Absolutely fascinating Steve! Please do more videos like this. I make up my own competition arrows, and was very happy to switch from Carbon Ones to VAP's, and save a few bucks too 17:49 . Buying a trad bow and not wanting to mess around fletching feathers, I recently bought two 6 arrow sets of the Black Eagle Vintage arrows, pre fletched. These are an amazing looking arrow and tick all the boxes. The only downside was you had limited stock in my spine, so had to go for two different colour schemes, as well as had to get inserts from another dealer (wanted heavy inserts). I am so happy with these arrows, and they will now be my go to trad arrows. Just beautiful! Many thanks mate!
My local bow shop is one of the number 1 dealers in the state and can barely keep Easton arrows in stock. Having shot a lot of the brands including specialized, customized arrow companies (I literally have at least 10 different brands set up for shooting) I find for me, my top is the Easton 4mm axis and the pro comp. In rivaled performance (hunting and target) but everyone has their own faves.
I still have never shot a 4mm. I'm so invested in my set up and broadheads. I go 5mm axis MG & 5mm axis fmj MG. With the ironwill broadheads 125 and ti impact. With the 50 grain brass insert on both
Easton is still really big in America. I think Easton, Victory, and Gold Tip are the top 3. Impressive selection you have there. I love it. Keep up the good work.
@@janickgonzalez3054 👍 yea, and it’s not the case at all. I like his videos for the most part but Steven can be biased on products, depending on how things worked out for him in the past. I know he doesn’t particularly care for Mathews and Easton. Loves PSE and Elite though.
@@michaelrobinson6988 i mean there are no top level archers using fivics AND that brand name doesn't even exist over here(not literally just hyperboly).
@@janickgonzalez3054 👍 Some of the Chinese and other brands I’ve never heard of at all. I think he just gets soured when companies won’t give him distributor or takes it away like Easton and Mathews have in the past and I’m sure I’m leaving out some.
I really like my mid-priced Easton Sonic 6.0 arrows. In America there is the concept of premium pricing (snobbery). For certain items, some buyers don't go below certain price points. For example, when buying a tennis racket, many won't consider anything below $100 msrp (although always eager to buy marked down on sale). If we need arrows for a new $1,200 bow, we are willing to pay more for premium arrows. It's largely psychological, as a cheaper brand might in fact be better.
@@electoplater In Australia Longbow archers are not allowed to compete with anything but feather fletched wood or aluminium arrows.Carbon shafts are taboo for competitions.
I literally shoot blackout arrows, they're literally just gold tip hunters but $5 less, I just make sure to ask them not to install anything cause cabelas workers suck. I haven't noticed a difference other than it's not upsetting if I break one. I don't think the average shooter needs anything better
Interesting, I love your takes, and it is important that these stories be considered. As a US consumer, I tried last year to MITUSA my entire archery/hunting set up. Not from a thumping perspective but to shop as local as possible. Very difficult and very expensive. 4mm Long Range Axis was the arrow system, and found the carbon to be far more brittle in 4mm, always chips on the nock ends. X Impact hasn’t experienced that issue.
I have 250 spine X-Impact's & 400 spine for my recurve. For decades I shot ACC shafts & made them myself. All but 4 bent just behind the insert. B4 that I shot the original Beman arrows & I'm sure I went away from them cuz of availability. Love the Victory VAP TKO & Xtorsion shafts I've also made. I bought some Delta 3D targets a few years ago. I can tell how desperate Easton is to drum up business by the amount of emails I get from Easton that I swipe left off my 📱 nearly everyday. 😮
Easton are pretty much the only choice for us. We shoot at a school. We have a 100% carbon arrow ban. There are no lost arrows at the end of the day. To the point. If the school finds an arrow after we have left, we instantly loose our shoot venue. We have been known to stay a few hours after shooting stops just looking for lost aluminium arrows, carbon would be all but impossible to find with the metal detectors.
Easton out sells here in the United States because it's the only arrows made in the the USA while the rest is made in Mexico, China and Asia Easton 360 spine manufacturing is fibers that are pulled instead of wrapping over a mandrel having a seam inside the shafts we look at quality control closely
Great, great video! This Easton issue is classic. I worked for a company (not archery related) that had an excellent high end quality product that dominated the industry for decades. HOWEVER, competition arrived in the market with less expensive product and a greater range of products to address a diverse market. The company refused to change, and their market share eroded . In the end the company I worked for was bought out, down sized etc. This sounds exactly where Easton is going i.e. stuck in the mud, doing the same old , same old.
Nothing against some of the other great vendors out there, but i love my Easton FMJs. I will add that I am a patriotic American but no longer insist on Made in America. This is for several reason to include a general lack of quality and increased price. Anyone should be smart enough to remain in business using principles you cover continuously. Ego has no place in success. I also believe in getting the most for my money(duh) and enjoy quality products made from smart, hard working people. It is not all sweat shops, lol. NOT bashing anyone, just sharing. I always watch your videos and learn something. They are never a waste of my time. Thank you.
In Ontario Canada Easton still are in the top arrow's used (in my area) I shoot with a group of 6-8 people and I belive there of them shoot Easton and most are hunter's Our dealer/ shop are a Gold Tip dealer with excess to other brands saling both ready made and baer shafts Would your distance away also help in the demise of Easton ? ie: shipping cost'sand other factors And now more than ever things are tight $$$$$$ Good to see you back your helper did a great job
Easton are still the most common arrow in the UK, but they've shot themselves in the foot by reducing their range. In the UK a lot of clubs (nearly all in my area) hire school fields for outdoor shooting and than means all carbon arrows are out. So you either stick with Ali or go Ali-Carbon composites. Almost everyone who was getting to longer distances seamed to go for ACC or the slightly more expensive ACG 's a few years ago, including me. They were a bit more than Ali but not ridiculous. However they've now discontinued those and if you're a recurve shooter you now have to fork out almost £500 on a set of ACE or go for the slightly cheaper (but still way more than the ACC) Procomp which is really designed for a compound bow. This is letting in the cheaper brands and judging by our club members recent purchases they are missing out on more and more sales. Madness.
Victory, gold tip, black eagle, Easton in my opinion are all interchangeable with every diameter gold tip arrow seam to have a weaker spine than the ones I mentioned above the Easton fmj are excellent hunting arrows so are the victory vaps they all shoot extremely well
Where I’m at in the US, the big 3 brands are Easton, Gold Tip, and Victory. Just down the road at one of the pro shops (we have two in town), you can pick up Easton products that are functionally the equivalent of everything that you’ve shown here.
@@ultimatejay not for South Dakota bows, maybe for Crossbow but not bows. I did forget the cheaper Sheel's that are either Victory, Easton, or Gold Tip arrows with really bad wrap job that the spine needs to be measured do to the bad wrap job. Cabela's/Bass Pro as well but those are actual factory mistakes that you could have an arrow broken when you get a set of 6/12.
@@caseysmith544 Ever heard of Paige Pearce? She is like the best female archer in the world and shoots for Bowtech and she shoots Black Eagle. Black Eagle is very well know in the US. Where have you been?
Here in Europe the situation differs, Easton is the brand you will find at any archery store in all flavors. Goldtip is still common but only a fraction of the program and spins, Victory and fourths brand may be optional. At the line in my archery club it either Easton, Goldtip or some Chinese knockoff, which can be fine arrows when properly prepared😁
It must be different in the States because all the shops carry Easton. I have been using the Axis for years and see no reason to change. They are a little more expensive but in my opinon are worth it. I am sure they cannot compete with cheap chinese shafts but I'm do not shop at a pro shop if I want cheap chinese pre cut, pre boxed shafts ill shopp online.
I think this is Australia specific. In the UK Easton is still pretty much the main arrow brand. There are other options, I shoot Nano XR’s. But the X10 is the choice of top shooters here still.
Most UK archery clubs shoot at schools, park sports fields. They rarely have their own ground. So most UK clubs have 100% carbon arrow bans. As lost arrows are a big danger to other users of the venue. Alu or alu/carbon are the only choice and Easton are the only accessible manufacturer.
@@sahhull Not necessarily true. We do have Merlin as well. A lot of people in our club have purchased the new alimax arrows that sell for £149 a dozen.
Gotta remember that X10s are not cheap and top archers are likely sponsored by Easton to use them so of course they'll take it. One has to wonder what top archers would use if they all of a sudden had to use their own cash to buy arrow shafts.
