# Bowtech vs Hoyt vs Matthews vs Diamond



## bigoleboy

*new bows*

I am told that the dual cam is easier to adjust and paper tune vs the single cam and from my experience some of the best bows are Hoyt and Mathews. Don't know about the others but did shoot the Z-7 last week and loved it and own a Hoyt Alpha max and love it too. Best advice is shoot them both and let the bow pick you!! Good luck!:darkbeer::darkbeer:


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## Gary73

For the money I would go for a Marquis in 09 format. 

If saving a few dollars is not important and your looking at keeping the bow long term Elite would have to be a firm favourite due to the warranty ( I know you never said Elite).

For resale Mathews and Hoyt should be good same as Elite.

I just like the simplicity of single cams, get some decent strings/cables and there no harder to tune and deal with than dual cams I actually think there easier.

Your not looking at all out speed so single cams would be a good choice look at the Bow madness range, Diamonds, Mathews Z7 etc, Bear Attack (340fps IBO).

I'll be hunting with my Marquis again and it will be my primary bow which I will pick up before my 82nd and Admiral, that tells you something right there.


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## GNFSHN

Personally I shoot a Bowtech Commander and I like it. I think all of the bows out there are as close to equal as they get. The biggest difference is you might shoot or like shooting one over another, go with that one. I think to many times people get hung up on the brand name....Just shoot what feels comfortable...Good luck with your quest


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## outlaw22

Keep in mind warranty!! If you are going to make a ten year commitment. I just purchased a Mathews Z7 "Love it" But there were a few little bubbles in the finish of the riser. I hadn’t noticed these before I left the shop and finished the purchase. To my great surprise and relief Mathews stood behind there product without question and replaced the riser. If they will replace something that functionally works but has an imperfection the customer is concerned about than there tops in my book!!! In my shopping I also shoot the Iceman, Admiral, Destroyer, and some Hoyt Bows. The Mathews felt like it was the best to me. Just a personal opinion....


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## bowhunter1992

Your just going to have to shoot them all Mathews z7 is a very smooth bow and fast hoyt and bowtech make a very good bow to but it is watever you like the best!


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## halvy

best all around bow on the market today is definatly the maxis 35 and i will debate that with anyone! now saying that for the money you can now nock off about 100$ off of a alphamax 35 now becasue they came out last year but are similar to a maxis.


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## SCFox

There is no "best bow" on the market. There is however, a best bow on the market for you. I prefer single cam bows because of their simplicity. With that being said, as far as the major manufacterer's are concerned, there really aren't any bad bows. You are on the right track. Shoot as many bows as you can, and pick the one that feels right to you.


SCFox


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## tw10136

*mathews hoyt bowtech whatever*

i believe that name does not mean much at all, but if it were me id shoot a mathews or hoyt.

despite the above i do believe that single cam is the way to go. dual cam is much harder to tune. the easiest way to put it is its like havin a car with two engines. it will be much faster but you have to keep both engines going the same speed at the same rpm's.

the best advice you can get is let the bow choose you. go to your dealer and shoot multiple bows. whichever one you like, you buy.


and p.s. i dont know how you can hold out for so long without buying a new bow, but kudos to you.


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## Jonny Boy

Well I shoot a 2008 Ross Cardiac. You can purchase them off of AT for 285$ When they came out in 2007-8 they were a 600-700$ bow. This is a steal! They are super quiet, very sturdy, smooth, and pretty quick! I would not recommend buying a 2009-10 model because Ross was bought by Bowtech and now the Cardiac is not rated as high. Brand name doesn't matter at all, so buy the bow that shoots good for you! As for single vs. double cam I prefer the single. 20-30fps. doesn't matter with a loaded string, and a single is much easier to tune because you don't have to worry about cam timing! Here is a list of great shooting bow imo. -strother sr-71 -mathews drenalin -diamond icemand -most hoyts -mose elites - ross carnivore & cardiac - mathews z7 -martin bengal - rytera alien x. Hope this helps!


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## BADJEDI

Shoot every bow you can get your hands on. Don't go with your mind set on any one particular brand of bow, keep an open mind. I spent 3 weeks shooting all the top bows from all manufacturers; Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, PSE, Athens, quest, Strother, Elite, and probably a couple I'm forgetting. Each person has their own definition of the perfect bow, so you owe it to yourself to shoot all of the bows. I had my last bow (Hoyt Protec) 9 years before I bought the PSE Axe. For me, it was the best bow I shot, but the Maxxis was a close second followed by the Z7. If you're looking for a smooth draw and very little recoil, I would start with these 3 bows. Good Luck.


