NOT the Ultimate Guide to Recurve Archery Equipment 5

Arrows

Putting arrows at last because it is the most boring, most complicated, most difficult to understand item among all the items. Even experienced coaches can hardly guarantee getting the arrow of the correct spine. It is best to test with arrows of the spine and length wanted before buying. In reality it is challenging to find the wanted spine and length for trial as everyone has a different draw length hence arrow length. Besides, arrows from different brands and with different construction do not react the same even if they are marked to be of the same spine. Arrow selection charts vary between different brands. It is good to know a little more instead of blindly following the arrow selection charts recommendations.

Arrow shafts need to be trimmed into wanted length. Archers need to choose the arrow points, nocks (and pins), & vanes etc. Beginners level archers may not have interest or the skill to assemble arrows by themselves. There are entry level ready assembled arrows, but most archers will choose the accessories and assemble by themselves. Some pro-shops provide assemble service at a cost. Most competitive archers handle these by themselves, including the ultimately boring task of refletching arrows.

Spine. It is inevitable to go into the arrow spine. Spine is the measurement of the arrow’s flex, reflecting its stiffness. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) use the following method to measure arrow spine:

The arrow must be 29” in length and supported by two points, which are 28” apart. The number of inches the arrow deflects or bends × 1000 due to the weight is the spine size or measurement of an arrow.

The less the arrow deflects or bends the smaller the number is i.e. the stiffer the arrow is. Arrows available in the market range from roughly 350 to 2000 in spine. Sometimes you can find a spine number for stabilizers too, implying how stiff the rod is. The above measurement is not the only standard. Different methods are used by different brands. To avoid confusions I am not putting another example here. This is the static spine, which is also the spine number you get on Easton arrow shafts.

What actually happens is dynamic spine, which is how the arrow reacts to stored energy in the bow. We are trying to relate the stored energy in the limb to energy the arrow gets from the bow. There are many factors affecting how the arrow reacts e.g. string fingers and release technique, limb efficiency, string material and weight, and other bow and arrow set up issues etc. The dynamic spine can be manipulated by making changes in these factors. Following the static spine arrow selection chart only gives a rough estimation on what arrow spine shall match the bow. Even experienced archers may get the wrong spine of arrows sometimes. If the spine mismatch is being serious it is not possible for tuning. For a better interpretation and details, Easton has it covered in the follow article:

Making Sense of Arrow Spine

Shaft Size. The static spine number is used as the model number of many carbon or carbon aluminium composite (A/C) arrow shafts. Alumunium arrow shafts have a 4 digit number as model number instead of using the static spine number directly. The first two digits are the outer diameter O.D. of the shaft in 1/64 inches and the later two represent the wall thickness of the shaft in 1/1000 inches. For example 2314 means the shaft has an outer diameter of 23/64 inches and the wall thickness of the shaft is 14/1000 inches.

Lengths. *ARROW LENGTH* *ARROW LENGTH* *ARROW LENGTH* is what we have to know. Arrow length is measured from the throat of the nock to the end of the shaft, arrow point is not included. Do not have it messed up with the draw length. We need to further clear up our mind with some similar terms. But you may actually skip the rest below and go to the next part reading the arrow selection chart.

True draw length is the distance from the grip pivot point of the bow to the nocking point at full draw. Alternatively it gives a similar measurement if using the middle of the button hole instead of the grip to measure. Some handles are not following the standard and have button holes not exactly above the grip pivot point. If you have changed or modified the grip, the throat of the grip may no longer be at the pivot point. So either ways it may not be possible to get a precise measurement.

Actual draw length, which is the draw length we commonly agree, is true draw length plus 1.75 inches. In the old times this is how far the handle extended from the middle of the button hole.

These two draw lengths are not directly affecting arrow spine selection. What matters is the arrow length. Some brands employ another term correct arrow length, which is true draw length plus 1 inch, to indicate what to look for in the arrow selection chart. Not every archer prefers the arrow to be exactly one inch longer from the button at full draw. However, arrows being too short risk falling form the rest while arrows being too long create other tuning related issues. So The very first thing to use the arrow selection chart is to decide the arrow length wanted.

Archers may think of going to a pro-shop seeking advice on arrow spine selection. This is a question no shopkeeper can answer. Recommendation can be given following the selection chart, according to provided information on the draw weight and arrow length (the real arrow length wanted not correct arrow length). However only the archer himself or his coach know what exactly is needed. Skill and technique and equipment set-up affects the dynamic spine, potentially leading to mismatched arrow spine following the arrow selection chart in real situations.

For beginners, their skill is still under development and draw length may change. It is a good idea to select longer arrows leaving some room for changes. It is a similar case for youth archers. Their draw length keeps increasing as they grow taller and arms get longer. Longer arrow length is a must for safety and to avoid frequent replacement. If using clicker is a concern, try use sight clickers or other models which allow more flexible adjustment to use longer arrows. Of course the flexibility for adjustment comes at a price, these clicker models usually have some negatives.

