What is the difference between a 4" vane and 2" vane? Which one do you prefer? and why?

The difference is 2".Seriously, vane lenght is likeany other aspect of archery/equipment. It comes down to personal preference, and what works best for the individual.I personally use 4" vanes.

2" Blazers, QS Speed Hunters, Predators, etc. are a good choice but can cause clearance problems because of their higher profile.

I prefer Feathers, 3", 4", and even the Razr feathers on some of my arrows.

Dan

The standard used to be 4" vanes for hunting setups, but the trend the last few years has been to use Blazers (2"). Of course this almost means a drop away rest is a must, and from what I've been reading on several forums there are a fair amount of people that still have rest clearance and cable clearance issues with the Blazers.

Part of the reason they have become popular is because they weigh less than many 4" vanes. Depending on what brand you use some 4" can weigh up to 35 grains for three of them whereas Blazers weigh in at 15 grains. Also I've weighed some brands and had variances of 4 grains per vane within a pack of 50----not very good quality if you ask me.

Because of the clearance issues I'm still not sold on them. My personal preference in vanes is Duravane LP 400's. They tip my powder scale at just about 19 grains for 3 of them and have a 3/8" profile. Weight tolerances between vanes tend to be very close, too, varying only a tenth of a grain. Usually I use feathers, but I always keep a couple arrows with these vanes around just in case I might (rae) decide to hunt in a rain. That and they give me something to play with.

I just weighed both and the 4" Duravane weighs 9.1 gn and the 2" blazer weighs 5.5 gn. each,will make a difference in total arrow wt. depends on what your after. I like the 2" blazer, but have used 4" vanes with out any problems. I used to use feathers ( more forgiving)until I corrected my rest clearence problems, went to a drop away, now I can use all the above.

I use 2 inch Blazers because they seem easier to get to group better than my old 4 inch vane with broadheads. I was said before the reason we can shot them now is because of the drop away rest. We have always known higher profile vanes work best but, couldn't get them to clear the rest. Blazer, high profile vanes and the drop away rest is one ofthe best things to come along in the last 45 year that I have seen for helping good arrow flightwith broadheads.

Longer vain = slower arrow shorter vain=faster arrow vain vs. feather=$ feathers like the short vains

have less wind resistance Today is all about what you make work, and most of all look cool.

Blazers work great with a Wisker Biskit, so no, you don't need to go to a drop away. IMO since changing from 4" to Blazers I've noticed better overall grouping, and slightly less wind drift.