A number of my bows have dymondwood risers. No doubt it's strong stuff. On the other hand, I also have a lot of bows with all natural wood. Never had a riser break, and have never seen a glass laminated bow riser with natural wood break, though I suppose it happens sometime. From the bowyer's perspective, use of dymond wood is as much a matter of convenience, availability and price as anything else. Also, because dymondwood is just stained and impregnated birch or maple, folks who use it can consider themselves environmentally green, not depleting the rainforests of South America of their exotic woods. IMO, charcoal goes good good with a lot of woods, but zebra wood isn't one of them. But we all have different tastes. Good luck.