In My club easton don't have many shooters anymore even the top archers are shooting skylon paragons and getting fantastic results at like £400 cheaper. Now easton no longer make acc's or acg's there is a gaping hole in their lineup that others like Merlin are filling which is also what I'm thinking of switching to over ACG's
Back in 1971-1973 I shot outdoor field and indoor target at our clubhouse. Outdoor field was a 28 target range, with ranges between 3 yards and 80 yards. All targets were plain paper targets. I don't remember if my area had 3-D targets yet. Our indoor range was set up for the Robin Hood shoot...10, 20, and 30 yards. My last meet there was the Robin Hood. I used Easton X-7 Aluminum arrows. My bow was an American Supreme 38 pound 72" recurve. No sight and pure instinctive. Just an adjustable stabilizer. I shot 89 out of 90 arrows into the little bull but walked away from the meet without firing the last arrow at the 30 yd. target. There were 2 12 yo kids, one on either side of me who totally wrecked my calm. One kid stuck an arrow to the face of his bow and blew the arrow and bow up. The other kid had a bad habit of tilting his bow toward me and his bow tip ended up between my string and bow face. After the bow blew up, on my 90th arrow, I could not hold the bow steady so I just walked out. I still won the club trophy on points but never picked it up because I didn't shoot the last arrow, I always use that analogy when something happens that I must walk away from. If asked "what did you do?", I just say I haven't shot the last arrow yet. I did very well though and won (in my class) a double, American round. 40, 50 and 60 yard outdoor shoot. My best end was the last end at the 60 yard target. I got 6 gold with the bow that was 3 inches longer than I was tall.
Steve, all the top archers internationally use x10s or black eagles equivalent. You are right in several price categories they don’t win. Remember they are made in the USA. Different labour costs too. Do we want all Chinese bows too? Don’t agree with you in part. Comparing a bmw to a Kia. Different markets for different people. But I do like you to point out the issues and would love them to be cheaper! Good video and talking points for people
I loved Australian made cars - parts were cheap. To have my Merc worked on costs a fortune, which is why it is been sold. Saying that most Australian purchased imported cars, so now we dont make cars. Yes very different cost base. For me it is just interesting watching things change. My new car has a 10 year warranty. Dont get me wrong I think Easton is huge - but they should be looking to compete. They should be looking at the market and working out how to increase sales. From my view - I think Easton have become lazy. Maybe it is just in Australia. But why dont Easton have all made up arrows to sell to all the market.
They must have read your mind Steve! “Vector” arrow is a fully fletches arrow ready to go. Not sure how that competes though. I wonder if in the USA the buy USA works more in their favour there compared to here. Marketing always seems to be focused on that market or top level performers maybe?
@@ArcherySuppliesLonsdale has Holden gone? I live in the UK. Mercedes are expensive to fix or service everywhere. Can't beat that Mercedes service with a snarl attitude too.
@@joshwebb6255 I presume the top archers are sponsored, so they may be given huge discounts on the arrows to use or even get them free. Im sure if a bow/arrow company wanted to sponsor my archery hobby... I'd happily use whatever they provided. I know a sponsored archer... The shop gives him a discount on all new archery kit ... Free shop made strings and cables. (good job... The amount of issues he has with his strings and cables. I wouldnt buy them)
@@ArcherySuppliesLonsdale They have redone the game getters now everything but points and feathers included sold in 12 pack.But I come from uk and can confirm it is aluminium only at most clubs.Shame I liked my legacy but they are not doing them.And to the American labour costs...well there is always your prison system (Use their labour to compete with the Chinese) as if the lack of employment rights was not a thing.
I ended up with my uncle's old archery gear, got the longbow restrung for my use, and found an Easton Eagle 2117 in his old quiver. Super light aluminum shaft, I love how it feels to pull from the quiver and balance just feels great in my hands in ways the carbons I've played with in the stores just don't. If only he hadn't blown up a firecracker in the notch end. I went looking for replacements and found this video, and they basically don't seem to exist here in the USA either. That sucks something fierce.
Hey Steve. Received my Tbow (Hoyt Satori) and it's fantastic to shoot. Your review was spot on with the description and the performance. Very happy with my purchase.
Competition is a good thing. BTW, maybe demise is a bit premature, how about "decline". They are doing pretty well otherwise (they do own Hoyt). I clicked on this video thinking they had ceased to exist based on the word usage.
I've been shooting for over 50 years and your right about Easton. That's all there was back in the day but I rarely see their arrows being used here in the US today.
Easton is used alot in the USA as a hunting arrow. The Easton axis 5mm match is what I shoot and they are the best on the market in my opinion. Alot of people at my archery club. Shoot Easton as well
Where I'm from in the USA Easton is still a top manufacturer. The Easton axis is probably the most popular hunting shaft in America. The only brand that is beating them in the tournament scene is black eagle. I think the popularity of each brand also depends on who's selling the arrows. If a shop owner likes gold tip he'll have his guys use gold tip and they'll push the brand. Subsequently Easton and black eagle are my two favorite brands. The top manufacturers here in the USA are Easton, black eagle, victory, and gold tip.
I shoot the axis too. I live not far from Lancaster Archery. I wanted a new arrow and their pro shop steered me to Easton Axis 4mm long range match grade.
Oh please stop. It’s called competition and globalisation of manufacturing. To call this video “the demise of Easton archery” is misleading. Have a look at what the all the recurve shooters at the World Cup and Olympic events shoot. You have your place in the market, please just focus on that, focus on your customer service and move on.
The biggest problem we have in the UK is that most competitions will not allow you to shoot fully carbon arrows , so we have to shoot C/A arrows . Not many manufacturers produce Carbon/Aluminium arrows , and with easton now stopping the ACC series it has had a massive impact in the UK as the only option are the top of the range ACE/procom/X10 which are so expensive. So a bit of a problem specific to the UK I think , lined to multi use playing fields used to run archery competitions , so all carbon are hard to find with metal detectors. All a bit of a mess here in the UK
Merlin Alimax are the way to go as almost identical to ACC but far cheaper. Bought a dozen as down to last 7 ACCs and wont be going back. Definitely recommend the Alimax now.
In Japan we still see a lot of Easton arrows at the clubs, but Skylon is starting to come on really strong. I saw some Victory and GoldTip a few years ago but don't see them as often now. I'm still enjoying my Easton CarbonOne arrows for my compound target bow, but I think next time I will try some Skylon Brixxon or Paragon arrows. Easton is definitely not dominate like it used to be.
In the UK, most clubs shoot across shared-use grounds so require A/C arrows, because they are easier to find with a metal detector. I think Easton dropped the ball in phasing out ACC and ACG arrows. They were the gateway arrows to ACEs and X10s. Now, I suspect Merlin's Alimax's (which are made by Pandarus, I understand) and are an ACC replacement will channel UK archers into Pandarus CA320s, which match the GPI and tolerances of X10s but for half the price. Half the GB recurve team now shoots Fivics Five-X shafts. I suspect Easton's near monopoly of arrows in the UK is over.
i would love to walk into a shop like the one you have. i lived in Texas and there was no shop that was local. you dive for hours phll in they have one or two bow brands and maybe 2 arrow brands. and the name brand accessories for them. there were no trad offerings at all. now i am in alaska. they have 2 trad offerings 3 or 4 arrow offerings and 4 or 5 bow brands. you work with what they have or you go online
You've got your "exit to the video" down. You kinda even sounded like a reporter for a second there... As always. Great video, reallt enjoy watching your stuff. Thanks
We use to bag Beman carbon and Cartel Aluminium Carbon, but years later going through the club members old collections and we found a high survival rate of Beman Flash and Cartel Triples. and some of our early best scores were shot with them.
Like a lot of archers who shoot target I bought primarily Easton arrows back in the day, mainly because everyone I knew did and they had the straightest arrows and at a pretty decent price. I left archery for about 15 years and when I started back in a few years ago, everything had changed. Carbon had become king and there are many more options available. Most manufacturers are providing two or three grades of their top arrows. So you can build a real nice set of arrows for half the price of a comparable Easton shaft. I just received some pre-made Pandarus Alpha X arrows and got them for a great price. They are just for practice as I learn recurve so at some point I will be buying a higher grade shaft and building my own and most likely they will not be Easton. Not when I can get a very good arrow for half the price. I just don't see the point anymore.
In America, most archers compound and traditional I see are shooting easton. Many trad shooters like their goldtips though, those are a popular choice I see. I think we have more options than ever before, but Easton's reputation and olympic usage by podium archers gives them an incredible advantage. I dabbled in goldtip and liked eastons for many years as a traditional archer. Now I'm black eagle user. I think the situation may be different in Australia than here but I couldn't say. I think most of the companies sell incredible arrows but it also might be cheaper to get Easton here in the US than in Australia (exchange rates maybe). Wasn't sure what arrows you picked up for the 600 australian dollars though
I think Easton is a US thing.. they seem to all use them there . I'm from Europe myself and I've never bought any eastons, there available in my local shop but I wouldn't buy them simply because there a ripoff... And there incompatibility with other tips and inserts really triggers me ..
I am a 3D archer in Germany. Max distance for trad division competitions is 30-35 m here, depending on the organization. Often animals are placed between trees, without a backstop and so on. I don't know anyone shooting expensive Easton arrows and you rarely see them. For the given distances, with a high risk of arrow loss, it makes no sense shooting expensive arrows. In the German National Championships i saw a guy with a 1,7k EUR bow and skylon arrows. These Skylon are hard to beat. I measure all the spec of arrows i build and keep track of the data in Excel sheet. Last dozen Skylon Edge i build for a friend were equal within 5 lbs of spine tolerance, 3 grain in weight and had better straightness than advertised. I saw much worse in arrows for four times the price!
