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Bow Evaluation
JimmyJack
Member Posts: 5,489 ✭✭✭✭
Surprised I heard no discussion of Field and Streams evaluation of new bows. Probably becauses Mathews was overpriced, and rated 8th.
Comments
I don't put much faith in the "evaluations" done by the major publications. They are all afraid to say anything bad about a product because they will loose advertising money. Just think what would happen if a writer said a Mathews (for example) bow was the worst thing he had ever shot. Mathews would pull their ads from the publication, and rightfully so. How many pages are some of these Mathews ads now? Up to 5 pages I have seen. How much would that comment cost the publication? Therefore, they all list all the many great qualities and we the reader have no idea what the bow is really like.
That is why it is important to shoot a bow before you believe it is "the best bow money can buy." Even if a particular model is the best bow for one person, it may not be for the next. Also when someone wants a new brandX bow just because he has shot them before, or his friends all do. Talk about an uninformed buyer. I push everyone to shoot as many bows as they can and make a decision on what to buy.
Here the Dren is 829, the Guardian is 789, and the Vectrix is 729. I guess they are all high priced...
I don't put much faith in the "evaluations" done by the major publications. They are all afraid to say anything bad about a product because they will loose advertising money. Just think what would happen if a writer said a Mathews (for example) bow was the worst thing he had ever shot. Mathews would pull their ads from the publication, and rightfully so. How many pages are some of these Mathews ads now? Up to 5 pages I have seen. How much would that comment cost the publication? Therefore, they all list all the many great qualities and we the reader have no idea what the bow is really like.
That is why it is important to shoot a bow before you believe it is "the best bow money can buy." Even if a particular model is the best bow for one person, it may not be for the next. Also when someone wants a new brandX bow just because he has shot them before, or his friends all do. Talk about an uninformed buyer. I push everyone to shoot as many bows as they can and make a decision on what to buy.
Right on! For me out of the bows I shot it was a toss up between the Mathews and Bowtech and the Hoyt would come in third. I chose the Mathews for 2 reasons, 1. it was about $100 cheaper and 2. they hold resale value.
Surprised I heard no discussion of Field and Streams evaluation of new bows. Probably becauses Mathews was overpriced, and rated 8th.
Checkout page 60 - 65 (Gear of the Year) of the F&S September issue by Bill Winke.
Here's how they are stacked.
PSE X-Force ($800) - BEST of the BEST
Bear Truth ($550) - BEST VALUE
(1) BowTech Guardian ($800)
(2) Diamond Black Ice ($700)
(3) Alpine Silverado ($650)
(4) ReadHead Kryptik ($650)
(5) Hoyt Vectrix ($750)
(6) Mathews Drenalin ($850)
(7) Ross Cardiac ($730)
(8) Reflex Ridgeline 34 ($600)