8 Critical Aspects of a Premium Compact Folding Survival Bow

If you are looking at investing in a bow for survival, your grab-bag or just a good quality compact bow that will withstand the test of time then here is some info that will summarize all you need to know.

A good survival bow has 8 critical characteristics to its design:

1. Effective bow length
2. Overall packaged length
3. Corrosion resistance
4. Durability
5. Positive limb retention
6. Protection of arrows
7. Zero tool or maintenance requirements
8. Truly ambidextrous

These 8 key criteria are what set the SAS Survival Bow apart from other survival bows and we at SAS believe these criteria combined are what makes the SAS bow the perfect bow for a long term survival situation.

1. Effective bow length

Bows are known to be more efficient and stack less the longer they are. In order to design a bow that does not stack we used a bow design length of 60” with just the right limb to bow length ratio to create an efficient energy storage and release ratio.

2. Overall packaged length

The difficulty was then packaging such a long bow using what we like to call the MAGIC NUMBER for survival bows. The magic number being 21. It was extremely important for us to ensure that the packaged length of the bow be 21" or under, yet still be available up to 65# draw at 28". We consider 21" the magic number for survival bows, because it allows you to package the bow into almost all backpacks and bugout bags including certain one day packs. The SAS bow is 21" long and meets this criteria whilst delivering more power and with more efficiency than any other survival bow on the market. We often get asked why the bow does not just unfold. There is a very good reason for this, in that we would have had to make it 3-4” longer in order to get it to fold flat. We could have used a shorter effective bow length to achieve this, but it would have been less efficient and would have stacked similar to how other shorter bows on the market stack. This is important for longer draw archers and with our design we have achieved a bow with a maximum draw length of 31” that does not stack.

3. Corrosion resistance

During the designers career as an automotive and petrochemical design engineer he came to appreciate the materials used in designs that ensured vehicles and systems remained corrosion free even in sever marine conditions. He then employed the same design principles using only the finest quality materials and the result is a bow that will outlast any length of survival situation. The riser and limb securing brackets are made from aerospace grade aluminum which have been specially treated to reduce glare and allow for good paint adhesion should you want to employ a camo paint job. The retaining pin as well as the limb securing washers are made from marine grade 316 stainless steel which means they will never corrode and jam up. They have also been chemically blackened to prevent glare which could give you and your position away whilst hunting or in a tactical situation. The retaining pin screw uses a durable, lightweight nylon 6 material which helps the hand tightened screw to remain tight and not cause unwanted noise. We have chosen a self-adhesive, replaceable rubber arrow rest and the composite limbs are by nature corrosion resistant and are manufactured by the same company that makes the limbs of nearly all the big players in the compound bow industry. The limb retaining nut and bolt are the only parts of the bow that may develop slight surface rust. This is because we chose to use grade 10.9 high tensile steel to ensure the limbs remain secure with a high factor of safety. As these are not working parts of the bow this will not be of any concern regarding corrosion. You can simply use some oil or animal fat to keep them clean and corrosion free in order to keep them looking good.

4. Durability

For us, long term survival means a number of years. Engineers design for what is called "infinite life" to ensure that a system or component will never fail, no matter how many times it is used. With aluminum this is especially important as aluminum has what is called a fatigue limit. If you stress aluminum past this fatigue limit too many times it will break. Similar to if you bend a piece of wire back and forth a number of times. Steel and other metals have what is called an endurance limit. All the components of the SAS Survival Bow have been designed using fatigue and endurance calculations to ensure that your bow will never fail if used as intended. This is very important as a bow that has not been designed in this manner is not only dangerous, but cannot be considered a bow for long term survival. We challenge you when looking into survival bow products to ask the manufacturers and get it in writing if they have designed for infinite life. This may be the difference to life and death. SAS bows are designed for infinite life to withstand fatigue failures so you can be rest assured your bow is built for long term survival.

5. Positive limb retention

This was another extremely important consideration in our design so as to ensure that the composite limbs made use of a properly torqued retaining bolt and washer system. This is extremely important as without a proper retaining system, composite materials are prone to cracking which could lead to both injury and loss of the product in a survival situation. A composite material with a through hole must be correctly bolted down in order to reduce stress concentrations around the hole. We did this using a high tensile bolt and nut system backed by a 316 stainless steel washer system to distribute the bolting load. The SAS Survival Bow is the only purpose built Survival Bow that employs a correctly torqued limb retaining bolt to ensure safety and durability.

6. Protection of arrows

It was as important for us to design a bow that fitted into a bugout bag as it was for the arrows to fit into a bugout bag, but even more important was the need to protect these arrows during transport. The SAS bow is the ONLY bow on the market that protects the arrows inside the riser to ensure your arrows remain true and put meat on the bush table. The riser storage compartment can also be used to store other items such as strings, arrow rests and small items.

7. Zero tool or maintenance requirements

The bow does not require any tools to assemble and string and requires no maintenance other than the usual clean and oil of the limb retaining nut and bolt to keep it looking good. This is very important in a survival situation where you do not have access to tools or replacement parts. The bow is simple to use, simple to assemble and simple to maintain.

8. Truly ambidextrous

The bow is the only truly ambidextrous compact bow on the market, as with an arrow rest on either side of the riser and a symmetrical and comfortable riser handle you simply need to swap hands for those times when your quarry is on the other side of you or when you have other handed group members.

So with this set of 8 design criteria, when you buy an SAS Tactical Survival Bow you can be sure that you are getting:

1. A powerful long bow that is efficient and does not stack
2. Fits inside most backpacks, even some daypacks
3. Is corrosion resistant
4. Is durable and designed to withstand a long term survival situation
5. Has positive limb retention to ensure safety and prevent limbs from cracking
6. Protects your arrows during transport
7. Requires zero tools or maintenance
8. And is truly ambidextrous

I hope that this has helped you in understanding how our bows have been designed and what to look for in a premium survival bow. This will also explain why we have chosen to make our bows slightly more expensive by packing in what is REALLY necessary to you.

Happy hunting!