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NuFletch - an innovative vane system

6K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  koch45 
#1 ·
I saw the NuFletch vane system at the ATA show in January. IMO, this is a revolutionary product and will be great for crossbow hunters and shooters just getting into the sport and have no means or experience to fletch their own arrows, those that want to shoot heavier arrows and those of us that hate pulling out the old fletching jig to replace a damaged vane.

Crossbows typically are more damaging to arrows and vanes because they are normally faster and the arrows are a shorter 18 to 22 inches, resulting in vanes being forced into target material more often. With the Nufletch system, it takes less than 10 seconds to replace a damaged vane or all 3 vanes. Another great feature of the Nufletch system is that some crossbows’ barrel channels are not deep enough to prevent lower vane contact. This can negatively affect accuracy and damage the lower vane. The design of the Nufletch system lowers the vane’s height just enough to clear the bottom of the crossbow’s barrel channel .

The NuFletch system will be offered for crossbow arrows in diameters to match popular sizes from Gold Tip, Easton and others. To keep your crossbow arrows the same length using the NuFletch system, simply cut off 3 1/8” inches from the rear of the shaft and install a standard aluminum screw in point insert for that brand arrow and you are ready to screw the NuFletch system with vanes onto the rear of the shaft. Flat and moon nocks will be available for the NuFletch vane systems. The moon nocks can be rotated to achieve an exact index of the lower vane to clear the barrel deck channel.

There will be a net gain in arrow weight and some additional stiffness due to the shorter shaft using a NuFletch vane system. Using 2.1” Fusion vanes and 20” GT Lazer II shafts as an example, here’s what I found in weight comparison. The standard 20” arrow with brass insert, 100 grain point, standard nock and Fusion vanes weighs approximately 401.5 grains on my 2 grain scales. After cutting 3 1/8” off the rear of the 20” shaft, installing a standard aluminum screw in point insert in the rear of the shaft and attaching the NuFletch unit with Fusion vanes, the arrow weighed 488.1 grains, for an 86.6 grain increase. That is a substantial amount and shooters that are trying to squeeze all the speed they can from their setups will likely see this as a disadvantage. Others may see it as an advantage, depending on their thoughts on arrow weight. I would guess it’s fair to say that most new crossbow shooters and hunters would not have a problem with the additional arrow weight when compared to the advantages of the Nufletch system and some people looking for a means to add weight to their arrows will find this a quick and easy way to achieve that. The NuFletch system will also substantially change the FOC of an arrow so for the shooters that insist on certain FOC for their arrows, they will have to add more weight to the front of the arrow with heavier points and/or inserts.

I will be shooting arrows on a daily basis with the NuFletch vane systems installed, with field points and broadheads that work well with normally fletched crossbow arrows, to determine any differences in performance, accuracy and POI from normally fletched arrows, using several different crossbows in speed ranges from 280 fps to 380 fps. I will be posting my results and opinions on the shooting sessions going forward. I stand corrected by the NuFletch folks if they see errors in my postings.
 

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#29 ·
To tell you the truth I had forgotten about this product, being busy as a one armed paper hanger :lol: I originally tested these with no vane offset so there was no way to get the arrows to spin without using Quick Spin vanes. I was promised some newunits with offset for continued testing but to date I have not seen them. They are a great way to build an arrow in the 600 grain range using very heavy broadheads. If I ever get the offset vaned units I'll post it here. To answer your question, yes you have to cut off about 3 inches of arrow shaft to makeyour arrows the same length after installing the NuFletch units.
 

