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2006 Bow Reports from ATA show

     Below are my bow testing reports for this past weekend at the ATA show.  I tried to get to as many of the booths as possible.  All bows that I tested are listed in a pros/cons format with NONE being listed as an “I liked this bow the best of all” opinion.  I will let you know which bows in the lineup that I liked the best if I tested more than one.  I am trying to be as objective as possible with a focus on the following in order of importance to me:

-         Vibration/lack of vibration during shot

-         Smoothness of the draw

-         Speed

These may not be the order of importance for you, but these are the criteria that I focused on.  I also tried to shoot as many of the parallel limb bows as possible for a given company.  If they didn’t have a parallel limb bow, then I shot what was recommended as a good model to shoot.  I’ll list as much info as I can about the bows, as I wrote notes after shooting them.  Again, these are only my personal observations and are not meant as an endorsement of any bow/bow line in particular. 

Alpine

The bow that I tested here was the Denali Pro Comp in camoflauge.

Pros – very nice camoflauge finish, riser is very unique, available in packages with sight, rest and stabilizer, smooth to draw.

Cons – I thought that this bow had vibration in the shot.  It wasn’t hand numbing, but it was noticeable even with the stabilizer in use.  There was not a lot of dampening material on the bow that I tested, so perhaps the use of dampening products in addition to a stabilizer would help this.  The bow did also have some noise to it, though not overly major. 

APA

I tested the Taipan and Supan in the lineup.  They have a unique look to the riser and a different camo than anyone else is using.  To me they both shot the same, so I will listed pros and cons for both in one listing.

Taipan and Supan

Pros – different camo look than others are featuring.  This is a fast bow.

Cons – since it is quite a fast bow, it has a rather aggressive cam.  This bow also had more vibration and noise than I expected.

Ben Pearson Archery

     I tested the Stealth, Generation II 14.5” limbs with Hurricane cams, and Pride.  My choice in this lineup is the Stealth.

Generation II

Pros – has a unique frequency ridged riser design.  It’s very smooth to draw.  This bow is very quiet and to me has less vibration than the touch that the Bishop had last year.  The redesign on the riser paid off, as it definitely balances better.  There are two limb length options and two cam options.

Cons – the 14.5” limbed model may weigh more than some people may like at around 4.5#, but I think that is to be expected on such a long axle to axle bow (39”) with a frequency ridged riser (no cutouts).

Pride

Pros – again, with the hurricane hybrid cam, this bow is smooth to draw.  This bow is quiet and features the angled grip riser.  The grip is nice.

Cons – some don’t prefer the angled grip, so for some this would be a con.  The bow has a touch of jump to it, but nothing that a good stabilizer couldn’t tame.

Stealth

Pros – very smooth to draw, no noticeable shot vibration, extremely quiet, unique frequency ridged riser design.  This bow balanced very well and had no jump to it.

Cons – the stencil that says “Stealth” on this bow is not the most attractive.  Many bow companies have paid great attention to this detail and it seems to have been glossed over for this bow.

Bowtech

I tested the Tribute and Allegiance in the Bowtech lineup.  The clear winner was the Tribute.  Both bows tested were outfitted with the hush kit and a Diamond Stabilizer.  They also both featured the Binary cam.

Allegiance

Pros – this bow is available in different camo options and comes with the complete hush kit.  It has a very solid wall thanks to the draw stop.  The bow is also fast.  The draw was smooth.

Cons – the Allegiance that I shot was loud.  I was very surprised at this.  There was a little vibration and depending upon how sensitive you are to this, the little that there is may be a con.

Tribute

Pros – this bow is available in different camo options and comes with a complete hush kit.  This bow is very quiet.  It also is very smooth to draw.  The was very, very little vibration in this bow.  It has a very solid feel to it when shot.  It is also a fast bow.

Cons – All of the cutouts in the riser make it look like many of the other Bowtechs.  You have to look at the tag on the limb (as the guy that helped me at the shooting booth did) to see which is which if nothing is written on the limb. 

Bowzone

This is a new company for me.  I tested only one of their bows, the zone 1. 

Zone One

Pros – Nice camo finish.  Bows held well at full draw and were relatively smooth to draw.  They were relatively quiet.

Cons – I felt that these bows had some vibration to them.  They are a new company, so the track record is not proven – this is not necessarily a con for all. 

Concept

These bows claim a 99% letoff, so I wanted to see what they had to offer in a parallel limb configuration.  I only tested the Concept Mini 29.  It was in a raw aluminum color, as it had been finished just before the show.  It will be available in camo.

Concept Mini 29

Pros – pretty smooth to draw.  99% let-off makes it seem like you can hold it all day long. 

Cons – this bow had some noise and vibration to it, but it could be because it was a demo model that had recently been finished.

Darton

I shot the Marauder and the Tempest Extreme.  Out of these two, I think the clear winner is the Marauder.

Marauder

Pros – this bow is smooth to draw and has a nice feel to it when at full draw.  There was a little vibration, but nothing major.

Cons – the bow had more noise than I expected. 

Tempest Extreme

Pros – the bow was smooth to draw and also had a nice feel to it when at full draw.

Cons – the bow had more felt shot vibration and noise than I expected – a little more than the Marauder.

Diamond

I shot the Diamond Liberty, Victory and Justice.  I will lump the three together because they all felt the same to me.

