The winners influence?

[tuffshot]

Marketing plays a big role in product promotion. Anything from archery (compounds) to FITA rigs, to golf clubs etc. In all the winners of competition and sponsorship marketing play a major role on which piece of equipment comes out on top.

The one thing I have noticed is that in the traditional relhm the promtional aspects is about the same yet without the usual marketing of a winner of competition. It has been left up to those who want to know what bow of said competions was shooting.

What is the best longbow for competition was asked in another thread on our forum. The responses were given from some of the best shooters and competitors on this site. The list was not all that big for a competitive longbow, but I am sure has influenced some sales of the bows recommended.

Competitors like Redbow, Steve Morely and Larry Yein have been a mojor influence. There are exceptions to this, I know of one gentleman who felt he could not find a bow that suited him so he makes his own. For some that is how a traditional bow gets started.

There is one other aspect in all of this though, there are some other bows with competitor quialities that never get the recognition they may deserve because there is so little known about them. I sometimes wonder if marketing stepped in, would it make a larger impact on todays bowyers recognition instead of depending on more word of mouth?

I didn't mean to leave the recurve shooters and their choices but the longbow was a good example competitors influence.

[DanaC]

Well, I'd guess that any small-shop bowyer is happy when his product makes the news, but aside from a few ads, I doubt they have much of a marketing budget.

[Redbow]

Tuff there are a many great bows out there.
Tolke, Longhorn, Acs, Centuar. to name a few
However in IFAA longbow compettion there are only a handfull of bows that meet the strict rules of IFAA.
The bows that Larry,Steve, and myself shoot just happen to be some of the best longbows on the market!

[steve morley]

Since my Fita 3D tourney in Italy and IFAA European tourney in Wales the Spanish have suddenly shown a lot of interest in the Zeta by contacting myself and Andy, they're already big fans of 21st Century but the Zeta offers them something extra over the 'Edge' the same great performance as the Edge but a true custom build that Andy is offering they seem to like.

Looking at some of the Amazing Quiver\Bracer Leatherwork the Spanish have they have an eye for quality craftmanship and beauty very much like the Italians, so I can understand why they like the Blackbrook Zeta so much.:)

Luis the Spanish guy in EFAC Wales was shooting a 59# Edge, he did well but suffered the last 2 days of shooting as the weight was too much for Field rounds, think he was pretty impressed last week to compare his new 46# Zeta against his 59# Edge to find it was only 3fps slower for 14# drop in weight.:)

[Redbow]

he was pretty impressed last week to compare his new 46# Zeta against his 59# Edge to find it was only 3fps slower for 14# drop in weight.:)[/QUOTE]

Steve can you as Luis supply the raw data, you know fps string count arrow weight,

As I see it either Andy has made the fastest 46 lbs longbow in the world, or Luis is shooting the slowest 60 lb longbow in the world.

And as we both know 60 lbs is about the optimum weight for a fast arrow,

All that aside the Blackbrook is a great bow!

[steve morley]

Dana it was 12 strand 8125, 445g POC at 27" 1\2 inch draw

Andy said one of his customers in Denmark compared the ASC and new Zeta DC on a shooting machine and Zeta was faster but I have no details of what the numbers came out at. I would like to know but doubt Andy will give them out, he likes to downplay the speed aspect and focus more on build quaility and shootablility for his sales.

Andy has done something interesting with the limb edge that I havent really seen before, its cut at an angle towards the belly the as it gets towards the tips it turns totally the other way, hard to describe and hard to show with my camera. I imagine it's making the limb stiffer and adding stability to the limb

Speed is a great asset and the Zeta has just the right mix of all the qualities that goes into a great Longbow.

[tuffshot]

You guys have just reinforced this subject.
There are not very many reviews on most of the bows that are winning the tourneys. Unless someone is involved with competition they realy have little information to go on as to what you guys look for in a compatitve bow. Once a bow is identified it is promoted by word of mouth.

I'd say some bows just promote themselves in the hands of a great competitor. And rest assure there are those of us who are paying attention.