Carbon Express
arrows have a long-standing reputation for quality, and they have always been
an industry leader in innovation. CX has teamed up with Lee and Tiffany Lakosky
this year for a new hunting arrow called The Crush, and that along with their
Maxima line of Dual Spine Weight Forward (DSWF) arrows, allows CX to offer the
perfect arrow for anyone.
Many people don’t know that Lee
is an engineer, and he shared with me that 20 years ago, he also worked in a
bow shop, and he is as meticulous about his
archery equipment as he is
proficient with it. Lakosky told me when he worked in the archery shop, he also
shot competitively and Carbon Express was his choice of arrows even way back
then. “When CX came out with the 3D select, I shot it exclusively. I loved the
consistency of spine and straightness, so when we were developing the CRUSH,
that was a must”, he said.
Lee went on, “Carbon Express
has all the great arrow technology in place, and the goal for us with the CRUSH
was to build what I consider the perfect hunting arrow. By that I mean
something that the average hunter can afford without breaking the bank, but he
can count on it every time to perform perfectly on any game in North America. I
honestly think we have achieved that in the CRUSH.”
“Of course we started with a
high quality arrow shaft and the Carbon Express guarantee of consistent spine,
weight and straightness. The straightness is .003” and weight is .001 grains.
You know your arrows are going to perform the same with tolerances that small.”
“Then we wanted all the
components to be top of the line as well. I wanted an arrow that would perform
from end to end, not just the shaft. So we have CX’s great inserts that self
center, and their new Precision Nock that is the best on the market. We also
added Raptor vanes for broadhead accuracy as this is a hunting arrow, and
finally finished the arrow with Diamond Coat.”
“Diamond Coat finish was really
important to me because I shoot a lot, and I wanted an arrow that would pull
out easily from my targets and not leave any residue behind, but most
importantly I wanted a finish that would slide over my rest like silk and be
perfectly quiet. Diamond Coat does all of these things, and the arrows are
still very tough and durable. We feel that end to end it is the perfect hunting
arrow at a great value”, Lee explained.
Along with the popular Crush
arrow, Carbon Express has had an incredible line of Maxima arrows out for a few
years that feature Dual Spine Weight Forward technology that is one of the
biggest arrow innovations in decades.
Just what is Dual Spine? There
are two types of spine to consider on an arrow; dynamic spine and static
spine. So when an arrow is designed with Dual spine, both spines are
considered and properly accounted for.
Static spine is how an arrow is gauged. It
is how much deflection or bend the arrow has on a 28” shaft with a weight (just
over a pound) hung from the center. When you see a number on a shaft, it is
generally static spine. For example, a 250 spined arrow bends 250/1000 at 28”,
where a 350 bends 350/1000 at 28”.
Then the dynamic spine is how the shaft
reacts or bends at actual thrust when the energy from the released bow string
is transferred. It really factors in to how forgiving the arrow is and how quickly
it recovers.
So with the DSWF arrows, both spines are
considered. Then the weight forward part means that the front end is heavier
and flexes more for forgiveness as well as keeping the arrow in track better,
but the back third of the arrow is lighter and fairly stiff for much quicker
recovery while getting the arrow on track quicker.
So…DSWF delivers unbelievable
groupings and is easy to tune because high-speed bows put a tremendous load on
the arrow upon release, which causes the arrow to flex and oscillate when
fired. Managing this energy transformation is the key to making arrows shoot
better. Dual-spine technology better manages energy from the bow to the arrow,
and improved energy-management causes the arrow to spin sooner and recover
faster. Arrows that recover faster are more accurate. The CX patented
multi-layer, multi-material spine construction creates two arrow spines in one:
a lighter and stiffer back harnesses energy to get on track faster and a
heavier front end maximized forgiveness to stay on track better. Finally
spinning sooner means shooting straighter for superior accuracy to help you
shoot better.
OK, now we have all the
technical stuff taken care of, what are the real results of this, and how can
it help us as shooters and hunters? Carbon Express did a blind test with 8
professional shooters and they shot groups with DSWF and non-DSWF arrows with
broadheads. The results were that at 40 yards, the average was 50% tighter
groups with DSWF arrows. I don’t know about you, but I would sure like to shoot
50% better groups at 40 yards, especially with broadheads!
This technology will help
hunters be more accurate with their shot placement on game, as well as extend
their effective and ethical killing range. If you shoot more accurately, you
will kill more cleanly. If you can shoot better groups at long range, it is
more ethical to shoot animals at further distances. The benefit to competitive
shooters is also pretty obvious. If you can shoot more accurately, especially
at distance, you will win more tournaments. Isn’t this what we all truly want,
to shoot better whatever our application?
Carbon express always strives to
be the best, and with The Crush and Maxima lines, they seem to have achieved
their goal. Whether you are a hunter, competitive shooter, or both, you owe it
to yourself to check out the full lineup from Carbon Express. You will not be
disappointed.