# Spigarelli DMS Riser Review



## MartinOttosson (May 31, 2011)

*Part 2 - Performance, balance and feel*

I find the DMS to be surprisingly neutral in feel. I expected it to shoot stiff, like most bridged risers, but if feels neither soft or stiff, but rather medium in that aspect. Spigas risers have always been on the softer side of the market, and this is too, atleast if you compare it to risers in it´s own bridged segment. It´s not as soft in feeling as a Spiga Barebow or Vision, but it is nowhere near as stiff as the segment classic Green Horn Sirius or the Hoyt Tec risers. Compared to the sporty Sirius and the really stiff Hoyt Tecs the DMS has a portion of comfortable flex built in. That means that despite the stiffening bridge design, it still feels like a Spigarelli. I am not sure why, but my guess is that Spigarelli don´t use any high levels of heat hardening of the alu block during manufacturing. 

Just by looking at the geometry and the construction, its no hard guess that the comfort of the shot is mainly generated by some flex near the limb pockets while the center section near the grip stays solid and stiff through the shot. This creates an interesting combination of characters. The shot feels very solid, but without the crispy, almost aggressive feedback that many associate with bridge riser designs. The shot is still comfortable and smooth, and you can't feel any wobble or riser flex going into the hand whatsoever. This means that the shot is more damp than lively, but not so damp so all the life in the shot disappears. 

Shot feedback is always a matter of personal taste. In my opinion the riser have an excellent balance between shot feedback and dampening. Many archers compare the DMS to the Green Horn Sirius as they share looks in terms of geometry. That assumption is purely based on photos, I would say. In reality the DMS is a rather different animal than the Sirius with less aggressive limb pocket angles and a shot that is a lot smoother. It also has a noticeably kinder draw force curve in comparison to the Sirius. I find the Sirius to create some stack, almost no matter what limbs you use, and I always shoot it at, or near, the minimum setting on the tiller bolts. If you crank the Sirius up, you get some serious stacking and you add quite a few pounds to the marked info on the limbs. The DMS is comfortable through almost all the possible tiller settings. The pound goes up ofcourse, but for me at close to 29 inch draw, I don´t get that much stack until I am just below the maximum setting on the bolts. And it is still definately shootable at that setting. To sum up the comparison between those two, the DMS is way more comfortable and smooth to shoot and draw, while the Green Horn feels more sporty and aggressive both in the draw and in the shot reaction. There are similarities, but not as much as some comments indicate. 

The sight window is stretched all the way to the front of the bridge, making it very long compared to pretty much all other risers I have seen. This might cause clearance problems in some cases, especially if the tune is bad. If the arrow’s noding is put wrong, there is just more riser to hit. I find it difficult to get perfect clearance with long and heavy indoor arrows with big vanes. With outdoor carbon arrows and small vanes, I have no issues. 

The power delivery of the DMS is on the low side. Not necessary speed wise, but the riser delivers less power into the arrow in a dynamic spine aspect than what I expect from the draw weight . By just looking at the geometry and construction, I would guess that the bridge design would make the riser stiff and therefore deliver more power into the arrow than non bridged designs. But despite what would be logical, I almost need to go one step softer in spine than what I usually do, despite setting the bow to the exact same draw weight as my reference bows. To use the same arrows, I need to add around 1-1.5 pounds of draw weight. I am not sure why, but it might be the same reason that the riser is so comfortable. I think there is some flex going on in the outer, thinner parts of the riser, and there you pay for comfort with a loss of power. That is no problem, but for me, it means that I can´t get a perfect tune with any of current arrow sets. Speed-wise the riser shoots about the same as most risers. It´s neither fast or slow, but pretty normal in that aspect.

When shooting barebow, the bridge design really excels in terms of balance since the bridge itself brings the center of mass forward. For archers that prefer a lighter weight riser for barebow, a bridged riser like the DMS is a very good choice. I would not rate the DMS higher than the excellent Sirius, but it is up there with the best in terms of “built in balance” . Bringing the center of gravity forward creates a stability that you just can't get in a riser with more traditional geometry. Vertically, the DMS is light in the upper and lower limb pocket sections. The weight is centered around the pivot point, making the riser very twist free out of the hand, but it is also a bit unstable in twisting motions along the horizontal centerline (as in wobbling the top and bottom to the left or right while at full draw) because of the light perimeter weight. I would personally prefer a bit more material near the limb pockets, resulting in a stiffer overall flex, a higher level of power delivery and a higher amount of stability along the horizontal centerline. But that would come at the price of making it too heavy for most olympic archers I guess. I think that a barebow specific heavier DMS could be a real winner. 

