Like they said, you definitely need to shoot them. I can usually get a bit more specific with a recommendation once I know what a person is looking for. Some companies excel at particular things. None of the companies excel at everything.

For instance, if you' re looking for:

Speed - Bowtech and maybe hoyts newest speed bow.

Speed combined with very high brace height - Diamond and a couple of the Bowtechs.

Quietness - Mathews, Alpine & Hoyt to name a few.

Quality of construction - Merline seems to stand out here and I would add the top of the line Martins to this list.

Service - PSE is well known to have superior service, but your best line of defense here is a great bow shop to deal with.

Smoothness of draw - Darton, Hoyt and Merlin' s hybrid cams seem to do the best here if maintaining speed is important also. If not, any company making a nice round wheel bow, will probably fit the bill.

This list is by no means complete, just given to demonstrate that what will suit one person will not suit another. It' s because we' re all looking for something different in the ideal bow.