Who wins bow of the year?
 

I know this is kind of early and some of the bows havent hit the market hard yet, but what do you guys/gals feel will take the bow of the year as of right now? I believe the Trykon won last year, will Hoyt repeat again?

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Yup!:D

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

IDK, I'm thinking the Guardian, just because of the new design.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I would also say the Guardian, just judging by what i have heard from everyone out there. Seems like there are a lot of people going that route

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Who decides the bow of the year? This year who knows. They are all good. Vectrix, drenalin, guardian, tribute, cardiac, synergy list could go on and on.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Having shot just about everything that has come out, I am giving it to the 2007 Allegence. The Guardian just didn't do much for me. The Vectrix needs slim fast, and the Dren was a close second, but like most Mathew's bows, its a WHOLE lot slower than its contemporaries. And to tell the consumers its IBO speed is 320...haha...right. I shot a perfect IBO arrow off a Dren three days ago and it leveled out at 301. Considering that my 60# LX will shoot 300 flat with a 302gr arrow at 29", and I bought it for $195, I can't really say it does a lot for me. Yes its light and yes its smooth, but, so is the 07 Allegence, and, its super quick to boot.

The 07 Allegence I shot last week went 305 fps, with a 367gr arrow, at 60# and 29" (speed cams), THAT is impressive. And for a bow that is so light, to be so quiet, and still THAT fast and shock free....makes it "the bow of the year".

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I shoot a 2006 BowTech Tribute.

My gut feeling says it will be the Mathews Drenilen.
I have not shot the Drenilen.
I can not believe the Hoyt Trykon won bow of theyear last year.
I shot one & hated the valley.
IMHO the Hoyt V-Tec was/is a better bow, than the Trykon.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Im assuming by "bow of the year" you mean who will sell the most?

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

SwampCollie,
I find what you said about Drenalin speed very surprising. My Drenalin is set at 70#, my draw length is 29.5" and I'm shooting 400 grain arrows at 300 fps. It's strange that you would only get 301 fpsfrom a 350 grain arrow.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

No i dont think that's how it works. Maybe it does, but I saw a tv commercial and in magazines thatthe Trykonhad won bow of the year. I'm not sure who decides this or if it has to do with sales or not. If anyone else nows can you please clear things up.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

It will most definately be the Hoyt Vectrix....Just because Hoyts are the BEST......Sorry, had to do it guys! ;)

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Oh..interesting

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I AGREE WITH RAMMER, I THINK IT WILL BE THE VECTRIX

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

im going to agree with hoyt teen and say that the gaurdian wins the award just because of the new design:eek:

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I think it could be a toss up between Hoyt vetrix, Bowtech Gaurdian, and Ross Cardiac. Personaly I think the Vectix is just a remake of the trykon so not a whole lot going for it. The gaurdian shoots nice but deffinetly qawdy looking. So Ross Cardiac it is.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I would say we need to wait and judge the 2007 bow of the year when the 2008 ones come out. Pretty well every company now comes out with a new flagship bow every season and its instantly declared " the Best yet" by its fanboys wether it is better or not. There is still another good 8-9 months of bow sales yet for 2007. Some new models may rise above and some may show design flaws and tank. In my opinion if a new generation of bow does not offer more speed, more generous brace height and proven accuracy, basically a better performance then it may not be a real step forward. I have shot the Dren, Guardian, Vulcan and quite frankly those bows are so darn close in "overall" performance that you would really need to have actual sales figures to name a BEST OF 2007 BOW out of those 3.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

It's a bit hard to say at this point.

Hoyt
The Vectrix has all of the good things the Trykon had, but all Hoyt did was fix the draw cycle. While this is a big improvement on an already good bow, it's not earth shattering. The bows come with string suppressors this year which is a good thing to me, but their design seems to be damaging the strings.

The Vulcan has all of the nice things of the Vectrix with speed to boot, but it's short brace scares a lot of hunters away.

Mathews
IMHO they have taken a step back this year. The new limbs are smaller and lighter, but the new limb pockets require a less parallel limb design. Lighter limbs and less than parallel limbs result in more hand shock. This can be negated, but why go that route? The bow is not that much faster.

BowTech
The Guardian looked like it would run away with it this year, but now that the novelty has worn off the bow is criticized for a harsh draw cycle and is now plagued with cam lean that is damaging cables. It's a promising design, but still needs some tweaking.

The Allegiance is a great bow that has an improved grip and lighter riser, but again less weight leads to more vibration. Those that have older models of the Ally (myself included) have seen that this is evident. Again, it can be easily negated, but why do it in the first place?

Ross
Ross Cardiac. This bow looks very promising. Being a lefty I don't expect to shoot it for another month at the earliest, but my local shop has one and I was able to draw it and check it out. Very pleasing draw and has a nice solid back wall that was lacking in previous models. It's also very fast for the draw cycle ithas. There is a coating on the limbs that is supposed to protect the finish that is very cool. It comes with a string suppressor, teflon cable slide, and Winners Choice strings. Not to bad for a bow under $650. This could be my new hotness if its first impression carries over into how well it shoots. Good new company.

