Jerry/Pa

What all carbon arrow has the best spine tolerence? I see most manufactures rate there weight and strightness but none rate there spine. I' m getting ready to set-up for 3-d/target and change back from aluminum for the weight factor. The last couple years I' ve been using carbon express 3-d selects and have been happy with there proformence. I did notice they weaken over time. I think acc' s are noted for the best spine tolerence but what all carbon arrow has the best tolerence? Other then the price of acc' s I don' t like the small dia. I shoot a prong type launcher and have a clearence issue. If it' s the best arrow I will shoot them though. Thanks, JERRY

BGfisher

What you ask is a very good question I hope somene can answer. It is the more important factor of the three--spine consistency, straightness, and weight tolerance, pretty much in that order. Unfortunately I have e-mailed some of the companies that make AC arrows with this question and so far have pretty much gotten the run around. I guess you have to own your own spine tester to get the right answer. Then all you need to do is buy a lot of arrows and test them. Far beyond the means of most of us.

You' re right about the ACC' s. Easton does give spine tolerance for these. They are small in diameter, too. I shoot a hard helical and just put a drop away rest on to correct the problem. Really I always shot a Star Hunter and didn' t have a problem as I shoot feathers, but the Muzzy ZE took care of anything that was happening.

BowhuntNH

Guys,
Take a look at www.blackhawkarchery.com. I' ve been doing some searching because I may switch to carbons. They are boasting about their spine consistancys and also offer the Vapor v-maxx, which is close to the diameter of a 22xx aluminum shaft. Check it out and repost your thoughts.

-NH

Jerry/Pa

That' s what I' m looking for. From what I see on there web site I' m going to pick-up a few and see the results. The only hitch I see is how can you compare there spine calibration system to any other arrow. I thik if we shout loud enough the rest of the manufactors will comply to a universial system for comparision. Jerry

BowhuntNH

That' s just it Jerry. Unfortunately the spine of a carbon shaft can vary at any point in the length of the shaft. With the aluminum arrows, such as Easton, the material used is always consistent from point to nock, unlike carbons that are built up with layers. I personaly think that Blackhawk has found a way to guarantee the consistancy of their spine rating by the building process they use and the way they check it. I may give them a try early this spring only because I' ve been waiting for a fatter carbon hunting shaft. ACC' s are nice, but I use a prong style rest.

-NH

BGfisher

Jerry,
You know I didn' t think of it at the time of my last post but you are right. I' d like to see some sort of standard for showing spine also. CE has their arrows numbered 100, 200, 300 etc. Blackhawk has who knows what, depending on which ones you have. Frankly, I like Easton and Beman numbers. They tell you the actual spine deflection-- 500 equals .500; 340 equals .340, etc. Sure would make life more simple for us consumers.

JeffB

Definitely Easton A/C & X-Alum technology has the tightest spine tolerance from shaft to shaft and dozen to dozen.

As far as the all -carbons I' ve tested, Beman/Easton is probably best overall w/ Goldtip & CX about even among the major manufacturers. Carbon-tech has gained a rep for extreme spine consistency, but I' ve yet to test any.

As for the BlackHawk all carbon shafts...they didn' t last long enough for me to get them tested. IME, they are extremely fragile. My pro-shop has started carrying them (due to a pretty big price hike from Carbon Express creating a need for a low cost entry level carbon shaft in the shop) and I' ll be sure to keep tabs on what the customers think/find, but IMO they need drastic improvement: what good is the tolerance if the shafts cannot take even minor abuse? The dealer cost on them is so ridiculously low, there is no doubt they are having to sacrifice something.

The BlackHawk CAA (A/C/C knockoffs) are not bad however. They are not A/C/Cs but compare well w/ most of the high end all-carbon shafts such as Goldtip 3D Pros & CX 3D Selects.

Really..in an all carbon shaft, the Beman ICSH/Easton C2 line is hard to beat for the $.

arkansasbowhunter

Can you shot a prong rest and a/c/c' s or do you have to use a drop away? I have been shoot ICS' s and was thinking of changing.

BowhuntNH

An assumption on my part. Seems to me that the small diameter of the ACC' s would create clearence problems with as little as 2 degree off-set fletching. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

JOE PA

As far as using a prong rest with ACCs, you will be OK with straight offset, and a small amount of helical is OK too. Hard helical is going to be tough to get clearance. IMO, the problem is not all that different from the ICS type arrows, though. I experimented with the Whisker Biscuit to see what I could do with it. When properly set up, the accuracy is quite good. That will be my hunting setup until I see a reason to change.

I got 6 Blackhawk Vapor 4000 to try out due to all of the advertising about spine consistency. I was quite disappointed with them. From day 1 I had 2 arrows that would not shoot with the group @30 yds. even with field points. As Jeff B. mentioned, they also did not hold up well.