Got a chance to get my hands on both these bows today. Below are my thoughts on each one. Elite Option 7- Great fit and finish. The new Rhinodize looks and feels way better than the previous stuff they used. Only time will tell on longevity. The riser looks way cool in person. I didn't like the riser from the pics but as soon as I saw it hanging I knew that was an illusion. In person it is a killer looking bow and you don't really get the "Thats a Bear bow" when looking at it in the flesh. Really looks like a refined Impulse riser. I had to shoot it in the 29" setting at 64lb. I am used to shooting 30" at 55 so take this for what it is and that is a first impression. The draw is SMOOTH at least for me. Loads a little on the way up but everything is where I like it on the way back and pulls very easy. Much like the Impulse but they did away with that hump right before the valley. It really pulls right into the wall with little to no hump or drop over. Really this 64lb pulls more what I would expect a bow at 57-58lbs to pull like. Holds extremely solid which is a given with the limb stops. The let off doesn't seem quite to what I expect with Elite but that could just be the way the stops were adjusted. No huge dwell zone and you didn't really need to push down to let it down like I have felt on other Elites. It didn't take off it held very well an you could relax just a little different than I have felt with other Elites. The new grip is a winner. You hand just kind of melts into it and its just very comfortable. My only complaint is string angle. At 29" it was a little sharp so I know at 30 or 30.5" it will probably be a deal breaker for me on this bow. When you get over about 29" draw a 32" ATA seems to just not quite be enough to get that angle right. On the shot there is nothing. No vibration, barely any noise, no jump, just nothing. It was awesome. I would love to get my hands on a Revol as this bow really seems to an improved Impulse and the 35" ATA on the Revol would probably be right up my ally. Sadly the Revols won't be around till May. Overall 8.5/10 for me. Forgot to add in price. Shop guy said the Options would be around $1200 mark. He wasn't 100% as he hadn't had time to sit down at look at the cost sheet. He had just got back from ATA. Mathews Halon 32 6"- I know this one has been out a while but I was waiting for Elites to be available before I shot anything. Shot at 29" at 64lb. Tried to get apple to apples but they just had the 6" in the 29" draw. This bow has a great looking finish as well. Not as attractive to me as the Elite but still a good looking bow. This basically feels just like the Halon from last year which makes sense. Unremarkable but nothing really wrong with. It seems the draw is front loaded which isn't really good for me. Takes a bit to get it going but when the cam rolls over about halfway through the cycle then it seems to ease up into the back wall. This 64lb pulls like I think 64lb should pull which is a little more than I like. Nothing really wrong with it just not my cup of tea. The back wall is a touch spongy with the cable stops but again it is fine. One thing that did take me by surprise is when relaxed it seemed to kind of want to take off a bit. Nothing bad just had to keep my eye on it. On the shot it is pretty good. Maybe a tinge of vibration but nothing you would notice after some accessories are mounted. If I didn't shoot this bow right after the Elite I would say this bow was dead in hand. But in comparison the Elite has it beat. String angle is better on this than on the Elite which makes sense with the Mountain bike wheels for cams giving the illusion of a longer ATA. All in all this is a fine bow but with with what Elite is offering I probably won't look twice at them. Overall 7/10 Want to shoot the Tempo, the Impulse 34 again, and the new G5 Centergy. Also, going to give the Hoyts another go but since they didn't do a whole lot with the line from last year I am not expecting much. Those were the worst bows I have shot in the last 5 years since I have been trying to shoot everything I can get my hands on. Unfortunately those brands will about do it for what I have in my area. Wish we had Obsession but we don't. I'll report back when I get to shoot those. May be a bit. I am trying to sell a guitar to finance a new bow so I'll probably wait till I have cash in hand before I get back out and shoot.
