[HC Archery]

Have not seen the Alien yet. But certainly have read plenty, etc.

Yes the big one is the upgraded limbs.

The cam systerm by all accounts is much smoother and sounds like quieter.

Looks..... The Alien really is cool looking.

 

[Kelsnore]

Alien...hands down!

 

[RugerRedhawk]

Alien...hands down!

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus, but I was looking for some reasons, beyond looks. I don't doubt there is an increase in quality, and I guess that if the cams are smoother and the limbs stronger that would be reason enough. Anyone out there shot both and can offer their opinions?

 

[cmherrmann]

I had a Firecat and just sold it to buy an Alien. The Firecat is a great bow and for the price is hard to beat. I think the biggest difference is the Hybrix Cam on the Alien is smoother on the draw, plus it is cool looking. Speed wise they are going to be very close, the Firecat may have the edge by just a little.

I would of definitely kept my Firecat if I could afford to have 2 bows but my pockets are not that deep. Overall both excellent bows for the price as with any of the Martin line.

 

[The Guardian]

In another 3 weeks or so I'll be able to give you a side by side comparison once my Crackerized all black 60-70 lb Alien gets here! I have owned a 2008 Firecat for going on a month now & it's definately a sweet bow- there is no two ways about it!:thumbs_up

I love it -very fast,extremely smooth/quiet and has a very solid backwall. Mine sets itself apart from all the other Firecats as I have the only one that was custom made that has Barnsdale coreflex 5 layer maple wood grain limbs! It's sweet looking,do a search of recent threads and check out the pictures of mine if you want to see it

 

[clarksaver]

what is the alien x selling for

 

[RugerRedhawk]

what is the alien x selling for

MSRP is $700 on the alien, I think that's $100 more than the firecat.

 

[clarksaver]

i think you really need to shoot both ,the alien x is the hottest bow on AT right now

 

[CherryJu1ce]

FireCAT vs. Alien

They're pretty much the same bow, with the exception that the Alien might draw a touch smoother. I think most of the difference in price just has to do with all the extra machining they had to do to make the Alien riser look like that. You won't be disappointed with either...actually you can tweak the CAT cam so that it feels VERY similar to the new Hybrix cam on the Alien.

 

[RugerRedhawk]

i think you really need to shoot both ,the alien x is the hottest bow on AT right now

Yeah, I know it's "hot", but I'm just wondering if I would be able to tell the difference between the two with my eyes closed. I am looking to buy a new bow, but I plan on keeping it for at least 5 years. I really don't care about the looks too much, both the firecat and alien look decent compared to what I'm used to shooting. Anyway I am getting some good feedback. I think it does sound like there are slightly nicer cams in the alien, but most of what you are paying for is the stronger limbs and increased machining.

 

[RxBowhunter]

I agree with the above statements.

I owned an '08 Firecat and sold it to make room for an '09 model bow. I chose the Alien-X to shoot this year. I was very happy with my Firecat.

The main difference between the bows for me is the draw curve. The Firecat has a "hump" toward the end of the draw at longer DL's (29.5 and 30"). It didn't bother me me and wasn't severe. Just noticable and I quickly got used to it. The Alien-X is buttery smooth on the draw!
They both have rock solid back walls.
They both are very quiet.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.......I personally really like the looks of the Firecat but the Alien-X is sweet in the looks department!:thumbs_up

So two main differences are the draw curve and looks.