100%. Here in America there has been a shift away from the entry level aluminum shaft to the low cost, i.e. entry level carbon shaft. For example, in our youth programs we can buy one dozen entry level carbon arrows, fletched with points and nocks for $35.00 US.
@@maxschell8823 I believe this is because aluminium is safe. Beginners can in theory mistreat their arrows, pulling them out the wrong way etc. This could be dangerous, so clubs play it safe. In our club beginners get a loan kit for three months, and the arrows are always aluminium. Also, many clubs shoot on shared fields, meaning that a stray arrow needs to be found, or it could endanger rugby players. Do you have shared fields over there?
I think this is dealer specific in your particular area. That said, he has a point: there is more competition now, so for Easton the only direction is down in terms of overall market foothold. Eventually 1 of 2 things will occur: either Easton reinvents itself and maintains a place in the market based on value, quality and niche appeal, or they go out of business like Kodak did years ago.
The Easton 6.5 is a pretty good selling shaft here in the states. You can buy them in bare or pre fletched will bully vanes. Among my circle of fellow hunters we want a good shaft without all the fake silly graphics, flames, etc. Now Easton does participate in silly graphics as well, but Easton is seen as an arrow builder’s arrow that are tools, not a pretty statement. Easton’s takeover of Beman filled a niche for hunters that do not want to spend $200+ on a American made shaft.
I have used the 6.5's on brown bear, elk,moose, muley's. At a minimum use the orange inserts and not the included. I machine my inserts at work out of scrap titanium we have.
You look to be a bit younger than me? But I also tarted out when it was diff to get the shaft specs one wanted. There were either "telegraph poles" from Easton available in Oz or the "knitting needles" as were the words bandied about the club. Of course these were all imported from the USA and back in the early eighties it was very expensive to import such things or anything from the USA. Asian manufacture killed them like everything.
I have X-10s (bought used) and Carbon Express Nano Pro Xtreme (also bought used), which I like. However, the CE Nanos have been discontinued. I understand the distributor has an annoying habit of buying out brands and cutting their best lines. "Where good products go to die" according to a dealer I know.
@@ScottPankhurst Yet turn around and whine bitch and moan about the prices of domestic sourced stuff, and then buy the Chinese stuff anyway. "Murica!" Make sure you rock your MADE IN CHINA "Maga" hat while you are at it. Awesome "attitude of supporting their own manufacturing". Im all for patriotism and supporting local grown and made, but they have to maintain that level of product, be it quality or price. Blind Patriotism is a vile thing.
@@ScottPankhurst I agree to a point. But just saying the Chinese gear has come a long way. The quality has improved. I’m looking forward to the shoot through riser from Topoint.
Damn, I hunt with Easton Procomps here in the states and when I bought them three years ago a dozen only cost me $279.00 USD a dozen. Easton Procomps are really $600 AUD a dozen down under?
Mmmmm, sounds like what happen to The Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) when the Japanese started importing to America. From my understand they thought it would be ok. Before the haters hit me, I went thru one Ford, a Chrysler and three GM vehicles over a period of twenty years. Lets throw in a Porsche and a 2003 VW GTI which turn out to be the worst car of them all. Now my entire family drives nothing but Honda and one Acura RDX in the mix. I guess that is what happens when you do not listen to your customers and or pay attention to your competition. Sounds like Easton is following the Big Three. Nice presentation, you laid out all of your concerns without screaming, cursing and describing the lineage of the people who run Easton. Thanks again for your time. Hello from "The People's Democratic Republic of Crook Count, Illinois.
We couldn't afford the Easton Game Getters when they came out so we continued to use cedar shafts until the carbons began to take over. The low end arrows today that come from China are ridiculously cheap yet still light years ahead of those Game Getters.
I feel like you have gotten burned for some reason? I carry many brands and all can be good in there own way. Easton is a great company that supports archery pro shops and shooting events we are all lucky they are around. An arrow company that's giving away tons of free arrows or money towards those arrows to get their name out there are not supporting shops, this can hurt archery industry, dealers and shooting events(I can go into this more but I won't). They have every arrow type and price point you can think of from the cheapest to the most expensive arrows compared to most well known companies. You have to look at the full line up and understand the difference, And maybe this is only something a well stocked up knowledgeable easton dealer can do for you but easton can have four types of 4mm options with different specs or components that can save you $ or not. I don't know what demise you are talking about sorry
I'm a tech at Bass Pro in San Antonio and we just got Eason Axis and FMJ's in after not carrying Easton for years. Not a huge selection, but the core spines, complete arrows (minus tips of course). But, we are still primarily Gold Tip, Carbon Express and Victory. In store we're still unsure what's going to happen because right now we have more arrow SKUs than we have spare for. But corporate hasn't let us know which ones are going away. The local perception is that Easton is a good product and has some very good options, but is also a premium price. Other than the FMJ it's very rare that we can't find something equivalent in quality and purpose. Several dealers in the area are also very big with Black Eagle so they're very popular locally as well. Personally, I love to see the growing options and expect that we'll see a consolidation at some point as brands fail or get bought out, but it leads to better prices, better options and improvements to the products as brands try to differentiate themselves. I just looked up Pandarus, to see what was available here in the US. Basically nothing. It's all AU, UK... We can get their junk stuff on Amazon, but I didn't see their more serious products. Maybe soon.
I live in America I've been to 8 different shops within a few hours of me everyone of them have loads of Easton shafts ect. Not one of them carry victory which is what I like the best so unfortunately I'm stuck shooting axis it's just easier to buy in person when I need something vs having to order off-line and wait to get my arrows. Victory rip tko definitely my favorite
Hmm...I have several different arrows, I shoot Gold Tip Hunter XT's with my compound bow, and my hunting recurve uses Easton Legacy Fred Eichler's, and my little 25lb limb takedown bow uses Victory VAP Jr's...just have to play around with various shafts and component's to see what works for your bow
That’s not the case in the US. Talking hunting arrows in my shop, Easton in my #1 arrow followed by Black Eagle. They offer just as many arrows as victory and most at a lower price point. 4 min, 5mm, 6mm and 6.5mm. They come in shafts, fletched vane and fletched feathers.
Weird. I'm in Ontario Canada and the top 3 brands of arrows ( ime) is Easton, Carbon Express and Gold Tip. Casual archers ( not hunters ) I know just buy whatever is cheapest off of wish or Ali express. Cheers!
In the mid eighties a German man opened a carbon arrow business and manufactured them in North Carolina,,my business was seventy yards from this business,, I started using his arrows and never bought another aluminum arrow
I think eastons quality has gone down, I've bout 2 dozen arrows recently and out of them 3, 3 if the arrows were in spec. These where axis 5mm match grades 340 spine, currently trying out sirius archery, and waiting for my 300 RIP tko's, they'll be here in a few couple days. I build my own arrows so I order shafts only uncut. So far I'm liking the sirius archery arrows, so we'll see which one I'll be using this coming season. I will fletch them in a couple different ways and a few different weights. And see what flys best for me. But after my last order of axis's I refuse to order them again. These were all purchased this year, a dozen in January and another in March from 2 different places. I would say maybe a bad batch but getting 2 bad batches back to back I don't see that happening, it posable I guess but I won't be finding out any time soon. Also thinking of trying some gold tip Airstrikes.
Another thing is that a lot of the elite archers who would want Easton's high end expensive X10's are probably already sponsored by Easton and getting their arrows for free, or heavily discounted, so Easton isn't really making any sales there either.
They're not. A beginner or intermediate archer will see the world ranked archers using X10s and Protours rush to buy a dozen only to be deflated once they see the price for the shafts alone. The pretentious Instagram archers will drop the cash because they might be looking for a sponsorship down the line but most of them aren't as good as they want to believe and will probably don't see much benefit from buying high end arrows. I have a buddy who has been on state and national teams and he doesn't use any of the high end Easton arrows yet still continuously gets great scores.
@@ScottPankhurst Price first... Then I look for the best achievable within the price. Bear in mind the 100% carbon arrow bans most clubs have in the UK.
Easton I believe has the best arrow. They can be more expensive but you get an arrow at least as good as they advertise. Most other you hope to be close to what they claim.
