SIZE guide & Wood choice

Size guide

4ft (JUNIOR)

4ft bows are designed for junior archers with draw lengths up to 20”. This roughly translates to those up to around 4’3” / 130cm (approximately age 8).

They have 5” handle blocks for children’s hands.

They are available in one weight: 15-20lbs @ 20”

5ft (Youth)

5ft bows are designed for youth archers with draw lengths of up to 28”.  This roughly translates to those up to 5’6” / 170cm.

Since they have 6” handle blocks, they are best suited to the hands of older children or teens, rather than adults of up to 5’6” / 170cm who tend to have larger hands for the same height.  For that reason, they are recommended for those up to around 16 years old.

Available in weights of 15-20 and 20-25lbs @ 28”

6ft (adult)

6ft bows are deigned for adult archers with draw lengths of up to 30”.  This should be sufficient for an adult of any height shooting in any style other than a war bow draw (to the ear or beyond).

They have full size, 8” handle blocks for adult hands.

Available in weights of 25-30, 30-35, and 35-40lbs @ 30”

Draw weights

A heavier weight bow will require more strength and effort to draw, potentially resulting in a less stable shot cycle caused by more body movement from stressed muscles.  However, the energy transferred to the arrow will be greater, meaning that its trajectory will be flatter which can make the shot more accurate as the arrow won’t drop so much in flight.

In short, you tend to want the highest poundage bow you can comfortably draw.  If you don’t know what that is, there is some correlation between height and strength, so if you’re at the higher end of the recommended height range for the bow, take the heaviest poundage option (and vice-versa) unless you’re priortising comfort.

Wood choice

The board bows are available in ash, maple and oak. As far as the board bow design is concerned, the choice between the three is primarily aesthetic rather than functional.

Ash

(American ash)

Appearance: Pale. White/grey colour. Well defined grain. Reliably straight-grained. High contrast between summer and winter growth. Occasional light brown flecks or mineral streaks.

Hardness: 5,870 N

Density: 673 kg/m3

Maple

(Hard maple / Rock maple / Sugar maple)

Appearance: Pale. White/honey colour. Darkens with exposure to light over time. Close, fine grain. Reliably straight-grained.

Hardness: 6,450 N

Density: 705 kg/m3

Oak

(Red oak)

Appearance: Fairly homogeneous pinkish/reddish brown. Reliably straight grained. Medullary rays (lighter specks/stripes in the wood) often visible.

Hardness: 5,738 N

Density: 705 kg/m3