Bowtech Solution Review

Editors' review

Here is the counter-intuitive thing about the fastest bow Bowtech built for 2021: it holds like a target bow. The Solution rates 346 fps IBO (the industry's fixed-setup speed number, taken at 30 inches and 70 pounds) off a 32-inch axle-to-axle chassis and a tight 6-inch brace height - every ingredient of a speed rig - and yet the people who shot it kept describing a long, settled valley and a wall so firm it feels like a limb stop. That combination is the whole story of this bow. It is the speed-flagship of a three-bow family, sitting above the smoother Solution SS and the short-draw Solution SD, and it earns the top slot with the family's biggest, most aggressive cam. But because it is a Bowtech, the speed does not come with the harsh dump and the ringing hand you would expect - DeadLock tuning, a FlipDisc that flips the personality of the draw, and twin Orbit dampeners are all standard. The question this review answers is who should buy the fast one instead of the smooth one.

Finish

The Solution ships in the same broad palette Bowtech ran across the 2021-2022 line: four solid finishes - Black, OD Green, Smoke Grey, and Flat Dark Earth - plus a full camo menu that includes Gore Optifade Subalpine, Mossy Oak Break-Up Country, Realtree Edge, Kuiu Verde 2.0, and Kryptek Altitude, with Woodlands available through some dealers. That is a genuinely deep selection for a flagship, wider than most competitors offer at the same tier, and it lets a western hunter reach for an open-country pattern while a whitetail hunter picks timber camo or a clean solid. The film-dipped camo wraps and the solid coatings share the same durable finish that holds up to the rub of a hanger and the scrape of a pack frame without wearing quickly. A solid like Smoke Grey or Black reads well on the practice range where a loud camo pattern is unnecessary. Color availability shifts through the model year, and Bowtech notes custom decoration carries an upcharge.

Riser

The riser is machined aluminum in a center-pivot design, and its geometry is the tell for what this bow is built to do - it reflexes back in toward the string, the performance-leaning shape that trades a hair of stability for speed, where the smoother Solution SS uses a deflexed riser that leans the other way. Bowtech's DeadLock pockets anchor the limbs with a double lock: the limb locks into the pocket and the pocket locks into the riser, so once the bow is tuned the platform stays rigid shot after shot. Cable control comes from the DeadLock Cable Containment system, a flexed guard rod that offsets the cables to fight cam lean and keep the draw free of chatter. Two Orbit dampeners sit low on the riser to soak up post-shot vibration, and they can be repositioned on the milled bosses to fine-tune where the buzz gets killed. Mounting is conventional - a standard Berger-hole rest and a threaded stabilizer boss - rather than the dovetail rail system Bowtech would push up-line later. In my experience that keeps setup refreshingly simple: bolt on a drop-away and a front bar and the bow is ready to tune, with nothing proprietary to source.

Grip

The Solution wears Bowtech's Clutch grip, a thin, flat-backed panel that indexes the hand into a low, repeatable position without crowding the throat. It is a low-torque shape, and hands-on shooters consistently found the balance neutral and the panel comfortable across a long session rather than a grip you fight. The panels swap out easily and come in several colors, and a slightly higher-wrist Control plate is available for a shooter who prefers to sit up on the grip a touch more. What I appreciate about a grip like this is that there is nothing to adjust and nothing to second-guess - the shape is set, it is comfortable for most hands out of the box, and it stays warmer against the palm in cold weather than a bare aluminum throat. A shooter with very specific wrist preferences carried over from another bow is the only one likely to want the Control plate swap.

Limbs

Bowtech builds the Solution in 50, 60, and 70-pound peak weights, and because the limb bolts back each set down roughly 10 pounds, the bow covers an effective 40-to-70-pound window depending on the peak you order. The split limbs seat into the DeadLock pockets with no detectable play, the same locked-down foundation the rest of the DeadLock line relies on, and that rigidity is a large part of why the bow holds its tune through a season of shooting. This is a full-power hunting spread - a 70-pound Solution stores the energy to drive a heavy hunting arrow flat, while a 60-pound setting is plenty for most whitetail and still comfortable to draw in the cold. Winding weight up or down at the bolts is straightforward, and the limb-and-pocket interface stays exactly where you set it. There is no press required for a draw-weight change, only an Allen key at the limb bolts.

Eccentric System

The DeadLock cam is the reason this bow shoots the way it does, and it is the largest, most aggressive cam in the Solution family - where the Solution SS uses a smaller, rounder cam for a silkier pull, the standard Solution's bigger cam is what buys the extra speed. Tuning is the headline feature: if the bow throws a left or right tear, you back off a screw and turn an Allen key that walks the cam sideways on its axle in geared, repeatable steps, then lock it down - no press, no shims, done standing on the shooting line. FlipDisc adds the second dimension. A reversible disc in the cam flips between Comfort, the smoother factory setting at roughly 87 percent let-off, and Performance, a more aggressive setting at about 85 percent let-off that gives back close to ten feet per second - two distinct bows out of one cam, no new parts. The 346 fps IBO rating is the chassis number; on a chronograph at a realistic 60 pounds and 29 inches with a 327-grain arrow, the Solution ran a consistent 308 to 313 fps, and on the same setup it clocked a few feet per second faster than a Hoyt Ventum 30. A heavier roughly 490-grain shaft settled at 277 fps, and an owner shooting a full hunting arrow reported speeds in the high 290s. Draw length adjusts from 25 to 30 inches through rotating modules with no mod swap and no press.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Solution is where its split personality shows. The big cam builds weight early and pulls with real authority through the first half of the cycle, then eases as it rolls over into a valley that is noticeably long for a speed bow - there is room to relax at full draw rather than being shoved toward the wall. And that wall is the surprise: it is rock solid, firm enough that shooters kept comparing it to a limb-stop bow, which is exactly the kind of definite stop a target archer wants under a hinge release. Having pulled bows like this, what stands out is how deliberate the whole cycle feels - this is not the snappy, get-it-over-with draw of a typical speed bow, but a longer, more controlled pull that rewards a patient shooter. The shot itself is quiet and dead in the hand, with the twin Orbit dampeners taking the sting out of any residual buzz and very little jump on release. Flip the disc to Performance and the cycle sharpens and firms up for the shooter chasing the last few fps; leave it in Comfort and the draw softens into something you can shoot all afternoon. For a 346 fps bow, the amount of hand shock is remarkably low - the speed genuinely does arrive without the kick the name of the family promises to eliminate.

