Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Oftentimes, when archery manufacturers venture into a new arena within our sport -- and outside the safe confines of what made them successful in the first place -- they do so with a bit of trepidation and risks are minimized by playing it safe. Someone forgot to tell that theory to treestand-manufacturing giant Summit.

Leaping full-steam ahead, there is absolutely no way Summit's venture can be seen as playing it safe. Its first offering into the world of bow sights is labeled the Hot Dot. Summit tags it as a "Premium Bow Sight", and that it is -- incorporating heads-up display technology found in machines the likes of Corvettes and military fighter jets. The Hot Dot uses electronic circuitry and a clear plastic screen upon which is projected a focused point of light which offers an almost infinite combination of adjustments.

Never liked the traditional horizontal pin setup, but was disenchanted by the difficulties of "gapping your pins" found in vertical-pin technology? You'll find no such problems here, as the only thing visible in this sight is your aiming point. The user can dial a wheel with his thumb and quickly change the number of aiming points from one to as many as six. Rotating the wheel all the way to the left puts the deluxe model into an incredibly advanced pendulum mode.

I've been blessed in my hunting career; I've taken a lot of deer, and all but a few have been from treestands. You would have thought that at some point in all my tinkering, I would have experimented with pendulum sights. I was certainly aware of the technology, but it never interested me enough to buy a sight strictly devoted to pendulum technology; I didn't want to give up the flexibility of multiple pins. Summit's Hot Dot allows the user to switch between both.

By scrolling the wheel all the way to the left, the sight gives you one single dot to sight in with at 30 yards. You can also easily adjust the calibration of the sight so that it takes into account if you've got a fast, medium or slow bow. I left the sight at the factory setting of medium to see how it would perform on my Bowtech Guardian.

Once sighted in for 30 in the pendulum mode on flat ground, and every shot from a treestand at 30 yards and in only requires you to point and shoot. No compensating for angles, distances... anything. The sight does the work for you. As previously mentioned, I've never used a pendulum sight, so I was anxious to try out this technology. After sighting in, I walked up to the farthest corner of my deck away from the bag target in my back yard. I didn't even try to estimate the range or anything; I just aimed and shot. Next, I walked the length of my deck to get closer to the target. Again, I did nothing but draw, aim and shoot. Here's the result of those first two shots. Keep in mind, this wasn't after shooting 30 or 40 shots to get "used" to the sight; this was my immediate first two shots after sighting the bow in on level ground at 30 yards.




Here's a reverse view of where I shot the two arrows from. After the shots, I lasered the bag from the far side of the deck at 28 yards. The near shot came from 20 yards, and I later measured the flooring of the deck to be nine feet off the ground. Even though Summit says the technology works best from an elevated position of 10-30 feet, it clearly performed flawlessly at a less-than-ideal height.



The amazing thing about this sight is that it has at its disposal 16 different "dots" with which to choose from in aiming while in pendulum mode. Summit calls these dots "fixed pins", but I think they're doing themselves a disservice by calling them that, as "pins" conjures up -- in my mind, at least -- a slender steel attachment device which usually holds up a fiber optic wire that has been upturned to serve as the aiming point. On this site, ALL you see is the aiming point. For those wondering, the LED is not projected out past the lens; all the light is projected back to the user.

As you aim your bow down and out from an elevated position, the circuitry inside the sight picks exactly which pin you should be using. So instead of the pin "swinging" like a traditional pendulum would, there is nothing moving inside this sight except different pins are lit up at a lightning-fast pace as you raise and lower your bow -- leaving you with only the one you need to aim with.

Summit chose to manufacture the sight housing out of the same high-strength nylon material it uses to make its Rapid Climb stirrups out of. The material is not affected by weather and offers excellent weight savings at only 8 ounces for the entire sight, yet is incredibly strong. The lens which reflects the aiming points is made out of a polycarbonate often found in the manufacture of safety glasses, and all brackets are aluminum. The two-inch sight ring centered perfectly in my 1/4" Fletcher Tru Peep.



Here's the frontal view of the sight. The two threaded holes visible on the left side of the housing and immediately outside the aiming ring are used to convert the sight for left-handed shooters. It comes set up for right-handed shooters, as pictured. You'll also notice the wheel at the lower portion of the housing which can be rotated to switch the sight from pendulum, to a single pin or to multiple-pin modes.