My testimonial: as a beginner archer, I was on a very tight budget and looked all over for the cheapest arrow. Shooting yourself in the foot: Easton and other company’s marketing is SO GOOD THAT….I did NOT want garbage…. ”GARBAGE”, inferior starter arrows. I NEVER bought any Easton due to their marketing hype of their high end arrows, (mistakenly) believe that entry level arrows were garbage. Years later, after gaining some wisdom or becoming less stupid, I realised that entry level gear is still more consistent than my skill level. Easton missed out on my business due to their marketing of their high end arrows, implying (in my mind) their entry level stuff is junk. ItsNOT just Easton, it’s every manufacturer
It is sad that USA products are not being given a chance in Australia or NZ due to where you live. PSE has kind of left in recent years despite being one of the biggest sellers of compound bows in the Australia market at one point, Bear Archery is hard to get in, Can't get Easton or Fleetwood arrows, Chinese is what you end up with in your area where 90% of the Chinese brands refuse to cater to Left hand people or those with other odd needs like shorter or longer draw then the average becuse in China they have so many people that they can have 1 million in a sport using the average just fine for said sport and they have to be doing another sport then that they can use a bigger or smaller body for.
The Easton aluminum outside of a few cheaper Chinese brands of okay to good quality (Musen with both carbon fiber and aluminum spine, Elong, and Cupid only in 450 spine) are the only ones making aluminum arrows still that due to price for what you get mainly in field archery, 3D, and hunting (all places with the unknown in the ground) the arrows are better for the money as you get 12 of the Aluminum for the price of 6 carbon fiber arrows that are mid level price/quality. Easton now makes the only aluminum arrows that are not made in China at the moment and that is what they have going for the brand right now at least in North America and parts of Europe. Easton almost stopped making arrows during the 2010's in Aluminum but then this one school program in USA NASP where they use the Genesis Original Compound for all of them mainly stock though they can swap out the arrow rest (due to how crappy the model of brush style it comes with) that popped up in the late 2000's and more so 2010's where they had to use the Genesis Easton 1820 arrows for competition so Easton had to keep making those specific arrows or the Genesis brand would have switched to the cheaper Elong 1816 arrow from China that was also a target only arrow in a very similar style only feathers not fletching just to keep the setup the same. This move of Gensis in the NAA probably saved Easton from stopping making aluminum arrows as the Easton people decided to keep making other arrows as: Why only make for just one bow? as this would not be very cost effective, so Genesis probably saved Easton from dumping the aluminum archery division. There were others making Aluminum arrows in the past before carbon fiber like Victory with only 20__ on up, Onida had some that were only big diameter shafts __20+, Pine Ridge even had a gold color only of aluminum arrows that used what is now the carbon fiber spine chart into the early 1990's when they stopped due to factory going broke that made arrows and a few archery acsecories. Bear Archery even had some aluminum arrows in the 1950's as some of the first after Easton but stopped them after Easton started making arrows in bulk for the masses due to price for both the consumer as well as maker and that Bear could not make them in the quantities that Easton did. Then you had some brands with real fiberglass arrows like Ben Person being one of the biggest with an interesting spine chart that a few odd brands of carbon fiber still use that I could never understand myself.
I dont know if it is the best arrows - sometimes it is just about the persons budget. But yes people chasing success where money is not object will follow top shooters. So if that is hunters or target shooters. Saying this alot of top shooters are changing brands.
So many USA branded carbon arrows out there now, but made by one of the few carbon manufacturers in China, & a few perhaps elsewhere. Merlin in the UK have just launched a new a/c target arrow (Alimax) , but unlike their other products, guessing manufactured in China. Easton's aluminium/carbon shafts (X10 etc) are made in the USA, but how about their all carbon shafts (Avance etc) ? We hear opinions of Easton X10/Protour being the ultimate target arrow & the reason buyers remain who are willing & prepared to pay their big price tag, but in fact, is it really only a case of the belief "it's more expensive so it must be better" ? There are now also a few USA image branded, made in China, all carbon offerings that are almost up there in price. The power of image perception marketing applies.
Hoyt and Easton is the same company, right? And Hoyt has got the same attitude. They are not even responding to E-Mails if you are complaining about a bow
I love my ACE but I have a set of Skylon Precium and I find I am getting the same scores from both. Skylon are cheaper and have a wider range of splines and components.
If just about all the archery shops in Australia are/were Easton distributors how come (at a guess) 10-12 years ago there was a recall on a batch or axis n fused shafts and if you had some of them arrows you had to go through the one Easton distributor shop that was here, I ask because I was unlucky to have had some and had a rather unpleasant experience dealing with another shop (not you haha) who was importing the arrows through the back door kind of thing
apart from the rx7 easton doesn't have anything that interests me. Wich reminds me i'll need to put in an order soon since it can take a while to get the matching components. For favorite arrow it's a toss up between skylon & pandarus, both got great value for money and i can live with 4 weeks wait time for pandarus. I only wish carbon tech was better represented in europe, really want to try mckinney II's for fita's.
Yeah, but a lot of people like the X10 and X10 Protour. I welcome competition and I will choose the best arrow for my dollar regardless of brand. However, they are still here and a force to be reckoned with. I would make the argument that Easton did the hard work of the engineering and research and development. I don't know Pandarus, but suspect that if they are similar to Easton it is because they have followed Easton's winning formulae, but without paying any royalties for copying their technology. If this is in fact the case, killing off Easton would be killing off innovation. Pandarus does not appear to be investing in R and D. To me they appear to be copy and cash in. I want to save money as much as the next guy, but I don't have to buy from the lowest bidder just because their country gave them a pass on patent laws. FYI I am not sponsored by Easton. To be fair, yes of course there are other companies offering great products, however for anything comparable to the best arrows as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. I would also think it is strange that Easton would not sell you $200,000 worth of stock. That I find strange, but I wonder if I have all the information to understand this decision. I agree that Easton needs to evolve to fit the times, but I don't think it is a fair argument to compare their products with those from a company that I am concerned has violated patent laws, but is able to get away with it because their government allows it.
Totally agree. Easton also sponsors tournaments as well as supporting archers through their foundation. So I prefer supporting companies that gives back to the sport.
There has always been arrows like the Pandarus X10. Cartel had similar arrows years ago. 40 years ago people would try and build arrows but they would always be shut down. Yes top shooters will buy or be given X10's, but then shooters try the Black Eagle and report they shoot better scores. Saying that most archers buy affordable arrows.
Easton X10's will probably be "King of the Hill" for only a few more generations in the target archery circle. There are just too many other excellent arrow manufacturers for Easton to compete with. I live in salt lake city, utah where many of the Easton and Hoyt products are produced and I know several of their past employees. Buy Easton Arrows because many lives depend this company to earn a meager wage.
I think this is not so applicable to American archery shops. Easton is definitely Top 3 in any archery shop in any state. Their carbon manufacturing process is the best. Since I switched to their 6.5 Bowhunters I have never had a bad arrow in a dozen.
Absolutely fascinating Steve! Please do more videos like this. I make up my own competition arrows, and was very happy to switch from Carbon Ones to VAP's, and save a few bucks too 17:49 . Buying a trad bow and not wanting to mess around fletching feathers, I recently bought two 6 arrow sets of the Black Eagle Vintage arrows, pre fletched. These are an amazing looking arrow and tick all the boxes. The only downside was you had limited stock in my spine, so had to go for two different colour schemes, as well as had to get inserts from another dealer (wanted heavy inserts). I am so happy with these arrows, and they will now be my go to trad arrows. Just beautiful! Many thanks mate!
My local bow shop is one of the number 1 dealers in the state and can barely keep Easton arrows in stock. Having shot a lot of the brands including specialized, customized arrow companies (I literally have at least 10 different brands set up for shooting) I find for me, my top is the Easton 4mm axis and the pro comp. In rivaled performance (hunting and target) but everyone has their own faves.
I still have never shot a 4mm. I'm so invested in my set up and broadheads. I go 5mm axis MG & 5mm axis fmj MG. With the ironwill broadheads 125 and ti impact. With the 50 grain brass insert on both
I shoot the Fmj 4mm 001 and NOTHING COMPARES. I WILL HUNT THEM. !! Don’t know what this blok is talking about.
Easton is still really big in America. I think Easton, Victory, and Gold Tip are the top 3. Impressive selection you have there. I love it. Keep up the good work.
Easton have been some of the best arrows I've ever used!
Steven, here in America, Easton does offer factory made arrows and bare shafts both in the stores.
Dude thinks Easton Is really loosing ground.
@@janickgonzalez3054 👍 yea, and it’s not the case at all. I like his videos for the most part but Steven can be biased on products, depending on how things worked out for him in the past. I know he doesn’t particularly care for Mathews and Easton. Loves PSE and Elite though.
@@michaelrobinson6988 we have the same mentallity 110percent
@@michaelrobinson6988 i mean there are no top level archers using fivics AND that brand name doesn't even exist over here(not literally just hyperboly).
@@janickgonzalez3054 👍 Some of the Chinese and other brands I’ve never heard of at all. I think he just gets soured when companies won’t give him distributor or takes it away like Easton and Mathews have in the past and I’m sure I’m leaving out some.