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#30 ·
I decided to test out the nuflecth system to answer questions I had, and could not find answers for online. I read forums and all the ones that I was reading had nothing more than speculation. I did not find concrete info other than from the nufletch site, and it’s not like the manufacturer of the product is going to say they suck. So I ordered two packages, this gave me six nufletches to mess around with. Info in this review comes from data I collected. If I missed something you would like to know, reply to post and I will try to help out. I will not answer a reply about stupid things, like prices. The prices I give are ones I found, and did not spend an hour shopping for best price. If you can find it for a buck cheaper, that’s great.
PRICE:
Two packs cost around $85 shipped, it sounds high, but keep reading. I found a refletching set up on ebay. It had everything needed to reflecth arrows, tools, vanes, jigs, and so on. The cost shipped was $84. I read a forum, the guy said “why not get FOBs from starrflight, they are cheaper”. I had no idea what a FOB was, so I looked into it. Cost was $25 shipped, but what the poster neglected to say was that to use the FOB you have to use a drop away rest. Drop a way rest from QAD range from $60-160. So lets take the cheapest one add it to the cost of FOB and your at $85. Now with the reflecthing kit, you will have a never ending cost for glue and other supplies. I know glue does not cost an arm and a leg but it will add up in time.
INSTALL:
If you can screw in a broad head, you can use the nufletch system. How I did install, I screwed nufletch into the insert for my points/broad heads, set the cut off saw for my original arrow length, and cut off back end of arrow. Glue an insert in and your done, and of course take nufletch from the front to the back. Refletching with glue, you need to strip off fletching, clean arrow with acetone, glue new ones on and hope they stay. Nufletch, just twist back off, change vanes, twist back on, your done. Glue can make a mess, a guy I work with glued his hand to the table. HAHA
TEST:
I used an electric scale, the nufletch added weight. Each model has a different weight, info is on nuflecth.com and was spot on. I used a chronograph to test speed, I lost 10fps and gained 4 inches of penetration. Target I used was a block target. I used 6 of the same arrows for test, I left 3 as is and installed nufletch on other 3, I even put the same vanes in nufletch to make test as close as possible. I shot all 6 arrows one after another, making sure I shot from the same spot every time. All 6 had a tight group together, so the nufletch did not change flight from this distance. Distance I tested at was not real far, I do not have access to a huge indoor range. I live in SW Pa, it was 30 degrees and snowing when I did this test so I did not get to see how flight may change at different yards.



PROS & CONS:
Nufletch pros are, the easy fletch changing, install was easy, price is good, gain in arrow penetration, good groups so far. Only con I see is loss of speed if you’re the archer that’s hell bent on the fastest bow. Loss of 10fps is not bad when you gain 4 inches of penetration. Pros and cons of other set ups I mentioned. Traditional fletching can get messy, and in time costly. You’re only going to be able to strip off old vanes so many times before arrows get messed up. You can’t just refletch on the go at the range. If you lose 1 vane, it’s a pain in the butt to line up just one with a jig. The FOB from starrflight, I did not get to shoot them. The draw back on those is that if you shoot a pass through, the FOB gets popped out of the arrow. Not sure how many times they can have this happen till they brake or you lose them. Also if you shoot tight groups I can see them getting hit a lot, being made of plastic I do not how many hits they can take before the FOB or the arrow shaft brakes. If you want lighted nocks, nufletch makes them now as well.
MY OPINION:
This part is all my opinion so you can take it for whatever you want. I was skeptical at first, I read online forums, and even emailed the people at nufletch. After doing online research I did not get the answers I was looking for so I ordered some. I’m not the type of person that has to have all the new cool stuff. I researched online then ordered, since nufletch has a money back guarantee I had nothing to lose. Since I tested them I ordered 6 more for my son. They work great, they shoot great, easy to install, and they look great. If you have any questions, something you want to know, reply to the post and I will try to answer. I will not answer if you’re just looking to argue. Like I said, if you can find something cheaper than the price I said that’s great for you. If nufletch is something you know you will never use, because you’re stuck in your old ways, that’s fine. Bottom of the line is they do what they are made to do. Will they make you a better shooter……….if that’s a question you have, I suggest you get offline and go to the range and practice. The archery world is filled with products that claim you will shoot better groups. Like I just said, practice, practice, practice. Give them a try you have nothing to lose with money back guarantee. I do not think you will send them back.
 
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