I recently took up archery and I thought it would be useful to record my progression of equipment. I’m lucky in that I have found a really good club and there’s a particularly helpful archery shop a short drive away.
At the moment I shoot bare bow but I’ll probably also try recurve in the future (I’ve only been shooting for about three months at the time I created this page). I started out with equipment loaned to me by the club, originally I was using a 16# bow which I swapped out for a 22# bow after around six weeks.
My Equipment
- Winners (WNS) Forged Motive FX Riser – Matt grey, 25″, right handed – The shop I bought it from suggested a 40# draw limit but most people suggest 50# or no limit for forged risers.
- Soul Archery Every Limbs – 68″, 30# – Measured at 32# at full draw.
- Reign Sovereign Recurve String – 68″
- Easton Jazz Black Arrows – Custom, 1816, XX75 Jazz – See below for more details.
- Cartel RX-103 Bowstand
New Additions June 2025
- Spigarelli ZT Magnetic Rest – Type C (Std) widely recommended for barebow (see here and the videos linked).
- Shibuya DX Gold Tip Button – highly recommended as a good low cost plunger.
Easton XX75 Jazz 1816 Arrows
The arrows were already made up by the shop. They were just listed as “custom made” so the parts below are my best guess based on what the shop sold.
The measured length is 28.5″ this is from the end of the shaft (not including the point) to the bottom of the nock groove.
NOTE: Easton have an arrow selector on their website and an arrow selection chart.
- Shaft: Easton XX75 Jazz – Size 1816, 28″ long not including nock, 4mm nock.
- Point: Easton Aluminium Shaft Bullet Points – very difficult to tell exactly what the points are, this is a best guess. If they are bullet points the ridges near the shaft are very poorly defined.
- Bushing: Easton G-UNI Bushing – this reduces the shaft internal diameter down to a standard internal diameter for a nock. In this case it accepts a 4mm nock. These apparently come pre-fitted according to the catalogue. The bushing must be matched to the size of the shaft.
- Nock: Easton G Nocks – small, 4mm insert.
- Fletching: AAE Elite Plastifletch EP23 Vanes (2 3/8″) – Probably, there are no marking on the fletching but the shop sells these and the shape is a good match.
Child #1 Equipment
- Kinetic Novius V2 Riser – Black, 25″, right handed – Preferred due to the fairly slender grip.
- Soul Archery Every Limbs – 66″, 22# – Measures at 21#, riser was adjusted to minimum draw weight.
- Reign Sovereign Recurve String – 66″
- Easton Jazz Black Arrows – Custom, 1616, XX75 Jazz – See below for more details.
- Cartel RX-103 Bowstand.
- Cartel Focus Carbon Sight – Right hand, silver
Easton XX75 Jazz 1616 Arrows
- Nock: Easton G Nocks – small, 4mm insert.
- Fletching: AAE Elite Plastifletch EP16 Vanes (1 3/4″) – Probably, there are no marking on the fletching but the shop sells these and the shape is a good match.
About Arrows
Easton seems to be by far the largest manufacturer. Easton appear to mostly use a 4-digit size number for their aluminium shafts and a 3-digit number for carbon shafts. This number is important as the other parts of the arrow need to match this size.
There’s a wide range of options for points but it mostly seems to come down to whether they are screw in or push fit. Screw in points require an insert, for my XX75 Jazz arrows that would be an Easton RPS Insert. Whether you use an insert or push in the size needs to match the shaft.
An arrow should be measured from the end of the shaft (excluding the point) to the nock groove. There should be at least 25mm or 1″ of shaft past the most forward point of the rest at full draw.