Here's a reverse view of the polycarbonate lens which sits at a 45-degree angle inside the housing and is used to reflect the aiming points. This is also a good shot at the thumb screws which allow the user to adjust the sight sans an Allen wrench if desired.



Below is a picture of the bottom of the sight. On the far right is the on/off button, and on the left is an extended knob which can be rotated or dialed to increase or diminish the intensity of the aiming dots.



Here I am thumbing the wheel over to show six dots, and you'll note their brightness as I had just come inside from shooting in the blinding sunlight.




To get an idea of how the intensity of the dots can be lessened, I took this picture. Summit says that the "pins" represent approximately a .019 size at their dimmest, and about .029 at their brightest setting. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was almost straight overhead when I shot off my deck, and I had no trouble at all in seeing the pin. Don't strain looking for all six pins in the pic below; I've turned it to the three-pin fixed group to show a different view.




The user can change from pendulum mode to a single fixed pin, to one of three pre-set groups which include a three-pin mode, a five-pin mode, or a six-pin mode. Any LED in any mode can be turned off, offering the choice to have anywhere from one to six pins to sight with.

In keeping with the theme of a completely unobstructed view of the target, there is no sight-level bubble inside the housing. Instead, Summit chose to use the circuitry available within the system to electronically monitor if the shooter imparts too much tilt to his bow. Torque the bow too much one way or the other, and the aiming dots go blank. Turn it back more perpendicular, and the dots reappear. For those worried about losing their aiming point in the heat of the battle, it actually takes a pretty good "tilt" to lose the dots; I had no problems whatsoever in shooting from a variety of positions.

The unit also has a battery-saver mode. If after five minutes of inactivity, the unit goes into a "sleep" mode. I use the term sleep because moving the bow in the slightest causes the unit to reactivate. There's no cause for concern if you've been sitting in a stand for hours and your bow has hung motionless at your side the entire time; just pick it up, point and shoot.

The sight is not waterproof, but is water resistant. Summit claims that under normal use, they've experienced no problems with it. It uses a common 2032 lithium ion watch battery which can be found at most retail stores such as Wal-Mart. The sight has a built-in battery backup which will retain your pin settings while you change out the lithium ion battery.

You can purchase this sight in a pendulum-only format for a suggested retail of $139.99. The deluxe model (as shown here) offers the flexibility of switching from pendulum mode to fixed-pin mode at the dial of a wheel, and retails at a suggested price of $159.99.

There is truly some amazing technology built into this site. The ability to "dim down" the pins on command should be extremely appreciated by bowhunters. I had more than enough of an aiming point in the brightest sunlight today, and yet was able to turn it down to a very subtle point in the darker confines of my home archery shop.

The interchangeability between pendulum and fixed-pin mode allowed me to experiment with a pendulum sight for the first time in my life, and it was an experiment that yielded astonishing results. Summit's marketing tag for this product is "Kill The Excuses", and they're certainly making it harder for bowhunters to come up with them.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

I had seen the Hot Dot in a few mags. recently , and was somewhat curious. I was waiting for someone to give their opinion on it. Sounds like a favorable review. Are you ready to take it on your upcoming elk hunt?

Maybe I should have waited. I just put an Extreme 900 sight on my brand new Guardian this morning.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Beautiful review. You did an excellent job as always.

Two questions: (since you have played around with it)

1. Rule of thumb with my hunting experiences: If it can go wrong, it will. On that note, how hard is that battery to change while on stand or do you have a good 10-12 hours of light from the back-up to finish hunting all day and head back to the cabin to change the battery? (if you have to change the battery on stand, do you have to mess around with stupid little screws that always tend to break or get lost?)

2. What do you mean by water resistant? I know my water resistant camo clothes always leave my soaked to the bone at the end of the drizzly day. I wouldn't imagine electricity and water mix.

Ok...can I ask a third..or maybe this is my fourth?

3/4. In your honest opinion, do you think this rest will catch on for more hunters or target shooters?

THANKS!

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Great review Gregg thanks. seems like a sight worth checking out






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RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

very nice review!!

How durable do you feel this sight is compared to a regular multi pin set-up??

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Some questions have rightfully been asked and I pose some of the same questions.

Weather resistant of course does not mean weather proof. This holds true to both the electronics and the optics. I can tell you from first hand experience that a light mist can really screw up the the image on theglass/polycarbonate onto which the heads-up display is projected.

