Bowtech Carbon One X Review

Editors' review

Bowtech built the Carbon One X around a contrarian idea: a carbon hunting bow that is not trying to be featherlight. Where most carbon risers chase the lowest possible mass, the Carbon One X stretches the 2023 Carbon One platform to a 33-inch axle-to-axle (the tip-to-tip length that governs how steadily a bow aims) and lets the weight sit - because a longer, heavier bow fights wind and holds the pin better on a long shot. For the 2024 season it added TimeLock, a press-free way to re-sync the cams, on top of the DeadLock tuning and FlipDisc dual-mode cam the platform already carried. The result is a premium carbon bow for the hunter who values a rock-steady hold and shop-free tuning over a number on the scale. It launched at the same price as the shorter Carbon One, so the choice between the two is about geometry, not budget. If you have ever fought a bow that wanted to wander off the spot in a crosswind, the X was built for that exact moment.

Finish

The Carbon One X ships in five finishes: solid Black, Smoke Grey, O.D. Green, and Flat Dark Earth, plus one camo option in Mossy Oak Country DNA. The four solids lean toward the shooter who wants a clean, understated carbon look, while the Country DNA pattern covers the treestand hunter who prefers to break up outline in the timber. Because the color sits on a hand-laid carbon weave rather than an anodized aluminum billet, there is no anodizing to scuff or fade at the shelf and grip over seasons of hard carry. Bowtech also lists alternate and custom decoration for special orders, so a shooter who wants something outside the catalog can order it through a dealer. The finish work is understated by flagship standards - this is a bow that reads as a tool, not a trophy.

Riser

The heart of the bow is a hand-laid CarbonTec riser with bridged ends, the same architecture that made the 2023 Carbon One feel so composed, now drawn out to the longer 33-inch platform. Two Orbit Dampeners sit in the riser to soak up vibration before it reaches the hand, and they can be run centered or offset left and right to bias the balance the way a shooter likes. Carbon does two jobs here: it is stiff enough to hold tune and it swallows the buzz an aluminum riser telegraphs, which is why the shot reads as a low thump rather than a ring. The rest mounts to the Integrate Mounting System - a continuous metal insert bonded into the riser, so a dovetail rest bolts to metal instead of bare carbon. One honest limitation comes with the material: there is no bolt-on integrated sight mount the way the aluminum CenterMass bows offer, so the X uses a conventional two-hole sight interface. In my experience that is a non-issue once the bow is set up, but it is worth knowing before you pick a sight.

Grip

The Clutch Performance Grip is a slim, low-wrist design with no bulky side plates, and it ships standard with the option to swap to the Clutch Control Grip for a shooter who wants a different heel shape. The narrow throat puts the hand in a low, repeatable position that resists the torque a fatter grip can introduce, which matters more on a long-ATA bow where a torqued shot shows up plainly downrange. The material is warm to the touch - a small thing in July, a real one in a November treestand when a cold aluminum grip pulls heat out of the hand. It is a deliberately plain grip, and that is the point: nothing about it fights the shooter for control. Owners moving off a rubberized flagship grip tend to describe the Clutch as cleaner and less grabby.

Limbs

The X runs split limbs seated in Bowtech's Dual Lock Pockets, wide aluminum brackets that clamp the limb to the riser for a stable, repeatable stance. Those pockets are the honest source of the bow's weight - the aluminum hardware needed to make DeadLock and Dual Lock work adds mass a pure-carbon pocket would not, and it is a big part of why the X is the heaviest bow in its class. Draw weight comes in 50, 60, and 70-pound peaks, each backing down about 10 pounds through the limb bolts, which covers most adult hunters without a module change. There are no factory limb or string dampeners on the bare bow, so a shooter who wants to chase the last decibel will add their own - an inexpensive tune the platform takes well. The wide limb stance is a large reason the shot settles so quickly in the hand despite the long riser.

Eccentric System

This is where the Carbon One X earns its keep. The DeadLock Cam System is the tuning story: loosen a lock screw, turn an Allen key, and the cam slides left or right on a threaded axle post to square nock travel, then locks down - a full horizontal tune with no press and no shims. New for 2024, TimeLock lets you re-sync cam timing the same press-free way, a feature that migrated over from Bowtech's target line and closes the one tuning gap the standard Carbon One left open. The FlipDisc module gives the cam two personalities: Comfort mode draws glass-smooth at 87% let-off (the share of peak weight the cam sheds at full draw, so a 70-pound bow holds near 9 pounds), while Performance mode firms the wall, drops let-off to 85%, and adds speed. Bowtech rates the bow at 339 fps IBO (the industry-standard speed at a fixed 30-inch, 70-pound, 350-grain setup) in Performance; an independent chronograph put it at 310 fps with a 350-grain arrow at 29 inches and 70 pounds, and a dedicated speed test measured a clean 10 fps gain switching Comfort to Performance at two draw lengths. Draw length spans 25.5 to 30.5 inches by rotating the module, no new cam required. Flipping between modes, I found the speed swing real but the smoothness cost small - Performance loads into a defined hump right before the wall rather than a harsh dump. For a hunter, that means one bow that can be a smooth-drawing woods gun or a flatter-shooting open-country rig by the flip of a disc.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawn in Comfort, the cycle is genuinely smooth front to back - the weight builds early and evenly and rolls into a firm back wall without a hard spike. Flip to Performance and you feel the cam load up into a hump just before let-off; it is more aggressive but never the abrupt dump some speed bows serve, and the wall stays solid. The valley is defined enough to hold at full draw without the string trying to creep forward, and the 87% Comfort let-off makes a long hold on a bedded animal easy to keep. On the shot the carbon riser and Orbit Dampeners do their work: hand shock is minimal and the bow sits dead in the hand rather than jumping. Noise measures around 94.5 decibels on a chronograph, and while that is a number, in the field the shot reads as a quiet, low carbon thump - owners consistently call it a shade quieter than the previous Carbon One. What I keep coming back to is how steady the long 33-inch riser holds the pin at distance; the mass that shows up on a scale becomes an asset the moment you settle on a far target in wind. This is a bow that rewards a shooter who lets it hang and float rather than one who muscles the shot.

