When should you recommend carbon arrows?

Shooting Industry, Sept, 1995 by Carolee Boyles-Sprenkel

But with the advent of carbon and carbon composite arrows, things got a lot more complicated. Or did they?

The Easton arrow shaft selection chart still looks the same. Only now, in each category, it recommends both carbon and carbon composite arrows as well as aluminum. So how do you know which kind of arrow to suggest to your customers?

To find out about the differences between the various kinds of arrows, we turned to Randy Schoeck, director of marketing services for Easton Aluminum, and John Gooding, vice president of True Flight Arrow Co. They've taken some of the mystery out of the carbon vs. aluminum debate.

Gooding says there actually are three types of arrows being manufactured today: aluminum, carbon (which is the universal term for an arrow of all-carbon fibers) and aluminum/carbon composite.

Easton is the only company presently producing composite shafts, which are aluminum core tubes with carbon fiber wraps on the outside. Schoeck says these are high-end, high-performance arrows which have applications from 3-D to bowhunting. The premiere competition aluminum/carbon, or A/C/E, arrows are used primarily by Olympic-style shooters who routinely shoot at distances up to 90 meters.

Laying those high-performance arrows aside, let's look at the two types of arrows you're going to handle regularly as a dealer: all aluminum and all carbon. Schoeck says the aluminum arrow continues to be the most popular arrow type, for a number of reasons.

"They're affordable, they're easy to tune, they're forgiving when you're shooting, and the components - nocks, inserts, et cetera - are easy to work with," Schoeck says. "They've become the standard. Plus, the size mix allows you to tune an arrow to virtually any bow combination that's out there."

This versatility is vital for young people who are coming into archery, as well as for experienced archers who continue to push the limits in terms of speed and energy.

"Also, because of the price, aluminum arrows continue to be good money-makers for dealers," Schoeck says. "They still represent about 85 percent of consumer purchases."

Carbon is a smaller-diameter product than aluminum. It's manufactured by a process known as "pultruding," which looks a little like spaghetti coming out of a pasta machine. The carbon fibers go in at one end of the machine. A series of epoxy resins are introduced into the fibers, and the resulting composite passes through a die which gives the shaft its shape.

As with aluminum, the carbon shaft is hollow. The wall of the shaft is considerably thicker than that of an aluminum arrow, for strength; yet, carbon is so light that even with the thicker wall, you're still dealing with a lightweight arrow.

"Because of the small diameter, tuning becomes more critical," Schoeck says. "Your arrow rest must be adjusted carefully. And for the hunter, it's more difficult to get a big vane on the shaft in a helical fashion, because there's just not that much surface area."

In addition, he says, the installation of components takes more time and more know-how than those on aluminum shafts.

"The point end requires something called an 'outsert,' which is designed to capture and enshroud the fibers on the end," Schoeck says. "There's no good internal fitting system yet for an all-carbon shaft. The inside diameter is just so tiny. There are points that go inside the shaft, but you still have to have a device which covers the end of the shaft so there are no exposed carbon fibers."

Unlike aluminum, which has a solid metal wall, carbon shafts will split if not captured and sealed by terminal components of some kind. They require slow-curing epoxies to ensure they stay on the shaft. This means more preparation time than for aluminum shafts, as well as more precision in installing components.

The uses of aluminum and carbon arrows generally don't differ much. Both make a fine arrow for hunting, target shooting and 3-D shooting.

With the increasing number of people shooting release aids, Schoeck pointed out, the better forgiveness and easier tune-ability of the aluminum arrow is becoming less of an issue than it has been.

"It seems like the majority of people who are shooting carbon arrows out of high-performance bows are also shooting release aids," he says. "Other than that, the uses are almost identical."

So how do you know which type of arrow to recommend? Frankly, Schoeck says, it has more to do with what both you and the customer are comfortable with and knowledgeable about, rather than the use to which the arrow will be put.

Gooding agrees. "It really depends on the strength of the retailer. There are pluses and minuses for each category," he says.

"The bottom line right now is that aluminum products generate a better profit margin for dealers than carbon products," Schoeck says. "You also have to look at the convenience of making the sale. If a beginner is going to come in and buy equipment, the last thing you want to do is scare him or her off with higher-end carbon shafts."

Carbon arrows may run as much as $100 a dozen. While a few aluminum arrows may cost nearly as much, they generally are more in the $40 to $50 range. On the other hand, Gooding says, carbon arrows are very durable. A dozen carbon arrows may last much longer than a dozen aluminum ones.