Mathews Black Max 2 Review

Editors' review

A 5.5-inch brace height usually means twitchy, nervous, and unforgiving. The Black Max 2 never read that memo. This was Mathews' flat-out speed Solocam of the mid-2000s - a hunting single cam built to chase raw arrow velocity when the rest of the lineup chased silence and comfort - and yet the reputation that followed it around campfires and forums was not "harsh," it was "sleeper." Owners kept discovering that a bow with a brace this short had no business grouping as well as it did. It ran from 2003 through 2007 as the bow Mathews itself called the one to beat for flat-out speed, and it earned a small, stubborn following that still asks the company for a "Black Max 3" today. This review is for the archer cross-shopping the fast single cams of that era, or eyeing a clean used one now: what it does, what it asks of you, and who it still fits.

Finish

Mathews offered the Black Max 2 in the Realtree hunting camo that defined mid-2000s treestand bows, pairing camo limbs with a solid-color riser - the catalog shows options such as Elm and Black Cherry. This was a working hunter's finish, focused on concealment rather than color choice. Two decades on, finish is the single most variable thing about any given example: a bow that lived in a hard case looks nearly new, while a hard-hunted one shows the honest wear of a working tool. The anodizing and camo dip of the era held up well when cared for, so a used bow's finish is a fair proxy for how it was treated. If you are buying today, read the finish as a maintenance history, not just a color choice.

Riser

The riser is machined aluminum, the light-but-stiff foundation Mathews used across its Solocam hunters, cut to stand the bow up fast and quiet at the shot. This is where the Harmonic Damping System lives - weighted dampers seated into the riser that soak up post-shot buzz before it reaches your hand, and on a light, fast bow that damping is not a luxury but the reason the shot feels as composed as it does. Standard burger-button, sight, and stabilizer holes make it a straightforward platform for any period rest and sight, and there is nothing exotic to source when you set one up. At a 17-13/16-inch riser length paired with the 36-inch axle-to-axle, the bow carries longer between the axles than the compact hunters that came after it, and that extra length is quietly doing forgiveness work. The construction is plain, honest, and overbuilt for its weight - part of why so many are still in service.

Grip

The grip follows the slim, direct Mathews profile of the period - a narrow throat that seats the web of the hand high and centered, encouraging a repeatable, low-torque hold rather than a fistful of riser. On a bow this sensitive to hand pressure, that narrow grip is an ally: it makes a clean, torque-free purchase the natural way to hold it, which is exactly what a 5.5-inch brace needs from the shooter. There is no bulky rubber overmold to muffle feedback; you feel what your hand is doing, for better and worse. Shooters with larger hands sometimes prefer to add an aftermarket side-plate or a period Mathews grip for a touch more fill, and those swap on without drama. The grip is not plush, but it is purposeful.

Limbs

The Black Max 2 runs Mathews' SlimLine laminated limbs, seated in machined aluminum limb cups that fully contain the limb butt and pivot so the limbs stay locked in their pockets at any draw weight. The draw-weight range spans a broad 40 to 70 pounds with a 10-pound down-adjustment on each module, so a single bow covers a lighter target-and-practice setup or a full-power whitetail rig without new limbs. At a listed 3.5 pounds of mass, this is a genuinely light bow for its size and speed, which is part of its appeal on long treestand sits and part of why form discipline matters - there is little inert mass to settle the shot for you. This limb-and-cup design was a Mathews workhorse across its Solocam years, and its reliability track record is the reason two-decade-old examples still hold poundage and tune. The limbs are the least fussy part of the bow.

Eccentric System

This is the heart of the bow and the reason it exists. The Black Max 2 is a Solocam - a single power cam paired with a round idler wheel, so there is no cam timing to synchronize the way a dual-cam demands; you time the one cam off two timing holes with a level string, and it stays put. The standard, perimeter-weighted Black MaxCam is rated 330+ fps IBO (the industry chronograph standard at a fixed 70-pound, 30-inch, 350-grain setup), with the weight pushed to the cam's outer edge to store and dump more energy than a single cam has any right to. For buyers who wanted the last few frames per second, Mathews offered the Turbo MaxCam configuration at 340+ fps IBO, trading a slice of comfort for velocity at a lower 50% let-off. Let-off was offered at 80%, 65%, or 50% depending on cam and module - the 80% setting eases the hold for hunters, while the lower figures store more energy for speed and older Pope & Young legality. Real owner chronograph numbers back the marketing rather than embarrassing it: 330 fps at 70 pounds and a 30-inch draw with a 350-grain arrow, and a still-brisk 305 fps with a heavy 420-grain hunting shaft. Draw one and the cam builds hard and fast to the peak before dropping into a short, shallow valley - I read that instantly as a speed cam, not a comfort cam, and owners describe exactly the same feel. The back wall is solid, and the reward for staying on it is genuine arrow velocity from a simple, low-maintenance system.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Nobody will mistake the Black Max 2 for a smooth bow, and the honest owners - including a former lead shop technician who still shoots his - say so plainly and love it anyway. The draw stacks up firmly to peak weight and then drops into that short valley, so there is little of the long, forgiving pocket that comfort-tuned single cams give you; you settle, aim, and execute rather than lounging at full draw. What surprises people is the shot itself. String Suppressors stop the string cleanly at the shot, which is what keeps a 5.5-inch brace from slapping your forearm and what makes the bow noticeably quieter than a fast, light rig should be. Paired with the Harmonic Damping System, the shot lands composed - several owners report almost no hand buzz even before adding aftermarket dampeners, and some say that with a little added damper weight it settles close to a Switchback. What I keep coming back to is the forgiveness: a brace this short should feel nervous, and by every hands-on account this one simply does not, provided your form earns it. That last clause is the whole story - reward the bow with a clean, torque-free release and it groups like a much tamer bow; get lazy and the short brace tells on you immediately.

