There's no difinitive answer. You're better off asking the differences, shooting them, then deciding which you like more. I personally like a single cam. TO ME, it's more smooth on the release and the speed is basically equivalent. I thought the dual cam bows had a slightly more smooth draw but a much more fierce release. I wasn't used to that and it was causing me to grip the bow hard which put my form out of whack. You're probably not going to make a decision on which bow based soley on the fact of single vs dual. I've seen people make that decision but never really understood it.
Also, realize the technology has come a long way. Therefore some of the old stereotypes aren't nearly as prevalent. For example: you give up speed with a single cam bow (now they are all running in the same speed ranges) or that you have to be very careful to keep your dual cam bow in time (now it's pretty difficult to get them out of time, and even on a single cam bow, this can be an issue)
The Dual cam bows I have shot are very fast but a bit unforgiving, the solo cam bows I have shot sub are 300fps, but are smooth and very easy to draw and shoot. My Martin Firecat and the Mathews switchback are pure hunting bows with a seemless draw curve that lets you pull back and almost never feel the valley. They also don't try to rip your elbow out of the socket if you creep away from the wall. The dual cam bows are by a margin faster, usually have a short brace height, and are brutal to let down and will almost always try to separate your elbow if you creep away from the wall. For me the ability to smoothly draw in any position with absolute minimal movement and to be able to let down over and over while spot and stalk hunting is critical. I'm a solocam kinda guy. I don't care that they usually shoot (with hunting arrows) under 300fps. For those who feel the need for speed regardless of effort, and smoothness the dual cams with the shortest brace height are all about that kind of archery. Those are more or less the two extremes. There are lots designs in between, but that has been my experience with the two designs.
Don't get too caught up on speed. Mathews Z7 Xtreme has an ibo of 330 fps and is a single came Hoyt CR32 has an ibo of 323 fps and is a dual cam, as does the carbon element. However, both bows are hugely different feeling during the shot and 7 fps makes no difference. I bought a new bow in March. The best advice I can give is sit down and list out all the things you want your bow to have... for example brace height over 7 inches axle to axle under 32 inches ibo of 320 fps or greater under $800 (bare) ... then go find all the bows that meet this criteria and shoot them. that is what I did when I went to purchase my z7x and i did the same thing with all the accesories. to this day, I have 0 regrets and no buyers remorse whatsoever. also have fun
Thats a good point! The Z7 can also be purchased with as the EZ7 which has a cam design much more like the SwitchbackXT It's also a bit longer I think. It would be a slower but far easier to draw-release and shoot. I heard the mathews guy say it was kinda going back to the Drenilin and switchback design to give hunters a more comfortable fun bow to shoot. For some the fun is in the speed, so this may not be for everyone. However to the last posters point. Both are single cam and both have a far different design intent for different people.
There is no "best" there is only different and those lines are even blurred now, as pointed out above. The smoothest modern bow I've ever drawn is a dual cam (twin track binary). One of the fastest I've shot was a single cam. They each have their unique tuning issues that need to be understood to make them perform at their peak but I would never say that one is any "better" than the other.
I couldn't agree more. Although I prefer dual cams over single (not solo) cams, I do own both and thoroughly enjoy shooting both. There is no one better than the other except for your own preference. Shoot as many as possible, you'll find the one that fits you best.
Hoyts run low on their speeds... I'm getting 300fps out of a 60lb 28" draw hoyt rampage xt (same cam system as the others) A 70lb Hoyt at 30" w/350grn arrow will shoot faster than 323... I researched it... because I couldn't figure out how I was getting so much speed out of mine at 60lbs. But I agree with what your saying about the solo/dual... It really doesn't matter these days. Just had to jab at you for picking on hoyt. :D
solocam in my opinion aree better first off easy draw and solid back walls and dont want to launch forward but their not as fast and the string streches out 2 times faster then a dual cam also with dual cam u have to synchronise the cams
The feel of each is entirely a personal preference. Some like the feel of a single cam over a dual or hybrid system. Other the exact opposite. I personally like the feel of a dual/hybrid much better than the single cams. Also, through the years, I've found that the duals and hybrids are easier to tune. With todays pre-stretched strings and cables, the issue of timing/synch and keeping them that way is all but a thing of the past with dual cam, hybrid and binary systems. You will typically get much better speeds out of the hybrids and binary cam bows as opposed to single cams. You'll usually notice that if a particular single cam bow is getting impressive, higher speeds, it usually comes in the form of a more aggressive cam, shorter brace height, highly reflexed riser or a combination of those attributes. This all leads to a bow that is typically less forgiving to shoot. IMO, the single cam is almost at the end of its rope. Sorry Mathews fans. There is a reason that almost all companies have abandoned the single cam for other configurations, like the Binary and Cam 1/2 systems. For one, these "new" systems can be tuned and kept in tune better, thanks in large to new string materials and building methods that effectively eliminate the age old problem of string stretch that causing dual cams to come out of time/sync. And secondly, there is a much higher ceiling in terms of what can be tweaked, redesigned, etc., with the dual/hybrid systems. You're not locked into getting all you can out of a single cam. You can make adjustments or reconfigure the whole system to get more speed/performance out it. There simply is not a lot more than can be done with a single cam system. IMO, Mathews has beaten that horse to death. However, there is nothing wrong with the single cams. They work, and Mathews has refined it as well as anyone over the years. They're shootable, quiet and make excellent hunting bows. Just don't expect extreme performance out of them. If that is what you want, I'd look into the new hybrid/binary system bows on the market.
