I’ve tuned a good bit of Hoyt and Mathews bows, and from a tunability standpoint Mathews wins out. I haven’t played much with the new hoyts and their binary cam, but I’m wary of any first year iteration.
The actual “shootability” of the bows can be extremely subjective, so that’s up to you. I do know that Mathews tends to have an overall smooth draw with a slight “hump” that drops into a nice valley with a solid back wall. Hoyts are notorious for a more spongey-feeling back wall.
One thing I pay a lot of attention to on a bow is the individual’s bow tech abilities. If you are pretty good with tuning and know the ins and outs, there isn’t a bow out there that you can’t “make it work”. However, from a “set it and forget it” type approach, your bow selections start to narrow. If you’re sending everything to a shop and not worried about it, you can disregard this following portion:
Mathews strings are terrible. I’ve never had a set that didn’t need 150-200 shots to “settle”, and every one of them needs new center serving right from the factory. I’ve had really good luck with Hoyt factory strings, only needing an average of 50-100 shots to settle in and a few instances of needing new center serving.
Mathews bows require full disassembly to replace strings, which some shops may charge extra for. I do my own work, so it’s not a huge issue, and I actually like the idea that I’m having to inspect axels and limb pockets each time I change strings. This can be a positive because it will keep you more up to date on greasing up and cleaning all the moving parts. Hoyt’s new cams require that you simply replace your typical 3 piece string set. No real disassembly required. This will be cheaper as well as easier.
. My wife will appreciate that.
