But from everything I've read it usually falls somewhere in the lower half of the desirable species list for arrow shafts.
I do have a couple dozen Tonkin culms on the way that should keep me busy for a while, just looking for some more to set aside and let dry for a while.
You read wrong. River cane makes excellent arrows if you pick good culms. I've tried about every kind of cane and boo that can easily be gotten, and I would definitely rate good native river cane
considerably above tonkin in quality for shafts. I think some people mistake chinese golden bamboo for river cane, the chinese boo isn't too good for shafts. The only boo I have used that I would rate nearly as good as native river cane would be Sasa palmata. Japanese arrow bamboo is pretty good, too. Tonkin makes good arrows, but is a lot more brittle , not nearly as strong as the native cane, and is harder to work with. The only species that I would rate better than river cane are native hill cane and switch cane. When cutting river cane, get good clean culms about 3/8" diameter on the big end (they'll shrink a little as they dry,) and use the part between the ground and first branches.
