RE: Martin Rytera
They got it in, and I checked it out.
The riser machining is fantastic- it's a 2 piece riser like all the machined riser Martin bows are these days, but the seam like on my warthog is done extremely well. If you didn't know Martin was making 2 piece risers, you would never guess just looking at it.
The Cams are...thin...like the CAT cams. Martin has alot of thin edges and really has whittled down the alum in the cams. I can see them getting dinged up pretty easy, so be careful.
The Grey/Flo Green Stone Mountain string looks awesome, but I wish Martin would do/have them do a proper center & STS serving.
Draw is def smoother than the CAT cams on the Warthog and Firecat/Firehawk. Nicer transitions, and less load up at the end- Nicest drawing Binary cam bow I've handled. Riser is very torque free- If there was some cam lean it was minimal.
Dip coat on the riser was decent- not great, not bad- it's thin though, I cannot see it taking much abuse. The dip coat on the limbs was bad-lots of rough edges and raised areas that I felt I could break off (kinda like dried up super glue on the edge of your vanes). Nice thing was Martin didn't sand the base like normal to write the deflection, its on the underside of the limb.
I only shot it 3 times- unfortunately not through the chrono. I can tell it's quick-real quick. Considering the very light weight- recoil and vibration is very low- it does some of each, but easily taken care of with some Limbsavers and a decent stabilizer. For me I honestly was expecting more vibe and recoil. Its not loud, but it's louder than a BowTech Center Pivot or Mathews Drenalin/SB or such. I was helping the tech get the cams synched ( I was the draw boy) and a new rest put on a Hoyt Katera for a customer, and shot the Katera (6" brace, Z3) a few times, and the shot feel of the Alien was better (with nothing on it). Both were 29/70s at peak. The Katera was quieter though it did have catwhiskers, alphasox, etc.
I think it's a little step up in general for fit & finish on a Martin, better than my Hog or the Firecats on the shelf, but comparing it to the Diamond Marquis sitting just down the shelf for the same price ($699), the Alien is not quite there (at least this one). For the money though, and the performance, its tough to beat (for a new bow). Spend the $200 you save on some limbsavers, and some quality arrows.
I'd be all over a 35" version with a 7.5" brace height if it showed up in 2010.
B+