I'm probably one of the few guys who's had a brand new Allegiance, Tribute and Switchback XT hanging in side by side at their house. They're all great bows.

I'm always hesitant to say anything negative about a product which directly competes against one which I represent, and I'll tell you I felt these things before I was affiliated with anyone.

The XT is a GREAT bow; however, I dislike Mathews' grips (which I've seen people say looks like they're trying to pass a 2x4 off as a grip. I wouldn't go to that extreme, but I did order a Tronjo grip for my XT even before I bought it. I also had one on my previous Mathews). I've heard some say the strings are getting better, but just about everyone I know replaces them with aftermarket offerings. Besides those two things, I've got nothing critical to say about the bow, but keep in mind those two things will likely set you back an additional $100 at least.

The Tribute in my opinion was every bit as quiet and shock-free as my XT, and its improvement in the speeddepartmentwas extremely noticeable by the naked eye. Bowtech makes probably the best stock strings in the business, and others not affiliated with the company will vouch for this.

MyAllegiance was so close characteristic-wise to my Trib that I honestly would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between them if I were shooting blindfolded. Given the slightly longer axle-to-axle length and another step up in performance, I walked out of my archery room nearly every time carrying the Allegiance.

Take what I write with a grain of salt if you want to because of my signature; that's fine. I only respond to give you some insights into what to look for if you've narrowed it down to these three and my personal experiences with these bows. You definitely need to go shoot all three and leave with the one you feel most comfortable with.

... and have fun doing it -- buying a bow for most people doesn't come around that often (it certainly didn't for me), so enjoy yourself and relish the experience!