Mathews Halon X Comp Review

Editors' review

Mathews built the Halon X Comp for the archer who shoots more than one game with one bow - Vegas faces in the winter, 3D stakes in the summer, field rounds in between. It arrived for 2017 as the competition-length answer to the shorter Halon X, stretching the axle-to-axle to 37 inches and opening the draw range all the way to 32 inches without turning into a 40-inch indoor specialist. Under the string is a new-generation perimeter-weighted Mini-Crosscentric cam paired with Mathews' AVS timing system, tuned for a stable hold rather than raw speed. The story here is not the 330 fps IBO number - target bows rarely live at IBO conditions - it is how quietly and how steadily this bow delivers an arrow. Pick one up and the first thing you notice is how little it does after the shot: no jump, no buzz, just a settled riser and a hole in the target. This is a bow that rewards the shooter who values the pin holding still over the arrow arriving fast.

Finish

The Halon X Comp shipped in six colors: black, white, and stone with matching-color limbs, plus blue, red, and yellow riding on black limbs, in both right- and left-hand. Its finish also tells a small piece of Mathews history. For 2017 the company moved its target line off anodizing - which had been done outside the factory and was causing long production delays - and onto paint sprayed in-house. The earliest units that reached shops in January wore that first paint, and it was thin enough that edges could look a touch pearlescent or uneven. Over the following months the in-house line dialed it in, and by mid-year the color coats were coming out deep and consistent. The black powder-coat option sidestepped the issue entirely with the most uniform surface of the range. None of this touched the machine work - the limb-pocket milling and cam graphics were sharp from the start - so on a used example the finish is worth a look, but it is a cosmetic story, not a structural one.

Riser

The riser is the caged Halon-platform aluminum machining that anchored Mathews' mid-2010s lineup, stretched to a 37-inch axle-to-axle competition length. The extra riser real estate over the 35-inch Halon X is what buys the longer bow its steadier float on the aim, and it does so while keeping the reflex geometry that stores energy efficiently. Mathews finished the string-stop as a machined carbon post with a roller, a cleaner solution than the plain carbon bar the sibling TRX bows used, and it keeps the string quiet at the stop. Cable management and the bridged riser cutouts follow the Halon family, so accessories and rest mounting behave exactly as they do across that generation. It is a stiff, purpose-built target chassis rather than a lightweight hunting riser, and the mass it carries is deliberate - a target bow wants inertia, not featherweight numbers. Nothing about the riser is exotic; it is proven Mathews machining put to a competition-length job.

Grip

The grip is where returning Mathews shooters will feel the clearest improvement. Earlier Mathews target and hunting grips drew their share of complaints, and for this generation the company reworked the profile into something noticeably better - narrow enough to keep the hand square to the riser, filled enough to load consistently. In my experience the single biggest source of unexplained left-right misses on a target bow is grip torque, and this one makes it easy to set the hand the same way on every shot, which is exactly what a spot or 3D shooter is chasing. It indexes predictably and stays neutral through the shot rather than steering the riser as the string breaks. Shooters who want a different feel can still swap in an aftermarket grip on the standard Mathews footprint, but most will find little reason to. It is a small part that quietly does a lot for repeatability.

Limbs

The Halon X Comp runs Mathews' parallel split-limb design in the target configuration, sold in three draw-weight modules - a 50, a 60, and a 70-pound peak - each adjustable about ten pounds down from its top. That covers a practical 40-to-70-pound window across the modules, which suits target archers who tune weight to their form and shot count rather than to raw kinetic energy. The near-parallel limb angle is a big part of why the bow finishes so quietly and flat, sending its forces into cancellation rather than into the hand. This is the same limb architecture Mathews leaned on across the Halon generation, with a reliability record to match, so there is no break-in anxiety here. For competition, most shooters land on the 50 or 60-pound module and never approach peak - the point is holding a steady sight picture through a long round, not muscling weight.

Eccentric System

The heart of the bow is a new-generation perimeter-weighted Mini-Crosscentric cam, backed by Mathews' AVS (Advanced Vectoring System) that keeps the two cams timed under load for clean energy transfer. Perimeter weighting raises the cam's rotational inertia, and you feel the payoff as a settled, unhurried draw and a hold that does not want to creep. Let-off (the share of peak weight the holding weight drops to at full draw) is 75 percent as standard, with an 85-percent module available by special order for shooters who want to hold even lighter through a long line. Draw length and let-off are both set by the module, so dialing in your length means bolting on the correct cam module rather than rotating one already on the bow. The published IBO speed is 330 fps, but that figure lives at 70 pounds, a 30-inch draw and a light 350-grain arrow - conditions a target shooter rarely replicates. On a chronograph at a realistic 60-pound, 29-inch competition setup with a heavy Gold Tip target arrow, this bow reads right around 300 fps, and that is exactly as it should be: the discipline trades speed for a forgiving, heavy-arrow shot. Against a genuine speed bow the draw is not glassy-smooth, but it rolls into a defined, easy valley and parks against a firm wall.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Halon X Comp, the load builds solidly and then drops cleanly into a valley I would call rock-solid - it holds you where you anchor without the mushy, wandering feel some target bows have near the wall. The back wall is firm, a wall and not a slope, which is what you want when you are pulling into it round after round. What stood out most to me is what happens the moment you reach full draw: the pin settles almost immediately, so you are aiming rather than fighting a float, and that alone shortens the time each shot spends hanging on target. The shot itself is genuinely quiet with no vibration reaching the hand - the bow simply settles and the arrow is gone. It is not a silky speed-cam draw and Mathews never pretended it was; it is an honest 3D-and-target draw cycle that trades a little smoothness for a stable, controllable hold. Shooters stepping over from a hunting bow will notice how little the bow moves after release. For a full day on the line, that combination of a defined valley, a hard wall, and a dead shot is what keeps groups tight when concentration starts to fade.

