2023 Head - To - Head Bow Test

[Zach Herold]

This is the 2023 Head-to-Head Bow test!
8/2/23 update—Part 1 is live here: Head-To-Head Bow Test 2023

1/4/23 update--Part 2 is live here:

2023 Head to Head Bow Test: Part 2

In this bow test, Zach compares three great bows in the field to help you decide which is right for you. 2023 Head to Head Bow Test.

www.rokslide.com

Bows Tested In Part One:

• Mathews Phase 4 29
• Elite Omnia
• Gear Head P30
• Hoyt VTM 31

Part One:

1. Bow Weight
2. Speed Test
3. Shootability
4. Draw Cycle
5. Back Wall
6. Sound Emitted From Shot

Part One: Head-To-Head Bow Test 2023

Part Two: Field Test on Hunts. (Mathews will not be in part two as I am sending the bow back to the company before hunting season starts)


Let's get the conversations and the questions rolling!

@robby denning

 

[robby denning]

this will be another giant review!

@sndmn11 just submitted his Elite review, be interesting to see the different reviews.

Go Zach!

 

[Bump79]

Interesting to see the Gearhead in there. I would have liked to see a Prime in the mix.

 

[Billy Goat]

In part one, are you simply evaluating how they are out of the box?


Pretty much every factor you list will be influenced by the cable and string lengths. So will you shoot them some to settle the fibers and then adjust to be middle of the road spec?

 

[Zach Herold]

Interesting to see the Gearhead in there. I would have liked to see a Prime in the mix.

Prime decided to not send a bow this year because they have a new change they will be pushing pretty hard so they wanted to wait until that change happened!

 

[Zach Herold]

In part one, are you simply evaluating how they are out of the box?


Pretty much every factor you list will be influenced by the cable and string lengths. So will you shoot them some to settle the fibers and then adjust to be middle of the road spec?

I'm not sure what you are getting at.

I shot each bow 100 times before the evaluation started. Then I put equipment on them ie, rests, sights, stabilizer, etc. Then I started conducting tests. The goal is to get as close to apples to apples comparison as possible. Hopefully, that answered your questions/concerns.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm not sure what you are getting at.

I shot each bow 100 times before the evaluation started. Then I put equipment on them ie, rests, sights, stabilizer, etc. Then I started conducting tests. The goal is to get as close to apples to apples comparison as possible. Hopefully, that answered your questions/concerns.

Did you set them to spec after the 100 shots and then tune them?

 

[Billy Goat]

I'm not sure what you are getting at.

I shot each bow 100 times before the evaluation started. Then I put equipment on them ie, rests, sights, stabilizer, etc. Then I started conducting tests. The goal is to get as close to apples to apples comparison as possible. Hopefully, that answered your questions/concerns.

I assume you checked/set cam timing after those 100 shots?

Back wall will feel totally different from stops being just a little off.

Checking draw weight, that can change depending on your string/cable lengths.

Speed can be effected again by cam timing, but also by a bow that is drawing long.

Sound, hold, lots of things based on where cam rotation/sync is.

So, to ask if you were going to set them up for middle of the road would be for example, a bow that has a 6" brace (+,- 1/8") and a 29" ATA (+,- 1/4") you would set them up at exactly 6" and 29, then see where the actual DL is and the DW and test from there, tho all wouldn't be the same.

Or, you could dial them all in to be exactly the same draw length, probably end up on the outer edges of spec on some, then set them all to same poundage.


So I guess my question is were these just pulled from boxes and basically tested, or settled, tuned, set to exact same DL and DW and then trsted?

 

[Zach Herold]

I assume you checked/set cam timing after those 100 shots?

Back wall will feel totally different from stops being just a little off.

Checking draw weight, that can change depending on your string/cable lengths.

Speed can be effected again by cam timing, but also by a bow that is drawing long.

Sound, hold, lots of things based on where cam rotation/sync is.

