2 Years vs Brand new - is there THAT big of a change?

[330]

Friends - looking at some new bows. Price matters, so I'm looking at some older bows (2017-2018) vs. brand new 2019's. I get there are changes from year to year, but is it worth the money?

Specifically, comparing the Bowtech Realm vs Reign 7, Hoyt RX1 vs Defiant, Triax vs Halon. I do mostly east coast whitetail hunting with one trip a year to Colorado/Wyoming/Montana for Elk or Mule Deer.

Do speeds change that much? Is comfort that much different in a two year span? What would you do?

Thanks!

 

[willfrye027]

Doesn’t matter. From a physics/technology standpoint things are pretty well maxed out for now. New bows are slight tweaks of the same stuff to give slightly different feel/performance/emphasis from year to year. I think you have to go back 5+ years to see much difference. IMO.

 

[330]

Doesn’t matter. From a physics/technology standpoint things are pretty well maxed out for now. New bows are slight tweaks of the same stuff to give slightly different feel/performance/emphasis from year to year. I think you have to go back 5+ years to see much difference. IMO.

Yeah, sort of what I thought. I'm coming from a bow ~10 years old, so it's a massive improvement either way. Of course new and shiny things make me feel like they're better tho

 

[stump06]

I have a '14 Hoyt and I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between it and the new ones. There's a ton of marketing pumped out by the bow companies nowadays. I think if you were to switch brands you could tell a difference but just buying a newer model with the same company I don't feel like there's that much improvement. I love mine and don't plan on changing any time soon.

 

[willfrye027]

Yeah, sort of what I thought. I'm coming from a bow ~10 years old, so it's a massive improvement either way. Of course new and shiny things make me feel like they're better tho

Should feel really nice compared to a 10 year old bow! Hard thing about the 2 year old bows its much harder to test them out before hand and see what you like.

 

[Trial153]

I have owned about dozen new bows in the last 5 years. The two currently have on the hooks are a 2015 and 2017.

I dont think we are giving up anything in the 10 or 12 years.

 

[330]

Should feel really nice compared to a 10 year old bow! Hard thing about the 2 year old bows its much harder to test them out before hand and see what you like.

True. I assume they are a similar feel to their newer counterpart. Sort of trying to new ones and then going looking at how much I can save by buying a couple year old version.

Thanks, good input.


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[Gerard Marcaurele]

As far as the “big” factors go, not much has changed. Bows are roughly the same speeds with roughly the same specs now as they were 10 years ago. They’re a bit faster, but not terribly much.

The changes, in my opinion, have come in the tunability of SOME of the bows out there. I do think that most manufacturers make good bows, and that it’s up to you to decide what you like best as far as draw cycle, back wall, weight, and noise on the shot. For me, the cam system and tunability of the Hoyt Hyperforce/RX1 is slightly better than the defiant line, so that’s what I went with. I’ve shot a few other bow makers, and everyone has their positives and negatives. My suggestion is to sit down and figure out what you want to improve over your current rig and what you really like about it, see if that same brand offers said improvement while retaining what you like, try it out, then see if that works. Then, if that brand doesn’t fit the bill, go ham on it and start shooting everything you can until you find “the one”.

 

[fatlander]

I’ve had I’ve had over a dozen bows in the past 5 years. Many of them brand new, the two I’ve got hanging up are a 2015 hoyt nitrum and a 2017 evolve 35. I’ve had three 2018 bows if that tells you anything. . . It’s all personal preference within the last 5-7 years.

In my opinion the PSE evolve is the best cam system ever built in regards to the performance it produces for the ease of effort. The Z5 era of hoyts are also some of the best bows ever built. I also really liked my realm, but these two bows are better for me.


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[sgnading]

I recently bought an RX3 and I'm happy with the "new" technology. I did a ton of research before (I've only recently gotten into archery but the addiction has set in big time) and debated older models of different bow companies. For myself, I wanted something I'd be happy with for the next few years. I felt if I bought an older one, as the new ones continued to come out, the technology gap would quickly broaden and I'd talk myself into buying a new one much sooner.

Also, I just loved the draw cycle. It may certainly have been the bow I tried, but I felt like the new RX3 had the best draw cycle. It's all personal preference but the draw cycle made going with a new one instead of something like the defiant an easier choice.

 

[theleo91386]

A trend I've noticed in the past couple of years is a lot of manufacturers seem to be adding weight back to their bows. That's not something I particularly care for so I opt for the 1-2 year old bows when I look at upgrading.

 

[gretch6364]

It has been a disappointment that technology has not change much in the last 10 years. I see more of a focus on "efficiency," but the really efficient bows are not any faster and I am still young enough that the extra energy doesn't yet matter. And when it comes to weight, bows from the mid to late 90s were lighter then todays carbon bows.

What I really want is someone to give me a 31" draw length...now that would be awesome tech! ;-)

 

[ShortMountain91]

I went to the shop the other day and shot all the new stuff (traverse, rx-3, reckoning, couple more can't remember) and I thought my current reign 7 was better than all of them besides maybe the reckoning. Really need to shoot them to see what feels best to you but i will say the 2017 reign series is definitely as good as the new stuff out right now

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[Don Qui Puncher]

I had the reign defiant and RX1 and would rate them in that order. Great bow fast quiet and great draw I would put at the top of the list of the ones you mentioned and you can find them pretty cheap on ArcheryTalk

 

[330]

I had the reign defiant and RX1 and would rate them in that order. Great bow fast quiet and great draw I would put at the top of the list of the ones you mentioned and you can find them pretty cheap on ArcheryTalk

Nice, thanks for the input. What do you have now?

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

Nice, thanks for the input. What do you have now?

Prime Centergy Hybrid I picked up on AT for cheap prime CT5 and the RX3. I haven’t shot the Hoyt in months not really crazy about it thinking of selling/trading it

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

The hybrids go for cheap because they are draw length specific but I see them for 4-500 and it’s a sweet shooting bow also pretty easy to tune

 

[BRTreedogs]

You need to just shoot them and pick whatever 1 sings to ya.
Weather old or new the one that feels best.
Its splitting hairs.

 

[kicker338]

According to bow designer Keven Strother, it's doubtful we will see any real major changes in bows in the foreseeable future unless someone comes up with something that's never been seen or herd of before. He said that we've reached the point of only so much energy can be produced with todays bows. The only things other than bows that have shown some big changes is in bow sights. The Burris and Garmin sights are a pretty big change from the current pin sights as is with the EZV sight

 

[wadestew]

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Prime bows. I'm shooting a PSE evolve 35 from 2017 and love it, but my next bow will be a Prime CT3.