[RANT ON] Sorry if this is a repost, I just recently got back into archery after a 5 year break (military) and I noticed looking for a new bow (I figured mine was way out of date PSE Spyder V4 55 pounds solid limbs dual cam) the newer bows appear to be "cheaper." The feel of the bow, the material it just seemed like toys to me in my hand. Have I missed somthing in 5 years?

The bows I looked at were Parker, Diamond, RedHead, Mathews Mission, Mathews Solo Cam, PSE, and Hoyt.

The new PSE bows were the most surprising. They seemed terrible, it appeared my bow was way more stable and smoother and as I said it was a dual cam I got in 2004! The new bow I looked at was split limb, but with 1 1/2 inch limbs spaced 1 1/2 inch apart and the large bulky limb pocket brackets the bow was like 6 inches wide at the limbs. It looked like a stick with 2 ski's on either end. The riser was all metal, the grip was 2 rubber strips on either side-wouldnt wanna use this bow in under 70 degree temperatures! I was pretty disappointed in that as I enjoyed using my PSE until it got stolen in 2008 and I was too busy and poor to get a replacement until now.

The Mission bows seemed to be the best quality and felt comfortable in my hand, very stable and balanced well but still had that "cheap" feeling. Are these mission bows just a branch of mathews? Sorta like a GMC and a Chevy?

I apologize if this seems off topic for most of you, I just couldnt believe what all I missed and my trip to the local bow shop (bass pro has fallen off since the last time I was a regular there, the people in the archery department didnt even know what a peep sight was for.) [RANT OFF]

-Phil