I really like my mid-priced Easton Sonic 6.0 arrows. In America there is the concept of premium pricing (snobbery). For certain items, some buyers don't go below certain price points. For example, when buying a tennis racket, many won't consider anything below $100 msrp (although always eager to buy marked down on sale). If we need arrows for a new $1,200 bow, we are willing to pay more for premium arrows. It's largely psychological, as a cheaper brand might in fact be better.
the problem is most clubs in the uk wont allow the use of carbon arrows in the uk
@@electoplater In Australia Longbow archers are not allowed to compete with anything but feather fletched wood or aluminium arrows.Carbon shafts are taboo for competitions.
I literally shoot blackout arrows, they're literally just gold tip hunters but $5 less, I just make sure to ask them not to install anything cause cabelas workers suck. I haven't noticed a difference other than it's not upsetting if I break one. I don't think the average shooter needs anything better
Intersting video, it's completely different in my experience as a Canadian - Easton still dominates here.
Interesting, I love your takes, and it is important that these stories be considered. As a US consumer, I tried last year to MITUSA my entire archery/hunting set up. Not from a thumping perspective but to shop as local as possible. Very difficult and very expensive. 4mm Long Range Axis was the arrow system, and found the carbon to be far more brittle in 4mm, always chips on the nock ends. X Impact hasn’t experienced that issue.
I have 250 spine X-Impact's & 400 spine for my recurve. For decades I shot ACC shafts & made them myself. All but 4 bent just behind the insert. B4 that I shot the original Beman arrows & I'm sure I went away from them cuz of availability. Love the Victory VAP TKO & Xtorsion shafts I've also made. I bought some Delta 3D targets a few years ago. I can tell how desperate Easton is to drum up business by the amount of emails I get from Easton that I swipe left off my 📱 nearly everyday. 😮
Easton are pretty much the only choice for us.
We shoot at a school.
We have a 100% carbon arrow ban.
There are no lost arrows at the end of the day.
To the point. If the school finds an arrow after we have left, we instantly loose our shoot venue.
We have been known to stay a few hours after shooting stops just looking for lost aluminium arrows, carbon would be all but impossible to find with the metal detectors.
Easton out sells here in the United States because it's the only arrows made in the the USA while the rest is made in Mexico, China and Asia Easton 360 spine manufacturing is fibers that are pulled instead of wrapping over a mandrel having a seam inside the shafts we look at quality control closely
Are they all made in the u s ..just curious because I heard 100 % carbon was illegal to produce in the u s
@@jasonteebo1437 just Easton is made in the USA
Great, great video! This Easton issue is classic. I worked for a company (not archery related) that had an excellent high end quality product that dominated the industry for decades. HOWEVER, competition arrived in the market with less expensive product and a greater range of products to address a diverse market. The company refused to change, and their market share eroded . In the end the company I worked for was bought out, down sized etc. This sounds exactly where Easton is going i.e. stuck in the mud, doing the same old , same old.
Nothing against some of the other great vendors out there, but i love my Easton FMJs.
I will add that I am a patriotic American but no longer insist on Made in America. This is for several reason to include a general lack of quality and increased price. Anyone should be smart enough to remain in business using principles you cover continuously. Ego has no place in success. I also believe in getting the most for my money(duh) and enjoy quality products made from smart, hard working people. It is not all sweat shops, lol.
NOT bashing anyone, just sharing.
I always watch your videos and learn something. They are never a waste of my time.
Thank you.
I went from Easton aluminum to victory carbon arrows, and it was night and day difference in quality and performance .
In Ontario Canada Easton still are in the top arrow's used (in my area) I shoot with a group of 6-8 people and I belive there of them shoot Easton and most are hunter's Our dealer/ shop are a Gold Tip dealer with excess to other brands saling both ready made and baer shafts Would your distance away also help in the demise of Easton ? ie: shipping cost'sand other factors And now more than ever things are tight $$$$$$
Good to see you back your helper did a great job
Easton are still the most common arrow in the UK, but they've shot themselves in the foot by reducing their range. In the UK a lot of clubs (nearly all in my area) hire school fields for outdoor shooting and than means all carbon arrows are out. So you either stick with Ali or go Ali-Carbon composites.
Almost everyone who was getting to longer distances seamed to go for ACC or the slightly more expensive ACG 's a few years ago, including me. They were a bit more than Ali but not ridiculous. However they've now discontinued those and if you're a recurve shooter you now have to fork out almost £500 on a set of ACE or go for the slightly cheaper (but still way more than the ACC) Procomp which is really designed for a compound bow. This is letting in the cheaper brands and judging by our club members recent purchases they are missing out on more and more sales. Madness.
Victory, gold tip, black eagle, Easton in my opinion are all interchangeable with every diameter gold tip arrow seam to have a weaker spine than the ones I mentioned above the Easton fmj are excellent hunting arrows so are the victory vaps they all shoot extremely well
Where I’m at in the US, the big 3 brands are Easton, Gold Tip, and Victory. Just down the road at one of the pro shops (we have two in town), you can pick up Easton products that are functionally the equivalent of everything that you’ve shown here.
Same for my area but you can add the cheaper brands like Fleetwood or Linkboy to the list that people get online.
and you forgot Black Eagle
@@ultimatejay not for South Dakota bows, maybe for Crossbow but not bows. I did forget the cheaper Sheel's that are either Victory, Easton, or Gold Tip arrows with really bad wrap job that the spine needs to be measured do to the bad wrap job. Cabela's/Bass Pro as well but those are actual factory mistakes that you could have an arrow broken when you get a set of 6/12.
@@caseysmith544 Ever heard of Paige Pearce? She is like the best female archer in the world and shoots for Bowtech and she shoots Black Eagle. Black Eagle is very well know in the US. Where have you been?
Here in Europe the situation differs, Easton is the brand you will find at any archery store in all flavors. Goldtip is still common but only a fraction of the program and spins, Victory and fourths brand may be optional. At the line in my archery club it either Easton, Goldtip or some Chinese knockoff, which can be fine arrows when properly prepared😁
It must be different in the States because all the shops carry Easton. I have been using the Axis for years and see no reason to change. They are a little more expensive but in my opinon are worth it. I am sure they cannot compete with cheap chinese shafts but I'm do not shop at a pro shop if I want cheap chinese pre cut, pre boxed shafts ill shopp online.
I think this is Australia specific. In the UK Easton is still pretty much the main arrow brand. There are other options, I shoot Nano XR’s. But the X10 is the choice of top shooters here still.
Most UK archery clubs shoot at schools, park sports fields. They rarely have their own ground.
So most UK clubs have 100% carbon arrow bans.
As lost arrows are a big danger to other users of the venue. Alu or alu/carbon are the only choice and Easton are the only accessible manufacturer.
@@sahhull Not necessarily true. We do have Merlin as well. A lot of people in our club have purchased the new alimax arrows that sell for £149 a dozen.
@@sahhull try merlin new arrow similar to Easton acg but cheaper and it alu/carbon too
Gotta remember that X10s are not cheap and top archers are likely sponsored by Easton to use them so of course they'll take it. One has to wonder what top archers would use if they all of a sudden had to use their own cash to buy arrow shafts.
In My club easton don't have many shooters anymore even the top archers are shooting skylon paragons and getting fantastic results at like £400 cheaper. Now easton no longer make acc's or acg's there is a gaping hole in their lineup that others like Merlin are filling which is also what I'm thinking of switching to over ACG's
What are the current competitors to the ACE/x10/pro comps from other brands?
Back in 1971-1973 I shot outdoor field and indoor target at our clubhouse. Outdoor field was a 28 target range, with ranges between 3 yards and 80 yards. All targets were plain paper targets. I don't remember if my area had 3-D targets yet. Our indoor range was set up for the Robin Hood shoot...10, 20, and 30 yards. My last meet there was the Robin Hood. I used Easton X-7 Aluminum arrows. My bow was an American Supreme 38 pound 72" recurve. No sight and pure instinctive. Just an adjustable stabilizer. I shot 89 out of 90 arrows into the little bull but walked away from the meet without firing the last arrow at the 30 yd. target.
There were 2 12 yo kids, one on either side of me who totally wrecked my calm. One kid stuck an arrow to the face of his bow and blew the arrow and bow up. The other kid had a bad habit of tilting his bow toward me and his bow tip ended up between my string and bow face. After the bow blew up, on my 90th arrow, I could not hold the bow steady so I just walked out. I still won the club trophy on points but never picked it up because I didn't shoot the last arrow, I always use that analogy when something happens that I must walk away from. If asked "what did you do?", I just say I haven't shot the last arrow yet. I did very well though and won (in my class) a double, American round. 40, 50 and 60 yard outdoor shoot. My best end was the last end at the 60 yard target. I got 6 gold with the bow that was 3 inches longer than I was tall.
As I know there is a similar arrow as the Easton X10 produced by pandarus.
Could you make a comparison of these two top of the line arrows?
