Hoyt RX4 vs PSE Carbon Stealth Mach 1

[treillw]

Which bow would you prefer and why? I have some thoughts after shooting the Mach 1 and all three versions of the RX4. I'm curious to hear your thoughts and which one you would rather shoot.

Some of my observations:

• Mach 1 is lighter and actually weighs pretty close/equal to advertised.
• I've been told that the Hoyt cams can be problematic with going out of tune over time because of the way that the string is routed towards the bottom cam. There is that "saddle piece" in the string towards the bottom cam which stops you from being able to put twists into the string down there. Supposedly this makes things more difficult and makes things go out of tune easier. The way the cams share the load, the top cam takes ~500 pounds while the PSE splits the 500 pounds between the top and bottom cam and each carry 250 pounds. (regurgitated sales pitch that may not be 100% accurate)
• The hoyt has less hand shock, although the mach 1 is much better than previous versions. I think it will have little to no hand shock with a quiver, stabilizer, etc on it.
• Hoyt seems to much more popular than the PSE
• Speeds (all with 435 grain arrow, 70# limbs with box maxed out, 29" draw):
  - RX4 Ultra: 285 fps
  - RX4 Turbo: 299 fps
  - Mach 1: 293 fps with my vanes rubbing against the brushes on the rest partially

Anything else you would consider?

What arrows, rest, stabilizer, quiver, and sight would you use on the bow? (main purpose of bow is elk hunting)

Thanks!

 

[OR Archer]

Both are really good bows. I prefer the Hoyt grip although the Mach 1 grip is much improved. Draw cycle is a wash as both are very smooth. Hold on target is also a wash when comparing the ultra to the Mach 1. Speed will go to the PSE with a slight advantage. Tuning I’d give to the Hoyt for the simple fact you don’t have to shim cams. That said the PSE isn’t hard to tune.

Honestly if you’re set on carbon it’d be a really hard choice between those two companies. I went with an Ultra but the Mach 1 is a legit bow.

 

[Muley15]

Which bow would you prefer and why? I have some thoughts after shooting the Mach 1 and all three versions of the RX4. I'm curious to hear your thoughts and which one you would rather shoot.

Some of my observations:

• Mach 1 is lighter and actually weighs pretty close/equal to advertised.
• I've been told that the Hoyt cams can be problematic with going out of tune over time because of the way that the string is routed towards the bottom cam. There is that "saddle piece" in the string towards the bottom cam which stops you from being able to put twists into the string down there. Supposedly this makes things more difficult and makes things go out of tune easier. The way the cams share the load, the top cam takes ~500 pounds while the PSE splits the 500 pounds between the top and bottom cam and each carry 250 pounds. (regurgitated sales pitch that may not be 100% accurate)
• The hoyt has less hand shock, although the mach 1 is much better than previous versions. I think it will have little to no hand shock with a quiver, stabilizer, etc on it.
• Hoyt seems to much more popular than the PSE
• Speeds (all with 435 grain arrow, 70# limbs with box maxed out, 29" draw):
  - RX4 Ultra: 285 fps
  - RX4 Turbo: 299 fps
  - Mach 1: 293 fps with my vanes rubbing against the brushes on the rest partially

Anything else you would consider?

What arrows, rest, stabilizer, quiver, and sight would you use on the bow? (main purpose of bow is elk hunting)

Thanks!

Both are good bows but I prefer the RX4 platform.
- My RX4 Ultra with 80lb limbs weights 4.3lbs bare which is close to its advertised weight (80lb limbs are thicker than the other weights as well so I am guessing it would be right at or close to advertised weight with 70lb limbs)
- Hoyts have zero issues with tune-ability or keeping a tune. Its a pretty easy system and I prefer it. You either put in or take away twists on the control cable and can make micro adjustments to the yokes. It also tunes darn near nock level with a bare shaft tune. I wouldn't trust what you were told.
- Hand shock is really not a big deal for me but with a stabilizer its non existent on the RX4
- All of the speeds are close to not worry about it. The RX4 Alpha would probably be at the same speed as the mach 1.

 

[widnert]

I shot both and wound up buying the PSE. But, went with the Carbon Stealth 35EC rather than the Mach 1 to get the extra 3" of ATA. I have a 31.5" DL. My local shop had the Mach 1 but not the 35EC when I was in to test these.

They both shot very well. The Hoyt is adding almost a full pound to the bare-bow weight though. I was looking to lighten up from my last bow so this didn't help the Hoyt. Both felt similar when shooting. I thought the Hoyt had a bit more hand shock than the PSE but these are subjective things so, others may feel different. The Hoyt grip was slightly rounder and the PSE's grip was more blocky but thicker than previous models. I owned and shot a PSE for the past 4 years so this felt perfectly fine to me. Others I've heard are not fans of this feel. To me, it fits my hand and falls into the proper spot when settling in for the shot.

Both were quiet and felt good. They drove my arrows into the target to very similar depths so their speeds are very close. Bare-bow shots were grouping very nicely with both bows. I would think you couldn't go wrong with either choice. The decision maker for me was the overall weight. One of my priorities in making the move to a new bow was to drop a little weight from the whole package and Hoyt lost it with that extra pound. Honestly, my last bow was essentially the same weight bare-bow as this new carbon Hoyt.

Have fun making your choice!

 

[SSB1]

Haven't shot the RX4 but the Mach 1 Stealth holds better on target with the longer riser than the older ones.

 

[SSB1]

New Mach 1 grip is slightly narrower side to side (about 1/16") and shorter front to back (about 1/4") than the previous Carbon Air Stealth. Both nice bows, I'd like to try the Rx4 Ultra number 2 cam, heard it's a smooth shooter.

 

[Chadpearson]

I'm kinda partial to the PSE after shooting them. I wasn't that impressed by the RX-4 I actually preferred the axius.. it could've been how the shop had them tuned but the pse sat on target way nicer and would allow me to put my stabilizer weight where i want it without making the bow an anchor

 

[shooterrdy]

Add on a carbon grip from ultraview and its Hoyt walking away. It does add drace height and increases draw length so keep that in mind but its way better grip than stock hoyt

 

[Ten Bears]

I have owned both. I kept the PSE. Weight, speed, pin float, all go to PSE. Wasn’t close either.

I have shot Hoyts for 19 years and it was hard to choose another brand with my loyalty to them. But the PSE was a better bow to me.

Outside of being familiar on how Hoyt’s tune, I couldn’t find one thing I like better (draw cycle was close to be fair)