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Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 5:47 am
by Jamesh76
Months ago, I posted about the Chinese fletch tape on Ebay for about $1.50 per roll. I do not know how many linear feet are in the roll compared to the Bohning. It appears there is more product on the Chinese version. Just fletched a few arrows. Tape was a little more difficult putting on due to the roll being larger. I like the black color of the tape. It seems to stick as good as if not better than Bohning. I plan on not securing the ends of the feathers with glue initially and shoot with just the fletching tape to see how it sticks. As of now, I will continue to buy it as its $1.50 instead of $11.00. These arrows are birch 5/16.... odd I'd make some of those up is it? They spine 35-40 and are 29" long. They will all be 460-475 grains out of my 35# person 709 which my daughter has claimed. But I will shoot it too!

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:02 am
by Jamesh76
Looking it up you get 400 inches from.china product, 720 from bohning. So about 3$ for the Chinese will equal the bohning for 11-12$

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:12 am
by Grizzly
In your photo, you can see a bit of daylight under the leading edge of the feather on the left. Without glue the air alone may work on that tape. Have you used the Bohning tape without glue also so you have a fair comparison? You've got me curious also.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:26 am
by Jamesh76
Yeah, that was right after I took it off the clamp. I always run my fingernail along the quill after I take them off. There are no gaps after I done it. I have shot quite a few of the bohning without gluing the ends. Decent results. Depends on what target I'm hitting though. I will fletch another one of these arrows up with bohning after I crest the last 5 for comparison.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:15 am
by Jamesh76
Shot 12 so far no issues. Hitting left, may trim bear rest or put a rug on.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:23 am
by Graps
That's interesting stuff.
I've never tried fletch tape.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:11 am
by Captainkirk
Looking forward to the results. I love the fletch tape as well, but find the price a bit hard to stomach.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:35 am
by Grizzly
One thing I did notice with the tape is if your arrows sit in a hot car, the tape seems to soften and your feathers get sort of weird looking and eventually loose. But it is fast and handy. I eventually went back to glue.

The best surface I found for a feather to stick to was when I started using wraps along with cleanliness and not letting any oils from you skin on the surfaces.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:38 pm
by Jamesh76
Well, I haven't made any up with bohning to test. However, I have shot bout 125 arrows with the chinese tape into a block target at 10 yards and none came loose. No glue on ends of fletch. I used tru oil for sealer on these arrows.

Re: Chinese fletch tape and new arrows.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:04 pm
by Grizzly
I used the Bohning tape for years. From what you say, I wouldn't hesitate to try this new stuff. At that price you can't go wrong. I don't know about this company, but many over there offer free shipping. Hard to resist. The only issue is are we willing to help put our local shops and suppliers and manufacturers out of business. This is a spreading new wave that we may have first seen when Wal-Mart put many small shops out of business in small towns across this nation. Do we want to rely solely on Cabelas for our bows made overseas when we have a sponsor here and friends who love to build bows? I wonder how much some of the makers of bows have seen their sales fall off due to imported bows.

On another forum, the DAS bow was watched as it went through the design, manufacturing and then modification process. They all felt attached to this bow and then along came a large corporation, who closely copied it and had it produced overseas cheaper. What an uproar over that. The DAS was finally sold to Three Rivers and they offered it as the Daala.

Chinese knives are so tempting. I lost a Benchmade mini grip a few years ago and paid about $80.for it. I never did replace it with a Benchmade, but did get a Syderco. Then one day a year later, I couldn't resist a Gonzo Firebird made in China with a similar lock, action and blade size as the lost $80. knife, for $11. Crazy as it sounds, the cheap one does what the more expensive American knife did much better. I went from a 154 steel down to a 440C. Not only does this axis type lock swing open smoother, but now, this one swings shut with the pull of a little button and a very slick flick, almost gravity, and closes as a spring snaps it shut. I really like it, more than our American knife, but do I want to see us loose an industry? It's a tough question. Not all of us can afford to support American made products with such a huge price differential. That's also why we are seeing so many Chinese made parts on our cars today; there's a huge price differential for the auto makers and the parts they need. That's also why techs at the dealerships are pulling their hair with a corresponding overload of recalls. Also why President Trump threatened tariffs.