Buckfevr

Now that we have seen the offerings I thought that we could revisit it. I'll start off with saying that I see three big winners this year. That would be the Hoyt XTEC, the Bowtech Liberty, and the Mathews Outback. That isn't to say that there aren't other fine new offerings out there, but these three seem to have really peaked interest this year. It's interesting too that these three really are in slightly different segments. And it is interesting to me how these segments keep getting chopped up finer and finer. But the other big trend that I keep seeing is that speed isn't selling alone. The market now expects speed so parity needs to be achieved on speed but the differentiation occurs on other attributes like draw cycle or riser length or how quiet and vibration free a bow is. All in all the market is becoming more demanding and the manufacturers are responding.
For me I guess the story with Bowtech is most telling. Because on paper I figured that the new Patriot single would be the bomb, instead the folks took a look at the draw cycle on the Liberty and said yes. And we saw this last year too with the Patriot dually and the harsh draw cycle and folks moving towards the Extreme VFT for speed.
How do you folks see it?

Buck Magnet

I agree with you. The Liberty, Outback, and XTec have made a up-roar, not so much the XTec, but it is still shocking alot of guys.

The comments about better draw cycles is something that I think is going to be taken to a new level next year! BowTech may be able to engineer a new version of the freedom cam that will give the smooth draw characteristics of the F-Cam, while getting speeds like the Infinity Cam.

People want the best of both worlds, they just don't want to short change one to get more of the other!

The thing about these 3 bows is that they are actually pretty different. They all offer something that the others dont!

The competition between manufacturers seems to be increasing and the products are improving! If this rate continues, we should be seeing some KILLER bows in the next few years. One thing that wouldn't suprise me is seeing a new revision on parrallel limb design bows.

muzzyman88

I think the Bowtech Liberty and the Hoyt Xtec are making the most noise. The Liberty is ridiculously smooth drawing and shoots nice. The Xtec uses the Ultratec riser with a shorter more parallel limb design. What else can you say about the Utratec? Its been a proven top performer regardless of hunting, 3D or spots.

I'm sure there are others out there that will surprise a lot of people. The reason I didn't mention the Mathews line up is because I think they missed the boat big this year. Honestly, they pull too hard for my liking. To me, there was no comparison between the Outback and the Hoyt and Bowtech offerings. Hoyt and Bowtech have my votes.

BOWFANATIC

IMO after shooting all the above mentioned , based on smooth draw , hard wall , and the extra innovations...

Mathews Outback! The HP cam is sweet!
Based on smooth draw it's a toss up between the Liberty and Xtec , but the nod goes to the Liberty for the extra innovations.

Pinwheel 12

Shoot a Merlin Max-Xtreme. Then you'll reconsider your opinions, I'll bet on it. True level nock travel, super quiet, no shock, no recoil. Syntech limb laminates, carbon parabolic limbs with 10 times the carbon content of other limb designs which provides better torsional stiffness and consistency. Pivoting. dual-locking limb pockets, 3 degree offset grip for a more natural feel and great geometry, heck, the list keeps on going! Solocams and even twins will soon become obsolete IMHO--- Hoyt, one of the biggest players in Archery, is so convinced of this that they have put all of their eggs in the hybrid basket already and have scrapped both twins and solos. HUGE step forward for them, they are surely confident in this new technology! Merlin almost followed suit this year but figured to grab a few of the remaining bunch that haven't figured it out just yet. Make no mistake that the hybrid is becoming the mainstay of the industry for the next generation. The Merlin Omega hybrid is IMO one of if not the best hybrid design on the market currently also. As stated, once you shoot one, you'll probably buy one and forget about the advertising of others and who's currently "popular". JMHO. Pinwheel 12

muzzyman88

Pinwheel12, I looked at the merlin's some and wow, the MaxExtreme's are a sweet looking bow. I just need to find a place to shoot one. I think they are very overlooked company. Probably because they dont have the marketing persistance that the Hoyts, Mathews and Bowtechs are putting out there right now.

I too believe that the solo's are going to eventual degrade and lose a lot of sales in the future. I can see Bowtech coming into the Hybrid arena in the next year or so. A lot more room for advancement as the solo's have pretty much topped out.

Straightarrow

I'm not sure "persistence" is the right word. I've never seen an ad for a Merlin. They advertise less then Diamond (if at all), and I think we all know that Diamond's idea of marketing is to let bowhunters tell their buddies about them. This is very effective on an individual basis, but a very slow way to gain market share.

If the definition of "hot" is most popular, then any Mathews offering has to be considered. On the other hand, if "hot" means new and most improved, then the Merlin Max Extreme may be a player. Hard to tell since they are not yet on the market.

Double Creek

Shot the XTEC yesterday, and I'm not sure if they made some modifications to the cam & 1/2 or not, but the valley was much more forgiving, you didn't get that hard "jerk" when the cams roll, like I get with the ultratec and protec I've had/have. h

CBM SC

Very different from last year !

The Liberty is a very nice bow !! Very smooth draw and balanced near perfect to me !!

The Outback I think is more of the suprise bow for Mathews fans......I didn't expect much when I went to shoot one.....and traded my LX less than 2 weeks later !! It really has more to offer than what's on paper !

I wouldn't know what Hoyt came out with this year......if an occasional Xtec post didn't come up every once in a while !

Pinwheel.....I would've never heard of Merlin if not for you ! Although my interest is certainly peaked .....the lack of availability (ie. close dealers) is my only hold back ! I have a feeling I would by a Max Extreme if it didn't have to be a sight unseen transaction and a e-mail or phone deal ! I am a more meet in person type fella ! If a dealer pops up close by .....I will probably burn rubber to take a look !! I think you've got a great looking bow......I just wish I could drive less than a hour or so to see it !! Good Luck !!

Double Creek

That's b/c Hoyt doesn't pay people to come to this board and goo and gah over their bows.

Take a look around man, why do you think a certain bow continously gets promoted so hard on this board, when in fact, they would be hard pressed to make the top 5 in annual bow sales?