Well, having test driven a bunch of bows lately I thought I'd give my impressions for anyone who might be doing some online research in the future.
I will start off as saying that while all of these are considered longbows, they all had much different designs when compared side by side.
I should also point out that the following is simply my opinion based on my observations and is certainly not scientific and it may not be applicable to you.
Bows were tested as shipped, or per bowyer specification if included.
All bows were shot with the same arrows since draw weights were close, however, It would have been a better test to tune arrows to each bow, but I don't have that kind of time or money.
I am rating on a scale of 0-10. 0 being a complete lack of an attribute to my perception. 10 would be, I can't imagine any bow could possibly go higher than this.
What was the same? All the bowyers were a pleasure to deal with!
All bows were between 62" and 64" and 48-53lb. @ 28.
All bows drew really smooth and no stacking was detected at my 27" draw on any bows.
All bows I would say have nearly no hand shock. When shooting normally I didn't notice hand shock, but the ratings are based on what I felt when I focused on my bow hand and not the shot. The hand shock ratings are to differentiate the bows from each other, but I wouldn't stop from buying any of these bows for fear of handshock. The Abbott is my personal bow and has the highest rating, yet I didn't even notice hand shock until I started paying attention for these tests.
Steve Abbott Longbow:
Noise: 1
Hand Shock: 5
Speed: Slowest of tested bows
Grip: Leather wrapped. Very low, nearly straight. hard to even call it locator. Contoured on both sides.
Chaparral Kaibab:
Noise: 4
Hand Shock: 1
Speed: Fastest of tested bows
Grip: Bare Wood. Locator grip with very low wrist, very slender grip. Great for my small hands. Contoured on both sides. The shape keeps my hand lower from the shelf than any other bow which is the only thing I don't like about this bow.
Toelke Whip:
Noise: 1
Hand Shock: 2.5
Speed: Second Slowest.
Grip: Classic grip, beaver tail wrap; Very hand filling. Palm swell forces hand away from bow if that makes sense. Flat on non-palm side. For my small hands this was the least comfortable grip. I was surprised at how large the grip felt considering this was the narrowest bow with only 1" wide limbs.
Holm Made Osprey:
Noise: 2
Hand Shock: 2.5
Speed: Third Slowest by just a hair. Actually might tie with the Whip. Hard to say without crono.
Grip: Leather wrapped. Most comfortable! Shallow thumb groove really locks your hand into the same spot without being an obnoxiously large thumb shelf that I'm not fond of on other bows. Flat on non-palm side.
Liberty Edge:
Noise: 2.5-3
Hand Shock: 1.5
Speed: Second fastest. Might tie with Kaibab, hard to tell without crono.
Grip: Bare wood with stippling in the deepest part of the grip. Contoured on both sides. Not as low of a wrist as I would like, but still very comfortable. I would ask to not bring the stippling as low when I order one. The bottom row or two kind of dug into my palm a little. Otherwise the stippling in the web of my hand offered a nice sure grip.
I wouldn't be sad to own any of these bows. The craftsmanship is spot on. Most especially the Liberty and the Toelke. The Toelke even comes with a beautiful leather bow sock and a stringer. Nice touches that just make you feel like you're buying something luxury. I can see why there is so much praise for the whip, and I'm sure I could have the grip changed to my taste if I asked.
That being said, after spending some time with all of them, I think I've found my perfect bow, and it's the Liberty Edge. Every bow has it's attribute that makes it stand out above the others, but the Edge is overall just what I was looking for.
P.S. I also tested another bow from a local maker, but he is less well known and the design was different enough to not include him in this review.
P.P.S. I wanted to test a Tenbrook and a Centaur as well, but unfortunately Tenbrook would not respond to my attempt to contact him, and Centaur didn't have any test bows available at the time.
Topic: Bow Tests: Whip v Kaibab v Edge v Abbott v Osprey (Read 531 times)
