JeffB

well- You have to remember I missed a bunch of model years in bows. I've owned prolly 20 Hoyts over the years (including a bunch of the TEC risers) and the last Hoyt I owned was an X-Tec. Extremely accurate and the original C.5 was a shooter and smooth, but Like all TEC risers and the limb angles Hoyt was using at the time I had some big "feel" issues with the bows- namely recoil, and the weight distribution (feeling that large area of mass/weight behind my bow hand). I did not like that feel at all and the increase in weight of most TEC risers only exaggerated the problem for me.

I did mess around with a Katera and a Katera XL a bit before I got the AM35 and they too had the same issue- heavy/ bulky riser with that more noticable distribution behind the grip.

The Alphamax has totally eliminated those problems- its far lighter, and the weight distribution is different- I don't feel all that bulk behind my bow hand. In addition recoil is drastically reduced. I'm glad Hoyt finally got with the program there.

As for cams- I'm not sure I'd say the valley is wider, I'd say it is more defined than the previous C.5s I'm used to. But it's def not as wide as the GT500 or the Admiral- however it's not super narrow either like an X-Force. I've had Hoyt fans tell me the Z3 cams on the Katera are smoother than the XTR-I'd agree, but the Z3s also had a bit more of that lesser defined valley-which I don't like on a C.5/CPS cos they are more sensiitive to creep than the Binaries are. No matter what bow, I like to be in that "deep hole" valley..not the wide shallow one, if that makes sense.