Arrow of Steel

Recently we looked at carbon arrows for the newer archer just starting to reach out to the longer distances. One of the arrows we have recommended was the Alimax. Marketed by Merlin, they saw a gap in the market when Easton retired their noob friendly and robust ACC shaft and pounced! On paper the Alimax looked extremely good and initial reports from users at the club have been very positive. However, we are starting to get some outstanding reports on the subject of this shafts toughness.

On several occasions, these arrows have been shot into the curtain. With slow moving aluminium's, this isn't a real issue .. but fast moving carbons will punch through the curtain and strike the back wall. This can be death for an carbon arrow as the point is usually driven back into the shaft and the shaft explodes outwards as the carbon strands splay out. Not so the Alimax which to date is taking wall strikes like a champ. We've been impressed. The back wall has been less impressed!

Last week we had something even better. An Alimax was shot into some extremely dense wood on a frame. It was hard to access the shaft with the arrowjac and in wrestling the shaft out the wood something bent. Initially we thought it was the shaft but on closer inspection the haft of the point (the bit that fits inside the shaft) is bent. So far we can't see damage to the Alimax shaft. However, we are not able to be certain of this till a new point is acquired but right now the shaft appears to have proven stronger than the stainless steel ... and that's pretty damn impressive. We'll be continuing to recommend this shaft as a first carbon arrow as it continues to exceed all our expectations. We're not saying its noob proof ... but so far its proving pretty damn close.

the red line is flat on the desk surface .. the bend appears to be just behind the pile