KTB II vs. YMG - Battle of the Korean Bows!

[@pipesandpistols]

The clash of the titans! The battle of legends! The video I’ve been waiting for. Thank you for taking the time to compare these beauties.

[@ArminHirmer]

Thank you for watching

[@zappastail]

I was a Sanitation worker for 11 years in Michigan. As one can imagine, I found Free Bows on a regular basis. I kept the Bear Grizzly and a home made Recurve for many years now. I lost count of the compound Bows I gave to friends and family . My neighbor is left handed and couldn't find a good bow for Deer season, his failed. I had a left handed Darton Regal, in a hard case with LOTS of extras, including a nice string release, 10 arrows, broadheads etc. He was VERY happy to rehome it and took several Bucks with it over the years. I won't toss away a compound but I don't wish to shoot it either hahaha.

[@miguelveratraditionalarche9374]

A joyous comparison, those are the ones that entertain us👊😀 They are both phenomenal korean bows 🏹 Thanks Armin ☕😃👍

[@profduv]

The bows that I sell under my brand "Hwarang" (I've been selling these bows since 1996), are also made by YMG. The only difference being, mine have a black belly...

[@ArminHirmer]

Dammit black belly bamalam

[@janwestphal8047]

And the Hwarang is a little shorter I think, an inch or so, right?

[@profduv]

@@janwestphal8047 The standard bow I sell from YMG is 49" NTN, and the slightly longer (janggung) version is 50" NTN.

[@sharps6]

I purchased a Hwarang five years ago, still shoots great. 👍

[@slalomsk8er397]

Thank you very much! I had a hunch and was investing the last hour or so on the internet to find out. Too bad, the Korean bow market is so opaque for a non native like me. The Daylite Phoenix 53" 35# was a good choice for my first bow, as far as I can judge, but what bow to get for the next step in poundage? But first I need to fix my other problem with my form. I think my 32" arrows are too short. I would probably need 34" to reach the same position like you in the arirang video from your website.

[@rblackmore1445]

Both amazing bows! For me its the KTB purely because of the handle. The thick handle really helps with their way of torque khatra.

[@Jesus-lu5bm]

I haven't seen the video well because I'm busy these days, but thank you for taking videos with interesting topics all the time.

[@VladMcMerlin]

When Armin said "This is serious business", I realized that his accent is very similar to the Arnold's one ;))

[@tammynfletcher]

You can see the YMG has less string vibration on the slow motion video and sounds quite snappy compared to the KTB 2. I'm sold on the YMG. Thanks for the comparison my friend.

[@iqseventy]

Ktb 2 actually have higher fps coz agresive curve 1:23

[@tammynfletcher]

@@iqseventy true but speed isn't everything . A bow that doesn't vibrate due to string oscillation will most times be more accurate and be more pleasurable to shoot in my opinion.

[@iqseventy]

True shoot experience 👍

[@bildogaggins8196]

ymg in korea is kind of premium brand. you can customize pretty much everything and they handlw high poundage(above 70lbs) model no problem as well

[@agamagreen]

Very good and entertaining comparison! 😁 If I would like to order, I consider my short draw length and would gladly go with the KTB II 😃 Thank you for the review, Armin! 👍

[@gizmonomono]

These Korean bows have a verx distinct sound. Very slappy 😁

[@peterhaslund]

The KTB is moving a lot after the shot, which makes the sound softer

[@tiobi6633]

Haha, this one was a funny one. Was kinda good to see someone being so desperate (about making a seemingly impossible choice) while enjoying every minute of it ^^

[@ArminHirmer]

Thank you

[@Q44bs]

Finally, I've been waiting for this internal rivalry comparison :) However, can you do another comparison with KTB 1?

[@Eiketsu89]

Only difference between KTB I and II is the handle design...

[@Q44bs]

@@Eiketsu89 ah i see..

[@naturalmoodmusic42]

@@Eiketsu89 is there something that explains the difference in the handle design?

[@KTBIOM]

Would love to see a video on the holy trinity of improved Korean bows, Jeil JMG vs SMG vs YMG. I believe YMG was founded by a oerson previously working for Jeil.

