I have shot just about every type of limbcore out there, and I always come back to bamboo or natural limb cores. I can appreciate the speed and durability of foam and carbon, but LOVE the forgiving feeling of natural cores.
I have two sets of identical zipper limbs, both #58@28 60''. Both bocote veneers and red micarta tips. One set Foam core, one set Bamboo. They bareshaft the same arrow, yet the bamboo core just feels "better".
I'm with you......bamboo may not be the best, but it feels good to me! I had a set of foam core limbs for a while.....sold 'em!
I only have one experience with foam core limbs. To me they were more noiser and felt more harsh. I could not see any difference in performance. Sold them.
I'm a wood core guy :)
There is probably a technical reason to choose foam over bamboo but I can only go by feel and for me wood and bamboo just feel better.
Love bamboo and yew for limbs.
I think the foam is suppose to be lighter therefore quicker recovery of limbs with less felt hand shock...
I prefer bamboo...but only half my bows have bamboo..the rest primarily have maple lams except of course the selfbows.
I never quite got over the strange flimsiness the limb tips seem to have with foam cores and carbon. If you stand the bow on the ground (with tip protector of course) and push even slightly the opposite nock flexes dramatically compared to wood cores. I'm sure that doesn't effect the functionality of the bow, but I found it's physical properties just strange. They are two different animals all together.
Not to hijack your thread Zippercurve, but my question of limb cores would be actionboo versus bamboo cores. I've got a bow coming that the bowyer uses actionboo exclusively in all his bows. My understanding is that actionboo is a laminate and is considered a great core material, but I wonder if being a laminate makes it susceptable to delaminating more than actual bamboo and since it has more glue lines if it is considered stiffer/faster than natural bamboo?
I can take replies as a PM if too far off topic of original post.
~CB
I like bamboo and walnut cores. Foam is OK when it is the only core option and doesn't "feel" different.
with foam core weather conditions dont affect limb performance. same true for carbon but i say shoot what you like and are happy with thats why bows come in all shapes and sizes. most of us wont notice performance changes in most hunting situations.
I've been shooting the same set of Winex foam core limbs on my DAS riser for 7 years. Never shot a better bow. And they are the quietest recurve limb I have ever "heard".
No, Ill choose boo any day. Had foam and, ehhhhhhh.
tried the foam cores, did not like the sound of them or the feel, prefer wood cores, my Quest has custom wenge cores and is so smooth and fast,my Blacktail is bamboo cores, same story, and my Schafers have Dave's standerd core material, not sure on the wood but same story, smooth and plenty fast. My only longbow is a Cari-bow SLynx with bamboo cores and I love that bow also, same smoothness and very quick.
Maintain your mental soundness while allowing your definitive personal experience guide you.
my dryad epics with the bamboo core are so so smooth, love the feel of those limbs. Yew is also pretty nice
I love the smooth draw of the bamboo core.
I like walnut or red elm better than either foam or bamboo, myself.
I shot a very smooth feeling recurve recently. It was a near twin to another the guy had which I knew had bamboo cores. I was surprise when I looked and it was all bocote. I had assumed it was just veneers. They are both 49# and they both read the same on the chrono.
I've heard talk that some of the top Korean target shooters, who shoot thousands of arrows per year, are going back to wood cores. Don't know that to be the truth however.
Are you crazy? Now that's an all together different question. :D
I've had several foam or carbon cored bows, did not keep any of them. Just did not like them as well as wood core bows.
Some folks like the foam, some don't. Just like recurve to longbow.
Personally, I'll take natural materials in my cores. Shot the foam after giving it a consider and wasn't impressed enough to spend the $$$ for it.
Troy
Our #1 guy at the Olympics shoots wood cores! Or at least did, not sure what he is running now.
I prefer a good trad bow over a compound. Am I crazy?
We get to shoot whatever we want. How good is that? :archer2:
Own my first foam/carbon limbed bow.....wish I would have stuck with boo. Can't get used to the noise compared to my other wood core bows. But still tweaking and hopeful things will quiet down a little!! The bow is quick and accurate however, like I have never shot before! So there is a pay-off!
Boo and Yew for me too................
This is a good thread since I am about to put an ILF rig together and was wanting the carbon foam limbs. It appears there are more negative comments, which has me reconsidering.
... do they even make limb cores with materials other than yew ?
QuoteOriginally posted by Rick Wiltshire:
Love bamboo and yew for limbs.
X2!
I just finished a stringfollow longbow for a friend and at his request used sassafras as the wood core. I have to say I was impressed. The next one I make for myself will have sassafras as well.
I also prefer the bamboo because of the feel of the bow. I believe that my bows shoot plenty fast and smooth for me. I am not worried about obtaining higher speed out of my bows. I like a bow that is smooth in drawing quiet and stable when the arrow is released. Just an old timers opinion. Different opinions are what makes the world go around.
I had some foam limbs in a bow last year; it wasn't all that. I mean it was fine; but I prefer bamboo or a wood core. Bamboo carbon sandwich is hard to beat!
How would you describe carbon vs. bamboo? Or wood? I have never used a carbon limb but have fallen in love with Legends Mountain Bow...And will own one asap (Damn finances anyway lol)
I have tried foam and did not like them. I prefer bamboo. JMHO
"Glass Powered hard rock maple"
Boo
Other woods
Shoot what you like and like what you shoot!
