Hello all, just curious others knowledge and experiences on micarta risers vs wood (single piece of exotic hardwood) risers on longbows. Does the added weight of micarta "soak up" handshock? Or vibrate more? No effect? Does the bow have a different sound, in your opinion? Thanks for your thoughts!

I have a 1/2 phenolic riser and think it feels deader and more quiet than a similar one with good weight but metal.  Most likely I'll swap the metal riser one day or maybe a Bear TD with wood/phenolic.
My tiller is maybe on the fat side of 1/8", and I played with it a good bit until I settled on where it's at; both bow tillers are identical and close to what any split tillered bow is made at.

Heavier will absorb more limb vibration, which should also make it quieter.  Whether the effects are large enough to be noticeable, however, is debatable. Limb design and tiller (or lack of proper tiller) can have a greater effect on hand shock and noise.

The Toelkes use micarta in most of their risers, so I would guess they contribute to the performance and lack of noise.  Both of my Whips have micarta risers and are completely dead in the hand and pretty darn close to silent. 

Bow material matters far less than bow/limb design.

I have owned a number of Dan Toelke's bows with both Micarta and Wood risers. I've noticed no difference, they've all been dead in the hand and quiet.

Quote from: Jim Wright on December 28, 2025, 07:28:14 AMI have owned a number of Dan Toelke's bows with both Micarta and Wood risers. I've noticed no difference, they've all been dead in the hand and quiet.

Same here. At one point I had two Whips, one with micarta and one with a wood riser. No difference in noise (or lack thereof) or hand shock (none). The only difference was in overall mass weight, and that was negligible - about 4 ounces.

I happen to have three Chinooks with basically the same parameters, one with a wooden split grip and the other two with Micarta. The wooden one vibrates noticeably more than the Micarta one, but both are within an acceptable range.FROM left to right  56" 30#26"   58" 35#28"   60" 45#28"

Funny this subject came up when it did. Just last night I was on the phone with Dan going over my Chinook order. The only decision I had any uncertainties about was riser material. After our discussion I felt comfortable with my decision to go with Cocobola. He has a way of making both material aesthetically pleasing! Now the wait:campfire:

Recently received a new Black Widow with the mycarta or phenolic or whatever they call their composite riser and couldn't be happier. Best BW yet!