Arrow bags / quiver socks: what material?

[Elleth]

I see several of you use arrow bags on their own, and lots of others use the sock-in-a-quiver arrangement used in the films.

I assume historical arrow bags used alone were of a fairly coarse linen - but for the latter use where the leather's providing some of the scuff-and-bump protection, what fabric do you all prefer? I can imagine a slightly plush wool being a nice quieting / cushioning layer, but can also imagine it picking up burrs and not holding up quite as well as a linen.

Have any of you used both? And if so, do you have a preference?

[Ursus]

I see several of you use arrow bags on their own, and lots of others use the sock-in-a-quiver arrangement used in the films.

I assume historical arrow bags used alone were of a fairly coarse linen - but for the latter use where the leather's providing some of the scuff-and-bump protection, what fabric do you all prefer? I can imagine a slightly plush wool being a nice quieting / cushioning layer, but can also imagine it picking up burrs and not holding up quite as well as a linen.

Have any of you used both? And if so, do you have a preference?

I've never messed with a wool one so I cant say. I contemplated doing all leather but decided it would be to heavy, which was what I was trying to avoid in the first place.

Mine is a very heavy linen that is similar in weight to a painters drop cloth and has been heavily treated with the same solution I use to make ground cloths. The bottom inside is lined with a soft medium weight leather to protect against my broadheads and bodkins. I intended(and still do) to sew a leather cuff around the top that will close via drawstring but ran out of leather for now. When I am shooting I simply roll down the top form a kind of rim.

Historically they often had a perforated leather disc inserted towards the top to keep the arrows separated and protect the fletching. I decided to forgo this as it would not lay flat like I wanted and have since had no real damage to my flights.

I've had mine completed for some weeks now and have used it in the woods every weekend since its completion for both trekking and hunting and can honestly say my arrows are in the same condition they were when carried in my quiver.

[Greg]

For what it's worth, mine is oilcloth. A bit stiff for an application like Ursus', but after working it in a bit, I bet it'd do fine.

[Manveruon]

I used a medium-weight linen for mine, with a leather cuff at the top like Ursus was talking about. It resembles those used in the films by the Ithilien rangers quite a bit, which was my intent. At the bottom, I added an extra layer of a heavy canvas material inside the bag to strengthen it, but the way I did it formed a bit of a lip inside, which the points occasionally catch on, so in the future I would do that differently. Mine is very basic, and just for use inside the quiver, but I think the methods and materials Ursus and Greg used are probably preferable.

[Eledhwen]

Canvas weight linen. I toyed with the idea of a leather one, though I never made it. Canvas weight linen does the trick well. If you need extra sturdiness I suppose you could add another layer of linen in stressed areas. I have found no need for such at all. I use only the arrow bag these days, for hunting and anything else. I really like them. Especially pulling an arrow down and out onto the bow point first. Quiet, minimal movement, fast enough for hunting.

If you need to waterproof it, beeswax works, or any of the usual mixtures containing it. I have never found the need. Tightly woven canvas weight linen does just fine.

Eledhwen