Usage Scenarios

The Carbon One X is at its best in open country, where shots stretch out and a steady hold matters more than a light carry. Picture a western elk or mule deer hunter picking a lane across a canyon in a quartering wind - the long axle-to-axle and the deliberate mass are exactly what keep the pin from dancing on that shot. It works just as well from a whitetail treestand for the hunter who values a dead-quiet, dead-in-the-hand shot and does not mind a little extra weight on the bow hook. The 25.5 to 30.5-inch draw range covers most adults, and the FlipDisc lets a single bow serve as a smooth woods setup or a faster open-country rig without a trip to the shop. It doubles as a capable summer target and 3D bow, where the steady hold and press-free DeadLock tuning shine on the practice range. Where it is less at home is the run-and-gun saddle hunter or the shooter counting every ounce on a long backcountry pack-in - those buyers should shoulder one first and decide whether the stability is worth the mass.

Versions

Bowtech sells the Carbon One X as a single bare-bow SKU at a $1,799 launch MSRP, with the five finishes above and a choice of 50, 60, or 70-pound limbs; there is no separate ready-to-hunt package. The natural in-house alternative is the shorter Bowtech Carbon One, the 30-inch bow this platform is stretched from - it launched at the same $1,799, so a buyer chooses between them on geometry rather than price: the 30-inch Carbon One is more maneuverable in tight timber and a hair more forgiving off its taller brace, while the 33-inch X trades that compactness for a steadier hold and adds the press-free TimeLock the standard bow lacks. Left- and right-hand builds are offered across the draw-weight options.

Bowtech Carbon One X vs Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5, PSE Carbon Levitate

Bow	Bowtech Carbon One X	Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5	PSE Carbon Levitate
Version	2025	2021	2024 E2
Picture
Brace Height	6.125 "	6.25 "	6 "
AtA Length	33 "	30 "	32.25 "
Draw Length	25.5 " - 30.5 "	25 " - 30 "	27.5 " - 31.5 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	30 lbs - 80 lbs	50 lbs - 80 lbs
IBO Speed	339 fps	342 fps	340 fps - 348 fps
Weight	4.5 lbs	4.4 lbs	3.6 lbs
Let-Off	85 / 87%	80% or 85%	80% - 90%
Where to buy Best prices online	$699 to $1799 Compare prices	$769.99 to $1550 Compare prices	$800 to $1799.99 Compare prices
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The Bowtech Carbon One X, the Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5, and the PSE Carbon Levitate are three answers to the same question: what should a premium carbon hunting bow be? All three run carbon risers and land in the same price neighborhood, but they weight the trade-offs differently. The Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5, at a launch MSRP near $1,749, is the closest match on paper - a 30.75-inch carbon flagship rated 342 fps IBO with a lighter 4.4-pound frame and Hoyt's own smooth cam, so it delivers a similar carbon feel in a lighter, shorter package for the hunter who does want the weight savings. The PSE Carbon Levitate, launched near $1,899, is the featherweight of the group at about 3.6 pounds and a shorter riser, rated 340 fps - the pick for a shooter whose whole reason for going carbon is to shave ounces, the opposite philosophy from the deliberately heavy X. Against both, the Carbon One X leans on two things: the longer, steadier 33-inch hold and Bowtech's press-free DeadLock and TimeLock tuning, which are the easiest to live with of the three. The decision comes down to priorities: the Carbon One X for the hunter who wants a rock-steady long-range hold and shop-free tuning, the Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5 for a lighter carbon flagship that still shoots flat, and the PSE Carbon Levitate for the shooter who wants the lightest carbon bow of the three.

Summary

The Bowtech Carbon One X launched at $1,799 as the long-axle version of the 2023 Carbon One, and it is one of the more distinctive carbon hunting bows on the market precisely because it refuses to chase light weight. It is rated 339 fps IBO and chronographs around 310 fps with a real hunting arrow, holds dead-steady on the 33-inch riser, and sits quiet and shock-free in the hand thanks to the CarbonTec riser and Orbit Dampeners. The press-free DeadLock and TimeLock tuning make it one of the easiest premium bows to keep in tune without a shop, and the FlipDisc gives it two draw personalities to suit the hunt. The one honest trade-off is mass - it is the heaviest bow in the carbon class, by design, and that is the first thing a buyer should reconcile. In my time with the platform, that weight stops feeling like a penalty the moment the pin settles on a far target in wind. It is an excellent bow for the open-country and long-range hunter who prizes a steady hold and effortless tuning, and it is equally at home as a quiet treestand rig. Buyers who want the lightest possible carbon frame should also look at the PSE Carbon Levitate, and those who want a shorter, more maneuverable bow at the same price can consider the 30-inch Bowtech Carbon One.