To find out about the differences between the various kinds of arrows, we turned to Randy Schoeck, director of marketing services for Easton Aluminum, and John Gooding, vice president of True Flight Arrow Co. They've taken some of the mystery out of the carbon vs. aluminum debate.

Schoeck says the aluminum arrow continues to be the most popular arrow type, for a number of reasons.

"They're affordable, they're easy to tune, they're forgiving when you're shooting, and the components - nocks, inserts, et cetera - are easy to work with," Schoeck says. "They've become the standard. Plus, the size mix allows you to tune an arrow to virtually any bow combination that's out there."

This versatility is vital for young people who are coming into archery, as well as for experienced archers who continue to push the limits in terms of speed and energy.

"Also, because of the price, aluminum arrows continue to be good money-makers for dealers," Schoeck says. "They still represent about 85 percent of consumer purchases."

Carbon is a smaller-diameter product than aluminum. It's manufactured by a process known as "pultruding," which looks a little like spaghetti coming out of a pasta machine. The carbon fibers go in at one end of the machine. A series of epoxy resins are introduced into the fibers, and the resulting composite passes through a die which gives the shaft its shape.

As with aluminum, the carbon shaft is hollow. The wall of the shaft is considerably thicker than that of an aluminum arrow, for strength; yet, carbon is so light that even with the thicker wall, you're still dealing with a lightweight arrow.

"Because of the small diameter, tuning becomes more critical," Schoeck says. "Your arrow rest must be adjusted carefully. And for the hunter, it's more difficult to get a big vane on the shaft in a helical fashion, because there's just not that much surface area."

Retrieved from:Carolee Boyles-Sprenkel "When should you recommend carbon arrows? - Archery Aisle".Shooting Industry. Sept 1995. FindArticles.com. 03 Jun. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n9_v40/ai_17608793