JeffB

I think so.....

Spent some time with CarbonTech shafts on the spine/straightness toy at the shop today. I did a little testing with them last fall before hanging my bow up for awhile...and my shop owner has kept me in the loop about the ongoing QC levels of these shafts as they brought them in to replace the Carbon Express line as their main all-carbon shaft.

Today I grabbed a bunch of bare shafts from bulk packs randomly and threw em on the apparatus....

I tested Cheetahs, and Whitetails....

every single one (even from different bulk packs) was under their advertised spine variance tolerance, which is .010..most were in the .007-.008 range. Not only that, the SAS (spine around shaft) was also extremely consistent with no glaring high or weak spine sides.

For comparison's sake...most Carbon express Arrows have a variance about one and half to twice the CarbonTech's, and are fairly consistent in SAS. Easton/Beman All carbons generally somewhere between the CT and the CX, and GoldTips are in the .030-.040 range (which is a huge variance).... in addition GoldTips always show extremes in SAS (having an extremely stiff/weak side). To further the comparison, the CT's are spining basically as tight as Easton A/C & XX technology!

I should also note that spines were basically identical in shafts from arrow to arrow and bulk pack to bulk pack. I've never seen tighter in a IC type all-carbon shaft.

Now here's the part that really floored me...

I then went on to start checking straightness....I was getting readings of .002 to .004 TIR. Which would throw some of them out of the tolerance listed for the XP (straightest) grade shafts (which is +/- .0015..i.e. .003 TIR)... Although I was not upset as those are plenty straight arrows, I got to looking at the shafts and realized.....they were NOT the XP series...instead all of the shafts I had grabbed were the "lower" grade CarbonTech shafts which have an advertised tolerance of .005 (.010 TIR)!

So I grabbed some more randomly...same thing....NOT ONE shaft showed a TIR over .006 which IME is absolutely unseen for an arrow of "lower grade" straightness. 90% of them were in that .002-.004 range TIR.

I did not measure any weight tolerances unfortunately ( I was quite excited and forgot, LOL), however my friend who runs the shop assured me weight variance was also quite good.

Guess what I'll be shooting this year? .....when I get around to shooting again that is...

I can't even see myself spending the extra $30 on the higher grade XP shafts now (which is what I planned on doing). With some trimming from both ends, I don't see why I cannot end up with a majority of .001 to .002 TIR shafts at my 28"-ish arrow length

The only negative things my shop owner had to relate was they are a bit harder to get in massive quanties (as a dealer) and that the Cheetah's are not terribly durable..however for such a light thin walled shaft, that is to be expected.

SIDE NOTE: messed around with some A/C superslims too..typical A/C technology...no worries as far as tolerances go..I would prefer a unibushing of some sort and g-nock as opposed to the X-nock system from a durability standpoint..and I'm not fond of the HIT system since it is non adjustable during and after installation. But the tolerances are tight.

buckeye

So, you are saying they are a higher quality shaft then the hunter pros?

Does carbon tech make any line cutter style shafts?

Thanks for the indepth post. Great info!

IL Rancher

I think the CarbonTech Hippo is a large OD shaft. Not sure how it compares to the others.

JeffB

Hey Buckeye

Absolutely as far as tolerances go. Spine variance is no contest....007 vs. .030? The Pro Hunters are pretty darn straight, but they often have some fall out of tolerance into the same range as the "cheap" CarbonTechs. I can only imagine the XP series CarbonTechs are incredibly straight. They may not share the durability of GoldTips. I haven't shot them enough to say. I did buy a 1/2 doz of the Whitetails last OCT and shot them several times with no glaring issues before selling them along with one of my bows. The Cheetahs I'm sure would not have the durability. Goldtip uses a higher proportion of resin (glue) vs. carbon fiber compared to most companies. This is what makes them so resilient. This also makes them have more variance in things such as spine.

Yes they do, it's called the Hippo. I have not seen/nor tested them, but I wouldn't hesitate to try some myself after foolin w/ the standard CT shafts.

You can download the catalog at www.carbontecharrows.com and get all the specs (can buy direct as well, but they can be had for less at places like a dealer or www.mtnarchery.com

buckeye

Thanks Jeff!

I am going to check them out now

bakerwonderhound

I had just talked myself into trying some Gold Tips, now you have me wondering.

jmac_or

I know they are durable. A guy at the shop only shoots these arrows. He shot one out of an 84# Hoyt Ultratec straight into a cinder block. They had to pry it out of the block, and it only had a little crack at the end. They are very tough shafts.
JMAC

ewolf

JeffB, I don't really know you but I hate you. Giving away all of my secrets.I shoot cheetehs for targets and love them. I talked to the owner when I first bought arrows directly from him. He says it is pretty simple, all you have to do is slow down the machine to make better arrows. I can say this much as well, them suckers are tough. They will take a beating.

Cougar Mag

Thanks for the report Jeff. Still I am going to use the Beman Max-4 carbons this season. Little more weight, straighter(.003) than the Easton Axis, and I have no qualms with the HIT system.

JOE PA

Thanks very much, Jeff! Great to see the "Arrow Guru" back in business.

Thanks for all of the great advice you have given me and others. Hope things are coming around for you.