Hoyt Concept FX Review
Pros
- Packs the full Concept X target platform - SCTR cam, TXL limbs, modular grip, adjustable let-off - into the shortest 34-inch frame
- Fast for its size: a 332 fps ATA rating from a 34-inch bow, where a short axle-to-axle usually costs real speed
- Wide TXL limb stance resists left-right torque even in the compact chassis, holding the pin steady
- SCTR cam tunes let-off in 2.5% steps (65/70/75%, or 67.5/72.5/77.5% with the Tweener mod) to dial holding weight
- Lightest in the family at 4.45 pounds and the easiest Concept to handle indoors and on a tight 3D course
Cons
- Purpose-built for short draws - it maxes out at 29.5 inches and isn't offered above 60 pounds, so long-draw or heavy-poundage archers want the Concept X 37 or 40
- The 6.25-inch brace is the shortest in the line, trading a little release-error margin for the compact speed - it rewards clean, repeatable form
Video
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Editors' review
Most short target bows ask you to give something up - speed, stability, or the flagship tech that lives on the full-size models. The Concept FX doesn't. It takes the entire Concept X target platform - the all-new SCTR cam, the wide TXL limbs, the Modular Grip System, the fine 2.5% let-off adjustability - and builds it into the most compact frame Hoyt offers: 34 inches axle-to-axle, a 6.25-inch brace, and just 4.45 pounds. This is the bow for the short-draw archer the 37 and 40 simply can't fit, and it doesn't feel like a compromise made to reach them. It even hides a surprise on the chronograph, carrying a 332 fps ATA rating from a bow this short - quick for its size, where a compact axle-to-axle usually means a real speed penalty. Aimed at the indoor spot shooter, the 3D archer working tight lanes, and any competitor whose draw runs under 29.5 inches, the Concept FX is the family's specialist - small, light, and fully armed.
Finish
Hoyt dresses the Concept FX in the same target palette as the rest of the Concept line - ten riser colors including Red Flare, Mr. Perfect Orange, Twisted Green, Impact Blue, Blue on Black, Sassy Pink, Polar White, Ti Silver, Skeeter, and Liquid Black, with limbs in a standard black satin or an upgraded white-gloss or black-gloss finish. There is no hunting camo in the range; this is a bow built for the line, and the finishes are chosen to stay sharp under the constant handling a competition rig sees between ends. In my experience Hoyt's target coatings are among the cleanest in the category, and the compact FX wears them just as well as its larger siblings. The ten-color riser program lets a shooter coordinate a full rig, and the finish spans every draw-weight and module option identically - so a short-draw archer gives up nothing on looks by choosing the small bow.Riser
The Concept FX rides the same Concept X riser design as the rest of the line, and the point of the platform is stability held still - but here it is packed into a 34-inch axle-to-axle package. The riser carries Hoyt's Modular Grip System, with screw-in inserts that set the hand at 0, plus-4, and plus-8 degree angles (plus draw-reducing versions), so a shooter dials out rotational torque by matching the grip to their form rather than accepting a fixed angle. A lower rear stabilizer mount is built in for the back bar a target archer runs low, which matters more on a short bow where balance is harder to build. The compact geometry is the whole reason the FX exists: a shorter riser and a 6.25-inch brace make the bow handier indoors and on a tight 3D course, and easier to fit to a short-draw archer, while the modular grip keeps the hand torque-free. It is the Concept X idea shrunk to its most manageable form without abandoning the tech that makes the platform work.Grip
The grip is Hoyt's Modular Grip System, shared across the Concept line: six screw-in inserts let the archer choose a 0, plus-4, or plus-8 degree hand angle, with versions that also trim a little draw length - a genuinely useful touch on a short-draw bow where every quarter-inch counts. Matching the grip angle to your form is what keeps rotational torque out of the shot, and on a compact bow with a short brace that discipline matters even more than it does on a long target rig. Swapping an insert takes minutes with a hex wrench, so a shooter can hunt for the angle that lets the hand sit relaxed and dead-center. In my experience with this modular grip on the Concept platform, the reward is a bow hand you set once and stop managing - which on a small, fast, short-brace bow is exactly the steadiness you need. It is the same grip the full-size Concepts use, and it does the same quiet work here.Limbs
The Concept FX runs Hoyt's TXL limbs in the same wide stance as the rest of the Concept line, and that width does real work on a short bow. A wider limb set makes the bow physically harder to twist left or right in the hand - the left-right torque resistance that keeps target arrows centered - and the FX keeps that advantage despite its compact 34-inch frame, where a narrow-limbed short bow would give it up. The wide, parallel geometry also helps keep vibration down at the shot. Where the FX draws its line is peak weight: it is offered at 40, 50, and 60 pounds and is not built in a 70-pound configuration, because it is engineered around shorter draws and the lighter, faster arrows that suit them. That is a deliberate design choice, not a shortfall - the whitepaper even tests the FX at 60 pounds and a 29.5-inch draw for exactly that reason. For the short-draw target archer, the 40-to-60-pound spread covers the holding weights that make sense, and the wide TXL limbs deliver the stability the platform is known for in the smallest package Hoyt builds.Eccentric System
