# Feathers or plastic fletching?



## Kungur (May 3, 2009)

So as I head over to Lancaster to get my bow!! and other items for my 'kit" I am buying my arrows with the advice of a coach from a local club. I am going with the Easton XX75. The guys at Lancaster said they would make them up while I am there. But he did ask a question. Feathers or plastic?
So what are the pro & cons?
Thanks


----------



## OldSchoolNEO (May 11, 2009)

In general for target...
Plastic for outdoor feathers for indoor.
What distance are you shooting?
If you are shooting indoor and up to 30M I would go with the feathers.
If you plan on shooting 50M-90M then go with plastic as the feathers will never reach out to the long distances, too much drag.
HTH
Good luck with the new rig!
Let me know when you want to meet up at Punderson to shoot.


----------



## Radman (Sep 19, 2003)

Indoor feathers, Outdoor plastic. The plus for feathers is that they do a geaat job of stabilizing an arrow. The minus for feathers is they create to much drag for easy long distance shooting, and they get wet and lay down when it is raining. A bare shaft at 90 meters is a bad thing.
Plastic will stabilize the arrow, just not as quick as a feather (less drag). Less drag is a good thing at long distance IE 50 meters and up. Plastic dosn't lay down when it gets wet in the rain.


----------



## Mulcade (Aug 31, 2007)

If you're going to (or even thinking about) do them both, go with plastic. They tend to be more durable than feathers and you can always refletch some arrows with feathers down the road if you become so inclined.


----------



## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

plastic vanes. cheaper, more durable, don't fray like feathers, no issues with moisture. the only time I use feathers is for my trad bows shot off the shelf.


----------



## Welshman (Oct 5, 2002)

I fletched 3 of my arrows with 1.5" feathers a few years back and they were more accurate (on average) than the Kurly Vanes I had on the rest of my arrows.
The only problem I found was that the feather bases had to be sanded equally to lay on those thin arrow shafts identically and there WAS a loss of around 5-7 increments on the sight at 90 meters. But WOW! did they fly NICE!

I didn't go on with it because of all the work going in to fletching those things. As far as rain, there's plenty of sprays and powders for feathers that laugh at the rain. 

My $.02


----------



## Not Sure (May 25, 2007)

Welshman said:


> I fletched 3 of my arrows with 1.5" feathers a few years back and they were more accurate (on average) than the Kurly Vanes I had on the rest of my arrows. (...)


that's odd, w/ Kurly (not Spin Wings which I now like more than the pretty Kurly Vanes) flew better than 1 3/4" feathers at 30 and 40 yards a couple years ago. Now I'm a better shooter but I still stand by mylar vanes over feathers. 

The only thing I give feathers over mylar ( i.e., mylar, curled fletch that attaches w/ a double sided tape) is that feathers are very very slightly more forgiving of a bad arrow tune (and/or bad release) and are more durable if you get pass-throughs, shoot through the clicker and just general arrows hitting near each other.

If you are just beginning feathers vs. plastic just doesn't matter. If you are looking for longevity and consistency I haven't found anything better than Flex-Fletch FFP-187: http://www.flexfletch.com/Flex-Fletch Vanes.htm.

It has low profile and is sooo tough! Plus it looks cool and has all sorts of cool colors including clear: http://www.flexfletch.com/Flex-Fletch Vanes.htm


As far as sheer accuracy, I give my thumbs up to mylar vanes over feathers indoors and outdoors. If higher scores are what you want, go mylar. If you don't want to re-fletch as often and have or have an inconsistent release use feathers (indoors only). Flex-fletch beats feathers for durability.


----------

