Arthur; I tried Scotchgard fabric spray on feathers and they hold up well in rainy Rochester, NY. I do spray with a cover scent and have not had any problems, so far. This was 1st yr. trying so I will wait and see if the product seems to affect feathers over a longer time span.
ORIGINAL: Arthur P
I was constantly refletching arrows and replacing torn up, shot up vanes. Since I switched back to feathers on ALL my arrows, I have to knock cobwebs and dust off my fletching jig before I can use it. It's that long between fletching sessions now. I have found feathers to be far more durable than vanes.
The one and only advantage vanes have over feathers is they are waterproof.
Feathers are much more forgiving of rest contact. They stabilize the arrow quicker coming off the bow. They are much lighter than vanes, with means your arrows have better FOC balance AND they shoot faster over normal hunting distances. They don't have that plastic smell, which is one area of scent elimination a lot of guys don't even consider.