Moonge,

That's a loaded question..And I'm going to give you my opinion and some factual information based on my experiences w/both Mathews and Bowtech lines and the Patriot in particular. I'm opening up myslef for flames, but really I have no malice to Mathews or their bows. Mathews owners please don't take this as a personal insult to your choice in equipment, OK?

To get their designs to the level of quietness and lack of recoil that they have, Mathews has had to sacrifice raw performance(i.e speed). Each year the various Q series bows get slower and slower, w/ a less significant positive difference in "feel". I have owned in the past 5 years an Mq32, a MQ1, Two Q2's, a Q2XL, A Rival Pro and 2 Conquests(along w/ a Zmax). All considered to be the "best feeling" and/or "best shooters" in the Mathews line. The Conquest had good performance compared to it's competition due to it's higher energy storage w/ the original max-cam. The MQ1 a bit less, and the Q2 and Q2 XL even less(and the SL2 cam was made a bit stiffer to draw compared to the original SL cam to compensate for speed loss). Comparitively the MQ32 is faster than the SQ2, again w/ little difference in recoil and vibration, and as far as I'm concerned the MQ32 is the quietest bow Mathews has ever made.

Mathews "long riser, short limb" and parallel limb designs were not new when they started using them. Other companies like HCA and XI had been experimenting sucessfully w/ those ideas before. The thing was the other manufacturers were not so willing to sacrifice performance. Mathews came up w/ a great cam, and then for some reason decided to execute an odd strategy: Instead of improving the perfomance level of single cam technology while trying to minimize recoil and noise(as they did in 97 w/ the original Maxcam) they decided to go backwards for 98 and beyond. It's not hard to make a quiet low recoil bow, but it IS hard to make one that shoots w/ great speed.

The Straightline cams themselves are another issue: They have no draw length adjustment,are very sensitive to out of time conditions, and are extremely sensitve to even a minute amount of creep. The only advantage they really have is a smoother easier draw vs. the standard Maxcam styles. But to get the speed back up, you have to pull more poundage. My Q2XL w/ the same measured draw length at the same poundage was 15 FPS slower than my Conquest at IBO arrow weights with little difference in recoil and noise (and a 1/8" difference in brace height). To get the speeds similar on the XL I would have to keep arrow weight the same and pull 6-8 Lbs more draw weight (and dropping the arrow weight 30 to 40 grains below the minimum 5 grs per LB).

In my experience, both as a one time Mathews dealer (one of the original handful in the country) as well as a consumer, I have seen a consistent drop in quality control and fit and finish. In the mid 90's you'd be hard pressed to find a bow built as tightly as a Mathews, especially at the very reasonable prices they charged then. As the line took off in 1997, things started to change. My last 5 mathews bows have had poor limb sanding,very poor limb to pocket,and pocket to riser fit, as well as space on the axles. 2 of those bows also had poor machining in either the cams or riser (my Rival Pro had several gouges in riser where it connects with the pocket, and my Q2XL's top limb stuck out the base of the pocket 1/2" instead of flush.

As far as speed is concerned I could care less how fast the bow is if the bow is not forgiving or is hard to shoot. Please read that statement again, because I mean that sincerely.

As far as the BT line in general is concerned, they are built w/ a very high quality fit and finish, and use higher grade materials like the bronze cam bushings,higher quality bearings in the idlers, WC strings, etc. The Infinity cam allows draw length adjustment without throwing the cam out of time (albeit it changes the letoff). Historically they are faster, though louder and more jumpy, which is understandable w/ the speed gain, and it's equally understandable why many archers will trade less speed for a less stiff cam or less recoil/shock.

Now with the Patriot in particular, recoil and shock levels are approaching the levels of the Q series bows, with about 15-20 FPS extra speed. Now for those who don't care for speed, you still have 2 advantages: You can shoot 7-10 Lbs less draw weight than you would on the slower bow, or you can bump your arrow weight up 100 grains or so and get quite a bit more K.E. Both of these options accomplish something similar: they make the bow shoot quieter & w/ less recoil and shock. Take a 60 LB bow at 5 grains per Lb and shoot the identical model at 70/5. That 60 Lber will be less jumpy, and quieter than the 70 Lber (along w/ being easier to draw). The added mass of the arrow needs no explanation.

Now that doesn't mean that Mathews sucks, or so does everyone else...There are alot fine bows out there. Last year my Q2 was my #1 bow...I even sold it like an idiot and had to buy another come hunting season. Took a nice deer on Thanksgiving morning with it. It's very quiet, accurate, and has little to no recoil. It's a dandy hunting bow. As far as performance goes apples to apples (spec-wise) w/ other bows in my collection, it's either below average, or compared to some ,quite frankly, "a dog". Doesnt mean it won't kill a deer just as dead as any other bow on the market..just giving the facts here.

Some folks will argue that the tolerances don't matter..that's a whole other debate for another time. However, in my case, If I'm going to spend $650 on a bow (and that is what Q2's and Q2XL's run in my area, along w/ the Patriots, MM's and other BT models) I'd rather spend my money on a bow that was put together better, w/ higher quality components regardless of the performance gain. when you add in the extra 15-20 FPS w/ no loss in accuracy, IMO it's a no brainer. I can slow it down w/ heavier arrows, or pull less weight to get the same results in noise and recoil.

Now, I could care less if the bow had the name Bowtech, Merlin,PSE, Martin, Hoyt, Mathews, Parker, Jennings or whatever on the limbs. I've owned, and sold a lot of bows..And while I have my favorites, there's not a company on the market that doesn't make at least one bow I would like to own, and there's not one company on the market that could not improve or do things better, including Bowtech(they really need to work on thier grips).

This year the Patriot is "hot" because it has sucessfully combined high speeds with a very comfortable shot. Usually you have to sacrifice one for the other.

Basically you can ignore my post and just read what Frank said, again

JeffB