Steve, all the top archers internationally use x10s or black eagles equivalent. You are right in several price categories they don’t win. Remember they are made in the USA. Different labour costs too. Do we want all Chinese bows too? Don’t agree with you in part. Comparing a bmw to a Kia. Different markets for different people. But I do like you to point out the issues and would love them to be cheaper! Good video and talking points for people
I loved Australian made cars - parts were cheap. To have my Merc worked on costs a fortune, which is why it is been sold. Saying that most Australian purchased imported cars, so now we dont make cars. Yes very different cost base. For me it is just interesting watching things change. My new car has a 10 year warranty. Dont get me wrong I think Easton is huge - but they should be looking to compete. They should be looking at the market and working out how to increase sales.
From my view - I think Easton have become lazy. Maybe it is just in Australia. But why dont Easton have all made up arrows to sell to all the market.
They must have read your mind Steve! “Vector” arrow is a fully fletches arrow ready to go. Not sure how that competes though. I wonder if in the USA the buy USA works more in their favour there compared to here. Marketing always seems to be focused on that market or top level performers maybe?
@@ArcherySuppliesLonsdale has Holden gone?
I live in the UK. Mercedes are expensive to fix or service everywhere.
Can't beat that Mercedes service with a snarl attitude too.
@@joshwebb6255 I presume the top archers are sponsored, so they may be given huge discounts on the arrows to use or even get them free.
Im sure if a bow/arrow company wanted to sponsor my archery hobby... I'd happily use whatever they provided.
I know a sponsored archer... The shop gives him a discount on all new archery kit ... Free shop made strings and cables. (good job... The amount of issues he has with his strings and cables. I wouldnt buy them)
@@ArcherySuppliesLonsdale They have redone the game getters now everything but points and feathers included sold in 12 pack.But I come from uk and can confirm it is aluminium only at most clubs.Shame I liked my legacy but they are not doing them.And to the American labour costs...well there is always your prison system (Use their labour to compete with the Chinese) as if the lack of employment rights was not a thing.
I ended up with my uncle's old archery gear, got the longbow restrung for my use, and found an Easton Eagle 2117 in his old quiver. Super light aluminum shaft, I love how it feels to pull from the quiver and balance just feels great in my hands in ways the carbons I've played with in the stores just don't. If only he hadn't blown up a firecracker in the notch end. I went looking for replacements and found this video, and they basically don't seem to exist here in the USA either. That sucks something fierce.
Lancaster Archery Supply still carries 2117 Gamegetters, sub-labeled as having a .400 spine.
eBay
Hey Steve. Received my Tbow (Hoyt Satori) and it's fantastic to shoot. Your review was spot on with the description and the performance. Very happy with my purchase.
It's a great bow.
@@ArcherySuppliesLonsdale You mean "fake" bow.
Steven: Do you have stores here in the states? Would be happy to support your business in future purchases!
Competition is a good thing. BTW, maybe demise is a bit premature, how about "decline". They are doing pretty well otherwise (they do own Hoyt). I clicked on this video thinking they had ceased to exist based on the word usage.
I've been shooting for over 50 years and your right about Easton. That's all there was back in the day but I rarely see their arrows being used here in the US today.
Easton is used alot in the USA as a hunting arrow. The Easton axis 5mm match is what I shoot and they are the best on the market in my opinion. Alot of people at my archery club. Shoot Easton as well
@@wcwcgarner2717 Absolutely agree 💯
Where I'm from in the USA Easton is still a top manufacturer. The Easton axis is probably the most popular hunting shaft in America. The only brand that is beating them in the tournament scene is black eagle. I think the popularity of each brand also depends on who's selling the arrows. If a shop owner likes gold tip he'll have his guys use gold tip and they'll push the brand.
Subsequently Easton and black eagle are my two favorite brands. The top manufacturers here in the USA are Easton, black eagle, victory, and gold tip.
I shoot the axis too. I live not far from Lancaster Archery. I wanted a new arrow and their pro shop steered me to Easton Axis 4mm long range match grade.
You should say usa branded, not manufactured.
Oh please stop. It’s called competition and globalisation of manufacturing. To call this video “the demise of Easton archery” is misleading. Have a look at what the all the recurve shooters at the World Cup and Olympic events shoot. You have your place in the market, please just focus on that, focus on your customer service and move on.
Grow up dhead
The biggest problem we have in the UK is that most competitions will not allow you to shoot fully carbon arrows , so we have to shoot C/A arrows . Not many manufacturers produce Carbon/Aluminium arrows , and with easton now stopping the ACC series it has had a massive impact in the UK as the only option are the top of the range ACE/procom/X10 which are so expensive. So a bit of a problem specific to the UK I think , lined to multi use playing fields used to run archery competitions , so all carbon are hard to find with metal detectors. All a bit of a mess here in the UK
Merlin Alimax are the way to go as almost identical to ACC but far cheaper. Bought a dozen as down to last 7 ACCs and wont be going back. Definitely recommend the Alimax now.
In Japan we still see a lot of Easton arrows at the clubs, but Skylon is starting to come on really strong. I saw some Victory and GoldTip a few years ago but don't see them as often now. I'm still enjoying my Easton CarbonOne arrows for my compound target bow, but I think next time I will try some Skylon Brixxon or Paragon arrows. Easton is definitely not dominate like it used to be.
In the UK, most clubs shoot across shared-use grounds so require A/C arrows, because they are easier to find with a metal detector. I think Easton dropped the ball in phasing out ACC and ACG arrows. They were the gateway arrows to ACEs and X10s. Now, I suspect Merlin's Alimax's (which are made by Pandarus, I understand) and are an ACC replacement will channel UK archers into Pandarus CA320s, which match the GPI and tolerances of X10s but for half the price. Half the GB recurve team now shoots Fivics Five-X shafts. I suspect Easton's near monopoly of arrows in the UK is over.
Here in the UK, we aren't usually allowed to shoot pure carbon outdoors, and Pandarus aren't generally very available.
i would love to walk into a shop like the one you have. i lived in Texas and there was no shop that was local. you dive for hours phll in they have one or two bow brands and maybe 2 arrow brands. and the name brand accessories for them. there were no trad offerings at all. now i am in alaska. they have 2 trad offerings 3 or 4 arrow offerings and 4 or 5 bow brands. you work with what they have or you go online
You've got your "exit to the video" down.
You kinda even sounded like a reporter for a second there...
As always. Great video, reallt enjoy watching your stuff.
Thanks
We use to bag Beman carbon and Cartel Aluminium Carbon, but years later going through the club members old collections and we found a high survival rate of Beman Flash and Cartel Triples. and some of our early best scores were shot with them.
Like a lot of archers who shoot target I bought primarily Easton arrows back in the day, mainly because everyone I knew did and they had the straightest arrows and at a pretty decent price. I left archery for about 15 years and when I started back in a few years ago, everything had changed. Carbon had become king and there are many more options available. Most manufacturers are providing two or three grades of their top arrows. So you can build a real nice set of arrows for half the price of a comparable Easton shaft. I just received some pre-made Pandarus Alpha X arrows and got them for a great price. They are just for practice as I learn recurve so at some point I will be buying a higher grade shaft and building my own and most likely they will not be Easton. Not when I can get a very good arrow for half the price. I just don't see the point anymore.
In America, most archers compound and traditional I see are shooting easton. Many trad shooters like their goldtips though, those are a popular choice I see. I think we have more options than ever before, but Easton's reputation and olympic usage by podium archers gives them an incredible advantage. I dabbled in goldtip and liked eastons for many years as a traditional archer. Now I'm black eagle user. I think the situation may be different in Australia than here but I couldn't say. I think most of the companies sell incredible arrows but it also might be cheaper to get Easton here in the US than in Australia (exchange rates maybe). Wasn't sure what arrows you picked up for the 600 australian dollars though
I think Easton is a US thing.. they seem to all use them there . I'm from Europe myself and I've never bought any eastons, there available in my local shop but I wouldn't buy them simply because there a ripoff... And there incompatibility with other tips and inserts really triggers me ..
I am a 3D archer in Germany. Max distance for trad division competitions is 30-35 m here, depending on the organization. Often animals are placed between trees, without a backstop and so on. I don't know anyone shooting expensive Easton arrows and you rarely see them. For the given distances, with a high risk of arrow loss, it makes no sense shooting expensive arrows. In the German National Championships i saw a guy with a 1,7k EUR bow and skylon arrows. These Skylon are hard to beat. I measure all the spec of arrows i build and keep track of the data in Excel sheet. Last dozen Skylon Edge i build for a friend were equal within 5 lbs of spine tolerance, 3 grain in weight and had better straightness than advertised. I saw much worse in arrows for four times the price!
As a new archer, I find it difficult to find an arrow by Easton on their site. On the other hand, on Victory's website, it is 100% clear.
Victory, Victory, Victory!
I think Victory had/has a very simple model, not bad to stock good price point.
Here in western NY we have more Easton arrows then you could imagine. All models too.
I live in the United States and I like black eagle we do have some easton here a lot more of the other brands you talked about
Because the other brands are what’s “cool”. Just a fad. Plus, those other brands are giving sponsorships out the wazoo.
Nice T-shirt brother 💪🏹
In the UK we still see a lot of Easton, particularly aluminium arrows for beginners. As people move on we buy other brands as well as Easton.
