Bow toughness/reliability

[Adam Gibbs]

I've been out of the archery game for a bit (10+ years) when it comes to paying attention to new bows and accessories. My current bow is now 11 years old and I'm thinking it's time for a new one.

Are there any brands that currently tend to have problems and I should stay away from, assuming I keep this bow for another 10 years? Back when I stopped paying attention, Bowtech and Matthews were having limb problems and Hoyt was tough and reliable but slow. I like a forgiving bow, speed is not a huge concern with me. I just want a bow I can depend on for year after year.

Any suggestions are welcome. My shop carries Hoyt, Bowtech,Matthew's and PSE. I'm sure they have others too but that's the bulk of their stock. I do plan on going in and shooting them here soon to get one on order.

 

[Marble]

Any of the big 3.

I will say that I have never seen a Hoyt bow blow up when dry fired. I've seen the strings blow off and derail, but never damage to the bow itself.

I've seen PSE bows bend cams, but that's also slightly bow specific within that brand. Some of the bows with thin cam walls are the ones I think about.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[doncarpenter]

I have a Hoyt RX1 Ultra with ZT pro cams on it. I have beat the hell out of it this year and it has proven to be the most durable bow I have owned. I dragged it all over a Colorado Wilderness area elk hunting and dropped it 20 feet out of a tree TWICE this year (I know, I'm an idiot) . It never even came out of tune. I'm not sure that any of the other brands would fare worse but this thing is a rock star.

The Prime bows I have owned are pretty tough as well. I took a slide down a mountain last year with my Nexus4 and it held up great.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[Billy Goat]

I think for the most part they are all pretty reliable. Limb splinters aren't terribly uncommon for any of the big 5 (Mathews, Hoyt, Bowtech, Elite, PSE). Seems like at about 5 years, some companies start to have issues with having parts available (mainly PSE) however by 10 years all but Mathews you will generally have trouble getting many replacement parts.

Elite had been pretty good, and had a great transferable warranty, but for example they are not making any more parts for the Energy series bows now.


Keep in mind that most all bow companies will require you to use a dealer to get items, so you will probably want to buy a brand that is available locally from a dealer you trust, sounds like you might have that covered.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Sounds like someone needs to start dropping them!

 

[Billy Goat]

Sounds like someone needs to start dropping them!

Drops are fine, it's the getting pissed, wrapping them around trees that's the real test.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Drops are fine, it's the getting pissed, wrapping them around trees that's the real test.

That’s called a good old dirt tuning!

 

[Marble]

I've never seen someone ground tune their bow, I've heard of it. But I've seen golfers do just the craziest stuff. I live on a golf course, I've seen full out brawls, big celebrations, thrown clubs, beers and other things. Seen a few guys just explode a club against a tree. I've heard several very creative strings of curse words. All very entertaining.

I shoot basically right next to the golfers on my side of the fence. I collect maybe a dozen balls weekly and will often throw a few out while shooting to those who look to be struggling.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[rideold]

From personal experience I don't think Bowtech bows are terribly durable. The cams on mine are particularly fragile (RevoltX).

 

[USMC1302Colt]

I have questions about this as well. I really like how smooth the BowTech flagships are and the ease of tuning with the deadlock cam system, but the plastic limb pockets and the checkered history I have read about with limb problems gives me pause.

 

[Hunthigh1]

I have wondered this same thing. Are modern bows less durable over the long term due to high performance materials and design? I have a diamond triumph from 2007. It’s single cam and has metal limbs. A seemingly very simple design that has shown no wear over the years and never comes out of tune…..

 

[Darrack]

Shoot what feels best. They are all really good nowadays. Can’t go wrong with any of the big name companies.

 

[MattB]

I have had a great run of durability with Hoyt (15+ years), but I think it is hard to buy a bad bow these days.

 

[WBrim]

As for longevity, I e had a couple bowtechs last several years. I don’t think I was as rough on them as I am on my Mathews the last few years.

 

[WBrim]

I had a buddy who got into archery for a short while. He bought a new Prime nexus, and was over the moon about it. The first day he had it, an hour after leaving the shop, he was holding it at full draw, and torqued enough it derailed. It blew up all the strings (the thing had like 7 strings?) and wrecked a cam. But the limbs were fine. A couple hundred bucks later it was back to like-new.

 

[nphunter]

I'm rough on bows, most of the bows I've bough new have had some kind of warranty work done. My current Hoyt RX4 is still going strong with zero issues probably 1K plus miles dragged thought the brush and thousands of arrows shot though it.

Had a previous carbon hoyt need 2 sets of limbs and 1 riser all replaced though hoyt, the riser was kind of scary but never actually came apart but the machined pocket ends that the carbon is epoxied to was starting to work it's way out of the carbon, the limbs were due to splintering. That bow was put through the ringer, 77lbs, lots of rough country, 3 sets of strings and 7 or 8 years of hard use.

Personally, I would avoid any carbon bow used without a warranty. Just the was they are built and assembled there is way more room for failure than a machined aluminum riser. Epoxied in components as well on all of them which is not as durable as tapped and threaded holes.

 

[WBrim]

I'm rough on bows, most of the bows I've bough new have had some kind of warranty work done. My current Hoyt RX4 is still going strong with zero issues probably 1K plus miles dragged thought the brush and thousands of arrows shot though it.

Had a previous carbon hoyt need 2 sets of limbs and 1 riser all replaced though hoyt, the riser was kind of scary but never actually came apart but the machined pocket ends that the carbon is epoxied to was starting to work it's way out of the carbon, the limbs were due to splintering. That bow was put through the ringer, 77lbs, lots of rough country, 3 sets of strings and 7 or 8 years of hard use.

Personally, I would avoid any carbon bow used without a warranty. Just the was they are built and assembled there is way more room for failure than a machined aluminum riser. Epoxied in components as well on all of them which is not as durable as tapped and threaded holes.

Did Hoyt do pretty well to take care of you with those issues? Warranty? Or just paid repairs?

 

[nphunter]

It was all 100% covered. The riser and last set of limbs were replaced after owning the bow for 7 years.

 

[WBrim]

It was all 100% covered. The riser and last set of limbs were replaced after owning the bow for 7 years.

No kidding? That’s some serious support. Cool to hear they take care of it!

 

[nphunter]

No kidding? That’s some serious support. Cool to hear they take care of it!

Defiantly, it helped in my decision to buy another new Carbon bow from them for sure and I'm going on 4 years with this one with zero issues.