Compound Bow Reviews

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Havoc - and the HavocTec it became in 2002 - is a case study in why a bow outlives its spec sheet. On paper it is a low-300s-fps, roughly three-and-a-half-pound aluminum hunter with a mid-height grip and a menu of period cams; in the hand it is calm, quiet, forgiving, and easy to tune, which... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Podium X Elite 37 is a specialist's target bow that earns its keep at the tuning bale as much as on the line. At a $1,599 launch price it asks flagship money, and it answers with flagship control: an adjustable cable guard that sets cam lean, riser torque, and vane clearance without a bow press,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Podium X Elite 40 is the steady-hold specialist of Hoyt's 2015 target line, a 40-inch competition bow that trades the 37's quickness for a calmer pin and, on the Spiral Pro cam, a genuine 32.5-inch draw at 322 fps. At a $1,599 launch price it asks flagship money and answers with flagship control:... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Pro Comp Elite FX is the compact, faster refresh of Hoyt's target platform - proof that shorter did not have to mean slower. It launched in flagship target territory, between the earlier Pro Comp Elite and the successor Podium X Elite, and it answered with a 35.25-inch riser that rates 328 fps... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Pro Comp Elite XL is the stability specialist of Hoyt's 2013-2014 target pair - the 40-inch bow for the archer whose game is the long, steady hold. It asked flagship target money at launch, the same bracket as the standard Pro Comp Elite, and it answered with a long XT2000 riser that sits dead-still,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Pro Comp Elite is a specialist's target bow that earns its keep at the tuning bale as much as on the line. It asked flagship money at launch - around $1,349 for the base finish - and it answered with flagship control: a genuine choice between the smoother, let-off-flexible GTX cam and the faster,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Vantage Pro is the standard-riser answer to the Shoot-Through Vantage Elite - same 41-inch axle-to-axle, same 301 and 308 fps IBO across its launch cams, same XT2000 limbs and 4.8-pound mass, but a genuinely different bow in the hand. Its long riser holds like a target bow should, and owners... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Vantage Elite is a purpose-built target bow that does one thing exceptionally well: it holds still and lets a disciplined shooter aim. Built as the flagship of Hoyt's 2009 target line and carried into 2010 with an added 30 to 40 pound draw-weight option, it pairs premium XT 2000 limbs and a... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Prevail FX is the compact, fast, short-draw member of Hoyt's flagship target family, and it asks one honest question of its buyer: do you want the smoothest draw, or the firmer wall and a touch more speed? From 2017 through 2019 it stayed remarkably consistent - a 35-inch axle-to-axle, 4.7-pound... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Prevail 40 is a flagship target bow that asks one honest question of its buyer: do you want the smoothest draw on the line, or the firmest wall and a touch more speed? From 2017 through 2019 it stayed remarkably consistent - a 40.25-inch axle-to-axle, 5-pound platform on the TEC Shoot-Thru riser,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Prevail 37 is a flagship target bow that asks one honest question of its buyer: do you want the smoothest draw on the line, or the firmest wall and a touch more speed? From 2017 through 2019 it stayed remarkably consistent - a 37.25-inch axle-to-axle, 4.8-pound platform on the TEC Shoot-Thru... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Double XL is one of the few compounds ever built around a long draw rather than apologizing for one, and that single decision defines it. From 2017 to 2021 it grew from a 340 fps, 36 3/4-inch DFX-cam hunter into a refined 345 fps IBO, 35 7/8-inch rig on Hoyt's HYPER ZT Cam, splitting along the... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Pro Force is one of the better value propositions in the brand's recent history: a genuine do-it-all target, field, and 3D bow that quietly out-chronographed its faster-marketed rivals and asked far less than a carbon flagship to do it. Across 2018 to 2020 it stayed remarkably consistent - 35... read full review