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 certainly one of these upgrades features a brand-new riser materials that’s actually exceptional, and will influence bow design and efficiency within the years to come back.
A lot of the preliminary response across the Honor bow appears to deal with worth, which is a stunning $4,000. However that value consists of Bowtech’s best possible options like Impasse, Timelock, and Griplock, plus an outstanding cerakote end, customized Fuel bowstrings, and detailed laser engravings on the riser and cams. The bundle additionally features a top-end sight, relaxation, stabilizer equipment, quiver, Pelican case, and a customized hanger for the bow. Realistically, loads of high-end compound bow setups value about $4,000 when all is claimed and performed.
Extra importantly, the fixation over worth obscures the marvel that may be a model new magnesium-alloy riser materials that Bowtech is asking AeroMag. I obtained an opportunity to shoot the Honor bow and chat with Bowtech’s director of product administration concerning the AeroMag riser. Right here’s what all compound bow geeks ought to learn about it.
Extremely Gentle and Vibration Free
The very first thing I seen about this bow was how extremely mild 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 just 30-inches axle to axle). The Mathews 29.5 Raise, which is taken into account an impressively light-weight aluminum bow, weighs 3.99 kilos.
This unbelievable weight discount is due to the brand new AeroMag riser, which is in some way each mild and vibration free post-shot. To grasp why, we’ve obtained to dive into the main points of riser materials.
Traditionally, magnesium risers are utilized in funds bows and are usually diecast (which suggests 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 prone to points.
Picture 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. In line with Senior Director of Product Administration Jeff Suiter, the analysis and growth group at Bowtech found a provider that creates a proprietary alloy that features magnesium, aluminum, and uncommon earth parts. This particular magnesium alloy has been used within the aerospace business and has solely not too long ago turn out to be accessible on the client degree, in accordance with Bowtech.
In brief, 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 perfect 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 mild bows is that they vibrate like a tuning fork put up 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 take a look at 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 comparable 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 mild 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 towards prime carbon bows from PSE and Hoyt, which have additionally confirmed to be supremely lifeless within the hand (my hunch is that Bowtech Honor would give them a superb run for his or her cash).
Keep in mind that bowhunters need their risers to be robust, mild, and stiff. However usually, the stiffer you make a riser, the extra vibration it’ll have post-shot. Whereas the brand new AeroMag materials isn’t fairly as stiff as aluminum, it dampens vibration exponentially higher, in accordance with 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?
Picture offered by Bowtech
You’re not going to see AeroMag risers flooding your native bow store this fall (however in case you do see an Honor bow, you owe it to your self to check shoot it). Bowtech is just making 250 of them. And In line with the corporate, no different main compound bow maker is utilizing this precise sort of riser materials, nevertheless Expedition and Obsession are working with an identical magnesium alloy.
With that mentioned, I might not be stunned if within the not-so-distant future we’ll see a Bowtech flagship with an AeroMag riser. If the corporate can work out how you can 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 fingers.
Up to now many archers favored heavy bows, as a result of they have been simpler to carry regular on the right track and so they 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 mild carbon-riser bows. The takeaway right here is that it’s very attainable to have a supremely mild and impressively correct bow. There’s way more that goes into the accuracy formulation 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 mild 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’ll possible be nicely price it.