Pros - they have last year's Bowtech designs at a better cost. They were fast. They were fairly quiet.  The cams were fairly smooth to draw.

Cons – they had more vibration than I expected.  Even with the wild thing stabilizer, there was vibration – won’t take your fillings out, but I just expected it to be less.

Kodiak

I tested the Titan 32 single cam and the Kinetic 32 which has a binary-like cam system.  For my focus on noise and vibration, the Titan 32 was the clear winner for me.  These bows can come with a complete package of sight, stabilizer and rest for easy setup by dealers.  Both bows tested had the complete accessory package on them.

Titan 32

Pros – very smooth drawing single cam.  There was virtually no vibration on the shot and there was no noise to speak of.  It was also pretty light. 

Cons – Not very well known, at least around me, so some might be hesitant to try one.

Kinetic 32

Pros – the binary-like cam was smooth on the draw.  The bow had a bit of noise in the shot, but nothing extreme.

Cons – This bow had some vibration to it.  It is also not very well known, so some might be hesitant to try one.

Martin

I tested the Slayer SE with the hybrid cam and the nitrous cam.  My preference would be for the hybrid cam model.

Slayer SE w/hybrid cam

Pros – shot nicely for such a short brace height.  Very nice finish on the bow.  The leather wrapping under the grip gave it a very nice feel.  It was lighter than I expected it to feel.  Bow was fairly quiet and had little vibration.

Cons – draw on this hybrid cam was not as smooth as I expected it to be.  It was pretty aggressive for a hybrid.  The string slapped me pretty good a couple of times even though the draw length was correct for me.

Slayer SE w/nitrous cam

Pros – shot nicely for such a short brace height.  Very nice finish on the bow.  The leather wrapping under the grip gave it a very nice feel.  It was lighter than I expected it to feel.  Bow was fairly quiet and had little vibration.

Cons – very aggressive cam system.  Bit me a couple of times even though the draw length was correct for me.

Mathews

I shot the Switchback, Switchback LD, and Switchback XT.  My preference would be for the Switchback XT.

Switchback

Pros – bow draws fairly smooth, has little noise and very little vibration.

Cons – Out of the three tested, I think this one had the most felt vibration, though not much at all.

Switchback LD

Pros – bow draw pretty smooth, has very little noise and very little vibration.  Extra brace height and draw length adjustments will be a plus for some.

Cons – this one had just a bit more felt vibration than the XT.  Lack of speed on this model vs the others in the lineup may be a con for some.

Switchback XT

Pros – smoothest draw out of the Switchback series, very little noise and very little vibration.

Cons – shorter axle to axle may be a con for some. 

Merlin

I shot the XT vipro and the XS alpha bows.  My preference would be the XS with the alpha cams.

XT w/vipro cams

Pros – very refreshing riser design.  Offered in many different insert and riser color options. 

Cons – vipro cams were very aggressive.  This bow had more noise and vibration than I expected.

XS w/alpha cams

Pros – again, very refreshing riser design with different insert and riser color options.  The alpha cams were much smoother than the vipro on the draw.

Cons – Again, more noise and vibration than I expected.

Oneida

Oneida Black Eagle

Pros – very, very smooth draw, very little vibration, little noise

Cons – these bows have a long overall length.  This may be a con to some. 

Ross

I tested the 34” Ross single cam bow.

Pros – very smooth to draw, very little shot vibration, very little noise.

Cons – not as fast as many of the other bows on the market.

Rytera

I tested the Rytera Bullet X single cam and nitrous cam bows.  Of the two, I preferred the single cam.

Bullet X single cam

Pros – very little vibration, very smooth draw.

Cons – short brace height did sting me a tad. 

Bullet X nitrous cam

Pros – very little vibration, very little noise.

Cons – very aggressive cam design.  Got stung a bit by the brace height.

Storm
I have an interesting story for these guys.  I got to meet Edgell Terry (head designer) at the booth.  I tested the Elite, E series, and F-28.  For me, the Elite was the best.  As I was shooting, Edgell told me to open up my bow holding hand completely when shooting.  I thought he was nuts.  I kept closing my hand as I would shoot, so he held my fingers back as I shot.  I fully expected the bow to hit the target just after the arrow, as that is what would happen with many bows.  ALL of the bows just sat there resting on my thumb after the shot.  I couldn’t believe it.  I still called him crazy, though the man has true faith in his product.

Elite 32

Pros -  smooth draw, solid feel, very little noise (no sound dampeners were on the bow at all).

Cons – not as well known as other brands, so this may be a con to some.

E series

Pros – very interesting design with cam on top and different limb length and poundages on the same bow, smooth to draw, little noise

Cons – the design that I find to be a pro may be a con for some.  It is definitely different.

F28

Pros – smooth to draw with little noise

Cons – there was some felt vibration in the shot that was more than the other Storm bows.

These are all of the bows that I tested.  If there is not a bow listed here, it’s because the booth was busy much of the time or the reps that were supposed to be helping shooters were too busy shooting the bows themselves to pay any attention to me standing there waiting…ok, so they saw me standing there and went right back to shooting.  I won’t name the booth.  There are other bows that I would have liked to shoot, but there just wasn’t enough time for me to get to them all.

Again, this list is not meant as an endorsement for any bow company or bow in particular.  This is a list that shows my experiences with the bows for those that were not able to go.

Hope you found it interesting,

Jim