Reading the Arrow Selection Chart. Recurve archers go for the recurve arrow selection chart. Compound archers go for the the compound arrow selection chart. This is straightforward. Some brands provide two arrow selection charts for recurve. One being the ‘normal’ one and the other for low poundage recurve or youth archers. I do not like the name youth arrow selection chart as is is inappropriate and a total discriminations. There are many Asian adult archers who need to follow the youth archers’ arrow selection chart due to short draw length and low poundage. At the same time many youth archers draw heavy bow and can use the ‘normal’ arrow selection chart.

The normal arrow selection chart and the low poundage have overlap areas. If we use the same data to look for the arrow spine in the two charts, we will get a very different answer in the recommended arrow spine. For example draw weight 38lb arrow length 25 inches, the normal chart will give shaft size of spine 850-900. If going for the low poundage recurve bow chart, it will be of spine 1000-1100. It is a two-groups level discrepancy. If arrows of either one of the shaft size are working well, those from the other one must not be matching. You may also wonder how recurve 38lb can be considered low poundage. This is ridiculous.

The intention is good to have two arrow selection charts. The relation of draw weight to arrow spine is non linear. When it comes to low draw weight, arrows spine need to be much weaker to match. For low poundage limbs which are usually entry level, they are heavier and efficiency are lower. Mid-price or high end limbs, which are more efficient in transferring energy to the arrow, start from around 30lb draw weight. Low poundage limbs are hence transferring much less energy to the arrows compared to heavier draw weight limbs. Draw length is also a factor affecting the energy stored in the bow. Since the string travels from full draw position at the draw length back to brace height, a shorter draw length will have much less energy stored in the bow. No matter if it is named low poundage recurve bow or youth arrow selection chart, it is a name for convenience and easy understanding. What exactly behind shall be energy stored in the bow and limb efficiency arrow selection chart.

My suggestion would be for an archer with draw length (arrow length with a normal extension from the button hole e.g. 1.5-2 inches) 25 inches or below, and / or with draw weight around 20lb, the low poundage recurve arrow selection chart shall be used. If the draw weight is heavier and draw length is longer, the normal arrow selection chart tends to give a better match. If the draw length of the archer is around 27 or 28 inches and above, and / or using mid to high price limbs with draw weight 30lb or above, it is pretty safe to take the normal arrow selection chart recommendation as a reference.

A quick look in the compound arrow selection chart. It is more complicated. Data like arrow speed, arrow point weight, and bow let-off % etc. are included in estimation. Putting all into consideration an adjusted draw weight is obtained and to be used to check the arrow selection chart. Recurve arrow selection chart does not usually include all these factors to recalculate an adjusted draw weight because there are too many factors affecting the dynamic spine. However these factors can hardly be quantized and do not have a significant effect separately. Summing all up, usually the discrepancy should be within one spine group up or down. More often the result will fall marginal between groups. Usually taking the weaker spine recommendation would be safe for recurve. It is less likely the stiffer one would be tuning well. For example if the arrow selection chart suggests shaft size 500 or 550, go for 550 as it is more likely to match the bow.

Material. Wooden arrows can only be seen in clubs with very long history or camp site archery ranges back in Hong Kong. However, as having many traditional and bare bow shooters, I found wooden arrows are still quite common in the UK. For competitive target recurve it is always carbon arrows or A/C arrows nowadays. Both the arrows have models that are reasonably cheap nowadays. Except for specific reasons, say for line cutting in indoor competitions, full aluminum arrows are less common. Check your club requirement as some archery ranges do not allow carbon arrows due to safety concerns. Carbon fiber leftover from broken carbon arrows may injure people who are sharing the field and do other sports. Also full carbon arrows are difficult to be found in case of loss, as metal detectors can only scan for the arrow point.

During bow set-up and tuning, A/C arrows are much more user friendly compared with full carbon arrows. A/C arrows recover from bending faster than carbon arrows when leaving the bow. With the same static spine, full carbon arrows usually appear to be stiffer in reaction compared with A/C arrows.

Weight. Arrow shaft weight is usually shown in unit grain per inch gpi. Since every archer uses arrows of different length, the exact weight has to be calculated by the user. Arrow points and accessories contribute to the whole arrow weight. For example arrow points of different arrows can range from 40 grains to over 200 grains in weight. Curved vanes are usually much lighter than straight vanes. Adding weight at the arrow point end or the nock end of the shaft changes the arrow dynamic spine behavior. Using heavier point makes arrow weaker. Adding weight in the nock end makes the arrow goes stiffer.

Still, getting the arrow spine matching the bow set-up is of highest priority. If there are options at the particular selected shaft size, it is possible to consider other factors e.g. price, gpi, and shaft outer diameter etc.

Generally recurve archers, especially those with low poundage or need to go for longer distances, prefer lighter arrows. Otherwise the bow might not have enough power to get the arrows to the target, or at least there would not be a tight grouping. In contrast, compound bows store more energy at the same peak draw weight compared to recurve. It is necessary to pay attention not to choose arrows too light in weight, even for archers drawing light poundage and not having a long draw length. Overly light weighted arrows cannot absorb all the stored energy in the bow. Arrow will not be flying well and the extra energy will become noise and vibrations upon release. At worst it would be like dry firing the bow and potentially damaging the equipment.