Usage Scenarios

This is a crossover competition bow, and it shines when a single archer wants one rig for several games. Picture a club shooter who spends winter nights on a Vegas three-spot indoors, then rolls into spring shooting 3D foam through the trees and summer field rounds at marked and unmarked distances - the 37-inch length and 26-to-32-inch draw range cover all of it. Long-draw archers in particular benefit, since the module range reaches a true 32 inches where many bows stop short. It is more portable through the woods on a 3D course than a 40-inch pure-indoor bow, yet long enough on the stabilizer to hold a steady sight picture at the target line. A shooter who lives exclusively indoors at 18 meters and wants the absolute steadiest possible hold might still prefer a 40-inch specialist, and this bow is not built as a hunting rig despite its Halon roots. But for the competitive archer who refuses to own a separate bow for every discipline, the Halon X Comp is squarely the point.

Versions

The Halon X Comp was sold as a single competition model at a $1,399 launch MSRP, with the choices being cosmetic and setup rather than separate packages. Buyers picked from six colors - black, white, and stone with matching limbs, or blue, red, and yellow on black limbs - in right or left hand. The functional variation is in the cam module: three draw-weight peaks (50, 60, 70 pounds) and two let-off options (75 percent standard, 85 percent by special order), each set by the module you install. Because draw length is also module-defined, a shooter specs the bow to a peak weight, a let-off, and a length at purchase. There is no RTH or accessory package here - this is a bare competition bow that the archer builds up with their own rest, sight, and stabilizer.

Mathews Halon X Comp vs Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX, PSE Citation 36

Bow	Mathews Halon X Comp	Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX	PSE Citation 36
Version	2018	2022	2022 SE
Picture
Brace Height	7 "	7 "	7.25 "
AtA Length	37 "	37.25 "	36 "
Draw Length	26 " - 32 "	23.5 " - 30 "	26.5 " - 32 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	30 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 60 lbs
IBO Speed	330 fps	330 fps	316 fps - 326 fps
Weight	4.96 lbs	4.7 lbs	4.9 lbs
Let-Off	75% & 85%	65%	65% - 75%
Where to buy Best prices online	$700 to $1400 Compare prices	$750 to $800 Compare prices	$650 to $999.99 Compare prices
	compare more bows

In the 36-to-37-inch competition class the Halon X Comp lines up almost exactly with the Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX, which shares its 7-inch brace height and 330 fps IBO on a 37.25-inch frame. The differences are in the details: the Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX runs a 65-percent let-off and a shorter 23.5-to-30-inch draw range at a higher $1,899 launch MSRP, so it leans toward shorter-draw shooters who want Hoyt's cam feel and a lighter 4.7-pound bow, while the Halon X Comp reaches a full 32 inches of draw with a heavier, more planted 4.96-pound target hold and the choice of 75 or 85 percent let-off. The PSE Citation 36 is the value-minded alternative, a 36-inch machined-riser target bow with a similar 26.5-to-32-inch draw range and 65-to-75-percent let-off, typically found well under the Mathews' launch price on the used market; it gives up a little top-end IBO but offers rotating-module convenience. The decision comes down to priorities: the Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX for the shorter-draw shooter chasing the lightest bow and Hoyt's hold, the PSE Citation 36 for the archer who wants a proven long-draw target platform for less money, and the Halon X Comp for the shooter who wants Mathews' dead-in-hand shot and the longest draw range of the three. In the Mathews family itself, the shorter Halon X and the 40-inch TRX 7 flank it, but the Halon X Comp is the versatile middle ground of that lineup.

Summary

The Mathews Halon X Comp is a crossover competition bow that does its best work when one archer wants a single rig for indoor spots, 3D, and field. At its $1,399 launch MSRP it undercut the pure-indoor specialists while delivering the thing that actually wins target rounds: a dead-in-hand, vibration-free shot behind a rock-solid wall and a pin that settles the moment you reach full draw. Its 37-inch frame and true 32-inch draw reach make it a natural home for long-draw archers, and the redesigned grip fixed the ergonomic complaints that trailed earlier Mathews target bows. Real-world speed sits around 300 fps with a heavy target arrow at a realistic competition setup, which is exactly right for a discipline that trades velocity for a forgiving, controllable shot. The only cautions are cosmetic and practical rather than structural - inspect the finish on early used units, and remember that draw-length and let-off changes ride on cam modules. What I keep coming back to with this bow is how still it sits after the shot; that stillness is what keeps arrows in the middle when a long round wears you down. It is an excellent choice for the competitive archer who refuses to own a separate bow for every game and is particularly strong across mixed 3D and indoor seasons. Buyers who shoot exclusively indoors and want the steadiest possible hold should also look at the Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX, and those chasing the same long-draw target capability for less should weigh the PSE Citation 36.