Compound Bow Comparator

The Hoyt Ventum 33, launched at $1,199 for 2021, is the long, forgiving aluminum hunter of Hoyt's two-bow Ventum line - the one owners kept calling the best Hoyt they had shot in years. Built on the all-new HBX binary cam, the In-Line accessory system, the XACT grip, and the same hunting finishes as the carbon RX-5 Ultra, it stretches that engine across a 33-inch frame with a taller 6 3/8-inch brace and gives the hunter a bow that holds rock-steady and aims itself. The HBX cam delivers the firm, defined back wall the older RX-series Hoyts lacked, a 334 fps IBO rating that lands at real hunting-arrow speeds in the 261-to-265 fps range for 440-to-455 grain shafts, and a selectable 80/85% let-off you change with one screw. The detail owners did not expect is how dead an aluminum bow could settle - Hoyt tuned the kick out of the riser until the shot felt as quiet and planted as the carbon bows beside it. The honest trade-offs are real but easy to manage - it is the heaviest of the Ventum pair and the long riser shoots best with a full-length front bar, both of which suit a steady treestand or canyon-glassing hold anyway. Holding it on a far pin, what stays with me is how planted an aluminum bow this long can sit. An excellent bow for the hunter who wants a forgiving, long-axle rig with a firm wall and a dead shot without the carbon price. Buyers who want that same long frame in warm, light carbon should look at the REDWRX Carbon RX-5 Ultra, while those who prize the highest let-off and the longest draw should also consider the PSE EVO NXT 33. Read full review...

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...

The 2020 PSE EVO NXT has limited bells and whistles, and is in no way flashy. To many shooters, the lack of marketability and increased buzz around the release of a flagship bow may be a turnoff. However, for shooters basing their decision to purchase based on how a bow feels and shoots, the PSE EVO NXT 33 has a great shot of being very popular. The speeds are not fast, but they are honest real world performance, and that may be better for some shooters. The7-inch brace height is less popular on a hunting bow in 2020, but the added forgiveness may be a feature shooters want to have in their new hunting bow. The longer riser, and more laid back limbs do a phenomenal job of canceling noise and making the bow as vibration free as possible. It would be great to see some more popular finish options as well, but there are a fair amount of choices, and what PSE does offer looks nice. The Evolve cam system is a true piece of engineering genius, and the adjustability passed on to shooters is amazing. The NXT 33 platform has so many options for shooters to add personalized touches to, each setup could have a different feel. For those willing to look past missing flash, the PSE EVO NXT 33 is an outstanding hunting bow with potential to be a multipurpose bow for 3D shooting as well. For a competitive flagship price of $1099, the NXT 33 should be a very popular model for 2020. Read full review...

• Longer 33-inch frame with a taller 6 3/8-inch brace height holds rock-steady at full draw - owners describe it as a bow that aims itself
• Settles dead in the hand after the shot - Hoyt engineered the vibration out of the aluminum, so the old aluminum "thump" is simply gone
• Genuinely solid, defined back wall from the HBX binary cam - a clear step up from the older RX-series walls
• Smooth draw for a 334 fps bow - owners rank the draw cycle among the best of Hoyt's 2021 line
• Let-off switches between 80% and 85% with one screw on each cam, keeping the bow legal in Western states that cap it at 80%

• Smoothest draw of Hoyt's 2021 hunting line - a long, linear pull that rolls off into the valley with no hard dump
• Holds wildly steady at full draw - the 34-inch axle-to-axle and 7-inch brace settle the pin for the longer-draw hunter who wants forgiveness
• Dead in the hand and quiet at the shot - owners report less post-shot feedback than they have felt from any other carbon bow
• Chronographs faster than its modest 334 IBO suggests - 328 fps with a 350-grain arrow, tied for fastest in a multi-bow field test
• Carbon riser stays warm to the touch on freezing late-season sits, where an aluminum riser goes ice-cold against bare fingers

• A longer riser, and more laid back limbs improve upon an already popular Evolve and Evoke Series bow
• Forgiveness and extreme shootability seem to be the engineering focus
• Bow outperforms the ATA/IBO speed rating of 322-314 feet per second

• The long riser balances best with a full-length front stabilizer, not the little Short Stop alone - owners who hang a standard hunting bar say it then settles beautifully
• Heaviest of the Ventum pair, reading a little over the 4.7-pound spec once fully dressed - steadying on a treestand hold, but backcountry hunters counting ounces should factor it in

• Heavy for a carbon bow out of the box at around 5.2 pounds loaded - strips back to the 4.6-pound spec by pulling the add-on dampeners, and ounce-counters can step to the lighter compact RX-5
• Top-of-market carbon-flagship pricing - shooters who want the same HBX cam, draw range and shot feel for several hundred less can move to Hoyt's aluminum Ventum 33

• Low performance rating appears slower than comparable models from previous years
• Would still like to see more finish options from PSE
• Nothing very flashy about the EVO NXT 33