Straightness. Literally it is how straight the arrows shaft are manufactured, and the tolerance of it. The more straight the arrow shafts are, which is shown by a smaller range in numbers, the better the tolerance. Arrows grouping are expected to be better too. It makes sense that the arrow shafts with more precise straightness are more expensive, considering they are made of better quality. In the past, it was more difficult to make full carbon arrow shafts straight compared to A/C arrow shafts. As a result, A/C arrow shafts usually have a better specification in straightness tolerance than full carbon arrow shafts at the same price range.

Outer Diameter (O.D.). Arrow shafts; O.D. is usually shown in millimeters. Different models of arrow shafts with similar spine and at similar price range can have a big difference in O.D. Smaller O.D. is preferred for outdoor long distance shooting. Arrow shafts with smaller O.D. are less susceptible to wind. A small O.D. is always a selling point for top model arrow shafts, especially for recurve arrows.

Inner Diameter. Inserts including the arrow points, pins and some type of nocks etc. are limited by the inner diameter of the arrow shafts. (some other parts e.g. collar, insert nocks, and in-out nocks etc. are limited by O.D. as well) Some models of arrow shafts have different inner diameter according to shaft size. Be very careful to select the matching model accessories accordingly. It is not uncommon to see official websites, catalogs, or even product labels are providing incorrect information. If in doubt it is always a good idea to seek for pro-shop help.

Vanes

With more drag (or it is simply the weight), straight vanes help arrows to recover from fishtailing more quickly. This makes it a better choice for beginner archers, who are shooting shorter distances and usually have various reasons to have poor arrow flight e.g. mismatched arrow spine, shooting skill issues, and poor limb quality etc. Straight vanes are durable hence need low maintenance. When recurve archers gradually improve their skill and go for longer shooting distances, they will change to curved vanes. Curved vanes are light weighted and with less drag compared to straight vane. Their curved profile makes the arrow rotate (this increases drag) and stabilizes arrow flight. It means potentially more accurate.

There are many brands of vanes or fletches in the market. They are of different length, weight, stiffness, and shape etc. It is impossible to tell which is the best as it differs between archers. Do not underestimate the power these accessories can make. Once I tested with different color Spin Wing vanes and found the one working the best with my set-up. The arrows grouping and score in 70m are significantly better while using one of the colors. Actually Spin Wing old packing states only use one color on arrows as the drag is different.

Nocks

There are different type of nocks e.g. out nock, insert nock, in-out nock and pin nock etc. For small diameter arrow shafts insert nock is not an option. For very large diameter arrow shafts adaptors or pins may be needed. The length, stiffness and weight of nocks all make a significant difference when it comes down to fine tuning. Sometimes poor arrow flight persists and cannot be solved. Attempting to change the nock type may solve the problem at once.

Be very cautious with large out nocks which are common in entry level arrows as they always lead to two problems. First, pinching is more likely to happen which means the string fingers touch and press on the nock during the draw. It will affect the arrow flight or even cause the arrow to lift off from the arrow rest. Second, when arrow flight is already poor, the large nock size increases the chance to have clearance problems. It is more likely to hit the handle or cause damage of the nock, arrow, rest, and button etc.

Before We End

The 5 articles aim to share experience and provide information which are not easily found online to help beginner archers to buy their first bow and equipment. There are some items we did not cover e.g. quiver or bow bag. As long as the items do not affect performance, I believe it is only of personal preference and it really does not matter choosing which brand or model.

I may go into further details in the future about some of the equipment (the original article in Cantonese was written 2 years ago but I still have no plan to write another one about equipment). However those further details will need higher skill level and better knowledge to understand, and would not be of entry level archers' interest.

1. Coach is the only person who knows the archer the best including his skill level, training program as well as the need in equipment. Discuss with the coach before purchasing equipment. Pro-shop can only gives you recommendation according to your coaches specifications;
2. Appreciate the importance of equipment. Archery is the skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. General & sport specific fitness, mental strength, skill & technique, and equipment are of equal importance. Mismatched or poorly set-up equipment may lead to bad habits, wrong moves to compensate for the problem with equipment, and worst increase the potential of injuries. It is important to prepare equipment well before start learning or practicing archery;
3. It is not always the more expensive the better. Equipment has to match the archer’s current skill and fitness level. Buying the most expensive piece in the market and hope it last forever is invalid in purchasing archery equipment;
4. There is no such thing as the best equipment. Most of the time it is about matching the archers level and need. It is also how familiar the archer is with the equipment that contributes to actual performance;
5. It is always a good idea to test with different equipment as it helps develop a good sense. Through experience and practice one can improve self awareness and be more sensitive to equipment. Be patient and allow time to fine tune and adapt to the new equipment. And also be aware of the ‘new equipment effect'.

Coming to the end of the series, I would like to put everything into a list remarking which items are expected to be durable and worth spending more money on or not.