Go to an Archery only shop, one that is a dealer for the major brands, tell them your budget and ask to shoot the new releases in your budget range. See for yourself how much is gimmick and how much is actual advances in engineering. Take your bows along and shoot them back to back with the new bows to assess for handling, feel, vibration, noise, etc., also use your own arrows with the new bows to see how fast they fly vs. your own bows, and how the bow likes them. A word to the wise: should you decide to buy a new bow, always buy one echelon higher than your budget. Because if you stay within the budget, you will have buyer's remorse and will be back for the next level up soon! Good luck!

 

...... A word to the wise: should you decide to buy a new bow, always buy one echelon higher than your budget. Because if you stay within the budget, you will have buyer's remorse and will be back for the next level up soon......

This is sound advice imo. I wanted to get a new bow a few weeks ago. Didn't need one, my current bow is great, just wanted one. My budget was in the $800 range. Shot a few midrange bows and one flagship on clearance, and realized pretty quick I was gonna part ways with just under $1000 for an equipment downgrade. I opted for a used bow that seemed to be pretty highly regarded, well reviewed, etc for the same price, and it feels like an equipment upgrade.

 

Only way to truly know is to go out and shoot a few. Darton has reportedly made some good advancements, and while those BowTechs of old [aside from their limb issues] were good shooters, there is some advantage to many with the flip disc tech, and there is a bit of praise going around for how smooth some of the BTs feel in the comfort setting [depending on your DL]. IMO it's always at least worth a look; you may not find anything you like better, then again you might, but you will never know if you don't give it a try.

 

Yep go shoot some, but if you don’t want to spend money I wouldnt go and just stick with your current setups.

 

You need an electric truck to go with it

and a 6.5 Creedmore rifle, suddenly every other cartridge has been rendered obsolete

 

Are we assuming at this point bows like I’d say iPhones that all technology is already mapped for like the next 5 years and that it’s just introduced yearly to keep the sales going? General question, none of this is really discovered is it?

 

Short answer, yes.

 

As stated above, you need to go shoot some bows and judge for yourself whether the new bows are better. You have shot your 2 tried and trusted bows for 10 years and are very confident in them. It is hard to set them down and shoot another when you are so confident in your old ones. However you will never know until you try some others and scratch the itch! Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.

 

Both bows are about 10 years old.

You should have a new bow, goes without saying.
Don't get rid of your old bows.

My Vector 32 is now 10 years old. It's tuned to the last tiny bit, and will shoot arrow for arrow within about 10-15fps of my 2022 Twin Turbo. It's just as accurate, as the main components of accurate are proper tuning, and practice. All accuracy is shooter limited. No bow will land an arrow on the dot at any range, it the shooter doesn't point it there.

My newer Hoyts, 2018 Hyperforce, 2020 Axius Alpha, 2022 Twin Turbo are also nice bows, and the extra let off, which is barely perceptible once you're used to it may help, but they are not so good I'm going to get rid of my Vector, Spyders, and Faktor. I don't sell 'em because they shoot far better than than what I'd get for them.

I just feel a lot of the "improvements" are gimmicky.

If you think the "improvements" will change your life, they will seem gimmicky. A bit more speed, (sometimes), a milder draw cycle, (but not always), most are heavier, +/- advantage, but the last 10 years of bow improvements? not much. How about: at least as much as the stabilizers

 

If you feel the need and have to spend money, get last years model. Still a new bow and the warranty starts when you leave the shop. As a lefty I saved 50 percent on my new to me, new non current Hoyt. Shoots great. Bows like vehicles are shot for years in my house.

 

Last new flagship bow I got was in 2015. Mathews HTX. After that I played with mids. Bear Alaskan. Also the Athens target bow. Those were just ehe. Finally forked over the money for a 2024 flagship. Which in turn it will be another 10ish years before I buy another new flagship. So I would say yes. Buy a new bow, just get the 2024. I know the 2023 is cheaper. But you will regret it. Its kinda nice to have the newest/fancy bow for a year.

 

Been shooting Pse for 48 years. My Pacer for $105 new i still have. Always upgraded every 8/10 years. Sadly, just bought the last 2 bows in my life. Mach1 carbon for the west, drive nxt for the midwest which i can crank down to 40 lbs. Go to a shop and you will see the jump from 10 years ago.

