb bolt. Also ILF risers may have different pad angles also causing poundage variations.

[mgf]

I have one ILf bow. I was in the market for a bow and it seemed like a good idea but I haven't adjusted anything after the initial setup and I never bought any other limbs.

[PrimitivePete]

In defense of ILF I would say it's practically the only current system where you can have a riser from one manufacturer and limbs from another to build a great shooting bow. As with anything else once you introduce that level of variance, specifically the number of limb and riser manufacturers there is bound to be some complexity and separation. From my own experience I have seen better performance from ILF limbs than standard design. While it's true I haven't shot every bow made, I have at least can say shot many.
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