Im just a few days away from buying my first bow, but I cant decide which wood combo I would like to have.... I originally wanted all gray action wood, but was also thinking about bocote riser with zebra wood limbs.... Seems like every other day I change my mind.... Im wondering if there are any pros and cons between the two, like one is heavier and makes a more stable bow? Any help is appriciated......

Go with the real wood bows, they look better and if ya add some Cocobola to the bacote you will get the weight up a bit in the riser. Shawn

Don't matter,if you're like the rest of us you will want another next year anyway.  :D

First Bow?..... Try not to go nuts over it. Start with something you can afford, looks and feels good in your hand. Stay away from the tech-no-garb at this point. You'll miss out on the fun.


My 2 Cents.....  
... mike ...

Any of the combos you mention will be fine.  As Mr. Clark said you will want another one to go with it in a few months anyway.  Case in point, I got my first trad bow in December and I am already thinking of what I would like next.  This is really addictive.  Don't sweat it. Mike's advice is right on. Also, be sure you do not overbow yourself.  This is really important.

As has been stated above start with something that you can afford and is light enough that you can shoot it easily. I just started shooting traditional last year. I picked up an older 43# bear recurve for $50 and shot that until I was comfortable shooting it. Then I got a 46# Redwing recurve for $105, shot that for a while. Then I finally ordered a 56# Toelke Whip and currently shooting it as my main bow. It is addicting.

ks_jon My favorite bow is a brownaction wood riser with grey action wood limbs with a mat finish. Mike

Ponder Top
It may be true that Action wood performs better in that particular design.I do remember reading somewhere that shorter recurves performed better with action wood lams but longer limbed designs were better suited to bamboo cores.It's hard though to get any blanket statement to fit all trad bows,there seems to always be exceptions.

RH,

I too have shot the BW's and found that the action wood is much more consistent and performs better on all levels.  The bamboo cores are admitedly by Black Widow, not much different than the action wood.  They told me that the performance difference in most cases is not even measurable.  Having shot the Black Widows I would have to agree with Ponder.

Just talking riser woods here.

Actionwood is noticably lighter in physical weight then the common exotic woods used in a riser.  (Actionwood is laminated birch or maple)  Dymondwood on the other hand is much heavier and denser then actionwood and a little more heavy then the heaviest exotics like cocobolo.  (Dymondwood is compressed under a lot of pressure making it much denser.)

A dymondwood handle and some exotics are around 3-4oz. heavier in a standard longbow handle compared to actionwood. I use a lot of Actionwood and I really like it. I have had a lot of natural woods and even some dymondwood blocks crack on me, I have never had a problem with actionwood.

It depends a lot on the kind of feel you like in the riser. My Kanatis are both dymondwood and I love it. As Jason said, it adds about a quarter pound for a total of about a pound and a quarter vs. one pound with actionwood. My son's Kanati has an actionwood riser and it is one of the best shooting bows I have ever shot.

I don't think you could go wrong with either. I think either of the laminates are more stable than natural woods and I think they are just as good looking. If you like the gray, take a look at the bow Jason is featuring on his website with the gray dymondwood riser and camo limbs with amberboo core. It is almost as nice as my walnut dymondwood, camo limb with amberboo core Kanati...almost.    

I spent about an hour and a half shooting both Kanatis tonight. I was fine tuning the nocks on the new one to get it dialed in to shoot to the same point as the 46# with 1916's. At 9.3 grains per pound of draw, the 52# Kanati just flat smokes these arrows! At fifteen yards, I can't even see them fly. I just release and they are on the target. I always thought the 46# was fast for its draw weight, but this new one is scary fast! I have to get back to over 20 yards to see the arrows in flight.

Sorry for the hijack, but I am just so pumped about this new Kanati!