mlaubner

OK, maybe I am fortunate to have the expertice of Len from MD's shop close to my home(Macrotech).
But I want to share what I learned and get you opinions on this subject material.
Hybrid cams offer the best of all possible worlds to the compound bow shooter. Ease of tuning, "true" straight and LEVEL nock travel (which of course imparts less negative effects on arrow flight, which leads to ease of tuning) and a host of other positive attributes that I am sure you will read about as this thread grows. I will defer to Pinwheel12, Len and other to add more as they are certainly more the expert that I.
So here's the thing, we all seem to brag about this bow or that bow,(none of us would want to beleive that we bought an inferior bow) claiming that ours is the best for what ever reason.
My first bow was a Mathews, I thought I was buying the best for an assortment of reasons, not the least of which was the straight line cam. Seems like a great idea, get the arrow off the string in a straight line. This will give you the most efficiency from your bow set-up and in return yeild the highest K.E. and the truest flight path. Yes, the cam does produce a straight line but it is not LEVEL. So all the tuning you do is to counter or make up for this defeciency. In essence, the bow is working against the arrow and our job is to "fix it" to achieve good arrow/broadhead flight, i.e. tuning.
Now enters the hybrid cam which offers both straight and level nock travel and a host of improvments over both the single and two cam systems.
Suddenly you see a plethora of manufactures scrambling to introduce this cam system into their line-up of new bows, Hoyt, Bowtech, etc.,all the while continuing to bash the other guys product (a symptom of marketing hype)
Now I fully believe in "comfort zones", and everyone has one, including me. There will always be room in the industry for all three types of cam because of everyones comfort zone.
But what are your opinions on this "new" cam system, is it the wave of the future? ( and yes, I know it is not really new, Darton has had it patented for many years, but like the fallaway rest, some ideas are just ahead of their time and take awhile for our acceptance to catch up.)

PABowhntr

Though I do not totally agree with some issues surrounding nock travel I will say that hybrid cams are here to stay. They are a step forward in many regards and offer obvious advantages to both single and dual cam designs.

In my opinion, they are another tool in the arsenal.

Rangeball

mlaubner, you've been to Len's shop, and you're choosing a Darton over a Merlin? CPS over Omega?

Curious why you chose the Darton. For what it's worth, both are bows I'm interested in, and I've never shot or held either...

mlaubner

Hi Rangeball,
The darton was , in a word, "incredible". I shot the Magnum Extreme, 3.4# rocket launcher, that was quiet with no hand shock, vibration or string "twang". This bow was "off-the-shelf". Why the Darton over the others? They are the originators, the one others will follow...and they are made in the USA I wish I could put into words my feelings on this bow...simply...I'm having one

Big John

I have to agree with Frank here. Over the years there have been many perfect scores shot with bows that didn't have this design.

Rangeball

Did you happen to also shoot the avalanche extreme? If so, what were your thoughts on it?

Cougar Mag

Though I have not got to shoot a Darton either, the Avalanche is a great looking bow, but all I got to do was hold it and look it over.[] Once my hand heals, a Darton will get a serious look see from me.

Wheels, one cams, dual cams, hybrids..........I am sure more variations are to come. They all work and can be set up effectively.

mlaubner

Big John,
I'm not suggesting that other systems don't work...Yes perfect scores have been shot with these other cams, it has also been done with prong type rests and other equipment from the past. But archery has evolved and when the "moment of truth" arrives, would you not want every advantage possible? Also, We as archers can get used to, or tune our bows to whatever conditions we "need" to to compensate for deficiencies that exist in the then, current technology.

Rangeball,
The avalanche extreme is about the same length ATA as the Q2 and I want a more compact bow for ground/still hunting situations. If I were making a lateral move I would definitely give this bow a closer look. However after shooting the magnum that avalanche would really have to shine bright!

mlaubner

Of course they can. And a carbaurated motor can be made to work as well as a fuel injected motor but does that mean that the carb motor is equal to the performance of the fuel injected motor?

walks with a gimp

" when the moment of truth arrives" the person aiming the bow will have the weight of success or failure on his shoulders, not on which cam system is installed on his bow. The hybrid system is here to stay due more to marketing and the need to increase sales by many manufactures, than it's superiority over the other designs. 90% of the hunters and shooters out there won't be able to tell the difference in accuracy (IMO) due to the cam system. Many more things add up in the design of the bow's grip, draw cycle, brace, etc to produce accuracy for ONE individual over another. I've ownd Dartons and they were a nice bow but accuracy was no better than the previous 25 or so bows that I'd owned before. All systems are good