News
November 23, 2021-
As we go into Thanksgiving week, there is a great deal we are thankful for this year. Our friends, family, and kind-hearted Omega Longbows customers have shown us patience and support during very trying times. We deeply appreciate everyone who has reached out and we thank all of our customers for being so patient while we get ourselves back together. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, we are so grateful!!
Headway is being made on the new orders and 2022 updates. Our new Spectraply order is here to replace the Dymalux that had cracked and split during the drying preparations after summer flooding. More alternative drying methods will be explored next year, but until that’s properly addressed and budgeted in we are officially out of Dymalux and will be using Spectraply for all builds.
While exploring different taper and length layout options for the Native and Tribute, it became clear that the recent updates bridged the gap between the two new models far more than expected, and at 60″ they now performed near identically. This redundancy has granted us an opportunity to simplify our lineup. So the 60″ Native will be retired and the 60″ Tribute will now take its place.
For 2022 the Tribute will be available in 60″, 64″, and 68″ for different draw lengths and purposes. The Royal Huntsman length options will also be expanded to include 62″, 66″, and 70″ models. With a selection of different Spectraply and fiberglass colors and several lengths to fit your needs, both models can be better customized to your specifications while offering the best fit and performance I can build. I hope this will give me a chance to better practice this craft and give you all the best Omega longbows possible! Thank you all for this opportunity!
October 23, 2021-
We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding shown during these last couple of months. It has been incredibly hard on our family, but we are getting through the worst of it and have appreciated the kindness shown. During the time of my father’s passing, we also struggled with an incredibly wet summer season and moisture content issues in our materials. That lead to issues in durability and so we made a number of changes in how our materials are stored and prepared. We are now back to work as we should be with dry, strong material again. This chaotic period also exposed several other key areas that needed better addressed moving forward, though. So as of this date, we will be working towards meeting those goals as best we can.
First, we will not be restocking Dymalux. The Dymalux riser option will be removed from the Huntsman later this year due to issues with the moisture/drying characteristics that have become apparent during our moisture crisis. What’s left in our stock is due to run out as the new order of Spectraply arrives, which has been far more forgiving to dry and store and more cost-effective for the color options we hope to offer. This change is being made to produce more durable and consistent bows for everyone with more color options and less confusion.
Second, the simplified length options will be adjusted slightly over winter. The 70″ length option for the Royal Huntsman will return for summer 2022 to once again offer a proper longbow. The 64″ AMO Tribute will see a small price bump as the limbs see some performance and draw length refinements to better suit its hybrid limb layout. The Native will be mildly refreshed as our entry model in 2022. As our entry model, I will be removing the split riser design in favor of the previous “back stack” layout for improved durability, better fadeout glue joints, and smoother production times. This “back stack” core layout still allows for the shorter 60″ AMO to pull comfortably to 30″ while being more compact for hunters or smaller-framed archers who just want a short, simple hybrid bow.
Finally, due to the time spent working through warranty replacements over the past month, it’s clear I do not have the inventory done that I was hoping for our November sale. What little stock had been built up has mostly been sold already. This had been a struggle while my father had been sick, however, it had made sense to continue scheduling for inventory rather than be late with a customer’s order should my parents have needed help. Now, after his passing, scheduled inventory builds will be changed to custom orders instead for improved turnaround time. Missed weight bows will be posted as usual inventory, but there won’t be any more inventory-specific builds. We will be contacting customers as we work through their builds, but start dates will continue to be scheduled as previously set times. This will take some time, but we hope to have everything up and running smoothly by spring next year!
August 22, 2021-
Due to a recent death in the family, we have made changes to our pricing and options. This passing has had a profound impact on our family and we are working through some significant life changes as a result. During this time, I will be working with limited length and custom options for orders to best serve our customers and avoid confusion. The recent material changes have had a more profound impact on the lineup than initially recognized. We will begin taking orders again on September 6 as planned but will be scheduling fewer builds for the remainder of the year to spend more time on each build as well as attending to personal matters. I deeply appreciate your understanding during these times, and hope to resume business as usual as soon as possible. Thank you.
July 26, 2021-
It seems like the summer months always go by too quickly, but this year has been a complete blur. Family health issues have taken a lot of focus from our regular weekly activities and here we are, cleaning up from a weekend at ETAR and right back to work on builds and business. School starts just a month away and soon hunting season will follow. Our first two rounds of instock sales for the year went quickly last month, with all but a few bought by early emailers and enthusiastic archers watching our website like hawks. The near-empty instock page that stood for weeks has certainly made it clear that I haven’t been building fast enough this way. For that reason, we will be making some changes to our weekly routine to help speed up the build-to-finish process, and continue to work at the pace in hopes of getting a better rhythm as the year goes on.
In addition to some schedule changes, we’re also making changes to our model lineup for the remainder of the year. Because of the unavailability of the fiberglass I’ve previously used, the Spirit and Imperial have to be removed from the lineup. These models had the most extreme reflex to the limbs and are too temperamental for the new material. The other models have less radical limbs and can be adjusted with a different limb width and lamination tapers. I’m unsure at this time if there are material alternatives that will allow us to bring the Spirit and Imperial back to the lineup, however, this appears to be the best option for now. To help balance out the departure of these models, new length options are being explored in the remaining models. The Tribute will now be based around a 64″ layout as standard, with the longer options being available for target shooters or longer draw archers. There will be several new length options added to the Royal Huntsman to reflect the options from the Imperial. The new Native will debut at 60″ while the design is finalized, but will eventually include other length options in the coming years. Unfortunately, the effects of unidirectional carbon core is significantly less pronounced in these models, so this option is being reevaluated for the new lineup and where it’s best utilized.
