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In the case of any good model rivalry, followers of 1 are ruthless critics of the opposite. What number of Chevy vehicles have you ever seen bearing window stickers depicting that younger man relieving himself onto the Ford emblem—and vice versa?
If we had been to seek for an equal rivalry within the bowhunting world, Hoyt vs Mathews must be it. Each firms have been constructing unbelievable compound bows for many years. However in case you’re a Hoyt man, odds are you don’t take care of Mathews. And in case you’re a Mathews man, you in all probability don’t like Hoyts. The explanation for this has as a lot to do with the manufacturers’ advertising and marketing because it does with the bows themselves.
Simply take a look at the web sites for the 2 bow firms. Hoyt’s homepage is basically set on a white backdrop. Mathews’ is generally black. Black and white. Day and night time. Good and evil? That is likely to be a bit a lot.
Mathews’ present model callout is “Elevating the Archery Expertise,” though they’re in all probability finest recognized for “Catch Us in case you Can,” which was their signature slogan by way of the Nineteen Nineties and far of the 2000s. The phrases are totally different, however the message is identical. Mathews leads the best way. Everybody else is consuming their mud.
Hoyt’s present tagline is one they’ve had for a few years, “Get Critical. Get Hoyt.” The implication, in fact, is that you simply’re simply an on a regular basis, neophyte bowhunter till you decide up a Hoyt.
The place Hoyt and Mathews excel of their advertising and marketing is that they create their very own cultures. Whenever you personal a Mathews or Hoyt, you’re a part of a crew. You bleed black and gold. Or, you bleed purple and white. Influencers and professionals assist drive that loyalty. Simply as Patrick Mahomes is the rationale thousands and thousands are followers of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, Levi Morgan and Chris Bee convey fanbases to Staff Mathews, whereas Cam Hanes and Jesse Broadwater encourage others to fly the Hoyt flag.
Spend a couple of days in a Professional Store or at an area archery vary and also you’ll see the enamel every firm’s pointed advertising and marketing marketing campaign has. For instance, the QAD Ultra Rest MX2 is among the hottest arrow rests in the marketplace for compound bows. You should buy the bow-neutral relaxation for $269.99 at Lancaster Archery Supply. Or you’ll be able to pay $20 extra for the very same relaxation bearing a Mathews sticker, or $30 extra for that very same relaxation with a Hoyt sticker.
The variety of prospects who will gladly shell out that additional coin for the Hoyt or Mathews sticker is mind-boggling. And would anybody put a Hoyt-branded relaxation on a Mathews bow, despite the fact that, functionally, the rests are equivalent? Name me in case you discover that individual, however I’m not holding my breath.
PSE and Bowtech even have their very own branded variations of the QAD MX2. However those that have PSE and Bowtech bows don’t appear as pushed to brand-match their equipment to their bows because the Hoyt crowd or the Mathews crowd.
However what if we need to transcend advertising and marketing? What are the true variations between the bows that these two firms make? Let’s dive into the weeds of the Hoyt vs Mathews debate.
Aesthetics and Riser Design
Mathews and Hoyts have by no means appeared alike.
Take the 2024 Hoyt Alpha X 30 and the Mathews Raise 29.5. Hoyts for years have employed the TEC riser, which most noticeably contains a bridge behind the grip for rigidity and to assist reduce vibration. The riser is fairly effectively reflexed, which suggests the bow curves away from the archer towards the limb pockets. Mathews risers, alternatively, are very lengthy and largely vertical, with comparatively much less reflex.
Typically, Mathews bows have a extra blocky look. Hoyts are extra rounded. Opposites as soon as once more. What do they are saying in regards to the sq. peg and the spherical gap?
After which there’s the entire carbon issue. Hoyt has been a participant within the carbon-bow sport since launching the 2010 Carbon Matrix. The RX-8 is its 2024 carbon providing. Mathews, alternatively, has by no means gotten into carbon-riser bows.
Cam Design
Going again a number of years, Mathews was recognized for its single-cam bows, whereas Hoyts primarily had been powered by cam-and-a-half methods. The 2 couldn’t have been extra totally different.