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## dfast_3

badjedi said:


> shoot every bow you can get your hands on. Don't go with your mind set on any one particular brand of bow, keep an open mind. I spent 3 weeks shooting all the top bows from all manufacturers; hoyt, mathews, bowtech, pse, athens, quest, strother, elite, and probably a couple i'm forgetting. Each person has their own definition of the perfect bow, so you owe it to yourself to shoot all of the bows. I had my last bow (hoyt protec) 9 years before i bought the pse axe. For me, it was the best bow i shot, but the maxxis was a close second followed by the z7. If you're looking for a smooth draw and very little recoil, i would start with these 3 bows. Good luck.


i am in the same boat when i started shooting again i bought a fred bear...i had it for about a year and upgraded to the hoyt alphamax 32 who was our sponsor...since then ive sold the alphamax 32...ive shot all the big name bows out there...i like the elite, the matthews z7 and the hoyt maxis...but the best shooting bow out there that i could find was the axe!!!! Hands down.


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## SARASR

What I like about my Iceman aside from shootability which any top and even mid level bows can claim that are out now, the one feature I really like is the Iceman is self pressing, (no bowpress needed) I changed out the string myself after accidentally cutting a couple strands no problem just followed the manual and was done not hard at all and beat buying a press or hoping the tech at the shop knew his stuff, I've run into guys that talked up a storm but the more they talked the more I realized I knew more than they did so now I'm weary of letting anyone touch my gear, with the Iceman they don't have to. that said like others have said find the bows with the features you like then get the one that feels best these days its hard to find a bad bow.
at least buying new.


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## Fastcars12

id go with an elite gt 500. super smooth draw, no hand shock, rock solid wall, and very fast. its lightweight too. the ata is 35 or 34 and some change, i cant remember excatly, but is long enough to be real stable and still short enough to be good for hunting. these are some sweet bows. if you want something a little shorter you could go with the elite z28. thats a great bow too. hope this helps.


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## Bert Colwell

They are all good bows, manufatcured by good companies. Shoot them all, then decide which one fits you best. When buying bows from any of the top manufactures, the quality is top notch. I tend to look more at personal comfort, feel and fit.


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## halvy

tw10136 said:


> i believe that name does not mean much at all, but if it were me id shoot a mathews or hoyt.
> 
> despite the above i do believe that single cam is the way to go. dual cam is much harder to tune. the easiest way to put it is its like havin a car with two engines. it will be much faster but you have to keep both engines going the same speed at the same rpm's.
> 
> the best advice you can get is let the bow choose you. go to your dealer and shoot multiple bows. whichever one you like, you buy.
> 
> 
> and p.s. i dont know how you can hold out for so long without buying a new bow, but kudos to you.


i laughed pretty hard at this one! and yes a hoyt can be a little harder to get timing setup correctly, but just because you lack the know how to do so doesnt mean it cant be done! and even if you lack the skills to put it into time why would it go out of time after you get it setup by your bowshop or whoever for that matter? poor string quality?
i guess it depends on a couple of things do you wanna see facts or opinions?
fact1 mathews has one of the weakest risers in the market with the exception to the z7, 
fact 2 if you do decide to go with a bow other than hoyt make sure you order it short enough because just about every mathews bow i have seen has been at least 3/4" long compared to its sticker. how else do you think they get half the speed they say they do!

and i will stand behind my statement that hoyt maxis 35 is the best all around bow on the market today! there is a reason it takes thousands and thousands of dollars to keep Levi Morgan and now Braden on mathews Staff!!!


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## R Grundy

I don't think you can go wrong with Mathews or Hoyt. One thing you won't find out until it's too late is how durable the bow is or how often it needs strings and cables. If you only shoot 500 arrows a year it won't matter. I haven't been able to destroy a Mathews yet. The Hoyt shooters love their bows too. I'm still trying to hurt my Ross/G5 Primal right now. Got 3000 arrows through it since december and the peep is still in the same rotation. 
Mark


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## progater

I just returned from an ASA shoot and at the Limbsaver booth they had their new Proton bow out for us to shoot. I shoot a Matthews bow, but am seriously considering ordering one of these Proton bows. It is very light weight and vertually has no recoil to it. If you have not purchased a bow yet go to the limbsaver web site and check this bow out first.