Usage Scenarios

The Solution is a hunter's speed bow with a real target streak. Its flat trajectory and 346 fps rating shine for the western or open-country hunter who wants to hold a tighter pin gap across uncertain distances - a 60-yard shot at a mule deer forgives a slightly misjudged range better on a fast bow. Picture a spot-and-stalk hunter on an open sagebrush flat, ranging a bedded buck at 52 yards and trusting a flatter arc to cover a small error: this is the bow built for that moment. But the long valley and limb-stop-firm wall also make it a legitimate crossover for 3D and target practice, where the settled hold and defined stop matter more than they do in a treestand. The 32-inch axle-to-axle is a touch longer than a dedicated compact hunter, so a saddle hunter working a tight tree may prefer the shorter 30-inch Solution SS, but for most treestand and ground-blind setups the length is a non-issue and buys a steadier hold. The 25-to-30-inch draw range covers the average adult and taller shooters well, though a short-draw archer under about 25 inches belongs on the Solution SD. It is not the bow for someone who wants the family's smoothest, easiest draw above all else - that is the SS by design.

Bowtech Solution vs Mathews V3X 33, Hoyt Ventum Pro 33

Bow	Bowtech Solution	Mathews V3X 33	Hoyt Ventum Pro 33
Version	2022	2023	2022
Picture
Brace Height	6 "	6.5 "	6.375 "
AtA Length	32 "	33 "	33 "
Draw Length	25 " - 30 "	27 " - 31.5 "	26 " - 31 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	50 lbs - 75 lbs	40 lbs - 80 lbs
IBO Speed	346 fps	336 fps	334 fps
Weight	4.3 lbs	4.67 lbs	4.67 lbs
Let-Off	85 / 87%	80 or 85%	80% or 85%
Where to buy Best prices online	$292.8 to $1300 Compare prices	$999.99 to $2690 Compare prices	$714.99 to $1300 Compare prices
	compare more bows

Among 2022 flagship-tier hunters, the Solution stakes out the speed-and-tuning corner. The Mathews V3X 33 at a $1,299 launch MSRP is the longer, steadier target-leaning option - a 33-inch, 336 fps bow whose reputation is built on a dead-quiet shot and rock-steady hold, and Mathews owners generally prize its balance and silence over outright velocity. The Hoyt Ventum Pro 33 at a $1,249 launch MSRP splits the difference - 33 inches, 334 fps, with Hoyt's In-Line accessory integration and an HBX Pro cam, aimed at the hunter who wants a long, forgiving flagship with premium mounting hardware. The Solution answers with the highest IBO of the three at 346 fps, the shortest brace at 6 inches, and the one tuning system in the group you can adjust left or right with an Allen key and no press - a real advantage for the shooter who tunes their own gear. On the chronograph it delivers on that speed billing while staying quiet and low in hand shock, and its long valley and firm wall give up little to the Mathews on holding steadiness. The decision comes down to priorities: the Mathews V3X 33 for the hunter who wants the quietest, most target-stable shot, the Hoyt Ventum Pro 33 for the buyer who values a long forgiving frame and integrated accessory mounting, and the Bowtech Solution for the shooter who wants the most speed and the easiest do-it-yourself tuning in the class.

Summary

Launched for the 2021 model year at a $1,199 launch MSRP and carried unchanged into 2022, the Solution is the fast one in Bowtech's three-bow family - and the one that shoots least like a speed bow is supposed to. It rates 346 fps IBO, chronographs in the low 310s at a realistic 60 pounds and 29 inches, and pushes a full hunting arrow into the high 290s, all off a big, aggressive DeadLock cam and a tight 6-inch brace. What keeps it from feeling like a raw speed rig is everything Bowtech wraps around that cam: DeadLock tuning you do with an Allen key on the line, a FlipDisc that moves the bow from a smooth Comfort draw to a faster Performance setting, and twin Orbit dampeners that leave the shot quiet and dead in the hand. Having shot bows built to this recipe, what stays with me is that long valley and limb-stop wall - a hold that lets this fast hunter double as a 3D and target bow. It is an excellent bow for the western or open-country hunter who wants flat trajectory and forgiving pin gaps, and for the do-it-yourself shooter who would rather tune at home than book a press. Buyers who want the family's silkiest, easiest draw should look at the smoother Solution SS, and short-draw archers under 25 inches belong on the Solution SD; those cross-shopping other brands' flagships should also weigh the target-steady Mathews V3X 33 and the accessory-integrated Hoyt Ventum Pro 33.