Most on here know that I've been shooting feathers for the better part of two decades... In my mind, they've always looked way better than any other fletching I've ever adorned my shafts with (and I've tried 'em all), served to separate me from most run-of-the-mill hunters who happen to pick up a bow (notice I didn't say bowhunter
), and the intagible benefits are fantastic (fletching contact becomes less of an issue, greater FOC is instantly acheived, etc).
The only downfall for me over that time period has been price. When it comes to feathers, there's two major players in the industry: Gateway and TruFlight. (For a great discussion on both, click
here. If you peruse that thread, you'll see that the majority of those of us who shoot feathers have come to the same conclusion I did: TruFlight Feathers are a cut above.
My color of choice for most of these years has been natural barred, in 4" right wing parabolic. The last place I purchased those from, 3Rivers Archery, sells 100 of those for $60.25 plus shipping charges of $9.25. That amounts to 70 cents a feather. Like I said, shooting feathers always bordered on the expensive side!
Because of this expense, I've been on the lookout for a while... I've been a loyal customer of MeanVarchery for many years now, and when I found out that they were carrying feathers this year, I decided to give them a shot. MeanV sells its feathers for $13.50 for a pack of 36 -- and that includes shipping. If you do the quick math, that's 38 cents a feather -- darn near HALF as much as my beloved TruFlights. This was worth investigating.
Here's a handful of feathers from both companies laid out side by side; the TruFlights are on the left. You'll notice some distinct differences, aesthetically: They have a duller background, while the ones from MeanVarchery are white-white, and the bars are "broader" as well. I actually like this, as it conforms to my "open-camo concept" way of thinking. While TruFlight's barred feathers look good up close, the bars from the MeanV feather don't melt into each other at a distance. It's also easier to track the brilliant white background while in flight.
After 30 minutes of scrutinizing the bases on feathers from both companies, I was pleasantly suprised to find absolutely no discernible differences in uniformity and consistency whatsoever. I went so far as to pull all 36 feathers out of my shipment from MeanV Archery and inspect each and every one of them; they were all flawless, down to the last feather.
This is the base on a TruFlight...
And the same on the MeanV...
If anything, the bases may have been a touch thicker on the offering from MeanV, but absolutely consistent on each and every feather.
Here's how they end up looking compared side by side with each other...
I have to say that I'm well-pleased with the quality of these feathers... and at nearly half the price, I might be able to afford to keep shooting feathers for another couple decades!