Willie the Duck
Hero
Well, that is a good question. Is this just an alternate configuration?Here's the real kicker. After much back & forth with the arrow manufacturer, I decided that I was just going to strip and refletch the arrows myself. The cost of the fletching jig, flights, stripping knife, and glue was more than the original cost for the arrows. Everything arrived yesterday and I got to work.
... only to find out that the fletching jig, from a proudly Michigan based archery company (made in China), incorrectly fletched the arrows in the same way that they had originally been. I had to disassemble it, rotate the locking plate 180 degrees, and then reassemble it in order to make it align correctly. Having two things that are exactly the opposite of what you think they should be can certainly make you doubt yourself.
As to the question of goods that seem made by someone unfamiliar with their function -- I cycle and camp, and both hobbies have huge accessory markets, especially for clothing and similar. I'd swear about half of them have things that will come off (with potential to be lost) during normal performance of the given activity, or have seems which will cause friction or the like during normal performance of the given activity. Nothing quite like having completed a simple 10 mile ride only to have a blister worn into your inner thigh or something like that.