 

Won't the bow you have now work? Mine is over 40 years old and still shoots arrows,

 

In the past ten years, there have been some improvements in module systems and string simplicity. Bow companies come out with new bows every year because they feel they have to. Some years there are good technological improvements, some years they are stuck in a technology rut and they put some nonsense on a bow. Just be careful of the tech rut years. 2018-2021 were technology rut years and string systems got crazy then. If you do decide to get a new bow, look for bows 2022 or newer. They are figuring things out and new bows have much less recoil, are smoother, and are more adjustable than ever.

 

Welcome to the fun.
So need and would like to have are two very different things.
As always. Take your primary bow and arrows. Go to your local shop and shoot what you think you'd 👍 like. Compare them with your current rig. Don't rule any brand out until you shoot them.

I have a press and drawboard. So I enjoy the build process. So for me that's part of the fun. Getting something new set up.

Have fun in the process. If you shoot several brands and nothing 🤷 has to come home with you that's OK. I went to a shop shot several bows. The owner said keep your SR6 it's better than these. A year later same shop said shoot phase4, but wait a few weeks you'll love the new Mathews. I haven't been back to shoot them.

Lol

 

In my opinion, for the most part’s Compound bow are much better than ever before. 10 years of wait time will really show the difference.

 

All,

I currently have a Darton DS3800 and a Bowtech Insanity CPX. Both bows are about 10 years old. I like both of them, but I've been having that "new bow itch" for a while now. I just don't see where the new bows from Bowtech, Darton, or any of the manufacturers are much improved over what I have.

Yes, they are………

 

Bows are more refined, feel more shootable and most brands are more easily adjustable and tuneable than they were 10 years ago. But don't expect too much of a performance (speed) boost. Efficiency in that department was damn near maxed out about a decade ago.

The new bows will feel different. You'll have to decide if that means better.

 

Like asking a bunch of alcoholics if they like to drink

 

 

It depends on your definition of "Better"....

If shooting the same or faster speeds with a smooth/comfortable draw is better, then there are more than a few bows on the market today that are better than 10 years ago.

If you believe speed is the most important feature and were expecting 400 fps, then you're gonna be disappointed.

 

I was thinking the same thing. If you are currently shooting an Insanity and Darton 3800, then a new bow is probably not going to be any faster; might even be slower. Also the cams on the 3800 are fairly hard to beat if you are looking for performance and draw cycle. I believe the PSE EC is actually based off the 3800 cam.

But if you got the money to spend, buying a new bow is always fun

 

Honestly the improvements the last few yrs are stale!! You could find a used bow a yr old half off On AT and get off light. Still have cheddar to buy new sight,rest etc…

 

I don’t see any reason to upgrade. If you like what you got keep it.

 

You have two great bows. No need to fix what ain't broke. I'm still shooting a 13-year-old Destroyer 350. In fact, I have 2 of them. I recently acquired a Solution SS, and am quite irritated with it, because it tunes with the string out of plumb with the riser, whereas both Destroyers's strings are perfectly plumb, because of the split yokes that you can manipulate for perfect centerflight, cam lean, and string plumbness. Save your money. The new bows are overrated and overpriced, in my opinion.

 

I drive a 2003 Jeep and shoot a 2023 Athens Vista 35. I'm sure if I went to a dealer and drove some new Jeeps, that I could easily talk myself into one....with several years of payments as part of the process. Instead, this past March I went to a bow shop and test shot a bunch of top end bows. It wasn't a zen-like experience, "Let the bow choose you"....rather a narrowing down process where the one that checked the most boxes "won".

The nice thing about a new bow is that for the cost of a few new car payments, it was paid off and mine for as long as I enjoy it. Unless you are tight on funds, a new bow isn't a huge expenditure and might put a smile on your face. If not, keep shooting what you have....like I keep driving my old Wrangler.

 

At this point, I’d say year to year differences aren’t really noticeable overall. I upgraded this year after running my last rig for 6 years, and probably didn’t gain a ton. Heck imo one of the big manufacturers has actually gone backwards the last 2 years.

 

Guys ask this "better" question all the time. Better at what? In the last 10 years better would be defined as almost nothing. Changes all over the place but actually better would be hard to define. I spent an entire day at the shop setting up 4 other flagship bows and shooting the same arrow thru paper and a chrono. Measuring specs and shooting several arrows thru each bow. My Reign 6 is still as good as anything made to date. And i would argue an Insanity is as well if limbs are in house. Guys will argue hand shock and noise matter but no idea for what. There is no magic bow period. Find one you shoot well and keep shooting it. New is not automatically "better".

 

Exactly why I still shoot my Bowtech Destroyer 350s, except I upgraded both of them to Barnsdale 65# limbs.