Was at my local shop last night and got a chance to fire a few arrows out of these three. Halon 6 - Personally, I think its fugly as all get out. Draw cycle was very good on this bow and the shot was dead and quiet. Not a fan of the grip. Typical bow from Matthews in my opinion. Nothing really stood out to me. Its a very nice solid bow. I'm not a fan of 6 inch brace bows and if I were to buy one, it would definitely be the 7. Hoyt Defiant - Not sure what to think of this bow. Its a lot of the same old same old from Hoyt honestly. I think the looks are OK. Draw cycle was nice on this bow and the shot was quiet. I did feel a touch of vibration after the shot, but I'm not sure where or what it was originating from. One thing I really noticed was this bow felt heavy. I don't like the ultralight bows and prefer a solid 4lb-ish bow, but this thing just felt noticeably heavy. Elite Impulse 31 - Honestly, of the three I shot, I really think this bow was above the other two. Draw cycle is signiture Elite, smooth, easy feeling pull, and a very comfortable valley. Shot was quiet and completely dead in the hand with no felt vibration. This bow was very "nimble" feeling for lack of better words. Again, I refuse to shoot a 6" brace height bow for hunting, but if I was forced to, this bow would probably be my choice of the three. Compared to the Halon 6, for example, you get better speed, even though the draw cycles of both are fairly comparable. If you can get more speed out of the same specs and similar draw cycles, why not? Truthfully, all three of these bows are winners, but I think the Hoyt is definitely bringing up the rear. I'm thrilled to see Matthews getting out of that Ho-hum yet another single cam funk they were in for years and bring some new things to the table. The Halon is a nice shooter, but IMO lacks any wow factor. Its simply another solid offering. Elite is really gaining ground and I really love what they're doing. Maybe an Elite Synergy is in my future?
Nice review. I'm pretty set on a Halon 6 but i'm pretty use to it so I don't really have a reason to change to say a Halon 7 or whatever. I never have shot the Elites but I have shot Hoyt bows and honestly I hated them. Maybe the newer models are better but I hated the backwalls and always felt like it wanted to creep and take off on me. I'm not the strongest guy so having a nice backwall really helped me get rid of my target panic etc. Last year was my first time trying a Mathews ( No cam ) and ended getting it after shooting a few Hoyts etc. The back wall from the rock mods and 85% let off was my big selling point. Think I might check out the Elites before I buy though just to see what they are like. All personal preference these days but like you said all bows these days seem like are winners and you just have to pick the one you like. Have a good day man.
Truthfully, I think its safe to say if you buy a bow from Matthews, Bowtech, Hoyt, Elite, and several others, you are getting a top shelf quality bow. It comes down to what specs are most important to you as well as how it feels personally to you. I've been a Bowtech guy for many years now and have always loved their draw cycles. However, recently, I'm really starting to like what Elite is doing more and less where Bowtech has been trending. I love my Experience and its has been dubbed one of the best hunting bows ever built, but I really like the draw cycles on the Elites these days.
I also forgot to add that the grips on both the Matthews and Hoyt were less than good for me. I personally do not like a thick grip and prefer the riser and side plates. Of course this is an aftermarket thing you can fix, but for the cost of these things, I don't want to have to spend more for the grip I prefer.
Unless I'm incorrect the IBO on an Impulse 31 is 343 fps where the Halon 6 is 345. They're really neck and neck in the speed and draw cycle department.
I'll be honest, I've yet to hear someone say they shot an Elite and hated it....maybe critiqued it some never hated it. I got a serious lack of dealers in my area for them...gonna have to make a trip maybe some time to one.
Ah good catch Justin. I could have sworn the IBO was almost 10fps faster on the Elite. With that said, I believe the draw cycle on the Elite is a touch better, at least to me. It is one of the those things that makes the Elite's "legendary" I guess you could say and is a major selling point for them. I find it interesting how both Elite and Mathews are basically doing the same thing with their bows. Mellow cams for draw cycle experience, and short brace heights to maintain respectable speeds. The one area that Bowtech has strayed away from in recent years has been with draw cycle. Its pretty good, don't get me wrong, but for a pure hunting bow, they're a bit on the aggressive side for my liking. This is one of the big reasons I have contemplated on switching to something like an Elite.
