muzzyman88

I am thinking about switching carbons. I' m really not happy with the quality of the Gold Tips as of late and want to switch. But, I' m really undecided as to which to go with. I really like the little heavier weight of the Beman ICS and the nock system seems better.

Of the two, which is a better quality arrow?

AKDoug

I just bought my first set of carbons, ICS Hunters. I' m still not sure why, as I' ve had excellent use out of aluminums. I also just bought my first single cam bow, a Newberry (we' ll see how that works out..LOL) Figured I' d try the dark side....

Anyhow, the ICS' s I got measured from .003 to .005 in straightness on the arrow straightner. I rigged it up to measure the ends with my dial-indicator I use to check small engine cranks and I was fairly surprised that the ends were also all within the same specs. I' d heard reports that they had issues at the ends, but I didn' t see it. My methodology seemed solid, but I' m no machinist or quality control professional either.

I won' t be able to get the bow and arrows ready to go until Saturday to see how they shoot and group. I' m going to keep close tabs on these arrows and see how long each one stays straight. I may still go back to aluminums.

bbahunter

Muzzyman, i use both brands, and iam real happy with both.
What i do with the goldtips is, get the gt unibusings and use g-nocks.
I shoot gold tip pros out of my razortec, with great accuracy.
The beman ics hunters i shoot out of my kodiak, are very good also, i installed acc 3-60 unibusings with g-nocks, a much better combo also.
You might want to check out eastons lightspeeds, these are very good arrows for the money also, i would do the same with these arrows, install unibushings with g-nocks.

PABowhntr

I cannot speak for the Goldtips as I only used them briefly and some time ago so there performance, or lack there of, at this point is not something I can comment on.

However, I have been using Beman ICSHs for close to a year now and I must say that I find their durability to be much better than the Carbon Express I was using prior to that. I have yet to find a reason to search for another ICS carbon at this point.

Martin Cougar

I just switched to carbons this summer. I am using the Beman' s ICS-H - so far I love them. Haven' t had a problem. And I can' t wait to actually send one at a deer this fall.

Mykey

A couple of years ago i would have said Goldtips xt' s but i agree the quality has really went down imo. I' ve shot Goldtips xt' s for years and they have always done a great job but this will be my last year shooting them and i wouldn' t be using them this year if i didn' t have so many. The last two dozen i bought had several bad ones in both batches.[:@] I sent 3 back last year that were split right through the logo when i opened the pack which they did replace. I just bought a dozen two weeks ago and low and behold two of those were warped like they got hot or something and one other was splintered at both ends about 3" up the shaft. If i had a digital camera i would post some pics. I called Goldtip which i will say does have great customer service and they said they would replace them but still this will be my last year shooting them. I know anyone can make or recieve a bad product from time to time but i' m a little burnt out with Goldtip shafts. Just my thoughts!

JeffB

Hmmm..I' m experiencing just the opposite. Goldtips historically have been (for lack of a better term) " crap" , IME.

Their QC has improved quite a bit IME. Enough for me to say " move over Beman & Carbon Express"

*shrug*

PABowhntr

Now Jeff is our resident arrow guru so I would take what he says at face value......but what about the different grades of each arrow? Which goldtips and which bemans are we looking at specifically?

muzzyman88

I apologize, I didn' t leave that information there. I am considering going from the Gold Tip Camo XT' s to the Beman ICS Camo Hunter Plus shafts.

Which is the better shaft?

coolbrze0

I shoot the 400 gr. Beman ICS Hunters and love them. I' ve shot a few different types of carbon arrows and these seem to be the best for my bow.