An archer using his bare hands to retrieve a carbon arrow from a target. This is risky as carbon splinters are nasty and hard to remove if embedded under skin.
IF you really want to know an archer, don’t bother asking about their draw weight or favourite bow brand – just take a peek inside their archery bag.
That’s where the truth hides.
A well-packed bag is like a psychological profile: meticulous organisation, backup tools and enough spare bits to rebuild a small spaceship.
Then there are those who pack like they’re off on a month-long expedition – duct tape, snacks, three towels and a mysterious item that can only be labelled “just in case”.
Everything inside tells a story: how they shoot, how they prepare and how often they’ve learnt lessons the hard way.
Let’s start with the unsung hero – the bow square.
To the untrained eye, it’s just a T-shaped piece of metal or plastic with a few numbers.
To an archer, it’s the difference between a clean shot and an arrow that behaves like it’s had too much coffee.
One edge checks the brace height (the distance between the bowstring and the bow’s grip), the other checks the nocking point (where the arrow clips onto the string).
Archers in the field carry essential tools to stay in the game.
Get either wrong, and you’ll spend the next hour wondering if you’ve angered the gods of accuracy. Get it right, and your shot feels smooth, silent and almost spiritual.
Next, meet the nock tool – a tiny, unassuming gadget that saves you from cursing in public.
It’s used to adjust or replace the small plastic nocks at the back of arrows – those little clips that hold onto the string.
A loose or crooked nock will ruin your day faster than a crosswind, and the nock tool lets you fix it neatly without damaging the shaft.
Some versions even come with a metal shank for digging out broken bits.
There’s a strange satisfaction in prying out stubborn nocks, a bit like dental work but far less risky.
And then there’s the hex key set, the holy grail of quick fixes.
Every archer knows the sound of a loose limb bolt – that faint metallic rattle that says, “You didn’t tighten me, did you?”
Cue the frantic search for an Allen key mid-session. A proper hex set is the difference between confidence and chaos.
Veteran archers will tell you: never, ever trust a bow that’s just been “finger-tightened”.
1) A recurve bow stringer.2) Arrow pullers prevent slippage spares your fingers and saves you from the embarrassment of wrestling the target like a rugby tackle gone wrong.3) An archer's hex tool set. Parts on a recurve bow, such as the limb bolt, require a hex tool for tuning.4) The T-rule is a useful tool for getting the correct brace height and nocking point on a recurve bow.
Now, here’s a humble but indispensable piece of kit – the arrow puller.
Usually made of soft rubber or silicone, it doesn’t look like much. But try pulling an arrow out of a dense foam target on a hot day, and you’ll be grateful for it.
The grip prevents slippage, spares your fingers and saves you from the embarrassment of wrestling the target like a rugby tackle gone wrong.
There’s also a special kind of satisfaction when your arrow pops free with that little “thunk” sound – it’s the archer’s equivalent of opening a jar lid on the first try.
Next up, the bow stringer – a long, sturdy cord with loops or cups at each end, used to safely string and unstring recurve or longbows.
It helps bend the limbs evenly so the string can slip into place – no drama, no strain, no chance of twisting a limb into a sad modern art sculpture.
Of course, some seasoned archers will insist they can string a bow “the traditional way”.
These are usually the same ones later explaining how they “just heard a crack” and “it wasn’t my fault”.
And then we come to the simplest yet most underappreciated tool of all – the pen.
Yes, the humble pen. Not glamorous, not technical, but absolutely vital in competition.
You need it to record scores, and it must be black or blue. Never red – that’s the judges’ colour, and brandishing a red pen at the scoring table is practically a crime.
Always carry a spare. Actually, carry two. Because nothing sends an archer into a blind panic faster than realising their pen has vanished mid-tournament. Cue the frantic, undignified search while everyone else is calmly noting down numbers.
Beyond the tools, the way archers treat their bags says a lot.
Some bags are neat and precise – each item in a labelled pouch, everything colour-coded.
Others look like a tornado blew through a sporting goods store. There’s always one person who can produce an entire toolkit but somehow loses their armguard every other week.
Still, these small, ordinary items – bow square, nock tool, arrow puller, hex keys, stringer, pen – are what separate the ready from the rattled.
Forget one, and even the best archer is laid bare, exposed, and one misfire away from a meltdown.
Archery is a sport of precision, patience and preparation. But it’s also one of those pastimes where you quickly learn humility – nothing brings you down to earth like a crooked nocking point or a missing hex key.
So, next time you see an archer quietly rummaging through his bag, know this: he’s not just looking for tools, he’s also searching for control, calm and maybe that pen he swore he had packed.
In archery, as in life, the smallest things often decide whether you hit the mark, or end up wondering how on earth your arrow wound up in the wrong target.
