Compound Bow Comparator

Launched for 2024 at a $1,399 MSRP - with the camo finishes running about fifty dollars more - and carried unchanged into 2025, the Core SS is Bowtech's answer for the hunter who wants a forgiving, all-day draw without giving up any flagship hardware. It keeps the parts that matter: the full DeadLock cam you tune with a wrench on the line, the TimeLock timing adjuster, the Dual Lock pockets that hold that tune through a season, the GripLock grip you set to your hand, and the CenterMass mounting that pulls the sight and rest into the riser. In a compact 31.5-inch chassis with a 6.25-inch brace, it shoots a typical hunting arrow in the high 270s to low 280s fps, dead in the hand and quiet, off a 337 IBO that owners praise as unusually honest. What stays with me after drawing it is how little effort the shot takes - smooth to pull, firm at the wall, easy to live with over a long sit. An excellent bow for the treestand and saddle hunter who prizes a quiet, forgiving, all-day draw and wants to tune their own gear. Buyers who want a lighter, faster long-axle flagship should look at the Mathews Lift 33, while those chasing maximum velocity in the same family should consider the faster Core SR. Read full review...

The Mathews Lift 33 is the do-everything member of the 2024 Lift platform - a 33-inch aluminum flagship that weighs like carbon, holds like a target bow, and shoots quieter than anything in its class. At $1,429 launch MSRP it sits at the top of this three-bow field and earns the spot with a real 310 fps at 400 grains, a 73-dB shot that won independent decibel-meter tests outright, and a long riser that plants the pin and does the aiming for you. The new SwitchWeight-X cam draws smoother than the shorter Lift 29.5 and posts genuine speed against a rock-firm wall, and the RPD limbs leave the riser dead the instant the arrow is gone. The one honest asterisk - the early limb-crack episode - is answered by an indefinite, transferable pass-down warranty that replaces the full limb set fast and follows the bow to a second owner, which is why this model is as safe to buy used as new. In my experience it is the kind of bow that quietly makes you a steadier shot without asking you to work for it, and the 80-pound module option gives bigger-game hunters real headroom. An excellent bow for the accuracy-minded hunter who shoots open country and a little 3D and wants silence, light weight, and speed in one long-riser rig. Buyers who want maximum brace-height forgiveness at a lower price should also look at the PSE EVO NXT 33, and those who want the latest press-free tuning and updated limbs should price its successor, the 2025 Lift X 33. Read full review...

The Hoyt Ventum Pro 30, launched at $1,249 for 2022, is the bow that quietly argues you do not need carbon to get the carbon-flagship feel. Built on the same HBX Pro binary cam, In-Line accessory system, VitalPoint grip, and hunting finishes as the carbon REDWRX Carbon RX-7, it trades the first-ever carbon riser for a machined aluminum one and a half-pound of mass - and gives up surprisingly little for the saving. The HBX Pro cam delivers a 342 fps IBO rating that lands at real hunting-arrow speeds from 274 to 300 fps depending on shaft weight, a smooth no-creep draw, and a selectable 80/85% let-off you change with one screw. The shot is the highlight: zero hand shock and a measured 80-to-81-decibel report that put it among the quietest bows of its year, and the new VitalPoint grip is the rare factory grip owners actually keep on. The honest trade-offs are real but small - a back wall softer than a hard binary stop that firms up at 80% let-off, and an aluminum riser that chills faster than carbon on a late sit. Set those against everything that stays the same, and to my mind the aluminum makes the carbon premium look optional. An excellent bow for the serious hunter who wants flagship engineering and a forgiving, quiet hold without paying the carbon premium. Buyers who want that same engine with cold-weather warmth and the lightest possible mass should look at the REDWRX Carbon RX-7, while those who prize Mathews silence and module-based draw-weight changes should also consider the Mathews V3X 29. Read full review...

• The smoothest draw in its class - the pull rolls into the valley and eases onto the back wall with no late hump, the kind of cycle you can shoot all afternoon without fatigue
• Full DeadLock cam tuning corrects a left or right paper tear with an Allen key on the shooting line - no press, no shims, the complete flagship system
• Dead, quiet shot - the lowest post-shot vibration of the bows measured against it, with twin Orbit dampeners soaking up any residual buzz
• Firm, rigid back wall paired with an unusually honest speed rating - owners clock the real numbers right where the 337 IBO promises
• GripLock lets you set the grip angle to your hand and CenterMass drops the sight and rest into the riser itself for a low, balanced front end

• Won the decibel-meter shootout on multiple independent tests, reading about 73 dB three feet from the shot - quieter than the V3X and Halon X and about as dead-in-hand as a hunting bow gets
• Drives real hunting speed off an easy draw - 310 fps with a 400-grain arrow and 292 fps with a 450 at 70 lb / 30 inch, from one of the smoothest speed-bow draws Mathews has built
• Genuinely light for aluminum at roughly 4.3 pounds, undercutting many carbon rivals while giving the long riser more mass to plant the pin
• The 33-inch riser runs nearly the full axle-to-axle length, so the bow holds like a target rig - the pin floats and settles instead of chasing the target
• SwitchWeight-X modules set draw length, poundage, and let-off together, so one bow spans 55 to 80 pounds and shifts fit season to season without a re-limb

• Same shooting engine as the carbon RX-7 - identical HBX Pro cam, VitalPoint grip, In-Line system and 342 IBO - built in aluminum for several hundred dollars less
• Dead in the hand - owners consistently report no felt vibration, the riser settling instantly after the shot
• Quiet shot signature, measured at 80-81 dB on a meter, putting it among the hushed bows of Hoyt's 2022 line
• VitalPoint grip is tacky and thin, locks the hand in a repeatable spot, and stays warm where the old hard plastic grip went cold
• Let-off switches between 80% and 85% with one screw inside each module, so the same bow stays legal in states that cap it at 80%

• Tuned for a smooth, forgiving draw over raw velocity - a shooter chasing maximum speed can flip the FlipDisc to Performance for roughly ten more feet per second, or step to the faster Core SR
• Angling the GripLock grip far out from the riser adds a touch of hand vibration - most owners find it feels best tucked in tight against the riser, which is a two-screw adjustment

• Some early-2024 RPD limbs splintered - Mathews' indefinite pass-down warranty covers the limbs even on a used bow, swaps the full set in about a week or two, and reports the fault resolved on current production, so new or used is protected
• The valley is a touch short and the cam wants to keep going, so pull-through shooters staying leaned into the firm wall are rewarded - anyone who likes a long, relaxed valley may want to shoot one first
• The stock Engage grip is rounded and full for a performance bow - some owners swap to Mathews side plates or an aftermarket grip, an easy, inexpensive change if the factory shape does not suit your hand

• Back wall carries a touch of the familiar Hoyt softness rather than a concrete stop - release-aimers who want a hard wall can firm it up by setting let-off to 80%, though most hunters find it comfortable as-is
• A half-pound heavier and quicker to chill than the carbon RX-7 twin - a grip wrap or gloves handles the cold, and it is the trade for paying several hundred dollars less