All Phenolic Riser Q's

[kawika b]

What are the benefits of an "all phenolic" riser like Bob Morrison does? Dunno if anyone else does one. I like the looks of it being a darker colors kinda guy. Any attributes or drawbacks?

[Octavian]

I held a full phenolic Dakota longbow from morrison. It was a beauty and extremely light.

[kawika b]

I was looking for a phenolic riser Shawnee. Bob says 19oz for a phenolic Shawnee riser,,, light enuff for me.

[Three Arrows]

I got a phenolic on my Cheyenne.  It has nice light contour lines on it.  It has a heavier heft to it that I really enjoy for shooting.  The extra heft makes the bow seem less jumpy for me.  If I get a Shawnee, it will have the all phenolic riser on it also.  The phenolic gives a stable feel due to the weight and the stiffness.  Only drawback I see is the lack of wood grains and colors.

[C2@TheLibrary]

Phenolic is light but stable and strong.aa Phenolic is also less flexible than wood that stiffness makes a bow a bit faster shooter than a wood riser of the same model. I have an all phenolic riser ILF on order. It should be one of the faster, hardest hitting recurves I've ever owned or shot.

[James Wrenn]

I will agree on the weight of phenolic feeling good and assorbing some vibration but it is not as stiff as a lot of woods.A solid phenolic riser will flex as much or more than most wood riser will unless it is kept short.As it heats up in the sun it will flex more.I like phenolic with wood in a riser to give some contrast but don't care for a solid riser made from it. jmo

[Bill Carlsen]

Here is the riser of my custom made Groves Mag III. The bow is the short 56" model and it shoots almost as good as my DAS bow but is more draw weight. The white accents in the riser are white limb glass. The limbs are also black glass with white accents. The wedges in the limbs are also phenolic. Very sweet shooting bow.

[S. Brant Osborn]

Hee Hee Hee!  I just recieved a Shawnee that is all black phenalic from Bob.  
Brant

[insttech1]

Predator makes some as well.  You can look at huntersniche.com and see some all phenolic, and phenolic/wood examples.

It should be heavy, heavy, heavy.  I've seen pic's of Bob Morrison's "phenolic", and it looks striated, like multiple layers of linen-embedded phenolic.

The stuff Predator uses (or at least used to on my friend's all-phenolic predator), is heavy as all get-out, and is smooth as a solid glass bowling ball.

I would say that bow is probably 10 or 12oz heavier than his wooden risers.

See Ya,
Marc

[Bill Carlsen]

Marc: That Groves riser of mine is "hefty" and "bowling ball-like" in many ways. Very smooth shooting and the "heft" adds a lot of stability.

[Jedimaster]

Don't forget about Cascade's Night Hawk. I've been thinking about ordering one for too long. Maybe soon.


I think phenolic is beautiful in an understated sort of way. Kinda different in a world full of exotic veneers. Functional beauty.

[Jedimaster]

I just got back from the Cascade web-site

http://www.cascadebow.com

The Night Hawk has a lifetime warranty. There's a good reason to like phenolic.  Also states that many archer's groups shrink by as much as 50%.

[insttech1]

The phenolic will add stability, and therefore to some extent, forgiveness, and a possible added benefit of speed due to less riser flex.

Don't bet on it improving your accuracy by that magnitude, however.

Just my opinion from shooting Predator's side by side...many, many times...both with full phenolic and wood/phenolic mix.

Don't get me wrong--it is beneficial, and I like heavy, long risers, but a 50% claim is a large amount just from added mass alone.

See Ya,
Marc

[shedhunter]

i have an all phenolic 1 pc dakota w/foam core and carbon back.  the phenolic riser is not heavy at all.  Some of you may have held it or shot it at K-zoo, it was on the rack all weekend.  Seeing it was  the first 1 pc bobs made with the foam and carbon i really didn't care about looks more for shootability,  but now that i have it it's awesome and looks neat too.   ron

[Jedimaster]

Hey Marc, you're right on there.  I've never found anything that can instantly improve your accuracy by 50%.  I think that the web-site claim is not just touting the phenolic but also the increased precision and close tolerances of the bow.  

Now I will allow that they may have a point on the close tolerance thing, but not near enough to get a 50% reduction in group size. I guess it only takes few testimonials that "this worked miracles for me" and you can put that out there.  Won't make it a fact.

I also like phenolic because I shoot better with more mass in the riser. Just makes a bow more stable for me.

[insttech1]

I dunno about that ultra-precision.  That bow is made by Chek-Mate.  I like Chek-Mate products and have owned a TD Hunter II....but the Cascade is no more high-precision or high-accuracy or high much of anything else over most any of the other known names out there.

It's a simple, solid product...and that's about all I'd say about it.

[BobW]

Phenolic gives stability, mass and strength - the rest is up to you.....