What you're refering to is the cam design or cam "aggression". Mathews are known for being a pretty easy draw, whereas the Hoyt "Cam & 1/2" bows are a "harder cam".

The cam aggression refers to how quickly it ramps up to it's peak weight. If you plot out the powerstroke weight curve (the draw weight associated with each inch of the entire draw length), a hard cam bow will ramp up very quickly (Bowtech Destroyer 350 for example), whereas softer cam bows (Mathews z7 for example) have a much more gradual ramp up.

In general, a harder cam bow will be more efficient and have a higher arrow speed (requiring a stiffer arrow), but the sacrifice is that they're much more difficult to draw (both set on 70lbs, drawing my Destroyer 350 feels TWICE as heavy as my z7, but it throws the same 35fps faster).

Moral of the story, as you experienced, you really just need to test shoot a bow to really see how the draw and powerstroke suits you. I'm glad the Outback suited you, and remember...

Have fun with your new bow.