AAE Trad Vanes Review

Inexpensive

These are plastic vanes that are small in size. They work great for target shooting in my backyard.

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4 inch trad vanes

Everything I was hoping for. They shoot great

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Results pending

I am unsure on results, as I am still struggling to get a dozen carbon shafts fletched. These vanes are so flimsy that they are very difficult to get properly aligned in my Bitz jig clamp. The base is less than 1/16" wide, and they are very difficult to push into proper alignment in the clamp. Currently I am 2 out of three for a good attachment, with the frequent requirement for… read more stripping the vane, and starting over. I am going back to feathers.

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Shoots off the shelf just fine

These are on all my arrows. Great in the rain and wind. I shoot off the shelf and they shoot just like feathers but just a little tougher on shelf material.

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Great Fletching

I fletched my arrows with four 3" trade vanes. First thing I noticed is that they are extremely quiet. No noticable change in arrow flight. Be sure to use glue, not fletching tape. Maybe it's just me, but I did not have great results with fletching tape and the tread vanes.

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I'm a convert

This is an update to my earlier review.I have nothing to unsay from that review, but a few things to add. I have been shooting these vanes all winter long (that means 3D every other day, on average), and I am sold. They have been dumped in to snow banks and mud puddles. They may be a hair less bright than when they were new, but not one whit less functional. Not one of them… read more have even begun to strip away. I don't have to worry about waterproofing them or steaming them after they get wet. I suppose some trad shooters will hold their "synthetic-ness" against them, but I will go with whatever saves me $ and time, so long as it doesn't harm my shooting. I gave my leftover fletches to my shooting partner.

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Good Product

So far I am very happy with these vanes. There appears to be no noticeable deviation when shooting off the shelf of my recurve. I plan to use these during the rains that I tend to run into during elk season and save my feathers. My only complaint is that they are only available in a parabolic shape.

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TradLab Tested

I ran a Designed Experiment that tested fletching material, length and configuration. I tested in extreme winds and I simulated Wet Conditions. The Trad Vane does fly off the shelf and perform better than a wet feather. I always run 2 in my quiver if I encounter rain. The Trad Vanes produced very low decibels in a sound test.

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Great product

Got rained on during an elk hunt with feathers, ordered these the next day. They shoot as good or better than feathers. Thanks Aron

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Trad Vanes first impressions

I am an experienced traditional recreational 3D/target shooter. I shoot a hybrid Toelke longbow, and am located in Illinois where we have to deal with rain, mud, and snow if we want to shoot all year round. I ordered up a package of 5" Trad Vanes (they're actually closer to 4.5") to experiment with. After one shooting session, my impressions are mostly positive. My groups seemed… read more to impact a little lower than my feather-fletched arrows (the vanes are twice as heavy as the fletches I usually use, and I wonder if they might cause a little more drag) but, once I'd made allowances, they were no less accurate. The vanes held together well; no sign of poor adhesion/stripping away. AAE tells me that cold weather will not cause these vanes to stiffen or effect their performance.Here's a tip if you are going to fletch your own. The "quills" or bases of these vanes are much smaller than the quill of a natural feather. If you are not VERY careful when clamping them, all or part of the base of the vane could easily end up INSIDE the clamp instead of protruding from it, which will probably cause adhesion failures. I will update this review as necessary after I've shot them some more.

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