Batteries are always a concern. The 'sleep' mode may be good on the stand, but I don't think I'd want this sight with me on an elk stalking mode. If slight movement activates the sight, then it could be on all day long during a stalk. Also, the only place I can see a battery fitting is in the base. That base is held on with 4 screws and that could be a pain in the treestand or in the field if required to replace the battery. Batteries on Red Dot scopes on crossbows are easy to replace and I don't see this in this design.

BTW, nice indepth review.;)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Things that make me go......"no".

"tilt" shuts sight off? I can't get past that. I think I heard a 3deg. cant would deem the sight unusable. Although you say it took a considerable cant.....I'd need to experience that one before making a final decision.

Batteries for my hunting gear. I have a sight light on my Viper. I use it when I'm shooting indoors. I had a sight light on my other sights as well. You know.....the batteries NEVER DIE at an opportune moment. I know I'd be in my stand on a 20 degree mroning when the batteries needed changing.

Greg....that's a very in-depth review. I noticed the extra sight you had on the table, also. How many people get a few sights to try out?....lol What's your affiliation? Just curious.

As much as I have reservations........I also trust your judgement. If you used it for a season.....and THEN had a rosy review......I'd likely give one a try.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

MDBUCKHUNTER -

Changing the battery requires removing the four screws on the bottom cover plate as Len pointed out, sliding the old battery out from a holding tab, and inserting the new battery. You then screw the cover plate back on. The screws are fitted with Phillips heads. The backup battery gives youmore than aminute's memory to replace the lithium ion battery.

Summit believes that replacing the main battery once per year should avoid problems, preferably right before seaon I would assume. Obviously, I have not yet had the sight a full year so I can't verify that yet.

By water resistant, Summit means they covered the electronic circuitry board with an automotive coating to protect against corrosion. It will not stand up to submersion, but sitting on a hunt in normal rain appears to have been successfully tested. I have not sat on stand myself in the rain, as it's something I don't often do when hunting season isn't in. ;)

Will it catch on with target shooters? I seriously doubt it; this is a hunting sight. Is it good enough? I think my first picture shows it is. Granted, I've been shooting a lot this summer --but so would a target archer. The sight's strengths are its pendulum features, the lack of obstruction surrounding the aiming dot and your quarry, and the ability to control the intensity of the LED aiming dots. I'm not so sure that any of those are especially appealing to target archers. I could be wrong, though.

The biggest reason I don't think it will catch on with target archers yet is its lack of a micro-adjust system. While the sight itself carries some incredible technology within it, the adjustment features are pretty basic, no-frills dovetail sliding brackets.

livinfortherut -

I can tell you the sight housing and its enclosed electronics are pretty durable; I had my bow in my bow vise when installing the sight, and didn't realize that when I loosened one of the adjustment screws that it allowed the sight to slide freely down the dovetail bracket -- and take a four-foot fall and bounce off my concrete floor in my home archery shop. I picked it up, looked it over, turned it on and it performed flawlesly, no worse for the wear --or bounce --in this occasion.

Jeff-

I almost inserted pictures of how far of an anglethe bow had to be at to shut the aiming dots off, but was afraid the review was picture-heavy as it was. Pictures can make a review, but too many become bothersome. I don't think you'd ever have any problems with that feature, unless youcanted your compoundlike Ted Nugent sometimes does. Let's just say that if you shot the way good shooters shoot, you'd never have to worry about it. ;)

And that's not an extra sight to try out;I wanted to show the packaging it came in, and was trying to kill two birds with one stone in that one pic. I didn't get "a few sights to try out" and have no affiliation whatsoever with Summit. :)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Thanks Greg. I went back and looked (empty package) and stand, corrected. I'll take your word for it on the cant issue, as well.

How much do these sights cost? I'd try one for my son's bow......and see how he likes it. I'm just in love with my current sight, right now, too much to entertain switching.

That's maybe the best field test review I've read, BTW.

Thanks.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Great review. I have always been interested in a pendulum style sight and your review makes me want to go out and buy one. Cooler heads prevail, (my wife Carie). We have a standing policy of not buying anything that is 1st model year. She reminded me of that this morning. I would like to see how they do in an all day rain. That is my only BIG concern. Perhaps you could do an after season review in a few months.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

WOW thats amazing. i cant believe how things just keep getting better. What will they come up with next. beautiful home by the way Greg!