Darton
Another company that I feel has taken a step back. Their motto is "Say goodbye to old technology" but what the heck is that yoke device on the cables. I haven't seen anything like that in 10 years. The stand out of the Pro series is very fast and from what I understand smooth and shock free, but again only sports a 6 1/4" brace. I also would like to see what this company can do with a true binary cam. (Fanboys, they patented the name, not the technology).

Elite
This company also shows some promise. They have some of the most impressive offerings this year. I have yet to shoot the Synergy as a lefty but the shop owner let me shoot his right handed and I drew it left handed. Very smooth draw, 7" brace, very fast, and unbelievably quiet and shock free for how fast it is. It's not Guardian quiet, but it is quieter than an Allegiance and has more speed. The Envy is supposed to be even quieter and faster, but with a stiffer draw (speed's gotta come from somewhere). I haven't had the pleasure of seeing an Envy yet. If this company can stabilize their business and build up their dealer network, they could be scary. They've got the product, they just need to manage the business. Their instabiltiy does scare me.

So, bottom line, there is no clear cut winner. Not now at least. maybe in a few months. It doesn't matter anyway, mags will always favor Mathews because of all the money they put into advertising and TV will always favor Hoyt for the same reason. So, we'll never get an unbiased bow of the year.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

dont know but i am voting for the drenalin of course.... oe those Mathews bows.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I am wondering if you have shot the Drenalin ... the hand shock, if you can call it that, is almost nil IMO.

I shot them all, except the Cardiac, and for me, I repeat, for me, the bow of the year is the Drenalin ..... that is why I bought one ;)

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I see it differently......

"Bow of the year" is determined by a magazine....OR....magazine(S). These magazines are BUSINESSES.....and they rely on the advertising dollars of ALL the bow manufacturers to keep them afloat.

It's in their OWN best interest(s) to "spread the love".......and I think they (and the auto publications do this, too) will, again, this year. i'm betting the same manufacturer doesn't win it, this year. They won't be anxious to cut their own throats.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I think most of your post was spot on except for the Darton quote. Don't know if you have studied what exactly that yoke device does, but it is a binary type design that now has dual take up tracks and allows for a yoke system to prevent cam lean instead of only being attached to one side of the cam. Thisyoke allows you to eliminate all the cam lean/limb twist problems that have been associated with the other binary designs in the past. It is actually quite a good idea and works very very well.........it actually works the same as a floating yolk on a hoyt but applies that proven technology to a binary cam system. All the problems that scare some people away frombinaries....i.e. cam lean and limb twist, whatever you want to call it, are gone with Darton's design. I am speaking as someone that is in no way associated with Darton, but on paper it appears that design is the next best thing to a shootthrough cam system.

The pro 2000 is about as fast as anything else out there right now except for the true speed bows and has a bit more forgiving specs for those that are intimidated by a lower brace height. Their speed specs are usually spot on too, unlike a lot of other manufacturers. The Pro 2000 is 34.5", and 7.25" brace, and is rated at a real world 320fps.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

My vote goes to

Darton/Alpine and
Monster

My votes up in the air on the gaurdian and comander , I have not seen one yet a good friend who is a dealer said it is the quietest bow hes ever shot , I trust him , as for the rest , it appears some have had cable problems , something last years bowtechs were heads above the other manufactures on


Im with Rick James , Huntinbry was off on that about darton , they along with alpine I believe have introduced this year an improvement in the way cabels attach to cams , I think its been done before though , maybe its a reintoduction .

Darton makes more than one bow allso , the 6 1/4 brace bow is only one model pro3000 , the pro 2000 is basicly the same bow with slighty longer limbs and around a 7 inch brace , and its a sweet shooter , I own one , not a fanboy or chearleader , Ill tell ye the draw cycle is rough but they shoot sweet , hold dead steady , anf tune easyly

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Admittedly, of all of the bows and manufacturers I listed in my post Darton is the one I know the least about. I wanted to include them because I believe as a company they are worthy of consideration, but I have no first hand experience with their bows this year. RJ, what you said makes sense and is consistent with Darton's way of taking the standard and improving on it. I have no bias toward any company and my ignorance of their product was evident. Thanks for clearing it up.

Preacher Tony, I have shot the Drenalin and it was with no stabilizer or noise suppressing devices other than what is on the bow. Hand shock may not be the best descriptor, perhaps bow jump? There was some action to the bow when I shot it that I did not feel in their previous offerings. They still have that sweet draw though.

GMMAT, I disagree and the one magazine I have subscribed to for years is a perfect example. I get Bowhunting World and I cannot remember the last time that they did not have a Mathews as the bow of the year. Maybe other mags are different, but BW loves them some Mathews.;)

Also, I'd like to say that my post was by no means gospel and based on my experiences and preferences which are obviously very subjective. All of the bows mentioned would certainly go home with me if offered for free and I'd be happy as a clam. Just once though I'd like to see a "Bow of the Year" go to a company that is unexpected and has a product deserving of the title. I think any of those companies mentioned could do that if given the opportunity.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Didn't realize that. I stand corrected! (maybe Mathews DOES love that magazine!)

