Benefits of Rawhide over your Sinew backing

[usmcsgt]

   I done a bit of searching and haven't really found much information on the subject.
I see that Mike Yancey and Ed Scott both do this on quite a few of their bows. I know that rawhide is a great canvas to decorate bows with but, beside that is there other benefits?

    Does it increase actual performance any? I would imagine it would protect the sinew backing to a degree.
  What would be the down side of doing this (if any)?
 
   I would also guess that this would make the bow making process a bit longer as well but, I am patient so, that doesn't really count as a con.

   Does anyone have any actual experience with these bows and/or the process to do this?

[Blaflair2]

I have no experience, but from what I understand, rawhide protects the back with no added performance. Sinew however adds weight and protects the back.

[smoke]

I've shot Ed's bows and they are very good.  That said, I'm pretty sure the sole reason for rawhide over sinew is to provide an artistic canvas for the bow and make them virtually bullet-proof. 

[PatM]

Rawhide just adds a layer that can hold waterproofing of some sort or paint. Of course it's going to add a bit more breakage prevention as well, but no performance. In fact it's going to slow the bow down a tad with the dead weight.
IMO there are better coatings or covers to use on your sinew unless you are using the absolute thinnest hide you can get.

[usmcsgt]

   Alright! That just what I was looking for.  I wish I could take the classes that both of those Gentlemen offer. 

   Thank you all for your replies.