What do you guys prefer?  And what are advantages of each?

I'm interested in this to Coach, I shoot 3 five inch feathers with a slight right wing helic. They fly fine, but, I've wondered if the smaller 4 inch might give a little more clearence in the quiver  

I use 5 3/8" banana feathers, and get great flight from them.  My results show that more feather straightens out the arrow quicker and gives me better flight.  I have shot shorter shield cut feathers, and I do notice a difference in flight.  I prefer the longer.

4" less noise less stable.

5" more noise more stable.

Agree with tenbrook

Some of the influences regarding this decision include:
1. What looks best to you?
2. Can you find the style you like in 4 or 5"?
3. Is your arrow long?
4. How well is your arrow/broadhead tuned to your bow and your form?

For me form is first, then tuning. Then, because I have a 26" draw and shoot 28" arrows I like 4" fletch.  

My son's form is terrific, his arrows are well-tuned but they are 29" arrows and he likes the looks of 5" fletch on his arrows and he wants shield cut and they aren't available in 4" lengths from our preferred arrow supplier.

You can reduce the height of the 5" ; to equal the noise of the 4s... Though I've not ever noticed a huge difference.

Besides, the critter knows it's coming either way....

Which one do you prefer to see; is about where it comes down to.

Tournaments 4"  Were legal 3" or kurly vans

Hunting 5"

Small game large bananas.

I've had good success with 4" 4 fletched arrows also

Art

I used to use big Parabolic 5-5.5" feathers but have found that when using a well tuned bow and arrow you really only need 4" feathers . I now can get 2 feathers out of 1 full length feather .Much more economical and they shoot great .


Jack

it really doesn't matter all that much what feather length, what shape, and how many.  really.

all that matters is the arrow flying straight and true as soon as possible.  read that again.  it should be the mantra of all trad bowhunters.

how you achieve that straight flying arrow is up to you.  some folk swear by bare shafting and might go with smaller feathers, some just stick on huge helical feathers for better steerage out of the gate.

if yer arrows are well tuned to your bow, and fly well, it doesn't matter much about yer tail feathers.  straight flying arrows, with sharp heads, that hit the vitals, are what we all seek.  achieve that goal any way ya can, which means ....

... you need to test out different fletch criteria and see what works best for your arrows, your bow, and you.

there is no substitute for personal testing, since everything about trad archery is subjectively personal.

I prefer 4 fletch,just due to not having to feel/look.And I like the way 4 fletch looks too.As for speed/stability,I cant tell much difference and got a whopping 1 ft./sec faster out of 4"4fletch vs.5"3 fletch in a test with 4 different bows w/same arrow through a chrono.They are both good,and It doesnt really make to much difference on the way you set up to fletch 4 fletch to me either.Some may disagree,but for me the dif,is not so much.These guy are right though on bigger feathers= better stability,especially with big broadheads.Ive used 5" with 4 fletch too,and couldnt tell much difference,Works fine.Experiment,its fun.

I have used 4" for years, no big difference for me if my release was good and bow/arrow set up was tuned. The higher the FOC, the smaller feathers you need in back. Last year experimented a lot with 3" fletching, feathers we cut from our turkeys. Pro's,-they were faster, quieter, shot way better in the cross winds/hunting situation, and the feathers just seemed stiffer. Cons-Not as much to stabilize if release aint perfect, or if feathers get wet and lay down, less stabilization. I am in the process of switching to the 3" for good, split, sanded, and chopped 500 last night.

rob said it best! i have tried them all and i use 4-4" shield cut.

I use 4 four inch feathers. lets you nock a arrow in a hurry without looking and has one more inch of surface area than 3 5" feathers do.

I also use 4" 4 fletch. I get great flight and I think they look cool on my Easton Axis skinny carbon!

I cut my own feathers and I can't get (2) 5 inch feathers out 1 turkey feather.  So I like using (4 ) or a little over (4) to get (2) feathers out of 1  turkey feather.  However, instead of applying (3) feathers to the shaft I apply (4).  You get more bang for your buck and you have more surface area with (4) 4 inch feathers than (3) 5 inch feathers.

For my LB I'm messing around with GT 1535, 3 x 5" straight, so far they seem to fly good with both field tips and BH. I have to play around with the weight up front and see what happens.

I have also shot GT3555 LW 3 x 4" feathers with 50gr. inserts and I'm about to try 100 brass inserts and see what happens, still sticking to the 3 x 4" feathers.

4" Parabolic feathers seem to make more noise than the 5" shield cuts do, at least as far as I can hear them.

All shoot very well but it's fun to mess around with them and see what's going to end up being the the best.