IDV Bolts/arrows - Review

[Jopper13]

There has been a lot of discussion on IDV bolts/arrows.

The IDV heads are the harder, smaller diameter foam tipped bolts and arrows. They shoot farther, faster, and hit harder than any other arrow/bolt tip.

Europe uses these almost exclusively and some events have thousands of players where hundreds of arrows are flying around and the rate of injury due to this tip is very very low. In the US, these bolts are avoided like the plague.

We have been testing out the IDV tip via Tim's crossbow at practices and events and so far there has been no real issues. We have had a few people express opinions about them and prefer them not to be used, but there has been no injuries to date. Victoria has also been allowed to use an IDV tipped arrow at practice and has shot a number of people. Yes, they do hit harder (just like the calimacil weapons hit harder than latex) but there has been no instances where there was an injury or serious concern so far.

My question is... should IDV bolts be allowed at all? Or possibly a modified ruleset for them? Or maybe the bolts can be used but must be covered in additional padding?

Here is an interesting link to the arrows and safety.
www.idv-engineering.de/html/eye_safety.html

Thoughts?

Attachments:

[tcochrane]

At the moment, I'm developing and testing some fleece covers for these, to reduce the damage.

I, personally, am confident in their safety, as I would never use anything that was not thoroughly tested on myself. I have been shot in the face, eye socket, groin, and stomach with these arrows, to no ill effect beyond a harder hit than most arrows. They sting a bit more - that's something that I acknowledge, and if a player is uncomfortable with the possibility, I will not shoot them with the IDV heads, as I recognize that they are scary. About 75% of the time, I'm aiming to miss and cause fear simply because I know the possibility that a shot won't be safe exists - using judgement and caution is what a safe archer is supposed to do.

I would like to see these continued to be used, hence why adding covers will be thoroughly tested.

[blueruby]

I agree with Tim on this one. They can be scary, but I'm assuming that Calimacil would fully test an item they sell before putting it on the shelves, especially one with the potential to go as wrong as an arrow. I've been shot by them before, and while they've all been "center of mass" or leg shots, and do hurt a little more than the Ed Helen or LAP arrowheads, they seem to be safe enough. If people are concerned about them, I'm sure we can find some way to modify them (such as the fleece covers Tim mentioned) to make them softer and safer while maintaining the integrity of the arrow itself.

[Jopper13]

After play testing this at practice and getting solid in game/in combat feedback (Brandon being shot in the head, Mischelle being shot in the face, a number of us being shot on the body) I have decided to make a ruling on these.

At this time, the IDV heads will not be legal for Last Hope, either for a bow or crossbow.

There are 2 updates to this that I will be playtesting.
1) The open cell foam heads are also raising some concern. I am considering requiring a single layer of fleece on those arrows to soften their impact as well.
2) The IDV heads will be playtested with 1 and with 2 layers of fleece over them to see if they soften the impact enough to make them legal.

I have one IDV arrow covered and I'm going to cover another then throw them into the practice grinder on wednesdays.

So far I like it, the "rail gun" property of the arrows flight seems intact yet the impact has softened.

I'm also going to cover the open cell foam arrow similar to the IDV one and see how it works too

More info soon!

[nico]

I would like to know more about idv arrows (plate and round). Is the plate one very strong? What's about security and pain?
Thanks

[Jopper13]

Just an update, but we will be finalizing more exact rulings for the arrows we will allow in Last Hope. We have a lot of testing data under our belts now and experience with multiple arrow designs, but it will most likely go to the following system (this is paraphrased, it will be most detail.

- Minimum diameter of the head probably 2.5 inches, with no less than probably 0.5 passing through a template (exact details will be figured out)
- No tape, only cloth, on the striking surface of an arrow
- Must have a cloth cover
- The can of the head of the arrow must not wobble much when twisted/bent perpendicular to the arrow head.
- The can of the head must not be able to spin
- Shaft must not be bent or cracked
- Must have 2 fletchings
- Must not strike with excessive force with a 35lb draw bow
- Must not have excessive bounce back after striking a target
- Striking head of the arrow must be open cell foam (or otherwise approved foam, no dense foams)
- Arrow must condense or "squish" a minimum of 1 inch (will determine exact numbers later)

These rules will be cleaned up, finalized, and published in Version 1.4

[clay]

Can you specify what you mean by "fleece cover"?

Thanks!