Usage Scenarios

This is a hunting bow first, and a specific kind of hunter's hunting bow. Picture a whitetail sit in November: a light 3.5-pound bow you can hold up through a long, cold stand, quiet enough at the shot that a close deer doesn't jump the string, and fast enough that pin gaps stay tight out to the ranges most treestand shots actually happen. That is the Black Max 2 in its element. The 40-to-70-pound range and the flat trajectory make it a capable deer and hog rig, and with a heavy arrow it hits well above its brace-height class on penetration. It doubles fine for backyard practice and casual 3D at the lighter draw settings, though the short valley makes it less relaxing for long target sessions than a dedicated spot bow. The 25-to-30-inch draw range fits most adult shooters but leaves out very long-draw archers. Where I would steer a newer archer elsewhere is a first bow - this one is happiest in experienced hands that already own their release. For the seasoned hunter who values a fast, light, quiet single cam, it still earns a spot in the truck.

Mathews Black Max 2 vs Bowtech Allegiance, PSE X-Force

Bow	Mathews Black Max 2	Bowtech Allegiance	PSE X-Force
Version	2007	2008	2009 (GX Cam)
Picture
Brace Height	5.5 "	7.25 "	6 "
AtA Length	36 "	33.25 "	33.5 "
Draw Length	25 " - 30 "	26.5 " - 30.5 "	26 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	50 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 80 lbs
IBO Speed	330 fps	317 fps - 335 fps	344 fps - 352 fps
Weight	3.5 lbs	3.8 lbs	4.2 lbs
Let-Off	60% or 80%	65% - 80%	75% actual
Where to buy Best prices online	$299.99 to $949.99 Compare prices	$175 to $450 Compare prices	$255 to $685 Compare prices
	compare more bows

Set against the fast bows of its era, the Black Max 2 lands in a very telling middle ground. The Bowtech Allegiance chases a similar speed target - 317 to 335 fps IBO across its versions - but does it from a much taller 7-inch brace and Bowtech's binary-cam system, so it is the more forgiving, more relaxed shot of the two, trading the Black Max 2's ultra-low brace for margin and a longer valley; a shooter who wants speed without the form tax will prefer the Allegiance. The PSE X-Force runs the other direction: a 6-inch brace and a 340-to-352 fps IBO rating make it the more extreme speed-first bow, faster on paper than the standard Black MaxCam and every bit as demanding of a clean release, so it appeals to the archer who wants maximum velocity and will pay for it in shootability. The Mathews sits between them in brace height and philosophy - nearly as aggressive as the X-Force, simpler to maintain as a Solocam, and lighter in the hand than both. Buyers who want the smoothest, most forgiving shot in this speed class and are willing to look in-house should also weigh the Mathews Switchback, the taller-brace comfort single cam of the same years. The decision comes down to priorities: the Allegiance for forgiveness with speed, the X-Force for outright velocity, and the Black Max 2 for a light, quiet, low-maintenance single cam that shoots tighter than its brace height promises.

Summary

The Mathews Black Max 2 was the speed conscience of a lineup better known for silence - a 330+ fps Solocam (340+ with the Turbo MaxCam) built on a 5.5-inch brace that, against every expectation, shoots like a sleeper. As a discontinued model it lives entirely on the used market now, typically trading around $250 to $350 depending on condition, draw specs, and included accessories, which makes it one of the more bow-for-the-dollar single cams a patient buyer can find. What you get is genuine speed confirmed by real owner chronograph numbers, a light 3.5-pound carry, a quiet and well-damped shot, and the dead-simple upkeep of a single cam that needs no synchronization. What it asks in return is form: this is a bow for the experienced hunter who owns a clean release, not a first bow to learn on. The tell, for me, is who keeps these - shop-hardened shooters with newer options still reaching for their Black Max 2 because of how it shoots and how little it complains. An excellent bow for the seasoned whitetail and hog hunter who wants a fast, light, quiet single cam and will earn its short brace, particularly strong on long cold treestand sits where weight and quiet matter. Buyers prioritizing a more forgiving draw and a taller, calmer brace should also look at the Bowtech Allegiance.