Elite Echelon 37 Review

Editors' review

The Echelon 37 is Elite's newest addition to their coveted target lineup. Elite has won over a large number of shooters in the competitive target worlds of spot and 3D leagues, and for good reason. So when a company that has done so well for themselves, builds a brand new bow from the ground up as an addition to an already solid lineup, it requires a closer look. Elite took what they love about their target bows, and mixed in the ability to customize and tweak how the bow feels in the valley, and the holding weight of the bow to make it something every shooter can get used to. The new technology added to the Echelon is everywhere, shooters are going to love how great the bow feels. The suggested retail price is comparative to other target bow models, but is still a decent chunk of change at $1399. However, for those concerned with the price, or not wanting to drop that much coin at one time, Elite partners with Klarna, and offers a payment option with payments as low as $85 a month for the Echelon 37. The draw length maxes out at 31-inches, which should be just fine the majority of shooters. however, with a bow this long, it would be nice for Elite to offer shooters longer than 31-inches the option to purchase as well. Overall, shooters should love everything about this target bow. There are going to be tons of these on the tournament trail for 2018, and years to come.

Finish

Elite does finish right. They use what they call Rhinodize, which is a durable, and well applied finish option. In the past, this choice was an upgrade fee, but for the Echelon 37, it comes standard. This finish is built to last, and will withstand the abuse it is sure to take traveling to tournaments and being set down on 3D courses. Elite also offers 8 different finish options to match the individual flair shooters have with their personal taste. It would be nice for Elite to offer a limb color other than black, but the black limbs do look nice paired with the colorful risers. The risers are available in Graphite Gray, Purple Rain Emerald Green, Surge Red, Cobalt Blue, Copper Flame, Sunset Pink, and Ninja Black.

Riser

The riser has a new look and design, with a familiar Elite feel. The dual caged riser stays with a reinforced cage on the top and bottom of the grip area, which helps strengthen the riser and adds rigidity to places susceptible to riser torque. In the past, these have made the aluminum risers a touch on the heavy side. Despite the riser on the Echelon 37 being a long stable platform, the overall weight of the bare bow riser is pretty light tipping the scales at only 4.4-pounds. The geometry of the bow also allows shooters to have a 6 3/4-inch brace height, which is a good mix of forgiveness as well as allowing for a couple extra feet per second with the speed rating.In terms of riser technology, the Echelon does not disappoint. Perhaps the first thing shooters will notice aside from the look of the bow itself will be the new cable containment system. This system is a patent pending slide system, which allows shooters to fine tune the left and right adjustment, or linear adjustment; in addition to the angle the cable slide takes at the end. By design, this cable containment system allows for an easier tuning process, and creates an almost endless ability to fine tune and adjust to meet different arrow and vane configurations or even torque issues shooters place on the system themselves.Target archers are well versed in adding weight to their rigs to give them the hold they desire on target, and the feel they like after the shot. Elite has designed a riser with a high and low stabilizer rear-mounting holes, which will give shooters another option for adding weight where they want it on their rigs. Of course, there is a front mounting stabilizer hole as well, which is direct alignment with the rear mounting string stop system, and bottom riser cage.

Grip

The Elite grip gets a redesign for 2018 as well. This seems to be a trend with Elite, after leaving the banana style grip they had in past model years. However, according to marketing materials released by Elite for the Echelon series of bows, the decision to go with this grip was a unanimous decision amongst the elite pro staff members. This new grip is awesome, and it is easy to see why the pro staffers landed on this option. The grip is flat backed, and simply fits perfectly right where it should. There is no fighting this grip, there is no working to get it in place. Shooters simply reach down and the bow slides into place without any effort. The flat back is nice, the angle of the grip fits well, and the girth is just about right as well.

Limbs

Elite sticks with the split limbs they went to recently, and for good reason. The double laminate, top of the line, premium split limbs worked well for them last year and should continue their reliability for this model year as well. The limbs are offered only in black finish, which may be a bummer for some shooters, but it does look nice when paired with each riser color option. Limbs are available in maximum draw weight of 50, 60, and 70-pounds, which should cover most shooters. It would be nice for a 40-pound option and a 65-pound option, but if they were popular choices in the past, they would have more than likely made it to the lineup for the Echelon 37.