So, to ask if you were going to set them up for middle of the road would be for example, a bow that has a 6" brace (+,- 1/8") and a 29" ATA (+,- 1/4") you would set them up at exactly 6" and 29, then see where the actual DL is and the DW and test from there, tho all wouldn't be the same.

Or, you could dial them all in to be exactly the same draw length, probably end up on the outer edges of spec on some, then set them all to same poundage.


So I guess my question is were these just pulled from boxes and basically tested, or settled, tuned, set to exact same DL and DW and then trsted?

Yes, you are correct everything changes while cables and strings stretch, cam timing has an effect on things, and the bow will need to be retuned once the cables and strings stretched.

No, they were not just pulled out of the box and shot.

They were set to the same draw length and the same draw weight within a pound or as accurate as I could get the scale to be.

For any further comments or questions I suggest you watch the head-to-head bow test I did last year for reference as it outlines the testing, tuning, and everything else I did.

 

[Zach Herold]

Did you set them to spec after the 100 shots and then tune them?

Sure did!

 

[Justin Crossley]

Zach's video just went live on our Youtube page. Check it out!

Head-To-Head Bow Test 2023

 

[DB29]

Hey @Zach Herold

Great review. The charts are amazing!! Thank you.

I am torn between the Omnia and Prime Revex 4. Any feedback on the Revex?

 

[twall13]

I'm surprised the Mathews was the loudest bow. I wonder how much draw weight and arrow weight come into play with that. Everything I've heard is how quiet the Phase 4 is. I haven't done any testing with mine but when I shoot next to a couple of Hoyts I "feel" like my Phase 4 is more quiet, maybe it's all in my head. I also shoot the 33, not the 29. Great overview, as always. I love how thorough you are.

 

[realunlucky]

Another great review thanks for all the hard work you put into doing these reviews. I appreciate it

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[Zach Herold]

Hey @Zach Herold

Great review. The charts are amazing!! Thank you.

I am torn between the Omnia and Prime Revex 4. Any feedback on the Revex?

Not at the moment! But stay tuned!

 

[Zach Herold]

I'm surprised the Mathews was the loudest bow. I wonder how much draw weight and arrow weight come into play with that. Everything I've heard is how quiet the Phase 4 is. I haven't done any testing with mine but when I shoot next to a couple of Hoyts I "feel" like my Phase 4 is more quiet, maybe it's all in my head. I also shoot the 33, not the 29. Great overview, as always. I love how thorough you are.

As you see I didn't put any of my input, I just went off the numbers. Audibly the Hoyt sounded the quietest.

 

[doc holiday13]

I'm surprised the Mathews was the loudest bow. I wonder how much draw weight and arrow weight come into play with that. Everything I've heard is how quiet the Phase 4 is. I haven't done any testing with mine but when I shoot next to a couple of Hoyts I "feel" like my Phase 4 is more quiet, maybe it's all in my head. I also shoot the 33, not the 29. Great overview, as always. I love how thorough you are.

Quiet is relative to pitch, frequency, and your own ear.. Do a deep dive on suppressors and you'll find some suppressors are rated at the same decibels but i guarantee one will sound waaaaay quieter than the other.

 

[twall13]

I'm certainly not saying Zach is wrong. That's part of what I love about his reviews, he lays it all out and you can determine what features/aspects are important to you or not to make a more informed decision. I'm very happy with my Phase 4, the results were just unexpected to me. A lot of nice bows out there!

I hadn't thought about pitch, etc. That's an interesting rabbit hole I may have to dive down sometime.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Bunkster_84]

The pitch and frequency is indeed very interesting when it comes to the audible noise we hear..great review and comments

 

[sndmn11]

Regarding sound, I wonder if there's ways to engineer the direction a bow sends it.

If I were wanting to sell bows knowing that most shoot at 10' with no sight and mainly evaluate sound, vibration, draw cycle, I might try and send the sound away from the shooter so they think it's a quiet bow.