wildernessmaster
Lil-Rokslider
Last year I bought a Matthews Vertix. I am new to bow hunting, last year was my 3rd year and previously I had used a Diamond SB Deploy (significantly upgraded) and a Mission Ballistic 2.0. Wanting to upgrade to a bit faster, flagship bow, I chose the Vertix.
A year later, after putting about 100 arrows through it (I know not a whole lot) over the summer, I wanted to write a quick review for those folks out here on Rokslide... That said, based on some reading here probably a controversial review.
I can quickly sum up my experience and review with this... I just sold the bow on Ebay and shipped it out yesterday.
For those Matthews fan boys (or gals), before you get your panties (boxers) in a wad, let me say my peace and observations on it.
Matthews makes great gear. I loved my Mission (although it has been sold too - but mainly because I am bow heavy). The Vertix just wasn't for me and what I am looking for in a bow.
Here are some reasons why...
1. Matthews can be a real PITA to change cables on... I found this out when I needed to restring my Mission. The fact you have to completely remove axles/cams to put on new cables - in this day and age seems ridiculous. I know there is awesome engineering reason for this, but as a consumer for my needs, it just doesn't work.
2. The bow at anchor was un-freaking-forgiving... I mean the slightest flinch of any move settling into my anchor and it wants to jerk the string off my face. I have owned 7 bows now, and I know some of them do that, but this one did it very radically. And yes, I locked my back in like I should. I pretty much tried everything and I guess my body type or shooting style just did not "mind meld" with the needs of this bow.
3. Ease of tuning... Shims, top hats, draw length mod swaps... Can we spell prehistoric engineering?? Granted just like a revolver, such rudimentary engineering is very reliable, but just like a revolver you loose a lot of modern options. Bows should be able to be tuned with an allen wrench and by the average human being. Given my closest dealer is over an hour away, and Matthews could care less, I needed a more easily tuned, idiot proof bow.
4. Loooooonnnnnnnnngggggg draw length... The draw length on both my Mission and Matthews bows push the spectrum of acceptable. My Mission runs 29.7 with a 29" mod on it - and that is with new strings. My Mattews ran 30.6 with the 30" mod on it.
5. Matthews Dealer Screwed me... The dealer who sold the bow, in spite of my telling him I my draw length was 29.5: a) put 30" inch mods on it b) should have known to try 29" mods and then maybe move to 29.5 mods. Some of these other problems (2 for instance) may have been exacerbated by this. It seems to be pretty common knowledge Matthews bows run long.
6. In this modern era it makes no sense that one should have to spend $50 to change your draw length. Lots of bow companies have figured this out - even on flagship bows. Especially given the fact that actual draw length on a bow is not exacting. It varies a lot, even between sets of strings. How may DL modules do I have to own, 2, 3, 4 to accommodate changes in my bow, strings, and me?
7. It was a relatively heavy bow for such a compact form factor. I am a realist and I know there are tradeoffs in engineering with weight (absence or gain) in a device like a bow - but this one was heavier than needed to give you the positives of those tradeoffs.
8. It was not dead in my hand... I felt this bow when I shot it. My Mission was dead in my hand. My Diamond is mostly dead in my hand (I think the carbon riser has a bit of vibration to it because of its lightness). My new bows dead in my hand. My Vertix, not so much.
9. Top heavy bow. Without a good back stabilizer this bow is very top heavy. For east coast hunting I don't want to have to have the frankenstein stabilizer set up to just keep this bow balanced as I shoot. More so, this forces a bit firmer grip which tended to make my groups a bit less conistent.
10. Grip... My hand never felt right when gripping this bow. In fact, I had never given a bow grip a second thought, thought they all felt the same, but for some reason this one did not and my hand felt like it needed to "grab" the grip.
In the end, I decided to sell it not because it was a crappy bow - in fact it is a beautiful and solid bow - but because it did not fit my shooting style or ownership needs. Unfortunately while I have largely cut my teeth in my bow life with Matthews bows, I am moving away from them. They seem to be stuck in their thinking and design (which is not always a bad thing); somewhat rehashing designs (really what IS the difference between the Vertix and VXR??); want to go with short brace more unforgiving bows; and stick to older more rudimentary engineering designs.
For me, I need a bow that is as forgiving as possible on all fronts (I wanna kill things with it, not shoot targets under controlled conditions); that I can tune without having to have a bow shop (although I do now thanks to Matthews); and that I don't have to waste arrow money on changing my draw length et al...