Eccentric System

The cam system used of the Echelon series of bows gets a facelift and a ton of adjustment options not offered on any other Elite bow. Before getting into that, the Echelon 37 caters to shooters with a draw length from 26.5-31-inches, and is adjustable in half-inch increments with a modular adjustment. Shooters can also change the draw length from 75-90% depending on their desired holding weight for target shooting. In the past, Elite has offered the high let-off, but those wanting more holding weight were a bit out of luck. The IBO speed rating for the Echelon 37 is 333 feet per second, which is not too shabby when paired with an almost 7-inch brace height.For tuning purposes, the new patent pending cable slide system is used where yoke tuning was done in the past. Adjusting the cable system is really easy, and can also be done without the use of a bow press, which is also nice.The greatest feature of the new cam system, and one that will sell a ton of bows for Elite, is the ability for shooters to choose between 4 different string stop settings. For those loving the solid back wall making Elite famous from their first year on the market, the dual limb stops can not be beat. However, many target archers like a little play at the back wall to execute their shot. Changing away from the solid back wall feel was not an option, until now. The Echelon is now designed with holes around the cam to use a cable stop system. In fact, Elite offers a total of three different cable stops, to give shooters a choice on which cable stop feel they like the most. That is correct, you read that right, Elite is now offering a target bow with a cable stop, instead of a limb stop for those that prefer that. In addition to this, shooters can play with which hole the cable stop goes in to tweak the feeling of the valley if they desire as well.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Everything about the draw force curve is adjustable aside from the typical Elite feel of reaching peak weight early, and then pulling through the massive dwell zone. After that, everything is customizable to give shooters the exact feel they demand in order to shoot their best. These features are unheard of from Elite, and the integration of these changes is going to sell the company more bows than before just by allowing shooters the ability to make adjustments to tune their bows directly to their preferences. The bow balances well before anything is added, holds on target well, and has no noise or vibration when firing the arrow down range. This bow is a straight up shooter, and chances are if there is something shooters want to change about the draw cycle, it can be changed.

Usage Scenarios

The Echelon 37 is a designed target bow. It is made for serious competitive shooters in order to place them in a position to be competitive regardless of whether they are shooting spots or 3d targets. The Echelon performance is pretty great for a target bow, and that extra speed and efficiency is easy to get used to when shooting distances are unknown. For some shooters, the Echelon has potential to double as a hunting bow, especially if a longer axel-to-axel measurement is desired. Although the primary purpose of the Echelon 37 is defiantly target archery.

Elite Echelon 37 vs. Elite Victory 37

Bow	Elite Echelon 37	Elite Victory 37
Version	2018	2017 VSB Cam
Picture
Brace Height	6.75 "	"
AtA Length	37.125 "	"
Draw Length	26.5 " - 31 "	"
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	lbs
IBO Speed	298 fps - 343 fps	fps
Weight	4.6 lbs	lbs
Let-Off	75% - 90%
Where to buy Best prices online	$600 to $625 Compare prices	$500 to $800 Compare prices
	compare more bows

These two bows are similar in specifications and performance at a glance, but how they get to their respective levels of performance is vastly different. The Elite Victory 37 is an older model, with technology that has been used in the past; whereas the Echelon 37 has a full redesign of new technology and features. The Victory X is going to feel like an Elite bow through and through with the option to change the let-off. The Echelon has a lot more adjustment ability, including the let-off, in addition to the style of stop and feel at the back end of the draw cycle. For shooters on a budget, or those wanting the traditional Elite feel, the Victory X is cheaper, and undoubtably has the Elite feel. For those wanting to tweak the Elite feel, or how the bow feels in general, the added coin towards the Echelon 37 may be money well spent. Both bows are going to be excellent target rigs, it just depends on what shooters are ultimately looking for with their target bow.

Elite Archery Financing

$1399 is a bunch of money, even for competition shooters in hopes of earning some money shooting their bow. Elite understands this, and has partnered with Klarna to provide low monthly payments for shooters to still purchase a high end target bow, without having to drop a lot of money up front. Klarna is able to offer the Elite Echelon for low monthly payments of $85 per month. This may not be an option for every shooter, but having it available to customers is a cool feature as long as it is not used to hike up the price of bows in the future.

Summary

The Echelon 37 is an outstanding target bow with the ability for shooters to tune it exactly how they want. Although it will still have an Elite draw cycle, the ability to adjust the let-off from 75-90%, in addition to choosing which draw stop style to use (limb stop or cable stop) is really outstanding, and something that may open up the customer base a bit for Elite since they have historically only offered a limb stop aided back wall. The feel of the new technology and integrations into the Echelon 37 are great, and this bow is a flat out shooter. For those wanting any extra edge they can get, the ability to fine tune everything about this bow should gives shooters a competitive edge in the target world. The price is expensive, and the black limbs only are kind of a drag. However, winning target archery competitions can help offset the cost of the bow, and black limbs may not matter much when standing at the top of the podium. Shooters have more say than ever before in regards to how the Echelon 37 shoots and feels, and with some much customization, Elite really has made a target bow for everyone based on how they set it up.