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

IT is no where near a remake of the trykon where did you get that from it has a smoother draw a bit faster and there is no horrible valley to fall in to from what i have seen and pulled so far plus the stealth shot is very nice.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I agree. It's so innovative how could you not?

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

how is the guardian innovative they still get cam lean and it amde thebow heavier it did increase limb strength but just split limbs would have done that so i dont see how it is really innovative not trying to start a war just want to see how you think its innovative

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

If you look at the specs on the Vectrix and Trykon they are nearly identical.

Trykon Vectrix
33" ATA33" ATA
7" BH7" BH
316 FPS IBO316 FPS IBO

That's not to say that the Vectix isn't a big improvement over the Trykon, but is a very similar design with a lot of improvements.

Granted BowTech is still fighting cam lean, but you can't seriously say that the design is not innovative. The pivot limb technology allows for lighter limbs, which allow for greater efficiency(what Mathews wanted) without sacrificing low noise, vibration, and shock levels. The riser allows for a reflex design with some deflex characteristics. Granted brace height is the determining factor of a forgiving bow, but the design lends itself to stability. The bow is insanely quiet for the speeds it produces. All of these are attributes to the design of the bow.

Pros silent speed, stable shooting platform, extreme efficiency, low hand shock/vibration

Cons cam lean on some, stiff draw cycle

I believe those cons to be issues that will be rectified in future editions. To say this bow design is not innovative just doesn't seem to give BowTech credit for what they have done. They do have some things to fix, but the future looks bright from where I'm standing.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

What about the High Country Iron Mace? On paper this bow looks like an excellent offering from a company that has kind of been struggling for a few years.

Great speed, laminated barnsdale limbs, and trinary cams. I'd love to shoot one and see how it compares to say an alleginace.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

How about PSE, with the Xforce. Its actually proven better...;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBJKCrhqR-M

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Great point. I should not have omitted that bow from my post. I haven't shot it left handed, but was able to draw it. I did shoot it right handed, but had to drop the weight to 53 lbs. It has a stiff draw cycle so you know where it's speed is coming from, but not harsh. It's kind of like the Guardian in that it feels heavy. That speed can't be argued with though. It is FAST. Surprisingly little hand shock for how fast it is.It isfairly quiet too for a speed bow. I'm not a fan of the grip, but you can get side plates for it and that is completely subjective. Did I mention that it's fast?

I have to make asmall addendum here, when I shoot bows right handed I feel that I notice vibration and shock more than when I am shooting left handed because having my left hand as my bow hand is unnatural to me. I have shot the same model bow in both left and right handed (07 Allegiance) and was able to feel more vibration when shooting right handed than left (although I did feel some with both). So I may notice some vibration in bows shot right handed that righties might not notice. If that is the casethe vibration or shockis probably so small it is insignificant.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Well let's see... there is no cam lean on a Guardian. It is an optical illusion. Put a lazer on the thing and it's dead on. It'll be the guardian or the Allegiance.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I'd say Guardian. Breakthrough technology in design. Who knows where it'll lead to next yr. NO hand shock/noise, & relatively fast. This may take it just based on the looks.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Vectrix

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Let's see, yes there is. Not on all Guardians, and I know Len has tested his stock extensively, but optcal illusions do not chew up the serving on cable as has been documented on a number of occassions.

Look, I knew this would happen if I posted the way I did. I posted my views on the top bows out this year. Some I did not have all of the informaton on because I do not have a lot of exposure them. Some of my views are opinion based on fact. I am not a fanboy of any company and look at a bow as a tool to enjoy archery or hunting, regardless of the name on the limbs.

Some of the facts on the Guardian have lead me to believe that the design is a great concept that needs a little improvement to work out some bugs. These facts are based on reliable sources online with pictures of the cam lean and the cable damageand eyewitness accounts at my local shop.

Once these bugs have been worked out and the Guardian is perfected I could easily see it being a Bow of the Year.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

I'd like to see a picture of this cable wear. Anyone have one. Mine has several hundred shots on it with not a hint of wear or tear. Looks like it did the day I bought it. I have found it takes a little more waxing than my old Darton, but I'd say that's normal for a high speed bow. If people are pushing the envelope on arrow weights and speeds you'll always have more problems. I see so many people trying to shoot 5 grains per pound and sometimes less in an effort to say they have the fastest bow. I susbscribe to heavier arrows, quieter bow and easier on the equipment. Len has a demo bow in the shop that gets shot a bunch everyday. It's got thousands of shots with no wear. All he's sold are still running fine. I'd sure like to see a picture and find out the set up they had.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Either the Vectrix or Guardian IMO.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

Guardian or

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

i vote for the vectrix, but my vote is biased because i own one and havent shot some other new bows.

RE: Who wins bow of the year?
 

David, if you get a chance check AT, there have been a couple of threads on it over there. Like I said it hasn't been on all of them, but the ones that do have the cam lean result in the cable touching the edge of the cam at full draw. As a result it is wearing out the serving on the cable.

I'm pretty excited to see what BowTech does with this design next year.