I shoot Gold tip hunters for many reasons. One being I have only ever damaged one (except for being hit by other arrows during practice) I had a bad shot at a 3-d shoot and hit the rebarb in a mulies leg. I would like to have a good excuse for that one but I am not sure what happened. In my experiences with them you will lose them before you break them. They are very affordable I get a dozen for $55 at my local pro shop. Fletched nocked inserts and practice tips ready to go. You can' t beat that, less than 5 bucks each. They also have lock nocks which is great makes tuning your arrow a breeze. Expecially if you get a different rest. You can fine tune them in seconds. I shoot a wisker biscuit and I use a 2 degree offset on the fletching and I couldn' t be more happy with the gold tips!!!!

I shoot carbons because alluminums SUCK![>:]

Aluminum XX75 2314' s because they hit where I aim and blow through what
I shoot at. Am not fond of carbon' s for hunting.

Why do I shoot Aluminums? Because they fly great and require very little or no tuning when I screw on my broadheads. I shoot XX78' s 2314' s easton super slams. My bow is alot quieter also when I shoot the aluminums. I also think those people that bend aluminums are hitting things they shouldnt such as rocks, stumps, and trees. Solution-practice, practice. I been shooting XX78' s for many years and havent bent one yet. So if you are bending your arrows (aluminum) you need to practice shot placement.
1. complete pass throughs
2. very little tuning or no tuning with broadheads
3. bow is quieter
4. easier on limbs

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Carbons for me (shot Aluminum for about 15 years then went to carbons...will NEVER go back)
Once you find the right spine, the carbons are tougher, and you can get carbons with VERY tight tolerances (sp?)
ALL else being equal (diameter/weight/speed/spine/head/length...anything else you want to add...) a carbon will penetrate BETTER than aluminum as they don' t oscillate as much (or as long...basically have built in damping)...this is also a BIG aid to accuracy when shooting broadheads at high speeds.
Not everyone can shoot 5 spot targets all the time (at hunting camp we only have 2 targets for 4 guys....you pick 1 spot to shoot) when shooting more than 2-3 arrows into a group, your GONNA hit some arrows together. I got sick of buying new aluminums all the time due to dents in the sides from other arrows...now I don' t have to.
MOST of the nocks agains' t carbon are NOT agains' t carbon proper...but agains' t light weight (broadhead tuning, KE or pass throughs, quietness, easy on limbs etc).
Can' t tune a noisy bow with carbons? Add some wieght.

Navy where are you dropping your bow from, a cliff?[] If you dropped a bow hard enough to bend all the arrows in your quiver I am sure your bow would suffer as well.[X(]

Shoot what you wish, for the reasons you wish, but don' t trash another mans treasure.

Aluminum. Reason one-I have always shot aluminum and ther is no point in changing.

I am staying with aluminum for three prime reasons-our local 3-d courses are littered with shattered and broken carbon arrows of all makes, models, and sizes but no broken aluminum. A partner bought a half dozen Easton Carbons [correctly sized and spined] before the newness wore out one splintered as it came off the bow and one split as it hit the target.

I have broken and damaged many aluminum arrows in 40 years but over all these are miniscule in number.

I am not slamming carbons . . . there are many out there who have not had similar experiences and are very well pleased . . . these are MY REASONS for shooting aluminum and not changing to carbons.

I started out with aluminums but now I shoot carbons. I love them for the durability, don' t have to check them all the time for bends and dents.

I am shooting Blackhawk Camo 426 grains for Deer and Turkey.

XX78 2314' s for me. I was surprised at how much quieter my bow became, when I made the switch from carbons. I willingly gave up some fps for the " shootability" of the XX78' s.