100%. Here in America there has been a shift away from the entry level aluminum shaft to the low cost, i.e. entry level carbon shaft. For example, in our youth programs we can buy one dozen entry level carbon arrows, fletched with points and nocks for $35.00 US.
@@maxschell8823 I believe this is because aluminium is safe. Beginners can in theory mistreat their arrows, pulling them out the wrong way etc. This could be dangerous, so clubs play it safe. In our club beginners get a loan kit for three months, and the arrows are always aluminium.
Also, many clubs shoot on shared fields, meaning that a stray arrow needs to be found, or it could endanger rugby players.
Do you have shared fields over there?
@@maxschell8823 Also, how in earth are they so cheap? 😅
We don't have anything that cheap.
I think this is dealer specific in your particular area. That said, he has a point: there is more competition now, so for Easton the only direction is down in terms of overall market foothold. Eventually 1 of 2 things will occur: either Easton reinvents itself and maintains a place in the market based on value, quality and niche appeal, or they go out of business like Kodak did years ago.
The Easton 6.5 is a pretty good selling shaft here in the states. You can buy them in bare or pre fletched will bully vanes. Among my circle of fellow hunters we want a good shaft without all the fake silly graphics, flames, etc. Now Easton does participate in silly graphics as well, but Easton is seen as an arrow builder’s arrow that are tools, not a pretty statement. Easton’s takeover of Beman filled a niche for hunters that do not want to spend $200+ on a American made shaft.
I have used the 6.5's on brown bear, elk,moose, muley's. At a minimum use the orange inserts and not the included. I machine my inserts at work out of scrap titanium we have.
Yep , Easton 6.5 bow hunter assembled
With all due respect, i have Yet to see any high level pro using any other arrow than Easton X10(X10 protour for compound shooters).
You look to be a bit younger than me? But I also tarted out when it was diff to get the shaft specs one wanted. There were either "telegraph poles" from Easton available in Oz or the "knitting needles" as were the words bandied about the club. Of course these were all imported from the USA and back in the early eighties it was very expensive to import such things or anything from the USA. Asian manufacture killed them like everything.
Black eagle are my favorite brand they have a huge selection
I have X-10s (bought used) and Carbon Express Nano Pro Xtreme (also bought used), which I like. However, the CE Nanos have been discontinued. I understand the distributor has an annoying habit of buying out brands and cutting their best lines. "Where good products go to die" according to a dealer I know.
the new owner is focused on their core market, which is hunting. unfortunate for target archers, but we're a drop in the bucket of the overall market.
For some reason when you even think about mentioning made in China in any of the American Facebook Archery groups you will get absolutely hammered.
that's because Americans retain an attitude of supporting their own manufacturing capability. it's something that Australia could learn from.
You wanna support china over America? You a god damn commie? Or just a weekend commie?
@@ScottPankhurst Yet turn around and whine bitch and moan about the prices of domestic sourced stuff, and then buy the Chinese stuff anyway. "Murica!" Make sure you rock your MADE IN CHINA "Maga" hat while you are at it. Awesome "attitude of supporting their own manufacturing". Im all for patriotism and supporting local grown and made, but they have to maintain that level of product, be it quality or price. Blind Patriotism is a vile thing.
· wow! 😱
@@ScottPankhurst I agree to a point. But just saying the Chinese gear has come a long way. The quality has improved. I’m looking forward to the shoot through riser from Topoint.
Easton is a great company in the USA we have tons of arrows
Damn, I hunt with Easton Procomps here in the states and when I bought them three years ago a dozen only cost me $279.00 USD a dozen. Easton Procomps are really $600 AUD a dozen down under?
How many archers in the Olympics didn't use Easton X 10s ?
Mmmmm, sounds like what happen to The Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) when the Japanese started importing to America. From my understand they thought it would be ok. Before the haters hit me, I went thru one Ford, a Chrysler and three GM vehicles over a period of twenty years. Lets throw in a Porsche and a 2003 VW GTI which turn out to be the worst car of them all. Now my entire family drives nothing but Honda and one Acura RDX in the mix. I guess that is what happens when you do not listen to your customers and or pay attention to your competition. Sounds like Easton is following the Big Three.
Nice presentation, you laid out all of your concerns without screaming, cursing and describing the lineage of the people who run Easton.
Thanks again for your time. Hello from "The People's Democratic Republic of Crook Count, Illinois.
We couldn't afford the Easton Game Getters when they came out so we continued to use cedar shafts until the carbons began to take over. The low end arrows today that come from China are ridiculously cheap yet still light years ahead of those Game Getters.
I reckon this video is for Easton's marketing team
good to know, thanks.
I feel like you have gotten burned for some reason? I carry many brands and all can be good in there own way. Easton is a great company that supports archery pro shops and shooting events we are all lucky they are around. An arrow company that's giving away tons of free arrows or money towards those arrows to get their name out there are not supporting shops, this can hurt archery industry, dealers and shooting events(I can go into this more but I won't). They have every arrow type and price point you can think of from the cheapest to the most expensive arrows compared to most well known companies. You have to look at the full line up and understand the difference, And maybe this is only something a well stocked up knowledgeable easton dealer can do for you but easton can have four types of 4mm options with different specs or components that can save you $ or not. I don't know what demise you are talking about sorry
Easton are the very best over all others!
I'm a tech at Bass Pro in San Antonio and we just got Eason Axis and FMJ's in after not carrying Easton for years. Not a huge selection, but the core spines, complete arrows (minus tips of course). But, we are still primarily Gold Tip, Carbon Express and Victory. In store we're still unsure what's going to happen because right now we have more arrow SKUs than we have spare for. But corporate hasn't let us know which ones are going away. The local perception is that Easton is a good product and has some very good options, but is also a premium price. Other than the FMJ it's very rare that we can't find something equivalent in quality and purpose. Several dealers in the area are also very big with Black Eagle so they're very popular locally as well. Personally, I love to see the growing options and expect that we'll see a consolidation at some point as brands fail or get bought out, but it leads to better prices, better options and improvements to the products as brands try to differentiate themselves.
I just looked up Pandarus, to see what was available here in the US. Basically nothing. It's all AU, UK... We can get their junk stuff on Amazon, but I didn't see their more serious products. Maybe soon.
I live in America I've been to 8 different shops within a few hours of me everyone of them have loads of Easton shafts ect. Not one of them carry victory which is what I like the best so unfortunately I'm stuck shooting axis it's just easier to buy in person when I need something vs having to order off-line and wait to get my arrows. Victory rip tko definitely my favorite
Hmm...I have several different arrows, I shoot Gold Tip Hunter XT's with my compound bow, and my hunting recurve uses Easton Legacy Fred Eichler's, and my little 25lb limb takedown bow uses Victory VAP Jr's...just have to play around with various shafts and component's to see what works for your bow
That’s not the case in the US. Talking hunting arrows in my shop, Easton in my #1 arrow followed by Black Eagle. They offer just as many arrows as victory and most at a lower price point. 4 min, 5mm, 6mm and 6.5mm. They come in shafts, fletched vane and fletched feathers.
Disappointed Easton discontinued the Hexx/Da’Torch/HexxFOC lines…the 330s are great shafts
Weird.
I'm in Ontario Canada and the top 3 brands of arrows ( ime) is Easton, Carbon Express and Gold Tip.
Casual archers ( not hunters ) I know just buy whatever is cheapest off of wish or Ali express.
Cheers!
The audio is as always pretty bad. Please do an upgrade on your recording equipment, your microphone.
In the mid eighties a German man opened a carbon arrow business and manufactured them in North Carolina,,my business was seventy yards from this business,, I started using his arrows and never bought another aluminum arrow
Love my aluminum Easton xx75 2219 crossbow bolts!
I think eastons quality has gone down, I've bout 2 dozen arrows recently and out of them 3, 3 if the arrows were in spec. These where axis 5mm match grades 340 spine, currently trying out sirius archery, and waiting for my 300 RIP tko's, they'll be here in a few couple days. I build my own arrows so I order shafts only uncut. So far I'm liking the sirius archery arrows, so we'll see which one I'll be using this coming season. I will fletch them in a couple different ways and a few different weights. And see what flys best for me. But after my last order of axis's I refuse to order them again. These were all purchased this year, a dozen in January and another in March from 2 different places. I would say maybe a bad batch but getting 2 bad batches back to back I don't see that happening, it posable I guess but I won't be finding out any time soon. Also thinking of trying some gold tip Airstrikes.
Another thing is that a lot of the elite archers who would want Easton's high end expensive X10's are probably already sponsored by Easton and getting their arrows for free, or heavily discounted, so Easton isn't really making any sales there either.
They're not. A beginner or intermediate archer will see the world ranked archers using X10s and Protours rush to buy a dozen only to be deflated once they see the price for the shafts alone. The pretentious Instagram archers will drop the cash because they might be looking for a sponsorship down the line but most of them aren't as good as they want to believe and will probably don't see much benefit from buying high end arrows.
