I've had plenty of problems with vanes. I've used several brands on carbon & aluminum and they usually come loose sooner or later. I'm in agreement with feathers for ease of installation and good adhesion. I used 4" parabolic feathers on my last batch of carbons and had no problems with adhesion or accuracy. Thinking of trying 3" parabolic cut feathers on a batch of shafts to see if they will stabalize a broadhead.
Not saying vanes can't be made to adhere well, just saying feathers are a lot easier!
BTW - I recently tried "crest dipping" some aluminum shafts in laquer and it solved any shaft adhesion problems easily. I have the equipment to dip for my cedar arrows, so I just screwed a glue-on adapter insert into the nock end of the shaft to prevent filling the shaft with paint and dipped them like I would a cedar arrow. They look good and are a lot cheaper to make than using crest wraps since I have the paint & dip tubes already setting on my bench!
I use Arizona Elite vanes and Arizona quick set gel. Clean the shaft with acetone, and I make sure that I don't touch the shaft after cleaning or the part of the vane that gets glued. Have never had a problem with them sticking.
