Thomas Brugger | Bogen Sport Extrem/Extreme Archery is known as the man who shoots extremely "heavy" bows. But... he can also do other things. He has developed his own feather shape, the Storm Petrel Feather.
We wanted to know the reason for this and asked him for an interview
Many of us archers generally tinker with our arrow setup. What are your experiences with this?
Like any enthusiastic beginner in this sport, I initially tinkered with all kinds of arrows myself. I'm naturally very familiar with this and know that only an optimal setup leads to reliable and repeatable results. However, this "tinkering" doesn't provide the enjoyment I need; and there are people who enjoy doing it to perfection. Therefore, I leave this fine-tuning to the arrow maker of my choice: Steve Kuhn!
How did you come up with the idea of designing your own feather?
The idea came naturally during a German championship where it was pouring with rain. My arrows at the time – quadruple, 3-inch fletched – were definitely impossible to control, and I needed the first arrow to get the second one on target with the noticeable deviation. And for that reason, 11th place on the first day wasn't bad for me, but it was still frustrating. On the second day, in the dry, I managed to set a new record, but it was still only enough for fourth place. Therefore, on the first day, I decided to start developing a fletch that would enable perfect results in both wet and dry conditions. My experience as a laboratory manager in biophysics came in very handy here.
Why this shape?
This shape is copied from nature. Keyword: bionics. Over millions of years, evolution has developed shapes that are optimally adapted to every imaginable environment. In my specific case, it was the storm petrel, which flies purposefully through the worst storms and walls of water; and, of course, is also a perfect flyer in dry conditions. This bird is virtually fully equipped with the double parabolic shape. From the feathers to the body shape, and even in macro photography. This shape is undisputedly the most turbulence-free in wind tunnels – and this is especially true in wet conditions.
From the idea to the finished spring. How long did it take?
The search for the optimal shape was actually not easy, as many features had to be taken into account. After about 6 months, the first functioning nib was finished and glued to the shaft. That was the SV1 (Sturmvogel 1). The first tests were FANTASTIC!! Both dry and wet. I then had the nib tested independently by various organizations, with pretty much the same result every time. The nib IS a notch better in every respect than any other nib shape on the market. I then offered the nib to one organization, but they didn't like the look of it. Well, beauty is a matter of opinion, but performance was much more important to me (and I actually liked it a bit too). Steve Kuhn saw it the same way, and so he asked me if he could build and market this shape. As a founding member of the team and a good friend of mine, this approval was of course a given without any involvement. Steve is therefore allowed to build and distribute this nib (and its further developments) EXCLUSIVELY with my copyright. I ask you to continue to respect this in a decent way and not - as has happened indecently - to copy and market this pen.
Why in 3 different versions?
This spring always places a challenge on the archer. It's about achieving a clean release! A larger spring surface reduces the system's sensitivity somewhat. Thus, the larger spring is always a good choice if you're not blessed with a perfectly clean release, and of course, it stabilizes the arrow more quickly, especially with a heavier setup. Of course, this always comes at the expense of a higher parabola for longer targets and a loss of speed for those targets. Therefore, everyone can decide for themselves where they fit in and still benefit from the wet/dry advantages of this spring.
Finally, I would like to emphasize again:
This feather can't work magic... You still have to shoot cleanly with it, but it teaches you to release the arrows cleanly. I definitely see this as an advantage because you're constantly improving. But the psychological effect shouldn't be underestimated! When you know you have the better feathers on your arrows, you go into the competition and the direct comparison with much more confidence. And if it then starts to rain...!!! Then you KNOW that YOU'VE hit the mark. This has been confirmed to me several times, and this is exactly how we've achieved a number of successes! It's not without reason that the current German Field & Hunting Champion, Frank Coltan-Wagner, AND the repeated German 3D Bowhunter Champion, Frank Herzig (always with the Sturmvogel feather), shoot with this very feather.
Thomas Brugger is... ...a passionate archer with the goal of supporting and popularizing archery in all its forms. After numerous national and international titles, his main focus is now on advancing our sport. Draw weights of over 100 lbs are often used for high-profile promotions to support precisely this goal.
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