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Good write up. Ive been priasing pendulums for years that have a lock on them for ground shooting and unlocking them for tree stands. Like the TR Mantis. Im interested in trying this one out though. Some people on this site used to give me such a boat load of &^^$# about any sight that had the word pendulum in it. I will always use them for tree stand hunting and this one has some cool features. Thnx

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

great review Greg, loved everything about it but didn't love it enough to get rid of my Viper. I just got a Summit 180 tree stand and the clibing stirrups are very rugid, much tougher than I thought they would be after looking at them. Thanks for the time you put into this thing, it really gives us an idea of the technology and how good it is.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Thanks, bloodcreek... We feel blessed to live in the last house in our subdivision... road dead-ends at our house, so not much traffic at all. Woods and golf course behind us.It's going to be an awesome place to raise my two boys, with deer and turkey moving through in the mornings regularly 30 yards away from my bedroom window.:)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

that sounds like a great place to raise a couple boys. i used to live my by a golf course years ago - and my white dog would always come home aqua blue from the die they use on the grass - it was weird.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Nice review Greg - I just ordered a fuse pendulum sight for this fall (also will be my first experience with a pendulum sight) - the one that I chose has a "lockdown" mechanism on it (intrepid I think?), and you can just tighten a set-screw and freeze the pendulum in place and use the slider instead.

I just wanted to try something different - and I did give the hot dot a look, but shied away from it after two sub-par experiences with red dot scopes on my turkey gun (got one fullseasonout 2 consecutive bushnell red dot scopes before they started to fritz out in the rain and fall apart). I thought the hot dot looked a little (okay, a lot)on the fragile side.

By the way - nice digs, buddy. Golf, deer and turkeys all from your back patio. Keep it copacetic Chief.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

awesome indeed raising your kids in that kind of setting, hows the new one comming along? any sleepless nights yet? :DI miss those days when mine were that young, they grow up to quick[:o]

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Appreciate this kind of review Greg / MO.

Already settled on nice bow sight, but with all the ad print they had me curious. I think this red dot technology will be improved (enclosed, water proof case, back up battery, etc.), and will likely become more mainstream in the future.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Ordered mine Saturday and it was shipped today:). One question for Greg, will this sight eliminate the use of a peep? I thought I read a review somewhere when it was first advertised that it did, but I haven't seen anything since. Great review, thanks for the info.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Greg that is a great review, but why on earth would I need that sight, LOL Just stick a pin on the critter and shoot.

It was a wonderful read;)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Sorry fellas, been travelling all day... just got to my hotel room in Denver.

To answer your question, Avalanche... the Hot Dot is just like any other pin sight, and the use of a peep is recommended unless you practice perfect form and execute a consistently repeatable anchor every time.

And yes, bloodcreek... you may have noted a few posts at 2 or 3 a.m. ;)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Received my Hot Dot yesterday and WOW what a great site:). I actually sighted mine in during a drizzle I was so excited to test it out. The sight works great. I was hoping it would allow you to eliminate your peep, but I put a G5 Meta peep on and it really opens up the sight picture. The only complaint I have about the Sight is the adjustment wing knobs, Just a slight turn allows the sight toslide too easily, precision marks on the adjustment would have been nice also. I would highly recommend this sight.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Hey Greg....did you post this exact review at AT? I remember it over there.....I'm going to have to look up that post again and remember your name over there, cause I've always enjoyed reading your posts and have learned a lot from what you have to say.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

I never hunt from a treestand, but this sight still seems like it would be perfect for me from within a dark blind. It gets so dark in my Matrix on a cloudy day in the deep woods that I can't even shoot all the way up til legal time. I've installed an Anchor Sight and taken off my peep this year, so that should help, but this still looks like it would be great in my situation. Especially considering I'm also sheltered from the rain while in the blind.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Thanks, doublelunginem... those words are much appreciated!

Corvus, that would be an awesome use of this technology. Perfect sight for that application. I've got an upcoming antelope huntwith some friends that I'll keep that in mind for.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Greg, great review. I will take a closer look at this sight as I am looking at getting one in the next couple of weeks so I can be comfortable with it by September.

I was looking at getting a red dot scope for the exact reasons Corvus mentioned in low light conditions in the woods and blinds I often hunt. To give me a brighter pin and to eliminate the peep. Last year, I left the mesh open on my blinds one morning to see better and got busted. [:'(]

I've never really investigated pedulum sites in general so don't know a lot about them. From reading you review, this sight would compensate for any distances in between 0 and 30 yards on the ground as well as treestand, if I had sighted it in at 30 yards? Given I did everything properly? That would be wonderful.

