Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-3 Review
from $782
Pros
- Most compact Hoyt carbon for 2018 at 30.5-inches axel-to-axel
- A complete redesign of almost every component
- Advertised 3.9-pound bare bow weight
- IBO speed rating at 342 feet per second
Cons
- MSRP of $1699 is getting ridiculous
Video
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Editors' review
The 2019 Hoyt Carbon RX-3 is fully redesigned in almost every way to give bowhunters the absolute best Hoyt has to offer. Hoyt has been doing carbon for a while, and this year's riser design is brand new and better balanced than ever, while tipping the scales at only 3.9-pounds bare bow. The ZT Pro cam is new as well, and a sweet offering for 2019. On the RX-3 package, the ZT Pro cam flings arrows an impressive IBO rated 342 feet per second. Although these upgrades from the previous RX-1 could potentially make shooters happy without any other changes, Hoyt kept pushing the engineering to give even more upgrades. The grip is brand new as well, and is adjustable in the tuning process to shoot perfectly bullet holes through paper. Hoyt also went through great lengths to make this the quietest and most shock free carbon bow Hoyt has ever produced. To get the bow this quiet, Hoyt has new string silencers, a new riser dampener, and new string stop system. With all the updates and new technology, Hoyt is asking a premium price for their flagship bow higher than any other hunting bow they have produced with an MSRP of $1699, which is getting insanely high for the price of a bare bow. However, for those wanting a carbon bow from an absolute giant in the archery world, which compromises nothing, shooters are going to love this sweet shooting bow even with the massive price tag.
Finish
Hoyt has offered some great options for bowhunters in the past, and that remains true for 2019. For hunting options, Hoyt has 11 different choice and they are all popular. For camo patterns, the RX-3 comes equipped with Realtree Edge, Kuiu Verde 2.0, Gore Optifade Subalpine, Gore Optifade Elevated II, and Under Armour Ridge Reaper Barren. For shooters wanting a solid colored riser, Hoyt offers a new Stone or dark gray color, in addition to the black out option. Of course, there are a couple signature series lines with the Realtree Edge Bone Collector edition and the Bone Collector Black Out edition. In addition to that, Hoyt offers two Cameron Hanes series bows as well; one in black out and one with Under Armour camo. In the early releases of the 2019 carbon bows, most people are in favor of the camo patterns and how they looks on the carbon risers, which has been an area of critique in the past for the Hoyt carbons. So far for 2019, this does not seem to be a major critique, but as more and more shooters start heading to the shops to check out the highest priced Hoyt hunting bow to date, this may remain an area of concern.Hoyt does not stop with sweet looking camo bows though, and also offers the carbon rigs in target colors too. A few years ago, Hoyt went to coloring limbs with the black riser, and stayed with that for 2019. Shooters can opt for a black riser with colored limbs of purple, white, red, orange, blue, or green. They no longer dip the riser different colors for the carbon bows, but the colored limbs do look nice, and the black riser gives each color a nice pop.Riser
Carbon riser bows have been a welcomed addition to the bowhunting world since they made their arrival years ago, and the reasons they were loved than are the same reasons they are still loved in 2019. Carbon has an outstanding strength to weight ratio, which means less weight and more strength when compared to a similar weighted aluminum riser. With that being said, the new installments of the carbon risers are not as light as they once were, which for some shooters defeats the purpose of a carbon riser bow to begin with. However, 3.9-pounds before dampeners and accessories are installed is still a sweet spot for hunting bows. Carbon risers are also warmer than aluminum, which interets hunters everywhere because holding a cold piece of aluminum, or having it sit across your lap can make it seem a lot colder than the actual conditions.The RX-3 riser has a new hollow parallel tube design, which increases the width of the riser to give the bow a more sturdy platform. This gives the limb pockets a more solid anchoring position to the riser, more area for residual noise to be spread out to, and more overall mass to hold a little better on target. The bow balances extremely well with the new weight forward design so it feels great left to right and up an down. This makes siming the pin, and floating the pin on target even easier because shooters do not have to fight the level or the grip pressure to get the pin on target. The offset stabilizer mounting hole is ideal for making sure the added sight, rest, and quiver weight is easier to balance. In addition to that, shooters will also be pleased by the integration of a rear facing stabilizer mounting hole as well. this mounting hole is located directly behind the front mounting hole, and will make a lot of folks shooting with a back bar very happy.This bow is the quietest, most vibration free carbon bow Hoyt has ever produced. the new Shock Pods dampening system on the bottom of the front of the riser is helpful in creating that. In addition to the Shock Pods, the Stealthshot is also redesigned for 2019 as well. The cable containment system is a stationary roller system, which is a carryover from the previous model year. This system also helps keep the vibration and overall noise of the bow as low as possible.Grip
Hoyt grips have always been very comfortable, with a bit of contour to fit the shooter's hand and keep it locked into the proper shooting position. The 2019 RX-3 grip gets a brand new feel and shape, which early reviews suggest may be even better than the old grip. The new grip is a composite grip with a narrow flat back offering an extremely repeatable position everytime shooters grip the bow. The grip is not necessarily as comfortable holding the bow as the outgoing model, but it is far more repeatable and that will lead to improved accuracy allowing shooters to grip the bow the same way every single shot.Along with the new shape and design, Hoyt also introduced a brand new adjustable grip design as well. Shooters can remove the grip to reveal a plate, which can be moved left to right to account for each shooter's desired hand placement and torque. Instead of shooter's adjusting their grip, the grip now adjusts to shooters. It can even be slanted for a little bit of an offset. The primary reason for this new design is to help with paper tuning the bow. If the rest is set perfectly, and the hand torque is causing a tear one way or the other, the rest no longer needs to be moved to get a perfect bullet hole. The plate can be adjusted allowing the tear to be perfect, and the rest to remain in the best placement. Ideally, this adjustment is something that will be set during the initial tune, and not need to be tinkered with. The plate will also need to be properly secured to prevent any sort of movement later on, because any movement could impact the tune of the bow.Limbs
