I shoot a Hoyt right now so take this as you wish.


With Mathews, you get a smoother drawing bow, but less speed. They say IBO of 320, or whatever but single cams aren't nearly as efficient at lower poundages and shorter draw lengths. They also usually don't live up to the IBO's.

With a Bowtech, you usually get a stiffer draw cycle and GENERALLY a little more speed. The Guardian, General, and Commander are all noted as being the quietest bows out there. They are definately the most popular on this site. They are definately a little more tricky to tune, where they don't use a split harness. Timing is key. If you can get over the draw cycle, they aren't a bad choice. The General is a pretty smooth drawer, but you give up alot in the speed department.


Hoyt, I feel is a great combination of speed AND smooth drawing. I feel that their cam 1/2 is THE smoothest drawing binary/cam 1/2 out there. They aren't as quiet as the Bowtechs, but they definately AREN'T loud. They have had trouble in the past with their stock strings, but from what I've seen this year, they have fixed that. I have a Vectrix XL and I absolutely LOVE the Vector cams. The new z3 feels pretty much the same but gives them 5 more fps. They are heavier than most bows on the market but that is credited to the TEC riser, which contributes to them being so dead in the hand. They lightened them up significantly this year, they are weighing in at about 4.7lbs.


As most have said though, the best way to decide is to shoot them yourself. I work in a proshop so I get to play with alot of bows