Manchubow vs. Longbow vs. Flatbow - Comparison

I think it's clear that a Manchubow is the more evolved and superior bow style in this comparison, but as you mentioned, if you have to outfit an army it's more efficient to go with an easy to make in high quantity design. Just as Stalin used to say: "Quantity has a quality all it's own".

Who else hears shotgun in the background such a banger

Manchu bow is a Lamborghini, Viking is a Volkswagen, Indian is a Ford ;)

I love "small, brutal, toothpicks "

Considering the native bow, try shooting them while in some bushes lol.

Hello Armin, Thank you for this comparation.! I think an improvement to compare speed for this three bows should be done using with Thumb Release in all of them. In my experience thumb release gives arrond 15% of additional speed to the arrow.

Longbows are more primitive types of bows so you need more strength to achieve similar results on the target. The humid and rainy weather of some regions would cause serious maintenance issues to horn/sinew bows. Composites were known in western europe, the Romans used it. It is also worth pointing out that the men using the longbow were particularly strong men, using bows in excess of 100 pounds of draw weight. So even though their longbows made them tired much quicker than if they used composite, they were still effective on the battlefield and particularly lethal at close range within 30 meters with those heavy arrows.

Do more of these comparison videos sir like compare the different fiberglass bows you reviewed in the past and whatnot.

I'm curious. You're right-handed same as myself....but I noticed you shot the Manchubow with the arrow on the opposite side of the bow. Why is that exactly? Is it something about how the bow is made? I can't see it closely enough to observe any differences for myself. lol Or is it merely a different style of shooting? just wondering it's purpose

"you simply find somewhere a piece of wood, let it dry and when you have it almost everyone you show it 2-3 times can do it"
LOOOOL you did show a lot of ignorance in making a proper yew longbow, Sir.
I guess you could put it like that: it does not take an engineer to drive a car?

Saw video of a traditional North American Ram's Horn & Sinew bow which was said to produce 200fps with a similar draw -- didn't see them measure it though. Very interesting and deliberate manufacturing process.

So choose a bow the same way you choose women curvy and fast he he he

Shannon Outdoors is making fire hardened Hickory and other white wood bows without any backing with similar draw weights but pretty dang fast

shooting that many arrows without a tab or glove while shooting 40lbs and above, my fingers would be feeling numb.
maybe not feeling it due to string slap taking the focus of pain. ouch!

LoL !!! Like pull starting a crappy lawnmower

No contest

I’m just starting in the sport and I really, really enjoy your videos. I’m old now but I’m still young at heart and archery definitely feeds that heart. Well done, as always!

dein reiterbogen hat zu wenig standhöhe und den osage würde ich an deiner stelle nicht nochmal so weit ziehen.

Well Manchu were the ultimate nomadic people who conquered the mighty mongol. What you expect?

The composite recurved bow was the key to horse archerymen in the ancient time. They were the special forces in their time.

And yet still the brits believe that longbow is superior.

Odd question, I am getting back into archery. Used to shoot long bows, but being 6’ 6” the bows need to long for the draw length I needed. 20 years ago I could pull some heavier bow but not now. What kind of a defect refelex bow would recommend for starting with?

Thanks !

A real archer who looks like a marvel movie character and gives free instruction? Awesome!

The flat how is not very well-made. The lower limb is flexing way too much compared to the upper limb. It needs to be re-tillered.
I just made a hickory flat bow, 47#@28" 62"NtN, which shoots 400gr arrows at about 165-175fps.

That little osage bow looks poorly tillered. You might want to take a scraper to it so it doesn't break. It might be because he holds it so far down and has stressed the lower limb severely over time.

feet a little more apart, more upright with your upper body and turning the left hand outwards so that the tendon does not touch the forearm saves eveything. Do not let go of the arrow until everything is in harmony. It helps if the arrowhand is placed against the bone onder your eye ;-)

I'm catching up on your past vids as i only subscribed a couple months ago.
I've learnt so much already.
Tell me, sometimes you rest the arrow on your finger on the left side of the bow and other times you rest arrow on right side of the bow on your thumb...any reason for this ?

I've heard of the Viking style longbow before with the side nock and both ends of the string being fitted different. That other end is tied on, right? Doesn't slip or need a nock? Can you explain that a bit? I can't find details on on it like what the knot's called or anything (for one of my stories which is a Viking parallel the lead character makes his own Holmegaard bow/s with the string like that)

Smart idea having the tennis balls there to keep you sharp, you should play an older "semi-retired" version of Oliver Queen in a short film or something (I use bottles for that, the stiff type of plastic where they won't crumple up so easy)

So, If I need to kill someone at my convenience, go with the Manchu, but if I need to kill someone in less than two weeks from now, go with the longbow...

wow the release on the machu bow looked amazing, enjoy!

Thank you for the comparison.
Whilst the english bow was cheaply made, there was an entire industry making them, which gives us surnames, "Bowyer", "Fletcher", and so on. The english bow is not quite so simple as the viking, the wood seasoned, the limbs more tapered, the grip thicker and the horn nocks necessitated by the slight natural recurve. The action of a longbow should be sweeter and not stack like that viking. The longbow should have a variable draw length, from the lips to the shoulder, without forcing it. For hunting and target practice it would be about the weight you used but for warfare it might be asked to shoot heads of up to 6-ounces, which needs a heavier bow and 'cloth-yard' arrows up to 1/2-inch diameter. Draw weight for intended purpose. The purpose of such a heavy arrow would be impact more than penetration. A specialised weapon to deliver with force from massed archers rather than distance or speed, and usually at the horses.
The Mary Rose longbows are good examples but they are late period, quite crude, and many appear unfinished. They ranged from 100 to 180 pounds draw but I cannot image anyone drawing the heaviest without tillering it down to suit the archer. The majority in the 150-160 range. They're for lobbing bricks, heavy arrows.

Indian archery tradition have both long and short bamboo straight bows. Best secret to learn is to practice opposite to high pressure air flow. Even three or five odd joints bows are also part of Indian archery.

The moment you used inches, you lost me.

With Viking the history is clear, would love some historic context for the others to prevent me from googling it 🙂

What might be the next step up above the Manchu, possibly even slightly shorter?

Funny. Europeans have a odd idea of what short Native bows are. A short Indian bow would be 3 to 4 feet.

man dude just keeps pulling i would be scared the bow would explode lol

Much Manchu love here

Интересно было бы посмотреть индейский лук с лёгкими стрелами в 28 дюймов.
It would be interesting to see an Indian bow with light arrows of 28 inches.

Ah, so that's what a flatbow is, I was never quite sure.

Hello Armin, your videos are fantastic! I’ve actually been looking for a viking longbow, could you point me to where you got this one or refer me to one you would recommend?

How do you compare a Japanese long bow vs English longbow?

As you know in every western media, to push western superiority and 'chrstanity civilized us' narrative, an average Longbows will always travel 1 km farther along with piercing a 10in bow of steel than the best Composite reflex bow