Hoyt stays with their standard split limbs design, which are wider, and have a wider stance when connecting to the riser than in the past thanks to the parallel tube design of the new riser. Limbs are offered in every configuration shooters interested in the most expensive hunting bow Hoyt has ever produced would want. Limb configurations are available in 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 55-65, 60-70, and 70-80-pounds. The limbs also come with factory installed limb dampeners, which of course can be changed out for different colors if interested.The pockets are extremely important to the overall performance of any bow, and Hoyt designed the RX-3 pockets to be the toughest yet. The pockets are a zero tolerance system, which hold the limbs in place and multiple connection points allowing them to work for the entire draw cycle. The limbs are securely held to the riser, and are tough in case they get bumped on the hunt of a lifetime. Hoyt engineers know shooters need to have the absolute confidence in their equipment, and it has to be able to withstand backcountry tests. These limbs and pockets will absolutely withstand what hunters demand from their equipment.Eccentric System
The ZT Pro cam is the latest installment of Hoyt engineering, and it comes with some pretty bold claims from the marketing department. Not only do these cams have the highest let-off ever offered on a Hoyt at 80% or 85%, Hoyt also says they are the fastest and smoothest drawing they have ever produced. When paired with the rest of the RX-3 design, the IBO rated speeds are up to 342 feet per second, which is pretty respectable considering the amount of energy needed from the shooter to draw the bow. Hoyt offers a modular based cam system with two base cams to choose from. One cam is adjustable from 25-28-inches, and the other cam is adjustable between 27-30-inches.Aside from all these great features, the ZT Pro cam also sticks with a similar cam design as seen on last year's RX- 1. This cam system creates a more balanced side-to-side system and gets rid of any cam lean without the use of a yolk system. Because there is no more cam lean with the split cable system and harness, the cable slide no longer needs to be a moveable component. The cable containment system maintains its rollers, but it remains stationary during the entire draw cycle. Not only is the new roller guard stationary, the nock travel stays right down the center of the bow. With everything right down the center of the bow, the accuracy and repeatability of the RX-3 drastically improves as well. So the ZT Pro cams has increased let-off, a smoother draw cycle, faster speeds, and better arrow flight than any Hoyt bow ever produced.Draw Cycle/Shootability
Hoyt always releases their new rigs surrounded with a whole lot of hype. 2019 is no different, and the hype is well deserved with the RX-3 carbon riser bows. The ZT Pro cam is something special from the Hoyt camp this year, and will make shooters firm believers in everything the company has produced. The grip feels amazing, and the bow balances in every possible direction allowing shooters to add accessories where they want them to get the feel they prefer. The draw cycle is awesome too with it feeling almost effortless to get the bow to full draw. Holding on target is great as well, even with a shorter 30.5-inch axel-to-axel measurement. Although the bow is fairly lightweight, the hold on target is nice, and the pin float is really hard to notice, which from an accuracy perspective is a great feature. Everything about how the bow feels up to this point is outstanding, but the feeling after the arrow is released is really special. This bow is the most dead in hand and quiet bow Hoyt has ever produced, and it feels so nice. The arrow speeds are quick enough to correct minor errors in judging distance and produces enough kinetic energy to take down big game animals humanely. The RX-3 shoots well, and it feels outstanding.Usage Scenarios
The RX-3 is a hunting bow be every stretch of the imagination. This thing was designed to balance well, draw smoothly, shoot silently, and produce quick speeds and a lot of energy. The compact 30.5-inch axel-to-axel measurement is great for maneuverability in a treestand or ground blind, and the 3.9-pound bare bow weight will allow shooters to add the accessories of their choice while keeping things relatively lightweight overall. The average joe, who hunts a couple days a year is more than likely not going to be interested in a $1699 bow, which means this rig will also be seen on the weekend 3D courses as well. For shooters strictly looking to enter 3D tournaments, the RX-3 may not be the best option. However, for diehard bow hunters, this bow is an outstanding choice.Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-3 vs. Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-1
| Bow | Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-3 | Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-1 |
| Version | 2019 | 2018 |
| Picture |  |  |
| Brace Height | 6 " | 6 " |
| AtA Length | 30.5 " | 32 " |
| Draw Length | 25 " - 30 " | 24.5 " - 31 " |
| Draw Weight | 30 lbs - 80 lbs | 30 lbs - 80 lbs |
| IBO Speed | 342 fps | 340 fps |
| Weight | 3.9 lbs | 3.9 lbs |
| Let-Off | 80% - 85% | 85% |
| Where to buy Best prices online | ||
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The Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-3 is the best carbon bow Hoyt has produced in just about every way. Shooters loving the older Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-1 model will more than likely enjoy the RX-3 even more. That is not to say anything is wrong with the RX-1, it's just that the RX-3 is more refined in every way when compared to the RX-1. The specs are similar, both bows will do the same job, and those already owning an RX-1 may not see a need to purchase the new RX-3 considering the price tag. however, those wanting to wait out one more year before upgrading will be happy they did.