feathers or vanes?

[pistol_pete_70]

I have heard alot of talk about some people using vanes and saying they are the best and I know of alot of people that swear by feathers are the quietest and lightest and the best? What is really true about each? I also know that feathers can get wet and not perform correctly, but are they truly quieter and are they faster? My second question is which is better to have-a right helical feather or vane or a straight feather or vane? The helical i was told helps the arrow in flight and is "more forgiving" for the Mathews Q2-XL i shoot that has a muzzy zero effect rest with 29" draw and I am shooting 26 1/2" ICS Hunter carbon arrows with 100 grain Muzzy broadheads and getting 285 f.p.s.. What facts do you know about arrows and what is really the best arrow for being forgiving and quiet for me?

Thanks, Pete

[OKbowhunter]

The one thing that holds true in archery is personal preferrence. I used feathers for many years but lately, the past 10 yrs or so, I have been using vanes. I'm not a compitition archer, just a bowhunter.

Let's see now, feathers or vanes. It is true that feathers are lighter and more forgiving. As for quiet, it depends. I do no from experience that during hunting when my pant leg or limbs brush up against the arrow fletching in the quiver, vanes are quiter. During flight, feathered helical fletched arrows are noisier because the grab more air. Which isn't necissarily bad because they guide the arrow better. Also, feathers are alot more forgiving than vanes.

Vanes are a lot less expensive and more durable. Vanes tend to hold up better and perform better in wet conditions, also. As for the speed aspect, feathers are probably a little faster due to weight reduction. How much I don't know. I do know that helical, offset, or straight fletch are options with vanes but feathers require helical fletch.

As for helical or straight fletch, my personal preference is helical. I want arrow flight stability. A spinning arrow, achieved with helical fletch, is much more stable and accurate.

Heres a very good web site for info on arrows, fletching, etc. It should answer a lot of your questions. www.huntersfriend.com Look under Articles and Help, then select Arrow Selection Guide. There are six short chapters on building and arrow. Chapter 4 has info on feathers and vanes.

Hope this answers your questions.

[pistol_pete_70]

Ok, Thanks for all your help. I will stick with my feathers for shooting faster and being more forgiving than the new vanes. I do alot of hunting and the right helical is what i need to stick with to keep the arrow spinning and more true in flight. I use womens unscented hair spray on my feathers to waterproof them and it works great even in the heavy rains we get here in south Georgia so the issue of flight in the rain is unimportant. The only other thing is durability, but you just have to be careful with your quiver walking in the woods so that you don't damage the fletchings. So basically the is no need to go to vanes. Thanks again for all your help and I love the website you recommended to me. Pete

Originally Posted by OKbowhunter

The one thing that holds true in archery is personal preferrence. I used feathers for many years but lately, the past 10 yrs or so, I have been using vanes. I'm not a compitition archer, just a bowhunter.

Let's see now, feathers or vanes. It is true that feathers are lighter and more forgiving. As for quiet, it depends. I do no from experience that during hunting when my pant leg or limbs brush up against the arrow fletching in the quiver, vanes are quiter. During flight, feathered helical fletched arrows are noisier because the grab more air. Which isn't necissarily bad because they guide the arrow better. Also, feathers are alot more forgiving than vanes.

Vanes are a lot less expensive and more durable. Vanes tend to hold up better and perform better in wet conditions, also. As for the speed aspect, feathers are probably a little faster due to weight reduction. How much I don't know. I do know that helical, offset, or straight fletch are options with vanes but feathers require helical fletch.

As for helical or straight fletch, my personal preference is helical. I want arrow flight stability. A spinning arrow, achieved with helical fletch, is much more stable and accurate.

Heres a very good web site for info on arrows, fletching, etc. It should answer a lot of your questions. www.huntersfriend.com Look under Articles and Help, then select Arrow Selection Guide. There are six short chapters on building and arrow. Chapter 4 has info on feathers and vanes.

Hope this answers your questions.