pdq 5oh

I think BowTech will attract alot of attention from the guys looking for a buttery smooth bow. They can have it in the Freedom cam bows, Liberty, Justice, or P40. People that haven' t yet found out you can have a fast bow that' s very shooter friendly will find that in the Duallys. Of course the Infinity cam bows will be good choices for the single cam lovers. The Infinity and Dually cams have been smoothed out for 04. I feel BowTech will continue to gain market share, as in the past few years.

walks with a gimp

Well you asked what the " hot" new bow for hunting will be this year! I think " hot" means a hunting bow with loads of speed and power, a high brace height that means buck fever reducing accuracy, light weight {under 4 pounds}, a smooth draw and a quiet shot with no vibration. I will offer up the ' 04 Patriot dually as the top pic for ' 04 At 35 inches, it' s still quite compact and the weight at 3 pounds and 11 ounces is one that will allow the addition of accessories without ending up with a heavy rig. The speed of 326 to 334 {conservative} is really more than we need for a couple of ribs on a whitetail but offers the power needed should a shoulder bone find it' s way in front of your arrow. The brace height of 7 5/8 inches is more than what' s found on some very popular competitors target bows. Finally, throw in the smoothed out Dually cams with the friction eliminating bearings to end up with a hunting bow that is super smooth to draw with an easier valley that shoots lights out without waking up the squirrels[8D]
Can' t wait to get mine!!!!!!

Jerry/Pa

Well I guess Pinwheel hasn' t seen this yet. Does anyone know whats new with the Merlins? JERRY

Straightarrow

Only the buying public can determine what' s hot - through sales. The only bows with any real innovation for this year' s models are from Martin, from what I' ve seen so far. Whether this can be translated into big sales, is a whole other thing.

Buckfevr

Yeah that is a very interesting point. And it certainly is part of my interest in observing this. Bowtech has done real well in terms of positioning, but they' re a new company, so they don' t have preconceived attitudes to deal with. And then last year Hoyt did nicely with the cam and a half and that was an established company. I do wonder if the bows from Martin do prove to be as good as they seem on paper, whether the demand will be there. I also want to see what Martin does in terms of pricing.

And we' ll see what Mathews does in response. Sometimes I think that they wait in terms of what they' ll do until they see the competition. But then I' m not sure if that is even possible.

walks with a gimp

I looked at Hoyt' s new ' 04 Xtec today. It' s a nice bow but what I don' t understand is why didn' t they machine a larger area for the sight mount???[:' (] There' s not much more than a 1/2 inch wide area for the sight base to contact. It looks like a weak area to me and prone to stripped mounting screws if the sight happens to get bumped hard. Looks like it was an afterthought to me.

JeffB

The new Martins are definitely improved, but I' m not seeing much innovation there other than the convertable shoot through system. A hybrid cam, a new single and a new dual cam system that uses the same rotating module system Hoyt and Browing have been using for quite some time.

Really there' s not much " innovation" left, IMO. It' s come down to refinement across the industry. BowTech, Hoyt, PSE, & Martin for 2004 are simply making alot of refinements to their lines, which is just fine with me. In fact, in one of my reports last year that' s exactly what I hoped BowTech would do! (they revamped nearly the whole line, but it' s all refinement) Hoyt has finally refined and brought out a near parallel limb bow to get recoil levels down, etc. The LX from Mathews for 2K3 is simply the refinement people were asking for of the Legacy (harder wall, better balanced riser, smoother cam, etc). I suspect 2004 will be no different for them either.

Nothing extraordinary, just turning great bows into even better ones with a few or lots of little chages. But when they are added up, it makes a noticeable difference!

Straightarrow

Jeff, that is the one true innovation I' ve seen this year from any bow manufacturer, yet you seem to be glossing over it. Sure, they' ve redesigned every cam they now offer, added a hybid cam, and have brought to market several new riser designs - all nice, but not really innovative. However, the Nitrous cam is truely something different. Convertible from a shoot through system to a regular cam w/cabled-guard, with 9" of drawlength adjustment - that' s what I' d call innovative. Nothing on the market like, now or ever before from what I' ve seen.

Add to this, the number of changes made, along with their new marketing campaign, and I think they' ve got a chance to make some real strides in the marketplace. They appear to be a company on the move, in my view. Whether they' ll have a " hot bow" this year, is yet to be seen, however they do bring a true innovation to the market.

JeffB

SA,

Oh definitely the system IS innovative as I stated. However, IMO it’s an innovation that will have very limited appeal, unlike say when the single-cam was brought out or some other significant innovation like the Hatchet cam, or high letoff.

The new system will definitely be a big hit with the target crowd that Martin caters too, but in the overall scheme of things, I don’t see this as so innovative to have every other bow company clamoring to get on the band-wagon, just as the Fury-X was not. Those systems have their own quirks that not everyone wants to deal with. Most hunters don’t like or feel the need for a shoot through system (if they are even aware they exist), and those that do likely buy a target color bow for targets, and a camo bow for hunting. The “cross-over” Martin is hoping to get will likely not occur to any significant degree, at least IMO. I’m sure a few guys will buy a camo model to 3D with and then convert to the cable-guard system come hunting season, but I don’t see that being anywhere near the norm.

As for the gigantic amount of draw length adjustment, it’s not much different than Darton’s CPS which uses several modules on one cam to span a very large (but not quite as large) range or HCA’s single cam from last year that not only can be adjusted in a huge range for draw length but also for peak weight over a 30 pound range.

Personally, I feel that kind of ”innovation” is only a boon for the manufacturer and the dealer’s wallets, not for the end user. Cams built for specific draw lengths are the better mousetrap because let-off, wall characteristics (if a draw stop is not used), & maximum efficiency over the FDC can be dialed in for each draw length instead of “de-tuning” the cam for draw lengths less than it was designed for. However, it means a smaller inventory of parts for the manufacturer, and a dealer who is able to set up a greater number of folks who walk into the shop with one bow. This has merit for sure (as any dealer will tell you) but it’s not the best way to design a cam. Neither are modules. But some compromises have to be made in the name of business/costs savings.

I’m certainly not poo-poo’ing Martin’s new line-up, It’s the best I’ve seen from them in years (at least as far as looks and on-paper), and I’ve always held the company in high regard. I just don’t think the one place where they did get innovative for 2004 will matter in the end except among a very small percentage of target archers, just like Hoyt’s new Elite risers. It’s a very niche product.

Their marketing campaign is a whole ' nother ball of wax. Personally I find the T&A focus..well...I can' t think of a good word that won' t cause a flame-war. Suffice to say I don' t care for it. IMO, the advertising should reflect on the attributes of the product, not the attributes of a bleach blonde w/ big hooters n a skimpy outfit. :rollseyes:

Rangeball

According to Ben and Kevin, they are going to be doing away with the HQ 31, going pro-fusion limbs on all their bows, and introducing a 33" ata bow that will IBO near 320, but can' t/won' t release further details until mid Decemberish...

They are also introducing an entry level bow, there' s a pic of it here on the forum somewhere...