The only-cam bows emphasised easy drawing, and an easy means to carry at full draw for an prolonged interval, if crucial. Cam-and-a-half was all about efficiency and pace.
As we speak, each producers make use of their very own variations of the binary cam system — two cams slaved collectively by way of cables. This technique promotes stage nock journey by way of the draw and launch. Although the draw cycles of the Mathews Lifts and the Hoyt Alphas/RX-8 are a bit totally different, for my part, these bows really feel extra related than they’ve previously.
Draw Size Changes
In the case of coping with draw size, Hoyt and Mathews as soon as once more take very totally different roads to get to the identical vacation spot. Mathews engineers are staunch believers in maximizing the efficiency of each bow at each draw size. Meaning draw-length-specific modules.
Say you’ve received a Mathews Raise 29.5 set for a 29-inch draw size? If you wish to see the way it feels at 29.5 inches of draw size, you’ve received to get a distinct set of modules, which price $60. Need to attempt 28.5 inches? That’ll be one other $60, please.
Hoyt, alternatively, builds some wiggle room into its bows. The HBX Xact cam that powers the 2024 RX-8 has three out there modules. For those who’re within the meaty a part of the usual draw size curve, pulling 29 inches, you’ll go for the No. 3 module, and be capable of modify your draw size from 28.25 to 30 inches, in ¼-inch increments.
There’s prone to be some effectivity misplaced at 28.25 inches as in comparison with the 30-inch mod place, however the sacrifice is minimal in comparison with the advantage of giving the archer the power to play with draw size. For those who can’t experiment with draw size, you don’t have any method of discovering the size that’s excellent for you. It’s doubtless many archers may gain advantage from adjusting a ¼-inch or ½-inch come what may.
With a Hoyt, that’s straightforward. With a Mathews, it’ll price you.
Hoyt vs Mathews Bows, Head-to-Head
With markedly totally different choices and rabidly loyal fan bases, we’ve had some fairly epic Mathews vs Hoyt battles within the annual new-bow-launch cycle by way of the years. Let’s check out among the finest faceoffs over the previous 15 years.
2010 Hoyt Matrix vs 2010 Mathews Z7
What an iconic 12 months for each manufacturers. In 2010, Hoyt took its first step into the carbon sport with the Matrix, and it was an enormous hit. In the meantime, Mathews put out the Z7, which is argued by many to be the best Mathews of all time.
The Matrix measured 35-inches lengthy, weighed 3.8 kilos, had a 7.25-inch brace top, with draw lengths out there from 27 to 31 inches, and draw weights starting from 40 to 80 kilos with 75 p.c let-off. It boasted a pace score of 318 fps.
The Matrix was a tack-driving shooter. Bowhunters had been amazed by a 35-inch bow that weighed lower than 4 kilos. Fourteen years later, Hoyt continues to refine the carbon design that was born with the Matrix.
The Mathews Z7 measured 30-inches axle to axle, weighed 3.97 kilos, had a 7-inch brace top, with draw size choices from 25 to 30 inches, and draw weights starting from 40 to 70 kilos with 80 p.c let-off. It boasted a pace score of 332 fps.
If you will discover a Mathews shooter over 45, I’ll wager they’d — or nonetheless have — a Z7. That bow simply appeared totally different in 2015, with all of the cutouts within the Grid Lock riser and its sharply reflexed deal with. It drew easy and shot quick.
2015 Hoyt Nitrum 34 vs 2015 Mathews No Cam HTR
Discuss a 12 months of opposites. Might these flagship choices from Hoyt and Mathews have been any totally different? (I’ll admit to not taking sides within the Hoyt vs. Mathews feud this 12 months, since I owned each of those bows.)
The Hoyt Nitrum 34 was a 34-inch bow weighing 4.2 kilos, with a 6.75-inch brace top, providing draw lengths from 25 to 31 inches, and draw weights from 30 to 80 kilos with 75 p.c let-off. The bow’s pace score was 330 fps.
What was distinctive in regards to the Nitrum was the offset riser. That’s, the 2 major vertical struts forming the riser weren’t in keeping with each other. Wanting on the bow head on, it appeared prefer it was bent. The offset positioning made the riser tremendous stiff — one thing I bear in mind noticing in capturing this bow. It was tremendous correct, quiet, and an actual pleasure to shoot.
