Bamboo vs Yew limb cores.

[northener]

Would the difference be worth a 100 dollar upgrade, in either performance or feel. I have bows with Bamboo,maple and Red Elm limbs but no Yew, just wondering.

[Nativestranger]

I would guess the difference will be minimal in a glass laminated bow. But I could be wrong. Do you feel any difference in handshock or speed between Bamboo, maple or red elm cores?

[ironmike]

to me, bamboo is  makes to light a bow, i've got a hill tembo 65#er and although it is a nice bow, i prefer my maple or yew bows,the latter being the smoothest,and the yew smoothest of all..just my opinion,i think the bamboo is to light a feel,and indecernable increase in speed

[Bob B.]

Boy, that is a tough one.  I think they are an incredible combo, so light and smooth.  However, is it worth 1/5 or 1/6 the cost of the bow ... maybe not.

Cedar and boo is a great combo as well and sounds cheaper to boot.  I doubt I would do it for that much of an increase ... and I am a Yew fanatic!

Bob.

[damascusdave]

no

[LBR]

Depends...on the draw weight, draw length, bow design, etc.

I love yew limbs in a longbow--in a mild to moderate deflex/reflex pulling 60+ lbs @ 30+ inches, I can tell a difference.  In a well made recurve, not as much.

As I understand it (I'm not a bowyer and don't claim to be), both materials are harder to work with, hence the price increase.  With bamboo the bowyer has to deal with nodes, with yew you may have problem spots.

Talk to your bowyer, and maybe some folks that have his bows with and/or without the upgrade.

Chad

[Sixby]

Light weight verticle grain clear eastern maple is the best. It is as light in weight as yew , much tougher.
all are good core woods. Performance is best with the maple, second with yew. last with the boo which all I have weighed is actually heavier.
Yew is by far the nicest looking and for that reason would be my choice in a super top end bow. However in a using bow where performance and long life is paramount it goes to maple.
All the Bears, Pearsons, Howatts attest to that after over 50 years of use.

God bless you all, Steve

[LBR]

Another variable--the wood itself in a given species.  

Back when I was dealing with a custom bowyer, their testing done over a period of 40 years or so gave an edge to yew in longbows, a slight edge in recurves.  Maple, red elm, and black locust were all close to each other.  They found yew and bamboo to be pretty much identical in performance, but yew was cheaper, more acessable, easier to work with, and more durable...so they didn't even offer bamboo.

They did have acess to premium yew--maybe their maple wasn't the best of the best.  Speed/performance wasn't their #1 priority either though.

[Brock]

They are my two favorite cores for glass backed bows.....I prefer bamboo but would have no problem paying slightly more for one with one of these two cores instead of the normal actionwood or maple.

I also like red elm for a limb wood....

[Nativestranger]

Originally posted by Sixby:
Light weight verticle grain clear eastern maple is the best. It is as light in weight as yew , much tougher.
all are good core woods. Performance is best with the maple, second with yew. last with the boo which all I have weighed is actually heavier.
Yew is by far the nicest looking and for that reason would be my choice in a super top end bow. However in a using bow where performance and long life is paramount it goes to maple.
All the Bears, Pearsons, Howatts attest to that after over 50 years of use.

God bless you all, Steve

Thank you for sharing Steve. That's very interesting results. I always thought bamboo to be the lightest and fastest among them. Are you testing with action boo or natural bamboo? And isn't red elm lighter than maple or yew? I guess there's another unknown factor which determines the performance besides weight and stiffness? Internal friction, hysteresis, set?

I a flat core like a recurve, I doubt yew would really out shoot hand picked maple.  However, yew and maple both can have undesirable grains and densities. While Steve gets good shooting maple, it not by accident, he knows what he is looking for.  In a longbow like a Hill the yew, if selected properly, can even out shoot the bamboo in total shooting qualities.

[northener]

Thanks for the replies. Yew core, clear glass is what's on order, I just got to thinking about it the other day, and was curious. I am going to stay with what I orginally ordered. Cocobolo riser and yew limbs, 48 lb @ 30 1/2" draw, 64" length. It's a few months out, can't wait though, think about it everyday.

[chanumpa]

You wont be sorry,Yew is smoooth and fast.I had a Cascade with yew limbs and it made a short bow really smooth.Good choice in woods.It will really be nice with that cocobolo.

[Brock]

that will be good combo for looks and shooting...dense wood in handle and the smooth yew in limbs.  good luck.

[Sixby]

Agreed that you are getting a really fantistic combo in all respects. you will have a beautiful harmonious bow that shoots great as long as the bowyer does his job correctly.
God bless you all, Steve

[58WINTERS]

Prefer bamboo over yew and I have owned several of each all in straight limbed bows. Yew sure is beautiful but my last 3 bows have been black glass.  I would not pay extra for yew unless you like the look.

[sawtoothscream]

I have had both. Honestly both feel great, the bamboo was a little smoother drawing but that is most likely limb design.

[njloco]

I prefer Yew, I have a new to me Mariah Thermal with Yew limbs and it's real fast and accurate, and very smooth.

I would like to know how Yew  between Osage limbs would perform.

[LBR]

I've only compared one style bow with osage limbs vs. yew limbs.  The one with osage limbs was much slower and lots of hand shock.

I do like my osage selfbows though.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Good Yew is expensive and can be difficult to have a nice source. Is it worth $100? Only Yew.... I mean you can say that. I guess Yew... I mean you can tell my preference.