TurkeyStalker

which one do you prefer and why?

ijimmy

feathers , do a search , this has been beaten to death

BobCo19-65

On my compound, I prefer vanes. Vanes are a bit more quiet and do not soak in moisture. They are also a bit more durable when going through brush.

On my longbows and recurves, feathers of course.

mobow

Yes, this has been killed repeatedly in here, but who cares? If you would have asked me this a month ago, my answer would have been a resounding "Feathers". BUT, I recently tried the new Blazer vane, and that's now my fletching of choice.
To sum this up, if you don't want to shoot the Blazers, stick with feathers.

D.Parsons

I have not shot the blazer vanes but have shot feathers and other vanes.
My brother and I did a experment onetime.I stood around the corner of the house and had my brother shoot 1 feather and 1 vane by me.You can
hear the feather comming and going but not the vane!If you have a safe place to try this do It yourself!!

BF1947

30 years ago I shot feathers. Then I started using vanes for a few years. About 1980 I went back to feathers till just this past summer. I took a second look at vanes. For a lot of them the quality sucks. THe weights vary quite a bit. I did find a few that are decent, but they aren't what you see on most fletched arrows. I like Duravanes OK, but due to some special considerations I have to use the Low Profile $' on my hunting arrows. These were very consistant in weight.

My 3D arrows WERE sporting 1 1/2" Quickspins. They checked out pretty good also. In fact I knocked one off an arrow and continued to shoot it with only 2 vanes on it. It shot well.

I'm fletching up some new 3D arrows as of this writing. They are getting feathers on them again. No particular reason other than they are lighter. This allows for higher initial launch. FOC is better also which often aids in downrange accuracy. They can be torn, shredded and otherwise beat to hell and still work well because they don't weigh enough to upset the flight of the arrow if missing. The fact is I have in the past shot 3D shoots with an arrow that had only one feather on it, and bare shafts once in a while; this just to prove that tuning is important.

So, I guess I can go either way for 3D. For hunting I prefer the extra guidance of feathers. Yeh, I know they can get wet and lay down, but then a well tuned bow/arrow combodoesn't need much help other than the shooter to do his best.

Straightarrow

A vane is quiet until you get a nick in one. It is fast if you are shooting long distances (hunters do not). It is slower at close range. It is durable when hitting brush, but deflects much more when it does. A vane will lower FOC, which is not good for broadhead flight.

I often use vanes for 3D, but when hunting I use feathers with a helical twist.

ijimmy

A feather will lay down when wet , but run a hair dryer over it and its as good as or better than new . When a vane gets wrinkeled thats it , done , I never could get them straight after that , the heat just shrinks um . For me feathers have allways been far more durable .They make fletch dry to keep them dry and if that doesnt work its raining too hard to hunt anyway , allso a ziplock over the feathers works

jmac_or

I use feathers for hunting and indoor. I may switch to feathers for 3D this year as well. They are more durable than vanes when hit and, when coated with the Gateway powder or other substitute, they handle all but the greatest downpour well. I did hunt in the rain this year and they were fine. I also shot in indoor, 2 arrow/target league for the last few years. I never re-fletched any of my 6 arrows for the entire 13 week league, while my team-mates shooting vanes re-fletched several times. They do shoot broadheads beautifully. Try them.

JMAC

PABowhntr

I think an argument can be made for either choice. Personally I have always preferred vanes. Less maintenance and more durable for the type of setup I normally utilize.