The FOC is way forward but you can' t argue with results. By all rights if the compound guys at the archery shop were right these arrows shouldn' t shoot worth a darn, but they do. THey shoot great. I went out yesterday and did a pretty extensive test using the wieghted goldtips, 2018 aluminums, and Tapered cedars. My first test was a deflection off brush test. To do this I shot thru several bushes and branches to test how they reacted. THe goldtips were by far the best at resuming thier original course after hitting an abstruction, followed by the 2018s with the tapered cedards a decided last place finisher. It seems all that weight up front would pull an arrow thru brush better and stay on course better. I shot in a fairly open area to see if wind was a big factor as some have mentioned. There wasn' t much of a breeze but it didn' t seem to affect the goldtips any more than the aluminums or the woods. Finally I checked overall drop at longer ranges to see if the carbons were more efficient. THe carbons were the heaviest by 30grs followed by the 2018s and then the tapered cedars 50gr lighter than the carbons. The carbons consistantly hit 10-12" higher at 40 yards than the 2018s or the tapered cedars. I know that is a pretty hard one to test accurately but I shot several arrows and took an average to get that result. I used the arrow tip as a site and aimed it every time at a dot on a bag target and marked where the arrows hit above it. From this I gather that the carbons are being more effeicent and holding thier energy longer than the cedars or aluminums. I' m waiting until a day with some wind to test the effects of wind on them.