The FX runs the same all-new SCTR cam as the Concept X 37 and 40, and for the competition archer its headline is let-off adjustability: the cam tunes in 2.5% increments across 65, 70, and 75%, with an optional Tweener mod foot adding the in-between 67.5, 72.5, and 77.5% positions - let-off being how much of peak weight your holding weight drops to at full draw. That granular control lets a target shooter set holding weight and back-wall feel precisely, which is as valuable on a short bow as on a long one. Draw length adjusts through modules: the CDM module covers 24.5 to 27.5 inches in quarter-inch steps, while the draw-length-specific Spec modules stretch the range to 23.5 to 29.5 inches - and 29.5 is the ceiling, as the FX is built for short draws and does not reach 30 inches. The payoff of that short-draw focus is on the chronograph: the FX carries a 332 fps ATA rating (Hoyt's stricter ATA test, not the looser IBO standard other brands quote), quick for a 34-inch bow. It runs Hoyt's WireWRX strings and tunes with the same shim system as the rest of the line.Draw Cycle/Shootability
Drawing the Concept FX, the compact geometry gives it a different personality than the long 37 and 40 - it comes up handy and quick in the hand while still settling onto the spot. The wide TXL limbs are the key to how it holds: even in a 34-inch frame the bow resists the left-right torque that opens up target groups, and in my experience that torque resistance is what a short target bow most often lacks. The SCTR cam gives a defined back wall, and the 2.5% let-off steps let a shooter tune the valley and hold to taste. At the shot the FX is dead in the hand with little vibration, the same clean, quiet release that runs through the Concept line. The one thing the short 6.25-inch brace asks for is discipline - a shorter brace leaves slightly less margin for a sloppy release than a long-brace target bow, so it rewards clean, repeatable form and gently shows a rushed shot. For the archer it fits, that is a fair trade for a bow this small, light, and fast, and it is exactly the honest feedback a competitor wants.Usage Scenarios
The Concept FX is built for a specific archer, and it serves them completely: the short-draw competitor whose draw runs under 29.5 inches, for whom the 37 and 40 are simply too much bow. Picture an indoor spot shooter on a league night who wants a light, handy rig and a 75% let-off for a relaxed, repeatable end, or a 3D archer working tight, brushy lanes where a compact bow clears obstacles a 40-inch platform fights. It is the natural choice for a smaller-frame or youth-into-adult target archer growing into serious competition, and for anyone who values a light bow - 4.45 pounds - through a long practice round or a full field course. The 40-to-60-pound spread covers the holding weights a short-draw archer actually uses, and the modular grip and adjustable let-off fit the bow precisely to their form. It is not a long-draw or heavy-poundage bow - an archer needing more than 29.5 inches or a 70-pound peak should step up to the Concept X 37 or 40 - and it is not a hunting bow. For the short-draw target shooter, though, it is the bow the platform was shrunk to build.Versions
The Concept FX is one model offered with a choice of limb finish rather than separate SKUs of the bow itself:- Standard limbs - black satin finish, $1,899 launch MSRP, the lowest price in the Concept line.- High-gloss limbs - white-gloss or black-gloss chameleon finish, offered a step up from the standard price.Both ship with the CDM module (24.5 to 27.5 inches in quarter-inch steps); draw-length-specific Spec modules extend the range to 23.5 to 29.5 inches, and the Tweener let-off mod foot is a separate purchase for in-between let-off positions. Every version shares the same Concept X riser, TXL limbs, SCTR cam, and Modular Grip System, and is offered at 40, 50, and 60 pounds in right- or left-hand. The choice comes down to finish preference and how far you want to take module tuning.Hoyt Concept FX vs Mathews TRX 34, PSE Citation 34
| Bow | Hoyt Concept FX | Mathews TRX 34 | PSE Citation 34 |
| Version | 2024 | 2024 | 2022 EM |
| Picture |  |  |  |
| Brace Height | 6.25 " | 6.5 " | 6.5 " |
| AtA Length | 34 " | 34 " | 34 " |
| Draw Length | 23.5 " - 29.5 " | 23.5 " - 30 " | 21.5 " - 27.5 " |
| Draw Weight | 30 lbs - 60 lbs | 40 lbs - 70 lbs | 30 lbs - 50 lbs |
| IBO Speed | 332 fps | 334 fps | 310 fps - 318 fps |
| Weight | 4.45 lbs | 4.69 lbs | 4.6 lbs |
| Let-Off | 65/70/75% | 70V, 75% & 80% | 75% |
| Where to buy Best prices online |
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In the compact 34-inch target class, the Concept FX lines up against the Mathews TRX 34 and the PSE Citation 34, two bows a short-draw or indoor archer would genuinely cross-shop. The Mathews TRX 34 is the closest rival on size, a 34-inch target bow built around Mathews' dead-in-hand hold and Crosscentric cam - smooth and famously quiet, where the Concept FX's edge is its 2.5% let-off adjustability and a TXL limb stance built to resist torque in a short frame. The PSE Citation 34 is the speed-leaning option of the three, a 34-inch target platform with an aggressive cam for the archer who wants pace in a compact package, where the FX counters with finer let-off tuning and Hoyt's honest ATA speed rating. Against both, the Concept FX's case is that it carries the full flagship Concept X platform - the same SCTR cam and TXL limbs as the 37 and 40 - in the smallest, lightest frame, with genuine speed for its size. The decision comes down to priorities: the Concept FX for the short-draw archer who wants flagship tech and torque resistance in a compact bow, the Mathews TRX 34 for a dead-quiet hold, the PSE Citation 34 for aggressive speed. Within Hoyt's own line, an archer needing more draw length or a 70-pound peak should step up to the Concept X 37 or the long Concept X 40.