I have a buddy who has been on state and national teams and he doesn't use any of the high end Easton arrows yet still continuously gets great scores.
For me the most important factor is price
for me the most important factors are quality and performance. once those are achieved, I start thinking about price.
@@ScottPankhurst
Price first... Then I look for the best achievable within the price.
Bear in mind the 100% carbon arrow bans most clubs have in the UK.
In South Africa Easton is still top. But then again we are a tiny market for archery... and the only other brand I have encountered is CE...
Easton is still pretty big in the US. But I shoot Goldtips.
Yep, you have an attitude! A positive attitude towards growing the sport of archery.😂😂😂
Easton I believe has the best arrow. They can be more expensive but you get an arrow at least as good as they advertise. Most other you hope to be close to what they claim.
My testimonial: as a beginner archer, I was on a very tight budget and looked all over for the cheapest arrow.
Shooting yourself in the foot: Easton and other company’s marketing is SO GOOD THAT….I did NOT want garbage…. ”GARBAGE”, inferior starter arrows.
I NEVER bought any Easton due to their marketing hype of their high end arrows, (mistakenly) believe that entry level arrows were garbage.
Years later, after gaining some wisdom or becoming less stupid, I realised that entry level gear is still more consistent than my skill level.
Easton missed out on my business due to their marketing of their high end arrows, implying (in my mind) their entry level stuff is junk. ItsNOT just Easton, it’s every manufacturer
Huh? Easton is producing everything from budget shafts fully built to premium bare shafts and components..
Talk about overpackaging. We need to stop that sort of waste.
It is sad that USA products are not being given a chance in Australia or NZ due to where you live. PSE has kind of left in recent years despite being one of the biggest sellers of compound bows in the Australia market at one point, Bear Archery is hard to get in, Can't get Easton or Fleetwood arrows, Chinese is what you end up with in your area where 90% of the Chinese brands refuse to cater to Left hand people or those with other odd needs like shorter or longer draw then the average becuse in China they have so many people that they can have 1 million in a sport using the average just fine for said sport and they have to be doing another sport then that they can use a bigger or smaller body for.
easton are massive in the uk they also own hoyt
The Easton aluminum outside of a few cheaper Chinese brands of okay to good quality (Musen with both carbon fiber and aluminum spine, Elong, and Cupid only in 450 spine) are the only ones making aluminum arrows still that due to price for what you get mainly in field archery, 3D, and hunting (all places with the unknown in the ground) the arrows are better for the money as you get 12 of the Aluminum for the price of 6 carbon fiber arrows that are mid level price/quality.
Easton now makes the only aluminum arrows that are not made in China at the moment and that is what they have going for the brand right now at least in North America and parts of Europe. Easton almost stopped making arrows during the 2010's in Aluminum but then this one school program in USA NASP where they use the Genesis Original Compound for all of them mainly stock though they can swap out the arrow rest (due to how crappy the model of brush style it comes with) that popped up in the late 2000's and more so 2010's where they had to use the Genesis Easton 1820 arrows for competition so Easton had to keep making those specific arrows or the Genesis brand would have switched to the cheaper Elong 1816 arrow from China that was also a target only arrow in a very similar style only feathers not fletching just to keep the setup the same. This move of Gensis in the NAA probably saved Easton from stopping making aluminum arrows as the Easton people decided to keep making other arrows as: Why only make for just one bow? as this would not be very cost effective, so Genesis probably saved Easton from dumping the aluminum archery division. There were others making Aluminum arrows in the past before carbon fiber like Victory with only 20__ on up, Onida had some that were only big diameter shafts __20+, Pine Ridge even had a gold color only of aluminum arrows that used what is now the carbon fiber spine chart into the early 1990's when they stopped due to factory going broke that made arrows and a few archery acsecories. Bear Archery even had some aluminum arrows in the 1950's as some of the first after Easton but stopped them after Easton started making arrows in bulk for the masses due to price for both the consumer as well as maker and that Bear could not make them in the quantities that Easton did. Then you had some brands with real fiberglass arrows like Ben Person being one of the biggest with an interesting spine chart that a few odd brands of carbon fiber still use that I could never understand myself.
Easton is not easy to work.I don't know which accessories fit which arrows. It has become difficult.
Who makes the best arrows?
Easton. Carbon Express would be a contender if they were still actively in the target market. perhaps again one day.
I used Easton for 20+ years but now the Victory Vap TKOs are my easy favorite. Easton isn't even a runner-up.
I dont know if it is the best arrows - sometimes it is just about the persons budget. But yes people chasing success where money is not object will follow top shooters. So if that is hunters or target shooters. Saying this alot of top shooters are changing brands.
Evolusion are pretty good.
Easton x10’s of course…
So many USA branded carbon arrows out there now, but made by one of the few carbon manufacturers in China, & a few perhaps elsewhere. Merlin in the UK have just launched a new a/c target arrow (Alimax) , but unlike their other products, guessing manufactured in China. Easton's aluminium/carbon shafts (X10 etc) are made in the USA, but how about their all carbon shafts (Avance etc) ? We hear opinions of Easton X10/Protour being the ultimate target arrow & the reason buyers remain who are willing & prepared to pay their big price tag, but in fact, is it really only a case of the belief "it's more expensive so it must be better" ? There are now also a few USA image branded, made in China, all carbon offerings that are almost up there in price. The power of image perception marketing applies.
I've been buying easton bloodline 480 and 400 since 2012
Still able to buy but its getting harder. Only shoot 27 draw with 53 lb. Small arrow is my hunting arrow
But I only shoot a bear 2012 legion 60 lb. More money in site and stabilizer than the biw but love bear
Wished i had a cool arrow shop like this in my area, i think my whole country has maybe 2 websites and no physical stores to buy from.
Hoyt and Easton is the same company, right? And Hoyt has got the same attitude. They are not even responding to E-Mails if you are complaining about a bow
I love my ACE but I have a set of Skylon Precium and I find I am getting the same scores from both. Skylon are cheaper and have a wider range of splines and components.
40 years ago paid less than a dollar now I see Easton arrows for over $20😢😢😢
If just about all the archery shops in Australia are/were Easton distributors how come (at a guess) 10-12 years ago there was a recall on a batch or axis n fused shafts and if you had some of them arrows you had to go through the one Easton distributor shop that was here,
I ask because I was unlucky to have had some and had a rather unpleasant experience dealing with another shop (not you haha) who was importing the arrows through the back door kind of thing
Aluminum carbon composite arrows bend without you knowing it.
If you can’t get in as a distributor because Easton has so many other distributors, they can’t be doing THAT bad.
apart from the rx7 easton doesn't have anything that interests me. Wich reminds me i'll need to put in an order soon since it can take a while to get the matching components.
For favorite arrow it's a toss up between skylon & pandarus, both got great value for money and i can live with 4 weeks wait time for pandarus.
I only wish carbon tech was better represented in europe, really want to try mckinney II's for fita's.
Yeah, but a lot of people like the X10 and X10 Protour. I welcome competition and I will choose the best arrow for my dollar regardless of brand. However, they are still here and a force to be reckoned with. I would make the argument that Easton did the hard work of the engineering and research and development. I don't know Pandarus, but suspect that if they are similar to Easton it is because they have followed Easton's winning formulae, but without paying any royalties for copying their technology. If this is in fact the case, killing off Easton would be killing off innovation. Pandarus does not appear to be investing in R and D. To me they appear to be copy and cash in. I want to save money as much as the next guy, but I don't have to buy from the lowest bidder just because their country gave them a pass on patent laws. FYI I am not sponsored by Easton.
To be fair, yes of course there are other companies offering great products, however for anything comparable to the best arrows as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. I would also think it is strange that Easton would not sell you $200,000 worth of stock. That I find strange, but I wonder if I have all the information to understand this decision. I agree that Easton needs to evolve to fit the times, but I don't think it is a fair argument to compare their products with those from a company that I am concerned has violated patent laws, but is able to get away with it because their government allows it.
Totally agree. Easton also sponsors tournaments as well as supporting archers through their foundation. So I prefer supporting companies that gives back to the sport.
There has always been arrows like the Pandarus X10. Cartel had similar arrows years ago. 40 years ago people would try and build arrows but they would always be shut down. Yes top shooters will buy or be given X10's, but then shooters try the Black Eagle and report they shoot better scores. Saying that most archers buy affordable arrows.
Easton X10's will probably be "King of the Hill" for only a few more generations in the target archery circle. There are just too many other excellent arrow manufacturers for Easton to compete with. I live in salt lake city, utah where many of the Easton and Hoyt products are produced and I know several of their past employees.
Buy Easton Arrows because many lives depend this company to earn a meager wage.
I think this is not so applicable to American archery shops. Easton is definitely Top 3 in any archery shop in any state. Their carbon manufacturing process is the best. Since I switched to their 6.5 Bowhunters I have never had a bad arrow in a dozen.