Equipment Used in Archery

Here we review a range of archery equipment, from of course the bows and arrows themselves to equipment used for protection. We consider construction materials and equipment design used traditionally as well as in modern day archery.

Bows

From ancient wood-carved bows to their modern-day, technologically-advanced equivalents, whilst construction, materials and detailed design varies enormously, the basic structure remains the same. That is, a bow essentially consists of an elastic elongated limb with a string attached to each end. The act of drawing on said string imparts the kinetic energy required to propel an arrow at high velocity. Bows may be divided into two broad categories according to the way in which the string is pulled, either directly by hand or via a mechanism. Unlike the latter mechanical bows (including the most notable crossbow), the former directly-drawn bows, which are considerably more popular, are more physically demanding in requiring an archer’s strength to manually control the string from pull to release. Directly drawn bows also vary according to shape and construction. Bow types include, among others, compound bows, composite bows, laminated bows, self bows, long bows, and recurve bows.

Bow String

Bow strings were traditionally created from natural fibrous materials, including linen, hemp, silk, sinew, and rawhide, in contrast with modern, synthetic (or man-made) bow strings created from such polymeric materials as Dacron, Kevlar, Dyneema, and Fastflight. The most notable advantages of synthetic bow strings over their natural counterparts are strength and water resistance.

Arrows

As with the bow, the essential structure or anatomy of the arrow has not changed over time, whilst the materials used in it’s construction vary enormously. The shaft, arrowhead and fletchings (or flights) comprise the main structural components of an arrow. Arrows with traditional wooden shafts are susceptible to warping, whereas shafts constructed from more modern materials, including fibreglass, carbon fiber, aluminium alloys and composite materials do not suffer the same fate being impervious to water. Nevertheless, even more advanced materials can have their disadvantages.; for example, fibreglass shafts may be strong but they are also brittle. Composite materials are the most popular choice in high-performance professional competitions.

Arrowheads are typically constructed from metal or stone. In many cases, rather than having a separate component for the arrowhead, the shaft is instead sharpened at the tip.

Traditionally, bird feathers would be used for fletching, whilst solid plastic vanes are the more popular modern-day choice. Whilst more fletches can be used, the most common and recognised construction is the three-fletched configuration.

Safety Equipment

One of the most common forms of protection in archery is the arm-guard (or bracer) which is worn on the inside of the bow arm. The fingers of the hand used to draw are also commonly protected with a glove, thumb ring or leather tab. Other less popular protective equipment includes chestguards (or plastrons), eyewear and even faceguards. An archer typically has his or her preferred equipment based on technique, comfort and proficiency.