Home > Bow Reviews > TD01 Trainer Bow
TD01 Trainer Bow
Reviewed By Steve , 29 July 2009
Every week I help dozens of people have their first archery experience, to a man the reaction is always the same – WOW archery is so much more fun than I imagined – I want a bow, which one should I buy ?
When you first are introduced to any new sport, game or hobby and want to buy you own kit, it’s madness to go and buy the most expensive thing you can find, and for several reasons. Firstly, you may not keep it up, secondly you have no idea what you are purchasing, which means you will be relying on someone else to choose for you, and when you are talking about a lot of money you want to know exactly what and why you are buying something.
There are several “trainer bows” on the market and this one is from Internature, it’s sold by various dealers and usually rebranded and at around £65 or less it sounds very cheap, it comes with a stick on arrow rest and a Dacron string.
I have 104 of these bows in various weights and sizes men’s are generally 68” bows drawing 30#@28”, although it is available in lengths from 62” up to 70” and in #ages up to 40#
The riser is actually quite striking for a bow that costs so little, it’s laminations of wood and the different colours and stripes look rather fetching.
The limbs are a wood core with white fibreglass on both belly and back. The bow is a 3pc take down.
What a super little bow, it can be tuned in minutes and shoots very well indeed, it’s fast enough for almost anything you would wish to shoot at and has inserts installed if you wanted to put “stuff” on it (It is equipped with all the inserts to install a sight, stabilizer, and Berger button.)
It will cope well with a wide variety of nasty arrows that are usually sold along side it, however to get the most from this bow you need a decent set of arrows – I have a great set I use for myself and can shoot the same sort of field scores as I do with my ACS, in fact I know of 2 excellent archers that feature highly in championship shoots that use this very bow and when you shoot well and come 3rd to a guy using one of these you appreciate how good it really is !
Because these bows are used by novice archers all the time any niggles quickly become apparent and I do find that perhaps one in fifteen people find the grip to cause a blister or rubbing on the top of the thumb joint of the bow hand, some of this can be put down to gripping the bow too tightly but not always, if you were thinking of buying one I would strongly suggest a trip to a dealer to feel one in your hand first.
Where this bow scores well is the dependability and rugged construction, in 4 years I have had only 3 bows break ( and that because of trips falls or someone stepping on it) and bear in mind these bows get used several times a week for a full day !
I replaced the rests – the ones that come with it are rubbish and usually break during the first session you use it, much better to replace it with the Hoyt Hunter rest which will last you a long time.
Weather shooting wood or aluminium this little bow will be a hit, almost everyone I know has one of these tucked away somewhere and the odd thing is that considering the numbers that are sold there are so few that come up for sale second hand.
For me the best trainer bow on the market.
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Features & Design |             |
| It’s a straight forward bow designed to be mass produced and be easy to shoot. Brief accomplished
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| Performance | |
| It isn't the fastest bow, there are some small vibration issues, it's a trainer bow for beginners not a top flight custom bow. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is butremember speed isn't everything.. | |
| Value for Money | |
| It has to be 5, I have tried everything out there that claims to compete and quite honestly they don’t. To get a bow that performs noticeably better you are going to have to spend a lot more than £65 | |
| Overall | |
| It gets the 3 because it is a trainer bow and has to be measured as what it is, of it’s kind it is the best | |
Steve Nicholson and Andy Gilfrin, are real archers interested in the best archery suppliers have to offer. In our search for the very best bow, arrows and equipment we have shot, used and worn pretty much everything on offer.
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| Essential Details | |
|---|---|
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What : TD01 Trainer Bow Price : £65 |
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Basic Recurve Bow the TD-01
Looks like a proper Bow, shoots like a proper bow but costs less than the toys I bought for my Niece for her birthday !
Wooden riser looks good in any company
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Latest |
July 2010
The Mary Rose story comes to life this month, when Steve and Andy went to visit archaeologist Alex Hildred and got our hands on 500 year old long bows (literally). We look at the battle of Vernuiel, Andy visits France on a peace mission and we talk to Sid at Border.
June 2010
Bumper edition this month, a pig in armour, Geoff towers direct from Homildon Hill and a look at the Mary Rose. There is also news of the UK Atlatl championships and all the usual regular items.
May 2010
This month sees the release of yet another Robin Hood film, to celebrate this months magazine is a Robin Hood special. We look at the man behind the legend with a couple of articles about the man and the period that gave rise to him. We also have an article on Little John, not Robin Hoods side kick but John Cately of Little John Arrow, he talks to us about his life in archery and the way he likes to make his arrows.
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Your Comments
Tell us what you think, do you agree with the review or have something to add?
Posted by: Stevee on Dec 12, 13:57
I too got one of these bows as a first. As a matter of fact, I bought a used one off the chap that did the review. Second hand with a decent set of arrows for the bow and a fast string. Superb little creature this is! You just can’t fault it for the money. And I’ve still got it too! Haven’t shot it for a good while though. I agree that it will cause rubbing on the top of the thumb joint after prolonged use. I got round this by glueing a piece of foam in exactly the right place on the riser.
Another excellent quality bit of kit!