I went hunting one morning and it was in the 20s (really cold for here), I got there well before the sun started to rise, so I just left my bow propped up until it got light enough to see. When it did, I picked up my bow to nock an arrow, and it almost froze my hand off. I guess it's sort of my fault for being hard headed because I don't like wearing gloves. I've heard carbon bows don't get cold like aluminum, is this true? And what else makes a carbon riser better than aluminum?
While carbon is lighter than aluminum a carbon bow is not necessarily a lighter bow. There's a few aluminum bows out there that weight in at or below some of the carbon models. Now the not conducting cold part is pretty awesome. Holding an aluminum bow when temps are below freezing in a hand without a glove on is not an enjoyable experience.
They still get cold, just not as cold to the touch as metal. Yes, they are lighter, supposed to be more ridged in spec but honestly I don't know that I ever had a riser of any material that flexed enough to cause any problem. I think they are a little bit gimmick and a little bit real deal and a whole lot of just something different to offer hunters/consumers some diversity. I really like mine but I'm an aesthetic kind of guy and mostly like mine because it's different and I like the looks of it. I like the advantages as they are but not enough to choose one over a better shooting bow, mine just happens to shoot nice so I'm happy with it because of that.
I don't usually hunt in weather colder than 35 most years. It rarely gets that cold here. occasionally we see upper 20's but maybe just a few times a year during the season. Even then i don't usually hold my bow until I see one I want to shoot and by that time my mind is not on how cold the bow feels. Non issue for me.
I think that it is just someone's idea for "the newest, latest, greatest thing" to come down the pike. Are they better? At this point I don't think so but that doesn't mean that in the future they might not be. I remember some of the first fiberglass rifle stocks that were on the market. They were a new concept that didn't do everything well but look where we are today because of those first trials. I don't like to hunt with anything but a fiberglass stocked rifle today.
Well carbon is lighter, stronger, and stays a lot warmer than aluminum bows.... I remember when hoyt came out with there carbon bows and they did those torture tests. Running them over with trucks and then shooting them. You wouldn't be able to do that with an aluminum riser bow.
I've never owned one but it won't conduct the cold like aluminum risers. I shoot aluminum mostly because they are cheaper but I like a heavier bow and wear gloves so the cold riser doesn't bother me too much
Limbsavers make a insulated strips. I have them on all my bows I wear thin glove while hunting. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk