Rick James

I don't have a horse in this race, but I will say the Drens we have had in the shop shoot VERY close to the advertised speeds. Much more so than any other Mathews I have seen personally. I had our demo bow @ 29" and 70lbs shooting 352 grains at 312ish with a loop and peep.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Matt (RJ), Your Drenalin shot like a dream. Excellent bow no doubt, I enjoyed shooting it other than the handle.[8D]

It's a shame we won't have more time on Saturday for lunch between hunts. We could make a day of it with all of us. So what are you plans all day?

Rick James

Honestly, I'm gonna be hitting the woods pretty hard most of the day and spare time will be for lunch with you guys, and work on the cabin. I'm picking up the rest of the paneling, drywall, lumber for the bunkbeds, and mattresses as well tomorrow during my break between morning and afternoon hunts. That project will keep me busy during non hunting time most of the weekends from now till rifle season. I gotta get that thing finished.......it's starting to get cold in there at night as you know.

PABowhntr

This is a great discussion from my standpoint. I have always asked what we gain by going from one price point to the next. Here we have a discussion where one person mentions thattheMarquisis faster and less expensive than a comparable model. Another person steps up and mentions thatthe Marquisis heavier with very similar specs to a less expensive model from another company.

What are we paying for? Maybe that should be the question we are asking here.

As someone that currently owns the Marquis I can tell you that it is fast, accurate in my hands and has the second lowest level of noise from any compound bow I have owned/tried in recent memory. For many folks that is enough to justify the high price tag.

The quality of construction and attention to detail might be something that motivates someone else to buy it. If you look at the bow's components..everything from the sealed ball bearings in the cams to the stainless steel stabilizer mounting...the bow screams quality.

One cannot ignore the design itself either. The bow is able to deliver arrows at very impressive arrow speeds while still keeping all other characteristics typically associated with a fast arrow to a minimum (noise, vibration, etc...).

Yes, it does feel a bit heavy compared to some other bows I have owned but after I shot it I really did not find it to be that big of an issue. If weight is that much of a concern then pick up the Black Ice. It is 3/4 of a pound lighter and a bit more compact. In any case each bow is designed to suit a particular person's wants and/or needs. No bow is going to work for everyone.

Lastly, the bow really is fun to shoot. The first time I shot it I was really surprised by the low noise andvibration levels. Then, when I noticed how fast it was putting out arrows I was even more impressed. After having owned/shot alot of bows in recent years it takes alot to get my enthusiasm up but this bow definitely does it. I look forward to getting it out and shooting it this evening.

Red Boar

Good discussion regarding relative performance on these bows. I currently shoot a Switchback, but I'll have an open mind when I purchase my new bow this year. I've never understood the gripe, however, regarding the Mathews grip. Easiest thing to change out...Tourqueless grips are great, for example. Don't know if it is fitting to overlook a bow for one small feature. I'll be most interested in hearing how the Airbourne line performs when planning my new purchase...of course, I'll look at what Mathews has to offer as well. Guess I've never been a fan of the posts on here that go something like, "my bow rocks, your bow sucks". (that is certainly not directed at you Rob). Keep the information coming.

quiksilver

I agree Red. I'm all about numbers. Show me the documented speed, no fluff. Show me the asking price. Weight, ATA, Brace, other features...I'mmathematically inclined, somaybe I'm just hard-wired that way.

Dollar-for-dollar, I like to know what the best deal going is... Since this bow has been getting a lot of hype, I thought we should explore that.

I hear "this bow is a shooter"or "amazingly quiet"or some other b.s. subjective, biased response, and it just doesn't answer thequestions that I have. Every year, somebody comes out with the quietest, most forgivingbow ever. 1 year later, it's loud, slow and erratic. Business is business, I guess.

...and you're right - the numbers on these Airborne bows look great. I think Bowtech andHCA (and anyone else involved with that setup)will be making a fortune off of them. I just hope they're priced fairly, from a consumer's perspective.

"2 Kilograms..." I'm still amused by that one.

So, I think the crux of this whole discussion is that: The Marquis is clearly a better value than the Mathews offerings, just a half-pound heavier. I'm 100% confident in that assessment.

What we don't know is how it stacks up against the lower-priced one-cammers. I think it's worth noting that almost ANY of the lower-end one-cam bows are a better value than the Dren or the Switch. My ultimate opinion of the Marquis will be based upon if she can outperform her "other" competitors - not the Mathews. I'm already convinced that the Marquis is a much better value than the entire Mathews line.

ijimmy

Hopefully the diamond will shoot straight , they do have eye catching camo , something mathews could improve upon , I dont know what kind of string diamond uses , but thats another issue I have with them

Greg / MO

I think the question has been pretty much answered from everyone, and Rob and Frank have really helped to highlight some points of clarification.

Scott (buckeye) pointed out the likeness to the Patriot SC, which I made reference to when mine arrived last Friday. It's more of a throwback to that model than anything else... I would say it shows a manufacturer which listens to its customers and brings out a bow with similar specs to a bow that its customer base regarded as one of the best of all time in its past lineup... How many years have Mathews fans been SCREAMING that they'd buy a new Mathews if "only they'd build a modern one with MQ 1-like specs"?

After having shot Mathews for five years before moving to Bowtech, I can verify also what Rob said: The first thing I did when I got one in was to remove the grip, replace it with a Tronjo and order a new set of strings for it. That's at LEAST $100 worth of upgrades I -- and a LOT -- of people feel need to be made just to get it on a level playing field with some of its competitors. I know of at least one popular custom string maker who has been repeatedly asked to build custom strings which looked like Zebra strings because they were supposed to be shooting Zebra but couldn't stand the quality... [:-]

I've said before that if you take those two components out of the mix when looking at a Mathews, they make a VERY solid bow; there's a reason I shot them for as long as I did. But if you're going to compare apples to apples, you simply can't turn a blind eye to those two pieces of the puzzle.

I think the Marquis brings a LOT of value for its price, and definitely has a worthwhile place in the market and is very deserving of its spot in the lineup.

Greg / MO

I was typing as you posted your last responce, Fran... and my answer went to your first query. I see now it's somewhat late to the table, but perhaps still good information for our readers.

MOTOWNHONKEY

Bowtechs limbs aren't even close to those Drenalin Limbs. Two totally different products. The Drenalin sells for 649 at my Pro shop all day long. Who ever is charging 800 is a thief.