[@EnriqueLUrcia]

beautiful video. Armin... What aan amazing improvement. I don't know if it is because today I saw your video on my wide color gamut monitor... but the quality of the video is really good! was very pleasing to watch, the bigger level of detail.. and also how you treated your variables... I look fowl for the next video! and I have to check if I missed a previous one done in this way... Thanks for the investment also in time. I am sure we all appreciate it a lot! KTB from the beginning....

[@ArminHirmer]

Thank you, shot on iPhone with filmic pro in 10bit 4K. Memory wise overkill hahahaha

[@jerrycollins4893]

As always a great review!....thoroughly enjoyed it...

[@ArminHirmer]

Thank you Jerry

[@wrongturnarchery2337]

Man you make my day sometimes your an idle an one reason I shoot horse bows you jack fang Lars Anderson Joe gibs kramer an others thanks to all of you for just doing what you do

[@Tystros]

Great video! I personally wish either of them would be available with a high draw weight like 120# or 140#. There's sooo few companies who make bows with high draw weights. Limits the choice so much for people like me who prefer high draw weights. I completely agree with you about the look of the bows, I like this traditional wooden looking design more than the carbon design of the Daylite bows. But Daylite is the only one of these Korean companies that offer at least a 95# version of their bow, so Daylite is the only choice for people who want a Korean bow with somewhat-heavier draw weight. And even there it's a bit of a pity that they only go up to 95# and not higher.

[@rblackmore1445]

With those kind of bows you really never need so high draw weight. If a 60# windfighter can do 260fps imagine the higher poundage ones with proper arrows. Second thing is with such draw weight your form will almost certainly be terrible and what you gain in draw weight, you will lose in bad arrow flight. Dont get me wrong you can be a really strong a trained guy, but even koreans rarely go above 80# and even 80# needs a masterful pair of hands to be shot from to actually justify that much draw weight.

[@Tystros]

​@@rblackmore1445 In my opinion it's not really about what you "need". If you design a bow around what you need for perfect arrow flight, you'd use an Olympic bow, or a compound bow. For me, shooting traditional bows is about that traditional/historical experience, and I personally find the aspect of having a historically-accurate draw weight, as it has been used in wars 500 or 1000 years ago, an important part of that. And I like the extra challenge. I'm sure that historically, Koreans surely also used bows of more than 80# in battles. It's just a modern thing that the need for high draw weights went away, as high draw weights don't help with hitting the center of some target in less than 70 meter distance.

[@Tystros]

​@@christking85 I am not a KZbinr, I've never in my whole life uploaded a picture or video of myself to any social media platform, and I don't intend to change that just because I like bows with heavy draw weights. I am completely fine with you not believing anything of what I write. But I'll still happily answer your question: I currently own a total of 6 bows. 3 wooden longbows, and 3 fiberglass "horsebows". My first "horsebow" was a very cheap ($80 or so?) 70#@32" chinese fiberglass bow from "Toparchery". Once that one, and my 70#@28" wooden longbow (also a cheap one, rattan), felt easy enough, I bought a ~$150 138#@32" fiberglass bow from the chinese company "Longbowmaker", which I obviously couldn't pull further than 18" or so (I didn't expect that I'd be able to pull it, I just wanted to see how hard it actually is). So I then bought that same bow again in 100#@32" to have a step in between to train towards the 138#. That worked well, and at some point I was then finally able to fully draw back the 138#@32", which is currently still the maximum I've ever tried, currently I focus on endurance with that one instead of trying to go further up in draw weight. It's not an efficient bow, but for training strength/form, it's great. So now I'm looking to actually buy some nice, efficient "horsebow" around the 140# mark, to have something that's not just heavy, but also objectively a good bow, and not some cheap chinese fiberglass bow. And it's really, really hard to find good not too expensive (

[@Tystros]

