Originally posted by Strutter:
Is carbon really traditional? May as well put wheels on your bow.
How is carbon less traditional than aluminum? Neither is more or less than the other. Neither is primitive for sure, but to argue that one or the other of these manufactured materials is less traditional is inaccurate at best.
I've shot all three materials. I have some aluminum shafts that are about 40 years old and still shoot just fine. They may have a dent or two in them, but that has no effect on flight. Aluminum arrows will bend or break. Usually the bend is from carelessly pulling them from targets, but whacking a rock or hard stump can do it as well. Breakage, for me, has happened when I didn't get complete passthroughs and the deer broke them off either with a leg or against a tree. Aluminums are noisier than either wood or carbon, but I've never seen it make a difference to deer. While the overall weight of aluminum is usually higher than carbons, it is trickier to front load them for high FOC.
Carbons won't bend, but they will break. I would agree that overall, they are the toughest arrow material, especially if you add about an inch of aluminum footing to the front, which keeps the shaft from splitting as the insert is driven back into the shaft due to hitting a something solid (rock, oak stump, etc.) They will also break when less than complete pass-through shots happen, the same as aluminum. They can be trickier to tune, but can be front loaded for high FOC easier than either aluminum or wood. They are quieter than aluminum but not quite as quiet as wood. Once you find the shaft that works for you, every single one of the same model and spine will work. They are more consistent as a rule than either wood or aluminum.
Wood, while it is obviously the most traditional, is also the least consistent of all arrow materials. Being a natural material means there will be variations. That said, it is also very forgiving and even a pretty darn crooked wooden shaft will fly amazingly well. Cedar smells better than carbon, aluminum or any other wood. I hear lots of complaints about not being able to find good cedar shafts, but I have bought them from 3 Rivers Archery and The Footed Shaft and have no complaints about either. Wood shafts don't generally bend, but they will break for the same reasons as aluminum or carbon, albeit somewhat more easily. Still, I have some cedar shafts that I have stumped with for years, so they are not quite so fragile as some would think. Weight and spine can vary from shaft to shaft, so a scale is pretty necessary. A spine tester would be nice, but not necessary if you buy your shafts from a reputable source. Wood shafts can be quite heavy, so if you are looking for arrow mass, these will work. Front loading is not as easy as swapping adapters or inserts like carbons, but can be accomplished with heavy broadheads or by drilling and adding an internal footing of metal or by footing with a dense hardwood.
There are pros and cons to each type of shaft. I have used and like all of them. This year, I am shooting woodies. They shoot great from my Kanati, they look good in my back quiver, and they are as trad as it gets.
The bottom line is all three are great shaft materials. Each has its strengths and limitations, but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses or none of these would have been used for so long were that not the case.
If one works better for you, shoot that one. Don't worry, be happy.
Topic: why did yougo back to alum shafts from carbon (Read 443 times)
