Just for kicks, I ran a search for my answers every time someone's asked this question.... Also, you'll have all my thoughts on the subject here with everyone else's in the same thread. Here ya go!
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!
owned the Allegiance, the Tribute and the XT at the same time.. I thought my Tribute was better in just about every category than the XT, and I ended up walking out the door almost every time I went hunting with the Allegiance, if that tells you anything.
Okie, I had the '06 Allegiance and the Tribute hanging side by side... the Tribute has been sold to make way for my '07s, but I've still got the Ally if that tells you anything. The Tribute'sa fantastic bow, no doubt, but the Ally does everything just as well and has more speed.
I've got both, and shoot both -- regularly. To be honest, if you blindfolded me and put each of them into my hands and let me shoot them, I'd be hard pressed to tell you which one I just shot.
The Allegiance is touted as being faster, though it's hard to see with the naked eye. The Tribute is touted as being more shock-free, though when compared to the Allegiance the difference is minute at best.
I put speed mods on my Allegiance and smooth mods on my Tribute to accentuate the differences because of those reasons.
I think you've seen my thoughts on the subject, and they almost to a man match everyone else's on Bowtech's staff who's spent a lot of time behind each of the bows mentioned. MeanV2 and I talked a lot about this when we worked the Illinois Deer & Turkey Expo together, and we're also of the same mindset.
The Allegiance just simply does everything the Tribute does as well in terms of noise levels and shock, but offers if possibly a touch more stable platform and that added speed. Both MeanV and I had '06 Tribs and Allys to choose from all of last year every time we went hunting, and both of us ended up choosing the Ally every time. I think both of us ended up selling our Tribs at the end of the year. The '06 Ally is the only bow I kept last year out of thefive I had.
I should get my '07 Ally in next week, and I'm extremely anxious to put it through its paces and see how the weight reduction has affected noise levels and perceived vibration. That's one reason I kept my '06... in case it doesn't live up to my personal expectations of it. But I guess that's why I've got a Guardian hanging in my shop, in case noise and vibration becomes too big an issue...