​@@christking85 I didn't say my first bow was a 70# bow, of course it was not. I trained my way to higher draw weights in a sensible way, small steps at a time. You asked me what my first horsebow was, and that was the 70#@32" one. You didn't ask what my first bow in general was. I'm primarily interested in traditional English Warbows, not horsebows. My first bow in general was a 25# wooden longbow which I started with, and then later I got a 40# wooden longbow. And what you also missed is that my 70# horsebow is 70# at 32", so it's only like 55# at 28". So I went from a 40#@28" wooden longbow to a 55#@28" horsebow, a 15# step. And my 100#@32" horsebow is just 85#@28", so for that I went from my 70#@28" wooden longbow to that 85#@28" horsebow, also a 15# step. If you calculate the difference at 32" it's a bit higher, so in practice it was more like 20# steps, but I don't directly have to draw my full 32" after going up in draw weight. And I also additionally usually used resistance bands to lower the step up in draw weight whenever I moved up a bow, same as Joe Gibbs does in one of his videos where he pulls a bow with a draw weight of 210#.

[@matthewjayjack8143]

@@Tystros I don't know how many actually survive, but the Korean war bow in the museum at Crecy is estimated ~100lbs. Might be a bit more though, but I know it was studied/measured etc by at least one bowyer who's made reconstructions of it (though he admittedly made them in lesser weights, which is why the 100lb is more an estimate). It's also a different design than these modern style target bows. Wider limbs, different grip, more aggressive and larger siyahs for heavier arrows. The only laminate ones I know of right now are made by Heekiong archery. I'd have to find it but there is some evidence of higher weights still in the old military exam records. Not counting the strength bows and such, which went even higher but were never really for shooting.

[@tryharistyorizkiwibowo9385]

it would be nice if you could do a comparison between Majesty and Warrior. 😊

[@theatrenisha9345]

Lovely review ,

[@Daft3Joe]

Love your videos! Quick question if you see this, what kind of arrows do you use?

[@ArminHirmer]

400g and 400spine Sungur by Mamluk slightly modified

[@ukasznawalny7038]

Little quiz- why ymg is more smooth and nice in draw ?

[@ArminHirmer]

More curve and longer siyahs?

[@ukasznawalny7038]

@@ArminHirmer bending section is closer to grip, limb work as longer lever . Working part of limb close as possible to "celik" - such info can be find in old turkish writings. Work especially on short bows but this recipe is used also in simple wooden bows - mollegabett and holmegard , very effective designs

[@tiobi6633]

"...the black belly... bambalam..." - quote of the day :D

[@ArminHirmer]

Hahaha

[@h0tkoko]

I like the KTB II better; the KTB II unstrung is more of a Korean Traditional bow design look - just my observation.

[@blairhayden8955]

Great video sir. One question...What's with the rubber duckies I see in the back ground? Also I still find it stupid a company wouldn't send you a bow to review. To be honest your reviews for any bow are solid and fair (and entertaining as well).

[@ArminHirmer]

Thank you. The rubber ducks are targets :)

[@christopherreed4723]

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the company/companies that no longer send bows to be reviewed are the ones whose bows began to delaminate during testing, or blew apart on the tiller. 😏

[@AlfaRevoluzione]

Nomad sind alle gleich breit von vorne bis hinten, das hat Kaya besser gelöst. Desshalb sind sie auch schneller.

[@Eiketsu89]

Interesting. I'm honestly surprised. I really thought the bamboo core of Authentic KTB would outperform YMG maple core in the draw experience criteria.

[@ArminHirmer]

That’s my personal opinion, can be different for others

[@wonbongcho8709]

😊

[@rapsod1911]

To. Much. Money. I think that YMG have smoother last inch because of longer siyah. Is YMG heavier because rubber handle?

[@arthurrobey4945]

Nice shooting. It pleases me that you are wearing thumb protection. They are dainty, are they not? How durable do you think these bows are? (I am thinking that one needs to spend time with one bow, and it would be unfortunate if it deteriorated over time.) Koreans archery has to be taken seriously. I live for the day when Armin tests a Japanese bow.

[@ArminHirmer]

I had no problems with all of my Korean bows so far, so I guess if you treat them well they will last long

[@arthurrobey4945]

@@ArminHirmer Thank you.

[@nurfatrochman3726]

Sir, Ymg black color belly is made from horn strip?

[@VladMcMerlin]

KTB for me - heavier, thus more power and less wiggly, plus narrower arrow pass.

