This weekend Bowtech celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary with a giant 3D archery occasion in Kentucky, and the star of the present was a brand new, restricted version bow known as the Honor. The spirit of this anniversary bow was meant to seize Bowtech’s most superior designs and improvements, and one among these upgrades features a brand-new riser materials that’s actually exceptional, and will affect bow design and efficiency within the years to return.
A lot of the preliminary response across the Honor bow appears to deal with value, which is a surprising $4,000. However that value contains Bowtech’s best options like DeadLock, TimeLock, and GripLock, plus an excellent Cerakote end, customized Fuel bowstrings, and detailed laser engravings on the riser and cams. The bundle additionally features a top-end sight, relaxation, stabilizer package, quiver, Pelican case, and a customized hanger for the bow. Realistically, quite a lot of high-end compound bow setups value about $4,000 when all is alleged and achieved.
Extra importantly, the fixation over value obscures the marvel that may be a model new magnesium-alloy riser materials that Bowtech is asking AeroMag. I received an opportunity to shoot the Honor bow and chat with Bowtech’s director of product administration in regards to the AeroMag riser. Right here’s what all compound bow geeks ought to find out about it.
Extremely Mild and Vibration Free
The very first thing I seen about this bow was how extremely gentle it’s. Even with a 32-inch axle-to-axle measurement, it has a mass weight of solely 3.6 kilos. For reference, that’s the identical weight as PSE’s carbon-riser Mach 30 DS (which is barely 30-inches axle to axle). The Mathews 29.5 Elevate, which is taken into account an impressively light-weight aluminum bow, weighs 3.99 kilos.
This unimaginable weight discount is because of the brand new AeroMag riser, which is someway each gentle and vibration free post-shot. To grasp why, we’ve received to dive into the main points of riser materials.
Traditionally, magnesium risers are utilized in funds bows and are usually diecast (which implies the magnesium steel alloy is melted and poured into the form of the riser). These forged risers normally require extra materials (they are typically cumbersome) and may be vulnerable to points.
Photograph offered by Bowtech.
On the flipside, the brand new Bowtech riser is machined, like aluminum bow risers. CNC machining permits for a exact and ideal finish product.
However there’s fairly a bit extra to the magic of the AeroMag riser. Based on senior director of product administration Jeff Suiter, the analysis and improvement group at Bowtech found a provider that creates a proprietary alloy that features magnesium, aluminum, and uncommon earth components. This particular magnesium alloy has been used within the aerospace trade and has solely not too long ago grow to be out there on the client degree, in response to Bowtech.
Briefly, the strength-to-weight ratio is way superior to any riser materials that Bowtech has ever used earlier than.
“The alloy that we chosen has actually the most effective properties I’ve ever seen on a magnesium alloy,” says Josh Stevens, a design engineer at Bowtech. “I imply, that is the premium stuff.”
Oftentimes, the issue with gentle bows is that they vibrate like a tuning fork submit shot. However I discovered that to be the precise reverse with the AeroMag riser. On the occasion in Kentucky, I did a fast five-foot taking pictures check with the AeroMag Honor, an aluminum Core SR, and Bowtech’s Carbon One (which in fact has a carbon riser).
All three bows have been arrange with related stabilizers and equipment and I shot them face to face. It was instantly apparent that the Honor bow with the AeroMag riser vibrated the least (as anticipated, the aluminum bow vibrated probably the most). I might describe the expertise of taking pictures the brand new Honor bow as one thing near pure pleasure. After I did my taking pictures, I watched a handful of different archers shoot the brand new bow as nicely. After they first picked it up, they extolled about how gentle it was. Then they stood gobsmacked, grinning like fools, at how lifeless it was within the hand.
I might like to shoot this AeroMag riser in opposition to high carbon bows from PSE and Hoyt, which have additionally confirmed to be supremely lifeless within the hand (my hunch is that the Bowtech Honor would give them an excellent run for his or her cash).
Keep in mind that bowhunters need their risers to be robust, gentle, and stiff. However usually, the stiffer you make a riser, the extra vibration it should have post-shot. Whereas the brand new AeroMag materials isn’t fairly as stiff as aluminum, it dampens vibration exponentially higher, in response to Bowtech.
“It has to do with the construction of the fabric itself, like how these atoms are organized,” says Stevens. “It simply dampens vibration extra effectively … It’s an funding in optimum materials.”
The Rise of a New Materials?
Photograph offered by Bowtech
You’re not going to see AeroMag risers flooding your native bow store this fall (however should you do see an Honor bow, you owe it to your self to test-shoot it). Bowtech is barely making 250 of them. And in response to the corporate, no different main compound bow maker is utilizing this precise sort of riser materials, nonetheless Expedition and Obsession are working with an analogous magnesium alloy.
With that stated, I might not be shocked if within the not-so-distant future we’ll see a Bowtech flagship with an AeroMag riser. If the corporate can work out methods to produce risers from this materials at a value much like that of present carbon-riser bows, we’re going to have an fascinating showdown on our palms.
Previously many archers favored heavy bows, as a result of they have been simpler to carry regular heading in the right direction they usually didn’t really feel jumpy post-shot. However within the final three consecutive years, probably the most correct bows in our annual bow checks have been comparatively gentle carbon-riser bows. The takeaway right here is that it’s very potential to have a supremely gentle and impressively correct bow. There’s rather more that goes into the accuracy system than merely weight, brace peak, and axle-to-axle size.
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I genuinely hope that sooner or later Bowtech will ship a widely-produced flagship AeroMag riser bow that’s as gentle as carbon, as completely machined as aluminum, and boasts top-end accuracy. As a result of no matter that bow finally ends up costing, it should seemingly be nicely value it.
