BowCast Blog

 Well as I promised a few weeks ago, I have finished my bow review, which included 14 bows that I chose to include. I have been shooting a ton of bows the past couple months, and thought I'd pass on my opinion on some of the aspects of a bow I feel are important, give some specs and give some notes about each bow.

 Overall my top 5 bows were:

1. Elite Z28

2. Hoyt Carbon Matrix

2. Elite GT500

4. Hoyt Maxxis 35

5. Rytera Alien X 

5. Hoyt Maxxis 31

These bows exemplified a supreme all around bow in my opinion. Between their smooth draws, solid wall's and overall great shot performance, these bows could accompany me on any hunt.

Hoyt Alphaburner- This bow is one that I would have picked in the past as one of my top choices because it gets great speed, and maintain the specs I like in my bows. However after shooting something like an Alien X or GT500, the draw just doesn't compare. Most archers who pick a Hoyt with the spiral cams knows what they are getting into, its just a little tougher on the force draw curve than I feel is necessary to achieve 340 fps.

 Hoyt Maxxis 31 & 35- Both of these Hoyt's are excellent in all aspects, I like the 35 just a tad better due to the longer axle to axle length...it seems to accentuate all the positives.

Hoyt Carbon Matrix- This bow is stellar...most either hate the riser or love it...it looks even better in person, and I loved it. The shot of the bow is where it's at...it is insanely quiet and vibration free! The long, light riser also have a very stable feel which helps it hold very well at full draw.

Mathews Monster- Overall, the Monster is a good bow, for being a extreme design, and speed bow. The design has a very cool appearance, especially at full draw. The AVS cam system is brilliant and very efficient, however after shooting a Alphaburner, and liking other bows in front of that, the Monster fell way back in the mix for me. In comparison to the other bows I shot, the cams need refinement in the draw, and shot department. The valley drops off quickly, and is small...and the wall seems squishy. At the shot, I noticed quite a bit of vibration as well. The XForce GX has the same design and feels much better at the shot.

Mathews Reezen- This was a very nice single cam bow to shoot. Everything was enjoyable about it, however nothing stood out. The only hit it would get from me was the grip, it was a little bulky for my liking. 

Bowtech Destroyer 340 & 350- Like the Reezen, the 2010 Bowtech's didn't really stand out for me. They are comparable to the Alien X, Elite Z28 however, I didn't think the draw was as nice, and the wall's seemed squishy on each of them. The were both also a tad louder the the bows I mentioned above. However, they shoot very nicely, and they pop out some serious speed, while maintaining a very nice feel which shooting them. 

Bear Attack- First off, the design appearance of this bow is sweet, parallel limbs with a huge single cam...very cool.  Like the Reezen, I couldn't find a reason for it to fall behind, or stand out...it is a very nice choice for a bowhunter...with the ability to do 340fps with a single cam! The only thing I didn't like was the grip area...the angles above the thumb area don't feel right, and the grip angle was off for my liking. Other than that, a great bow by Bear!

PSE XForce GX- This bow really surprised me...when you pick it up, it feels so light, and having experience with speed bows, I figured that speed would shake the light frame like crazy. However, this bow was much better than I would have expected. This bow shows the refinement of the cam, that in my opinion, the Monster doesn't. The draw is very nice, as well as the valley. I think if they would add some sort of riser dampeners, this would be a fantastic bow...the riser vibration is my only tiff. The grip is the best out of any bow!

Diamond Nitrous- This bow stands out because it is nearly half the price, however as you can see by the scores, it hung right up there with the big boys. Being a super smooth, and quiet single cam, the only downfall for me was that the wall was quite soft...however, overall this is a fantastic bow, even without considering the price tag! 

Elite GT500- As can be seen by the score the Elite bows ranked tops for fit and finish; there is not a single place on this bow that doesn't have a perfect finish or smooth & rounded machined edges. The cams on these bows are incredible, I pulled 82lbs on the GT500 and can tell you it felt just as the Alphaburner did at 71lbs. It is quick too!! It hauls and is smoother than I could believe.

 Elite Z28- As I said above, there isn't a square inch on this bow where quality skips a beat. This bow is smooth on the draw, faster than IBO and forgot what vibration is! It is simply fantastic, a joy to shoot. I ranked it just above the GT500, due to the fact that the draw is a hint and a half smoother. 

Rytera Alien X- This bow ranked as the big surprise for me. When I last worked in a pro shop, Martin was always doing the same thing, sticking with consistency...it worked for them, but their designs were never the most impressive to look at. With the Alien X, their image has totally changed for me! This bow is fantastic looking, the riser design is awesome, and they manage to keep it super light too. The shot is stellar, and the cam design is fantastic! Props to Martin for revamping their bows with a huge boost to the Rytera line with the Alien X!

Here is the chart I put together, the last 5 are rated on a 1-10 scale