Bowtech Solution SS Review

Editors' review

Bowtech's own catalog put it best: out of one Solution another is born. The Solution SS - the SS is commonly read as Super Smooth - shares a name and a tuning system with the standard Solution but chases the opposite goal. Where the standard bow reflexes its riser toward the string and runs a big, aggressive cam for speed, the SS deflexes the riser out toward the limb pockets and fits a smaller, rounder cam tuned for one thing: the easiest, silkiest draw Bowtech built for 2021. It gives up about fourteen feet per second of IBO speed to get there, and it adds a forgiving 7-inch brace height and an unusual inch of extra draw length reach. This is the Solution for the shooter who would rather feel nothing on the way to the wall than see a bigger number on a speed chart. If the standard Solution is the family's performance bow, the SS is its comfort bow - and for a lot of hunters, comfort is what actually puts the arrow where they want it.

Finish

The Solution SS draws from the same broad 2021-2022 Bowtech palette as the rest of the line: four solid finishes - Black, OD Green, Smoke Grey, and Flat Dark Earth - alongside a camo menu of Gore Optifade Subalpine, Mossy Oak Break-Up Country, Realtree Edge, Kuiu Verde 2.0, and Kryptek Altitude, roughly nine options in all. That breadth means the SS is easy to match to its setting, whether that is a muted solid for the range or a timber pattern for an eastern whitetail stand. All of them use the same durable film-dip and coating process, so the finish shrugs off the normal wear of a hunting season without flaking at the shelf or the limb tips. A hunter who splits time between practice and the woods often lands on a solid like OD Green here - quiet enough for the field, clean enough for the bale. Availability shifts through the year, and custom decoration carries an upcharge.

Riser

The riser is the clearest place the SS separates itself from the standard Solution. Both are machined-aluminum center-pivot designs, but where the standard bow's riser reflexes back toward the string in a speed-leaning shape, the SS riser is deflexed - it sits out toward the limb pockets, the geometry that trades a little speed for a steadier, more forgiving hold. Bowtech's DeadLock pockets carry over unchanged, locking the limb into the pocket and the pocket into the riser so the platform stays rigid once it is tuned. The DeadLock Cable Containment system runs a flexed guard rod to offset the cables and keep the draw free of cam lean and chatter. Two Orbit dampeners mount on the riser and can be stacked or repositioned on their bosses to tune out vibration, and setup uses conventional rest and stabilizer mounting rather than a proprietary rail. Drawing the two Solutions back to back, the deflexed SS is the one that feels planted and unhurried in the hand - the riser is doing exactly what its shape promises.

Grip

The SS uses the same Clutch grip as the rest of the DeadLock line, a thin, flat panel that indexes the hand low and repeatably without forcing a torqued wrist. The panels swap out in several finishes and can be run flat, rolled, or indexed to taste, and Bowtech offers angle-adjustable higher-wrist inserts for a shooter who wants to sit up on the grip more. Paired with the forgiving 7-inch brace, the low-torque grip is a big part of why this bow is so easy to shoot well - there is little in the hand fighting a clean release. In my experience a grip this neutral is exactly what a bow like the SS wants: the whole point is to remove sources of error, and a grip you do not have to think about is one less thing between the shooter and a repeatable anchor. The panel also stays comfortable against a bare hand in cold weather.

Limbs

Bowtech offers the Solution SS in 50, 60, and 70-pound peak weights, and because the limb bolts wind each set down roughly 10 pounds, the bow covers a practical 40-to-70-pound range depending on the peak ordered. The split limbs seat into the DeadLock pockets with no play, giving the SS the same locked-down foundation as its faster sibling and the same season-long tune stability. At a claimed 4.0 pounds bare, the SS is a genuinely light bow for a 30-inch aluminum hunter, and hands-on scales confirmed that weight even before adding the Orbit dampeners. That low mass, combined with the forgiving brace, makes the 60-pound setting a comfortable all-day choice for most hunters, while the 70-pound peak still stores enough energy for confident penetration. Winding weight up or down is a simple limb-bolt job with an Allen key, no press required.

Eccentric System

The cam is the heart of what makes the SS the SS. Bowtech fitted it with a smaller, rounder DeadLock cam than the standard Solution's big aggressive unit - the lobes and the roll of the cam were redrawn specifically to soften the draw, and it is the single biggest reason the two bows feel so different in the hand. Tuning is the same flagship DeadLock system: loosen a screw, turn an Allen key to walk the cam sideways on its axle in repeatable steps, and lock it back down to correct a paper tear, all without a press and all on the shooting line. FlipDisc is present here too, flipping between a Comfort setting near 87 percent let-off and a Performance setting near 85 percent that adds roughly ten feet per second - but on this bow the honest advice is to leave it in Comfort, since flipping to Performance sharpens the draw and undoes the very smoothness the SS exists to deliver. The 332 fps IBO rating trails the standard Solution by design; on a chronograph in Comfort mode with a 400-grain arrow at 60 pounds and 29 inches, the SS landed right about where its rating predicts - respectable rather than blazing, which is exactly the trade the buyer is making. Draw length adjusts from 25.5 to 31 inches through rotating modules, and that top-end inch past the usual 30-inch ceiling is a quiet advantage for taller shooters on a compact bow.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

