Every quiver I make is cut from 3 mm full-grain cowhide, and you can see all of them in one place. Quivers are usually named by where they sit on your body, and in my range that comes down to this. A hip quiver is one you wear at your side, on the belt: the field quiver and the target quiver both are, and so are the pocket quivers that hang on the belt. Only the smallest pocket quiver really goes in your pocket. The stalker is a side quiver while it sits on your right or left side, until you slide it round to your back. I do not make a back quiver at the moment.
The field quiver hangs on the belt at your side, and in it the arrows point backward. It comes in size M, size L and size XL. Each is designed for a dozen arrows, and there is room for a nock-point ruler too, if you carry one. Behind the pouch are two hidden slots for whatever you want to keep at hand: a pen, an arrow marker, or a single arrow with a damaged nock. They are just two layers of leather, so they start tight and give with use. The accessory pouch is small on the M, medium on the L, large on the XL.
The M and the L are close in size. The L has a slightly longer body, so it hangs lower and the fletchings ride lower with it, and some archers choose on exactly that. The XL is heavier and usually suits larger-framed archers. A bigger size means a bigger pouch, nothing more.
My own choice, as I once wrote to a customer: “my personal favorite is the smallest Field Quiver. Even that holds a dozen arrows, which is plenty, since on a field course there are three shots per target and I never carried more than five arrows anyway. The lighter it is, the fresher I am by the end of the day, and the better I shoot.”
The belt is not included; my leather belts are 4 cm wide and made for these quivers. There is also a field set: a size M field quiver, a riveted belt and a bottle holder in one order. Bow International featured the field quiver in its October 2019 issue. Exact sizes are in the dimension drawings of the stalker and the M, L and XL field quivers.
The stalker quiver, or stalking quiver, is a type of its own, an old one, not my invention. What defines it is the slit down its side: when stalking, you draw the arrow out through the slit instead of reaching over your shoulder. Wear it at your side as a side quiver, or slide it round to your back, where it sits the opposite way up to a back quiver and carries more like a shoulder bag. It works for left-handed archers too. A back quiver proper is worn on your back and you draw over your shoulder; I do not make one at the moment, and the stalker is not one: is the stalker quiver a back quiver?
It has no pockets. A lambswool-lined collar keeps the arrows quiet, and broadheads and wider small-game heads push into the foam base. A dozen blunt-tipped practice arrows fit comfortably. A dozen hunting arrows will not, because the broadheads need room. Refined for roving and stump shooting, it goes back to my 2020 prototype. Lawrie Conole of Victoria, Australia has carried that prototype since October 2020 as his main field quiver: “I usually have it low down by my side on the draw hand (right) side of my body, and sometimes around behind my back.”
The target quiver belt attachment is a hip quiver too, hanging on the belt at your side, but its arrows sit forward, in an arrow basket. It works for left-handed archers too. Its real strength is that it is modular. The middle piece is yours to choose and swap: where the small pouch sits in the photo, you can put a belt pouch, a wider one or a bigger one, a bow holder hook or a binocular hook. So you put your quiver together the way you like it: a smaller or larger pouch, a hook, or whatever suits the way you shoot.
There are three: an ultra-light mini one for a couple of arrows, one worn on the belt and one with an accessory pouch. The two belt-worn ones are small hip quivers; the mini one really goes in your pocket. They are simple and meant for short practice sessions, though some longbow archers use one as their main quiver.
Every size of field quiver is designed for a dozen, because a dozen is a sensible number to carry. How many you shoot per position depends on the format: in 3D usually one, sometimes two or three; in field archery usually three; on a range sometimes six. A dozen already gives you a spare for the spare. Packed tight, a quiver takes a good deal more. Wooden arrows change little, since a wooden arrow is only a tiny bit thicker than an average carbon or aluminium one: see a medium field quiver with wooden arrows and a large one.
Tell me what you shoot and how you like to carry your arrows, and I will say which quiver I would pick. Write to me.