Also, if I wanted to eliminate my peep, I'd still probaby want to initiate some sort of anchor point in conjunction with the site like a kisser button? Correct?

Thanks in advance for all your help and advice. Great review. Perhaps I will have to burn a few Cabela's gift cards on it if they are selling this product yet.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

If you want to eliminate the peep, look at the Anchor Sight. I tried the Timberline No-peep, but had a very hard time seeing it in low-light. The Anchor Sight is much bigger and brighter. They also give you a little blue LED that you can shine on the fluorescent background to make it glow.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Greg/ MO that is the best review on any piece of gear I have ever read. Good job and more importantly. Thank You!

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Awesome review Greg!!!!!!! I have been eyeballing this sight for a bit.Your review has given me the urge to get one .Thanks

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Just wondering if the sight has been cold tested. I hunt MN and it can get pretty frigid. Many electronic devices can't stand up to it and I was just wondering about whether Summit had the foresight to test this aspect of hunting.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Swanee, I contacted Summit regarding your question and was informed the circuit board is sealed, and its components are rated to -5...

I know for me, I would think that if it dropped that cold for any extended length of time,my sight working would be the last thingI'd be worried about! :DI'd be worried about drawing... moving... breathing... [8D]

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Thanks for checking on that Greg. I'm with you on the hunting when it's -5 as well.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

I've seen some questions around battery life lately, so I thought I'd let everyone know that life expectancy is six months... you should be plenty good to go if you put a new one in right before the season starts, but I'll probably carry an extra one along with my multi-tool in my daypack just as insurance -- no different than carryng an extra release. Again, the electronics has memory storage of your setting for around 3-4 minutes, allowing you ample time to swap out the battery.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Bump for Mike from Texas, as well as for everyone else asking questions about this sight...

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Greg, I received mine two weeks ago and do like it very much. I had a few minor problems with the sight. I could not tighten the wing nutsenough to properly secure the sight. I did as the instructions stated as an option and removed both wing nuts. Using my alenI can now tighten the housing properly. In addition I must of had an older battery because the one that came with the sight lasted 4 hours. I put a voltmeter on that battery and it read 2.2 volts. Must of been an older one. I bought a new one andhave 10 hours on it and so far so good. I do not like the way the screws hold the bottom cover on. The threads are wood screw type going only into the plastic housing. They should have used an insert with machine threads. It wont take much to strip out the plastic in the housing frame. After all you must remove these screws in order to change out your battery. And make sure you do it within 60 seconds or your fixed pin settings will default to factory settings.
Another important factor is to set your pendulum mode first and then without moving your housing program that first fixed pin at that position. If you do not or cannot do this you will have to move your housing when you switch from pendulum mode to fixed pin mode. Not something I want to do.
The other problem I had Summit took care of by sending me a new sight bracket. The quiver screw holes had not been tapped properly. Half the threads were missing and the others were to shallow to grab any screw. Summit responded properly.
I have used the sight on my Bowtech Patriot VFT and am very pleased. No moving parts 25ft high pendulum mode dead on out to 35yds, Simply awesome. I will be hunting with this sight this year and will provide feedback.
BTW excellent post. Hope this info helps someone. LOL this year.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Sparky, I've talked to Summit about some of the things you mentioned...

One of the first things I did was to remove the wing nuts and start using my allen wrench to adjust the sight brackets as you did; it's my understanding that they now give this option in the instructions shipped with the newer sights.

I've heard some feedback about the sights being shipped with old batteries, and Summit is aware of it. I think the instructions have also been revised to state that a user has 3-4 minutes of battery backup to change out a battery if needed, if I heard correctly.

You're right about having to choose either the pendulum mode or the fixed mode currently if you don't want to have to make adjustments.

Glad to hear it, because as you can tell, that was the overall impression that I was left with as well! :)

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

HUH? Did I already ask a question about this sight?

Anyway, I am dying to know how this thing will work inside a Double Bull. That's my only gripe with hunting out of them, the pins are hard to see especialy if it's bright sunny outside. I may have to buy one to try that out.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

LOL... yeah, you did in another thread. It was a few weeks ago now.

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Greg have you had the opportunity to do any shooting out of a blind with it yet?

RE: Review of Summit's Hot Dot sight
 

Mike,

No, I don't even own a blind as of yet; with a four-year-old infatuated with hunting (imagine that? ;)), I'm sure it won't be long until I possess one. :)