The Mathews No Cam was a 32-inch bow weighing 4.14 kilos, with a 6 5/8-inch brace top, providing draw lengths from 24 to 30 inches, draw weights from 40 to 70 kilos with 65, 75 or 85 p.c let-off. The revealed pace score was 330 fps, however I particularly recall not having the ability to get wherever near that pace with my very own 70-pound bow.
The No Cam featured two round “string tracks.” You possibly can’t name them cams if the bow’s title is “No Cam,” proper? The No Cam’s distinctive, matching wheels made it balanced, synchronized, and easy drawing. It was an extremely correct bow, however as I mentioned, arrow pace was a difficulty.
2024 Hoyt RX-8 vs Mathews Raise 29.5
A long time of refined engineering culminated in these two choices for 2024. It’s no stretch to recommend these are essentially the most superior bows Hoyt and Mathews have ever provided.
The Hoyt RX-8 is a 30.5-inch carbon bow weighing 4 kilos, with a 6.5-inch brace top, providing draw lengths from 25 to 30 inches, draw weights from 40 to 80 kilos, and adjustable let-off from 75 to 85 p.c. The bow’s pace score is 342 fps.
The RX-8 is Hoyt’s newest carbon iteration, that includes the one-piece carbon riser launched in 2023, versus the three-piece riser it relied on for years. Gone is what I referred to as the “Hoyt hand shock” of the early carbon bows. It’s such a pleasure to shoot this bow, the RX-8 truly ranked highest within the 5-foot check at Out of doors Life’s annual bow test, the place all bows are shot at 5 ft to easily consider draw cycle, back-wall stability, and post-shot really feel, amongst different options. What’s extra, I shot my finest 50-yard group – .57 inches — with the RX-8 out of all 9 bows we examined. It averaged a decent 3.23-inch group at 50 yards over two days of capturing by three totally different archers. And it chronographed at 278 fps at a 29-inch draw, 60 pound of draw weight, and a 406-grain arrow.
The Mathews Raise 29.5 is a 29.5-inch bow weighing 3.9 kilos with a 6-inch brace top, providing draw lengths from 24.5 to 30 inches, draw weights from 55 to 80 kilos, with let-off of 80 or 95 p.c. The bow’s pace score is 348 fps.
The Raise 29.5 is the lightest and quickest bow Mathews has provided in a number of years. A sub-4-pound aluminum bow with super-wide, cut up limbs is insane. It’s lighter than the carbon Hoyt RX-8. Ever the innovators, one of many methods Mathews shaved weight from this bow was by placing the axles on high of the limbs, fairly than having them run by way of the limbs, as regular. That enabled Mathews to make the limbs shorter and thinner.
The Raise’s draw cycle has some archers whining, as a result of it’s stiffer than what we’ve seen previously. However man, is it blazing quick. It was the quickest bow within the Out of doors Life bow check by 2 fps at 283 fps (60 kilos, 29-inch draw, 406-grain arrow). It was additionally the second most correct within the check averaging a 2.55-inch, three-shot group at 50 yards from three shooters over two days.
Last Ideas on Hoyt vs Mathews
For those who’re a veteran of the Hoyt vs Mathews feud, you’ve already received your thoughts made up, however hopefully this story has supplied just a little context for the rivalry. For those who’re trying to be a part of the Hoyt vs Mathews battle for the primary time (by selecting one in all their bows this 12 months) then right here’s my recommendation: Go to a Professional Store that carries each manufacturers and shoot the Mathews Raise 29.5 and the Hoyt RX-8 facet by facet. Each bows are shooters. It’s as much as you to see which one feels proper in your arms.
Legendary Duke males’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski as soon as mentioned, “Nice rivalries don’t must be constructed on hatred. They’re constructed on respect — a respect for excellence.”
Because the Hoyt-Mathews rivalry continues on into the longer term, it’s the bowhunting world that advantages. As these legends within the sport proceed to push each other 12 months after 12 months, bowhunters will carry the perfect tools possible into the woods, no matter whether or not you favor the black and gold or the purple and white.
