Carbon Arrows: A Stiff Side

[Patrick]

#5229

I use ABS Grizzly Stik’s and I was unaware until last week that they have a stiff side. Here’s a tutorial on how to find it:
http://www.alaskabowhunting.com/Webpage.aspx?WebpageId=45

I got thinking about how helpful it can be to adjust the stiffness of a given broadhead/arrow combination, without having to buy completely different arrows. If your shooting a 315 grain Ashby, you may find that you need the stiff side of the arrow opposite the riser, as it sits on your bow. If you switch to another, lighter broadhead, you may find you will want the stiff side facing eleswhere. Lots of tuning possibilities. Do all carbon shafts have this, or is it unique to Grizzly Stiks?

[David Petersen]

#39089

Patrick — Unique to Grizzstiks so far as I know. And while I do admire your inventiveness in super-tuning to the stiff side, I can’t even find the darned stiff side and so have for now given up on these otherwise superb shafts. I hear they’re coming out with a new generation with no stiff side, for club-fingered goof like me. Maybe they’ll give you a screaming deal on the remaining stiff-siders. Truly, that is a good suggestion, yet I just don’t have the touch for it and it shows in arrow flight. On the other hand, I hunted this year with WalMart el cheapo Carbon Express, straight shafts that require no stiff-side tuning. But they also don’t have that great Grizz taper and strength, and tend to split behind the head more often than cedars break off there. I have 11 months to determine a new combo for next year, and hope to heck it can be back to woodies again. But frankly the quality has plummted in recent years, in my experience, so that no matter how much you spend on woody shafts they tend to be wide-ranging in spine and weight per dozen and hard or impossible to keep straight. At some point tradition has to give way to reliability. That’s all I ask, reliability. Glad you’re happy with your Grizzstiks. ABS folks are seriously into quality. dave

[Ed Ashby]

#39140

That’s a pretty seitched-on observation Patrick. I use that tuning trick with the Grizzly Stiks too. If you want to see how much difference the stif-side orientation really makes, try bare shaft tuning some to a compound being shot by a champion shooter. It was fun to watch Wesley literally ‘shoot circles’, depending on which way we turned the stiff side! As far as I know the Grizzly Stiks are the only shafts that have a stiff side.

Ed

[sapcut]

#39171

Why would a “stiff side” be advantageous? It seems like something that is more complicated than it would be worth. Maybe that is why other brands have equal wall thickness. But then again I have only used the parallel shafts that were huge mistakes.

Richie

[Stephen Graf]

#39669

Used to be most all carbon shafts had a stiff side. The way to find it was to plug the ends of the shaft and put the shafts in the bathtub and let the arrow rotate in the water until the seam (stiff side) sank. Then put a line on the shaft with a pen. The opposite side of the line was the stiff side.

The stiff side was a result of the way shafts were made.
the carbon matrix was wrapped around a spindle then cured. The spindle was then removed. This process leaves a seam.

Newer manufacturing processes allow the fiber to be woven onto the spindle. Thus no seam and no stiff side. There are several patents relating to this process, so maybe it took ABS a while to acquire the rights to make their shafts using this method….

Dave – you keep calling carbon express cheapo’s… you are breaking my hear man… I like my Carbon Express traditional arrows…. 😕

[David Petersen]

#39901

Steve — sorry. 😮 When I say cheap I always insert WalMart. My assumption is that CE makes a whole line of shafts and those sold at WalMart are the bottom on the line or even seconds in some way. Just referring to those particular shafts (all they say is 4560) not necessarily all CE’s. They shoot great and the extra lightness is a real advantage for getting EFoC. But indeed, they split and/or break right behind the head when shooting heavy heads as I do. If they work for you, you sure don’t need my blessings. 😀 I try always to make clear that my opinions and my experience are only that and nothing more. One guy’s take, not “the way it is.” Cheers, dave

[Mark Turton]

#40016

Hi Dave

Reassuring to read your comments about wood, I thought it was only me that was unable to keep wooden arrows straight, the only consistent thing I found was the more I paid the more disappointed I was.

Mark.

[Patrick]

#40114

David Petersen wrote: Patrick — Unique to Grizzstiks so far as I know. And while I do admire your inventiveness in super-tuning to the stiff side, I can’t even find the darned stiff side and so have for now given up on these otherwise superb shafts. I hear they’re coming out with a new generation with no stiff side, for club-fingered goof like me.

When I first read about it, I was kind of irritated. I didn’t want to deal with another variable. PLUS, I figured I’d have to become some sort of “arrow whisperer” in order to find it. In practice, it was very easy and obvious, but you have me second guessing myself now though :lol:. I’m going to check again this evening! Did you check the same way the guy did in the video, when you tried them?

[David Petersen]

#40442

Patrick — uh, what video?:? dave

[Patrick]

#40472

David Petersen wrote: Patrick — uh, what video?:? dave

The video at the bottom of the page, linked above (in my first post).

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