I know a LOT of you guys are Matthews fans... I am sorry, my choice was to change.
Luke Stephens
A year later, after putting about 100 arrows through it (I know not a whole lot) over the summer, I wanted to write a quick review for those folks out here on Rokslide... That said, based on some reading here probably a controversial review.
I can quickly sum up my experience and review with this... I just sold the bow on Ebay and shipped it out yesterday.
For those Matthews fan boys (or gals), before you get your panties (boxers) in a wad, let me say my peace and observations on it.
Matthews makes great gear. I loved my Mission (although it has been sold too - but mainly because I am bow heavy). The Vertix just wasn't for me and what I am looking for in a bow.
Here are some reasons why...
1. Matthews can be a real PITA to change cables on... I found this out when I needed to restring my Mission. The fact you have to completely remove axles/cams to put on new cables - in this day and age seems ridiculous. I know there is awesome engineering reason for this, but as a consumer for my needs, it just doesn't work.
2. The bow at anchor was un-freaking-forgiving... I mean the slightest flinch of any move settling into my anchor and it wants to jerk the string off my face. I have owned 7 bows now, and I know some of them do that, but this one did it very radically. And yes, I locked my back in like I should. I pretty much tried everything and I guess my body type or shooting style just did not "mind meld" with the needs of this bow.
3. Ease of tuning... Shims, top hats, draw length mod swaps... Can we spell prehistoric engineering?? Granted just like a revolver, such rudimentary engineering is very reliable, but just like a revolver you loose a lot of modern options. Bows should be able to be tuned with an allen wrench and by the average human being. Given my closest dealer is over an hour away, and Matthews could care less, I needed a more easily tuned, idiot proof bow.
4. Loooooonnnnnnnnngggggg draw length... The draw length on both my Mission and Matthews bows push the spectrum of acceptable. My Mission runs 29.7 with a 29" mod on it - and that is with new strings. My Mattews ran 30.6 with the 30" mod on it.
5. Matthews Dealer Screwed me... The dealer who sold the bow, in spite of my telling him I my draw length was 29.5: a) put 30" inch mods on it b) should have known to try 29" mods and then maybe move to 29.5 mods. Some of these other problems (2 for instance) may have been exacerbated by this. It seems to be pretty common knowledge Matthews bows run long.
6. In this modern era it makes no sense that one should have to spend $50 to change your draw length. Lots of bow companies have figured this out - even on flagship bows. Especially given the fact that actual draw length on a bow is not exacting. It varies a lot, even between sets of strings. How may DL modules do I have to own, 2, 3, 4 to accommodate changes in my bow, strings, and me?
7. It was a relatively heavy bow for such a compact form factor. I am a realist and I know there are tradeoffs in engineering with weight (absence or gain) in a device like a bow - but this one was heavier than needed to give you the positives of those tradeoffs.
8. It was not dead in my hand... I felt this bow when I shot it. My Mission was dead in my hand. My Diamond is mostly dead in my hand (I think the carbon riser has a bit of vibration to it because of its lightness). My new bows dead in my hand. My Vertix, not so much.
9. Top heavy bow. Without a good back stabilizer this bow is very top heavy. For east coast hunting I don't want to have to have the frankenstein stabilizer set up to just keep this bow balanced as I shoot. More so, this forces a bit firmer grip which tended to make my groups a bit less conistent.
10. Grip... My hand never felt right when gripping this bow. In fact, I had never given a bow grip a second thought, thought they all felt the same, but for some reason this one did not and my hand felt like it needed to "grab" the grip.
In the end, I decided to sell it not because it was a crappy bow - in fact it is a beautiful and solid bow - but because it did not fit my shooting style or ownership needs. Unfortunately while I have largely cut my teeth in my bow life with Matthews bows, I am moving away from them. They seem to be stuck in their thinking and design (which is not always a bad thing); somewhat rehashing designs (really what IS the difference between the Vertix and VXR??); want to go with short brace more unforgiving bows; and stick to older more rudimentary engineering designs.
For me, I need a bow that is as forgiving as possible on all fronts (I wanna kill things with it, not shoot targets under controlled conditions); that I can tune without having to have a bow shop (although I do now thanks to Matthews); and that I don't have to waste arrow money on changing my draw length et al...
I know a LOT of you guys are Matthews fans... I am sorry, my choice was to change.
Luke Stephens
