Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5 Ultra Compound Bow

The Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5 Ultra, launched in 2021 at roughly $1,699, is the long-axle, maximum-forgiveness build of Hoyt's 2021 carbon platform - and the bow that quietly outshot its own spec sheet. Its 334 fps IBO was the slowest of the year's flagships on paper, yet it chronographed 328 fps and tied for the fastest bow in a multi-bow test, with real hunting-arrow speeds running 267 to 299 fps depending on shaft weight. On a 34-inch frame with a 7-inch brace it draws as smoothly as anything Hoyt built that season, holds with a steadiness that flatters a shaky release, and finishes dead in the hand and quiet - and the carbon riser stays warm through a freezing sit. The honest trade-offs are weight, around 5.2 pounds loaded before you strip it back to the 4.6-pound spec, and a top-of-market price. In my time behind the platform the lasting impression is the hold: at full draw the long riser plants the pin in a way a compact bow simply cannot. An excellent bow for the longer-draw and Western open-country hunter who prizes forgiveness, a steady hold, and cold-weather carbon. Buyers who want that same carbon platform compact and lighter should look at the standard Hoyt REDWRX Carbon RX-5, while those who would trade carbon for a forgiving, dead-quiet aluminum flagship at a lower price should consider the PSE EVO NXT 33... read full review