This is the section the SS was built to win. The draw is genuinely, memorably smooth - the smaller cam pulls up gently and rolls into full draw with almost nothing waiting at the top, no late hump to muscle through, just a clean pull into a settled valley. Shooters who have pulled a lot of bows kept reaching for the same word, and having drawn bows in this class I understand why: there is a real absence of struggle here, the kind of cycle a shooter with a cranky shoulder can run at 70 pounds without wincing. The 7-inch brace makes the whole shot forgiving, quietly absorbing the small torques and flinches that a shorter-brace speed bow would punish. Behind the smooth pull sits a firm, limb-stop-style wall - the string stop meets the cable for a definite stop that a hinge-release shooter will appreciate. On release the bow is dead in the hand, with twin Orbit dampeners killing the vibration and essentially no jump; the measured shot noise sits a little over 100 decibels, average for the class rather than a standout, but the lack of hand shock is what a shooter notices most. Leave the FlipDisc in Comfort and the SS becomes a bow you can shoot for an entire afternoon and never fight.

Usage Scenarios

The Solution SS is the all-day hunter's bow, built for the shooter who values a forgiving, effortless shot over raw speed. Its natural home is the treestand and the ground blind, where the compact 30-inch axle-to-axle swings cleanly and the 7-inch brace forgives a hand that is not perfectly still in the cold. Picture an eastern whitetail hunter in a lock-on stand at first light, drawing slowly at 25 yards on a buck working a scrape: the smooth cam lets the draw disappear so the hunter can focus on the shot, and the forgiving brace covers a slightly rushed release. It is also the pick for the shooter dealing with a shoulder injury or simply the archer who shoots better when a bow asks less of them - a smooth draw and a torque-free grip translate directly into tighter groups for many people. The extra draw length reach to 31 inches makes it a rare compact bow that fits a taller shooter, and the light 4.0-pound mass keeps it easy to carry and hold on target. It is not the choice for the hunter chasing the flattest trajectory or the longest pin - that shooter wants the faster standard Solution - and a short-draw archer under 25.5 inches belongs on the Solution SD instead.

Bowtech Solution SS vs Hoyt Ventum Pro 30, Mathews V3X 29

Bow	Bowtech Solution SS	Hoyt Ventum Pro 30	Mathews V3X 29
Version	2022	2022	2023
Picture
Brace Height	7 "	6 "	6 "
AtA Length	30 "	30 "	29 "
Draw Length	25.5 " - 31 "	25 " - 30 "	25.5 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 80 lbs	50 lbs - 75 lbs
IBO Speed	332 fps	342 fps	340 fps
Weight	4.0 lbs	4.45 lbs	4.47 lbs
Let-Off	85 / 87%	80% or 85%	80 or 85%
Where to buy Best prices online	$632.49 to $1500 Compare prices	$700 to $1000 Compare prices	$795 to $2000 Compare prices
	compare more bows

In the compact, comfort-first corner of the 2022 flagship hunters, the SS competes squarely with two of the best. The Hoyt Ventum Pro 30 at a $1,249 launch MSRP is the 30-inch, 6-inch-brace Hoyt with its In-Line accessory integration and HBX Pro cam - a premium, feature-rich compact aimed at the hunter who wants integrated mounting and Hoyt's build. The Mathews V3X 29 at a $1,199 launch MSRP is the 29-inch Mathews, a dead-quiet Crosscentric-cam bow with Bridge-Lock sight integration that hovers around 326 fps on a chronograph and leans on Mathews' signature silence. The Solution SS answers with the smoothest draw of the three and the most forgiving brace at 7 inches, plus the DeadLock tuning system that lets the owner correct a tear with an Allen key and no press - the standout for a shooter who tunes their own gear. It gives a little to the Hoyt on integrated accessory hardware and to the Mathews on outright quiet, but neither draws as softly as the SS. The decision comes down to priorities: the Hoyt Ventum Pro 30 for the buyer who wants premium integrated mounting, the Mathews V3X 29 for the hunter who prizes the quietest shot, and the Bowtech Solution SS for the shooter who wants the easiest, most forgiving draw and do-it-yourself tuning above all.

Summary

Launched for the 2021 model year at a $1,199 launch MSRP and carried unchanged into 2022, the Solution SS is the Super Smooth member of Bowtech's three-bow family - the one that trades about fourteen feet per second of IBO speed for the easiest draw the brand made that year. A smaller, rounder DeadLock cam, a deflexed forgiving riser, and a 7-inch brace add up to a bow that pulls up gently, rolls into full draw with nothing waiting at the top, and shoots dead in the hand at just 4.0 pounds. It keeps every tuning advantage of the flagships - DeadLock adjustment with an Allen key on the line and a FlipDisc that can add speed if you want it, though on this bow you will likely leave it in Comfort. Having drawn bows built to this brief, what stays with me is how little the SS asks of the shooter: smooth to pull, forgiving to hold, easy to shoot well on an off day. It is an excellent bow for the treestand and ground-blind hunter who values a forgiving, effortless shot, for the shooter nursing a tired shoulder, and for a taller archer who needs that extra inch of draw. Buyers chasing the flattest trajectory should look at the faster standard Solution, and short-draw archers under 25.5 inches at the Solution SD; those cross-shopping other brands should also weigh the Hoyt Ventum Pro 30 and the Mathews V3X 29.