The DMS is compatible with the weight system used in the Vision, 650 and BareBow. One or two steel weights can be attached to the riser in two big circular holes in the lower section and are then locked with one or two screws through drilled holes at the back. The weights are side adjustable in a number of steps right to left, by choosing one of the different threaded holes. The weights are not included in the package. They must be bought separately as an accessory. I just got news from Spigarelli that they are producing a special weight kit for barebow use of the DMS riser. I haven´t tried it yet, but a photo of the new weight system is attached to the post. 









_Standard attachment for the classic barebow weights from Spigarelli. You can see the holes for the locking bolts at the back. _









_The new weight system from Spigarelli, in a prototype version. _

I wish that Spigarelli offered some kind of stock solution for adding weights in the three front stabilizer threaded holes. Even if a low weight placement creates a higher grade of horizontal line stability, the geometry of this risers makes it possible to add barebow weights in places where you normally can´t. The front bridge is an excellent place to add weights, since you get a big effect in balance in relation to the added mass. You would also create more moment of inertia of that mass in comparison to a position in the center of the riser. 

The riser is delivered with a pre-mounted built in magnetic rest. It is a very sleek rest that works great for olympic recurve or close to noch three-under anchoring. For stringwalking however, the built in rest is too stiff. You need some dampening downwards when you get vertical noding in the arrow when crawling down the string. My recommendation is to remove the stock rest and replace it with the filler piece instead, and use any other rest that have softer flex. The wide/long aiming window and the bridge limits the choice of arrow rests for the WA Barebow crowd. The room within the 12,2cm rule is not great. For wraparound magnetic rests, you need something slim, like the Gabriels to be sure that you are staying on the right side of the line rule-wise. Rumours say that Spigarelli is working on a slim magnetic rest specially designed for the DMS riser and WA Barebow rules. 









_The built in rest can be replaced with a "filler plate" seen here. _

Overall I really like this riser. The Spigarelli DMS is a plug and play riser with extras. Like everything else out there, it’s not perfect, but it is a great addition to the market for either recurve archers that wants to try something different, or barebow archers that search the balance of a bridged design. If the rumours are true, Spigarelli will further enhance their offer for barebowers with some interesting weight and rest options too. If you get the chance, I recommend you to try this riser. You might end up wanting one...


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## Markliep (May 6, 2012)

Great review - have been wondering about this and Borders offering so an in depth analysis is much appreciated- M


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## sho-me (Apr 21, 2016)

Thanks for the review, well thought out and very helpful


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## erickatgta (Apr 22, 2013)

thanks for such full review. we need ppl like you


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## Keeshond (Sep 13, 2016)

Thanks. A lot of work you put into that.


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## MartinOttosson (May 31, 2011)

Markliep said:


> Great review - have been wondering about this and Borders offering so an in depth analysis is much appreciated- M


Thanks. I hope to receive a Border riser in a few weeks and then I can do a comparison. If you meant the riser.


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## Markliep (May 6, 2012)

MartinOttosson said:


> Thanks. I hope to receive a Border riser in a few weeks and then I can do a comparison. If you meant the riser.


Yes the new metal rise that also looks Sirius-like - Tempest I believe it's called - I haven't yet found a product they've made to not work for me so I'm happy that someone of your experience will provide us all with info - M


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## Donbaker (Jul 7, 2016)

Any news yet on the weight module for barebow?


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## wozie (Jul 21, 2005)

Great review!


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## ryan b. (Sep 1, 2005)

MartinOttosson said:


> Thanks. I hope to receive a Border riser in a few weeks and then I can do a comparison. If you meant the riser.



Awesome review! Really great. Please review the border riser as well.


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## Bigjono (Apr 21, 2009)

I went back and read this again seeing as my DMS is on the way from Spigarelli now. The information you give, unlike many other amateur reviewers, is unbiased and given from from the perspective of a respected top level shooter, that makes it valuable to me. Please ignore the Facebook flogging you get when some don't agree, most of us value your reviews highly Martin.


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## Crunch (Nov 28, 2002)

Just came across this. Great review Martin Thank-you for your willingness to invest the time and effort.


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## JimDE (Aug 3, 2008)

I know today’s Barebow trend is to 27” riser’s but I truly like the feel and function of the Spigarelli DMS and their BB risers. I will only go to a 27” if Spigarelli decides to make a 27” riser.


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