QuoteOriginally posted by shirikahn:
How would you describe carbon vs. bamboo? Or wood? I have never used a carbon limb but have fallen in love with Legends Mountain Bow...And will own one asap (Damn finances anyway lol)
have TT carbon/wood limbs and I think they feel pretty nice. But if I didnt get them used for $120 I wouldnt own them. Most likly would just got wood cores since most of my wood core feel just as smooth if not more then the carbons. This is my only experience with carbons though. Here it depends on where they put the carbon
I love Yew and real happy with the Bamboo core in my Fedora. Red Elm isn't too bad either. Not a big fan of ILF and foam/carbon.
I've never really liked the feel of bamboo cores in a longbow and prefer maple, elm or yew.
I've had a few carbon/foam limbed bows. Not sure if it is the carbon or the foam but they were definitely louder than the same model bow with boo cores and I didn't really notice any performance difference. I like the boo cores.
I prefer maple over foam in my longbow limbs.
We have used a lot of Bamboo over the years, and it is a smooth draw material.About 3 fps slower than Maple or foam cores.In hot humid areas, bamboo is the worst for drawing moisture and coming apart, any wood core is next. Foam cores have pretty much eleminate this problem. Foam cores with Fiberglass with cat whiskers is one of the quietest limbs I've shot. Carbon is or should be used more for the stability than for speed, we only gain 2-4 fps with foam. Our Max1 limbs can only be made with carbon, fiberglass is just not stable enough for our limb design.
If a bow shoots good for you, core material should not matter. To buy a bow or not by a bow based on core material is not the best idea. More important issues in buying a bow I think.
Kirk at BIg Foot built me a bow not long ago. I told him I wanted it built for speed, smoothness of draw and to be 48lbs. at 29-1/2". I told him I don't want to second quess myself later and wonder if I could have picked up a FPS with this option or that. So we came up with a 64" TD with triple carbon, foam cores and no veneers.
This bow draws smooth as silk..not one iota of stack or change in felt poundage from 7" to 8" brace height to as far as I've pulled it...29-1/2". Like others have posted, the limbs are louder and I will see what I can do about damping them down next wk. The bow shoots so fast I'm not really concerned about it. Shoots good also..this was my first session with it at about 20yds. So I guess I'm a foam core guy.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/Big%20Foot/FirstSession.jpg)
I like wood. Red elm and maple. Bob
I am yet to shoot a bow with foam cores or carbon but I have one on it's way, a 60" Sasquatch Take down 60#@27" triple carbon & foam cores but I opted for thin Bocote veneers under thin clear glass as I prefer the look of wood to carbon. I will let you know what I think. As far as noise goes I think it is only common sense that a heavier more dense material would absorb more vibration or shock which would reduce noise in most cases.
We've used fiberglass for a long time now, but the rest of the bow was wood or bamboo, so they just seemed to keep a close kinship with the selfbows that started it all. With beauty and personality.
Now with bows of carbon, foam cores, and metal risers they have become siblings with compounds, and tools of zero warmth or beauty. They can be very efficient tools I'll admit, but still a just a tool.
I give me carbon/boo.Best of both worlds IMO.Been shooting a carbon/boo bow in sweaty Va. for the past 4 years w/ no issues(knock on wood.LOL).
I also love my Bamboo cores over foam. What i did notice is that Sky Archery's top ilf limbs have maple cores with carbon not foam.
bamboo cores, maple cores, foam cores, I've had them all, some carbon and foam cores have a different sound, but I wouldn't say that they are louder. myself, I listen to what the bowyer says (whomever that may be) if he says bamboo works best in his limbs, that's what I go with, if he says foam, thats what I go with. what can I say...I just love that new bow smell, whatever the limbs are made of :D
My best limbs to date a set of Winnex carbon foams with a 21" DAS ILF riser. Smooth, fairly fast and quiet.
Ahhhhh, False?! :dunno:
I here great things about sammick BF extremes, That is the one limb I want to buy extremely bad and will eventualy. shoul dbe to heard to quiet the bow up if its louder. my carbon woods were real loud. added a felt pads where the string touches the limb and put 4 cat whiskers on it fallowing a youtube vid and the loud is the most quiet one I own now. Everyone says teh feel of the BF's is awsome and seems like all reviews are positive. Just need the cash to find out myself :)
Let me get this straight...A carbon and foam bow's momma or daddy is a compound, but if a fiberglass bow has wood or bamboo...they real close kin to a selfbow.
One of the things I like about this forum..always learning new stuff.
Hoyt...thanks for repeating the pure, unadulterated truthful facts as they were typed in my earlier post.
Genealogy is powerful stuff! Bow genealogy just as important.
I just got a new to me "used" zipper recurve with foam cores and love it.
"Now with bows of carbon, foam cores, and metal risers they have become siblings with compounds, and tools of zero warmth or beauty. They can be very efficient tools I'll admit, but still a just a tool."
I don't know if I would call this just a tool?
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd377/0419falcon/Sasquatch/SANY0037.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd377/0419falcon/Sasquatch/SANY0024.jpg)
Sant-Ravenhill..seems like a lot of trouble just to put down carbon and foam while shooting a bow with fiberglass in it.
Lyonel, looks like lots of beautiful wood in that bow. From the riser to the veneers.
Hoyt, not putting down any bows. Just having fun.
But, carbon, foam, and metal risered bows, as I said before, can be very efficient, they just have zero warmth or beauty.
I'm not good enough to tell the difference. I like to shoot any bow. I had an old all fiberglass Bear fox ( something like that) in my compound days and I traded it for a case of beer. I loved that thing. But alas my young mind and party hunting instincts won that battle
Win & Win foam core Recurve ILF limbs are impressive. Super quite, fast, and very durable. Durable is especially important for me, given how rough I treat my equipment.