You all can count me as an Elite fan boy. In over 30yrs of shooting a bow, they are the smoothest drawing bow I have ever stretched a string on. Blessings..........Pastorjim
To clarify something. I believe many refer to smoothness as how easy the bow is to pull back, or perceived weight you're actually pulling. I believe smoothness is really the cycle itself, example, how fast you hit peak weight, how long you hold that weight and how abruptly you fall into the valley. I have noticed a few things in recent years and what these companies are doing to achieve one thing or another. Years ago, I believe it was Bowtech that started stacking peak weight at the front of the draw cycle then gradually relieving weight. It was well received as people claimed the bows felt lighter than the draw weight being pulled. What was actually happening was that by nature, we're all stronger at the beginning of the draw cycle, meaning we could pull quite a bit of weight early on. Some bows stacked weight later in the cycle and it was a bear to pull back. Remember the old hatchet cams? Most companies today do this. If you plot the draw cycles, you'll see how they steeply stack in the first 8-10 inches, then gradually curve until there is a slighly steeper curve into the valley. Some bows simply dump you into the valley. The longer you hold the peak weight in the power stroke of the draw cycle, the more speed you squeeze out of the system. The Elites seem to follow the blue print of the old Bowtechs. They're very mild mannered I find. But, I do think the drop into that ridiculous 85% let off valley to be just a hair on the abrupt side. Nothing you can get used to. But I did not myself trying to "woe up" a bit as it dumped into the valley to prevent slamming into the draw stops. I really wish all companies would post the graph of their draw cycles per model. For some of us, it really can paint a pretty good picture of what the bow will draw like. A lot of companies are messing with draw force curves (smoothness and percieved draw weight) to obtain that sweet spot of easy pulling, smooth draws. They're then lowering the brace heights to keep the speed guys happy.
First bow review of any manufacturers' offerings I've read in a long time, Chris... about what I honestly expected. I've really been out of the bow game for some time -- at least to the intensity I used to be, but I read manufacturer's specs on some of their offerings from time to time; what I've noticed by and large is that no one has really been able to tweak anything more out of their flagship models in the past five or six years (perhaps even longer) than they were back then. Every time I see someone really put out something that looks like they've been able to eek a bit more fps from, it's only because they've dropped the brace an inch again. My gold standard, or "bar" as it were, from the "old days" remains 340 fps from a 7-inch brace height, and 350 from 6". Until I see 350 fps from a 7" brace height, or perhaps realize mechanical efficiencies in the 95% range in terms of transferred power to the arrow, I still see no need to go test-shoot anything new. It's always fun to go do so though.
Nothing new but it's still a lot of fun to dream of 375! (and arrows that will stand up to that pressure!)
Have you shot a bow with PowerShift yet? On the Comfort setting I believe my Prodigy is the smoothest BowTech yet. I think it's smoother than an 07' Allegiance on smooth mods or even the Experience. I wish I had an Experience still so I could map draw force curves on both with the draw board to show the difference.
It's all about preference. I was impressed with Impulse. I almost bought it the night it dropped and I shot it....but I held out. 2 months later I shot it next to the Halon and IMO the Elite felt like a subpar bow by a long shot. I shot it with a guy that has shot Elite since their start, and he even agreed that Elite took a step back when compared to the Halon (side note, he HATES Mathews). I loved the Halon so much I almost ordered one that day. It was the best bow I ever shot (albeit not a fan of a 6" BH). If they could have got me one before my AZ hunt, I probably would have pulled the trigger. Instead, I plan on shooting an Xpedition and an Obsession just to be safe I don't miss anything. Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
Curious which Defiant you shot; 30, 34, or Turbo? I hear they each draw a little differently. I am not a Hoyt fanboy and more than likely will be switching brands this winter. I like my Faktor but I don't love it so it will either become a back up or get sold. I plan to shoot all the bows you shot, plus whatever Bowtech comes out with later this winter.
I did shoot the Prodigy in thinking that is was a more refined and improved version of the Experience. Don't get me wrong, its plenty nice, but I just couldn't see enough difference, even on comfort, to warrant trading up. That and I definitely did not like the cheesy grip they put on the Prodigy. Coop I shot the Defiant 30. Its a nice bow, just nothing that wow'd me personally. Its funny, one of my favorite bows of all time was the 07 Bowtech Allegiance with smooth mods. Stupidly, I sold that bow. But, the bows I really like right now are just refined versions of that bow in the new Elites. Heck the overall design came from the same person who designed the Allegiance, Kevin Strother.
