I'm thinking of trying these, heard good things about them as far as toughness,etc. I'm wondering about the wood grain finish. I've shot Beman Centershot and 3R Trads, both good except the finish begins to wear at the point end, and they are black underneath anyway. Is Gold Tip's finish better than Beman's? If not, I'll probably just stick with a black shaft. Thanks!

I shoot GT blems from Big Jim--have been using them a long time without the finish wearing off. I started buying them back when John had the company under the Sipsey River name--so it's been a while.  They are the only carbons I have ever shot and I'm totally pleased with them.

i like them too but i hate their nocks.  had to many break and don't know why

I've used them for years and had no problem with the wood grain wearing off. Occasionally, if I remove old feathers and use solvent to remove whatever glue I can't scrape off, the solvent will remove the printing, but not the wood grain finish.  So if you use both 3555's and 5575's, you might need to mark the arrow so you don't get it mixed up with another type.

I've had a shaft fracture underneath the wood grain finish with no visible evidence on the surface, so flex often after questionable impacts.

QuoteOriginally posted by McDave:
I've used them for years and had no problem with the wood grain wearing off. Occasionally, if I remove old feathers and use solvent to remove whatever glue I can't scrape off, the solvent will remove the printing, but not the wood grain finish.  So if you use both 3555's and 5575's, you might need to mark the arrow so you don't get it mixed up with another type.

I've had a shaft fracture underneath the wood grain finish with no visible evidence on the surface, so flex often after questionable impacts.

Good advice on flexing. I've been shooting for 19 years and the only arrow I've ever had "blow up" was a GT Trad. You can't count on seeing the fracture with that finish, so flex.

My sons shoot them in their traditional bows.  They are very durable and the finish seems better to me than the Bemans for sure.  With  a wild impact or two it will come off....    but....they are the best I have personally tried.

I've been having a lot better luck with the nocks lately, but yeah first couple dozen I bought, the nocks sucked

I have noticed the GT Trads are not quite as stiff as the corresponding GT blacks. If you are in the middle of the spine range, you may not notice it. If your point weight is up toward the top of the spine range, the Trads may check out a little weak. I had to take 1/2 " off the GT3555 Trad length to get the same dynamic spine as the GT3555 blacks.

I like them

Gold Tip Arrows are all I care to shoot, never had any reason to look elsewhere. As far as the regular traditional and the traditional blems, there is no difference. The traditional arrows have more GPI than the black GT arrows. The finish on the GT traditional arrows is there to stay, it's not coming off with normal use.

only carbons i have ever shot at GT trads. I really like them so never tried anything else. never had a problem with finish coming off even after finding them in the woods behind my home shooting range a year after lossing them.

So what does it show when you flex it?

If its cracked you will hear/feel it when flexed.

GT Trads are the best. I switched to 3rivers trads for a while but I'm glad I switched back. I got mine from big jim.

Also had not had a problem with the finish. The trads are a higher gpi.

Found one yesterday that had been hiding under the grass, in the back yard, for about a year and a half. Broadhead was rusty and except for the quills, the feathers had disappeared; but, the shaft was still intact and the finish was unscathed.

Love mine.

Save you some money and buy Big Jim's Blems.  Great arrows, and the finish does not wear off under general use.  If the finish is off, chances are the arrows showing signs of splintering.

Gt's are the only arrows I shoot very durable. The black I get on the tips are from black 3d targets, but that comes off with acetone. I don't like the gt nocks so I use Easton super nocks.

The finish is great. Very durable. However if you use full length arrows, you may notice that they aren't cut very precisely from one arrow to the next. At least my last dozen 1535 wasn't that precise. You may want to cut the full length shaft short by a hair.

Thanks people! It sounds like I can use Easton Super nocks instead. The Super 3D nock is my favorite nock anyway, awesome!