[@sigmanarchery54]

I would have to agree for sure. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@Dowan_Gim]

Thank you for video.

[@ArminHirmer]

Welcome and thank you for watching

[@rolfbaumann7585]

Could you please say Something about the Draw and Shooting experince ymg vs. That daylite majesty 3k Carbon? I got Mine this week and i was surprised to find it does Not differ in arrow Speed, accuracy or draw or Shooting experince to the half priced White feather forever Carbon, hahahaha.

[@ArminHirmer]

As said in the video, would not have fitted in this comparison. The bows needs some shots I guess

[@rolfbaumann7585]

@@ArminHirmer thank you for answering

[@jamesl9551]

I’ve been considering getting 1 of the white feather bows but haven’t found and decent reviews for them

[@rolfbaumann7585]

@@jamesl9551 i own the White feather fairy 50" 45# and the forever Carbon 53" 60# i can recommend both. They have longer Break in periods and are not ideal for getting into Higher Draw weights. The Handle wrapping and Arrow Rest come Off quickly. But they are super sturdy, can survive a Lot of abuse and dry firing. After Break in, they are neither too harsh nor too soft (the Freddy archery Nomade 53" is too soft at the expense of accuracy in my opinion) the Last allowed Inch of Draw is always extra Work (steep Draw curve). But Shot with a Clean Form they reward you with accuracy and fun. Put Carbon Stickers in the Carbon forever and i could Not Tell the diffrence in Shooting experience to the majesty. IT IS only smoother Out of the Box, No Break in period needed.

[@jamesl9551]

Thanks It’s a 40# 53” forever carbon I was thinking about getting. What’s the max draw like on them?

[@jacekkawczynski4066]

Gakgung Korean horn bow

[@ArminHirmer]

Next time

[@jacekkawczynski4066]

👍🏻

[@UncleDanBand64]

Well just pick which one you like and send me the other one😀

[@jenjen7728]

😂😂yeah

[@UncleDanBand64]

See you agree😀@@jenjen7728

[@jrs4516]

it looks like YMG fishtail more in the slow motion shots. i would pick KTB just for that reason.

[@robsarchery9679]

I'll take both.

[@jenjen7728]

It's like being forced to pick your favorite child...both awesome but secretly one holds a special place. Lol Fun review Armin, Danke.

[@ArminHirmer]

Danke fürs Kucken

[@gpang788]

I'd take the KTB II anytime

[@daigans]

you have to send one of them back to freddie archery ?

[@ArminHirmer]

Nope

[@daigans]

@@ArminHirmer hopefully you don't have to choose but if you had to, i really would'nt like being you. to be honest i slightly preferre the ktb ll but only aesthetically speacking .

[@ArminHirmer]

Me too, it’s the more beautiful one

[@PakngahWantaro]

This comparison make me want both😹😹😹

[@나원규-c7k]

활 제작자를 만나보시면 쏘는방법을 알수 있겠지요.

[@МурадМуртазалиев-з6к]

I am russian and did not understand all things, but understood that the YMG better than K2

[@ArminHirmer]

For me yes

[@thomasrobson6370]

I like the YMG better because it has more curves unstrung and I like the way it looks strung also even though my arrows have vanes I like "long" feathers but not long enough to where they rub the arrow pass when you pull the arrows back (my analness is showing here😛) 😁

[@regiusregius5079]

Cześć, super film i fajne te łuki Pozdrawiam. Siemanko. |} >>-> : )

[@UTxTheArchangel]

"There are companies who don't send me bows for review anymore" Well those dumb dumbs are likely sitting waiting for orders, while Sarmat, AF, Ali, Freddie, Grozer, etc have orders lined up bc everybody watching these videos are running to get these bows.

[@ArminHirmer]

Hahaha

[@ArminHirmer]

Some companies are simply so good and are one man shows, they don’t need additional orders ;)

[@Dream_Weapon]

I'd love to see some real Korean arrows shot from these beautiful Korean bows.

[@Kacalijsiyan]

YMG弓震很小

[@vinniemcgrory7275]

👏🇮🇪

[@chickengod100]

5:45 Сука? :)