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## weatherlock-man

its usually a personal choice, i shot traditional all my life but just switched over to compound shooting a few yrs back and it was like apples and oranges its what ever feels the most comfortable..


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## camelcluch

Shoot them all and choose what feels good to you. With that said, don't forget to try out an Athens...


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## Dadman

*Which Bow to choose*

Sounds like a lot of fun, shoot them all and let us know what you pick. If it was my decision it would boil down to the Hoyt Maxis or Mathews Z7! In the end I would pick the Z7 simply to save $100. If the prices were even, flip a coin and be happy!


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## michiganchad

Dadman said:


> Sounds like a lot of fun, shoot them all and let us know what you pick. If it was my decision it would boil down to the Hoyt Maxis or Mathews Z7! In the end I would pick the Z7 simply to save $100. If the prices were even, flip a coin and be happy!


My Maxxis was only $40 more than the Z7.


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## bambieslayer

love my bowtech its an 07 allegiance fast quiet lite my last bow was the carroll intruder pse bowtech has more power to less draw 70# now pse was 83# my shoulder loves bowtech but it was a bit tough to tune due to high speed


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## drdraino

*New bows*



SARASR said:


> What I like about my Iceman aside from shootability which any top and even mid level bows can claim that are out now, the one feature I really like is the Iceman is self pressing, (no bowpress needed) I changed out the string myself after accidentally cutting a couple strands no problem just followed the manual and was done not hard at all and beat buying a press or hoping the tech at the shop knew his stuff, I've run into guys that talked up a storm but the more they talked the more I realized I knew more than they did so now I'm weary of letting anyone touch my gear, with the Iceman they don't have to. that said like others have said find the bows with the features you like then get the one that feels best these days its hard to find a bad bow.
> at least buying new.


I Normally buy a new bow every year, i doubt i do this year. Last year i bought an 09 ICEMAN, the bow is quiet, accurate, has no recoil,and looks really cool. Ive heard people say that an ICEMAN is slow, i have not seen that. My ICEMAN is a 29" draw @ 70 lbs, it shoots a 405 gr arrow 285 fps, that's rigged to hunt , cat whiskers and all. To me that's not slow. While doing all of this it makes very little sound, I find that hard to argue with. Ive spent many days this year shooting and looking for my "new" bow this year, none have proven to me that they are enough "bigger faster stronger than my ICEMAN. looks like i'm staying with it.


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## Jwillman6

The Hoyt Maxxis 31 or 35 would be something to look at. Hoyt has a very durable reputation. Also the Mathews z7 would fit the bill. I've heard good things about the Mathews Monster 7and I have seen one, but have not shot one. I personally would be a little leary of the Bowtech Destroyer until some of its innovations have been proven to be durable.


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## DougU

I see ALOT of opinion on this thread...........but what did you expect. I second the statement about not limiting yourself to the brands listed. there are many others that are just as good. With your specs of moderate speed and shootability you have literally hundreds of options. Don't let these guys opinions or the many fanboys on this site make your decision for you. If you listened to them my 7 yr old G2 or 12 year old Martin couldn't hit the broadside of a barn or kill anything..........yet they continue to do so year after year after year,etc.

Another thing regarding this pro and that pro....they are paid to tell you why their manufacturers stuff is the best, whether they really believe it or not. Maybe the best way I ever heard it put is...you'll be surprised what a man will believe when his livelihood it tied to that belief. Try them all: Hoyt, Mathews/Mcpherson/Mission, Bowtech/Diamond/Redhead, Ross (if they still exist), Elite, Martin, Rytera, Bear, Darton, Pearson, NBA, Quest, PSE, Athens, and several I'm sure that I have forgotten (although not intentionally). Remember the objective stuff is easy to see......weight, speed, price. It's the subjective stuff you need to be worried about if you plan on keeping it 10 years. And subjective means to you, not to Joe Blow Pro or any of these other guys. I myself want a new bow, don't need one, just want one. I am waiting until money will not be a deciding factor and then I intend to spend several weekends traveling around Iowa shooting everything I can get my hands on........who knows, maybe I'll by one of those fancy bows that alot of fellas seem to measure their self worth by...


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