First Archery Kit
OK, you’ve enjoyed the beginners course and are wanting to take up the sport. Currently you are looking at about £100 to join the club. Plus any additional shooting fees they may have to levy.
Now you need something to shoot. Any archer, any club and even a number of archery shops will tell you the 2 same things. First, never buy anything until after the beginners course (you might not need it). Second, rent / hire your first bow.
This is good for the club, as they get some more revenue off you by hiring out the equipment with a deposit. It’s good for the archer because they get to learn on basic equipment that they will outgrow, usually before the rental charges outweigh the cost of the bow. With a rental bow, as technique, ability and strength improve, the limb weight (bow strength) can be increased simply by swapping limbs for stronger ones. The basic wooden takedown type bows are about £60, so you can expect the deposit to be about £70 to cover the arrows, sight, string, tab and arm guard that should be included in the offer. You want a bag for all that? Any right sized sports bag will do, even a supermarket “bag for life”. Monthly rentals will vary in cost.
So, there you are, £100 just to belong, £70 deposit on a bow plus monthly rental charges. £200+ for the first year and you still own nothing.
It’s not that I want to put anyone off, it’s just that in any sport where you need equipment to play with, like cricket, tennis, badminton, golf etc. there is always an initial outlay. Sometimes this outlay can be very expensive at the beginning. Unfortunately, this puts a lot of people off, especially in archery. The clubs do their best to lighten the load by hiring basic kit. If you really want a cheap pass-time, take up walking. But then that could become hiking, and that’s a world of expense as well…
