We are a mathews house.Mainly because my wife and stepson are learning. I because of past experience,excellent product support and knowledgable authorized dealers with people who know what they are doing.
Mostly though because of the way my mathews bows felt in hand,quietness and 0 issues.
Mathews has been the leader in innovation in the compound bow market for some time now.
I will say that I would switch to another brand( I am not a brand person) if I found something better. In my opinion they are a good fit for me but who knows in the future. Thank goodness we have more choices than just black. The multiple vendors out there keep pushing each other to come up with better equipment all of the time.
I would think that some manufacturers are looking for certain markets where there is a void to fill- mostly by cost.
I can also say that I own good guns, cars and bows why? Because I am a utilitarian and believe in quality.This doesn't mean higher cost = better quality but in many cases it does.Fit and finish is also important to me being an engineer. I can see how it was manufactured and am impressed by that extra umph that is put into a Mathews bow.
Most importantly it is how I shoot (and how it feels) with this somewhat primitive\modern weapon that drives me. A higher reliability percentage in addition to giving the animal the repect of doing whatever is within my means to take it ethically is a part of the equation. I know I could take a deer with a lesser bow but if I don't like it and don't have the confidence of making the right shot at judgement time I am not being a responsible hunter.
Most of today's bows are all good just like guns and cars. Sure an off brand name gun will probably do the job, will mostly be reliable but is it a Kimber? Do I need a Kimber? Probably not but are the better? Does it matter to me what others think? Nope.
Bow technology has been changing so quickly over the years that I think if I stayed with my current bow for 5 years like my last one, it should still compete with some of the bows in the market( as in advantage) ,maybe not the top bow( whomever will be building it then) but it will be reliable still be in the performance game, much like computers.
Do I give a first look to Mercedes,browning,weatherby and Mathews, sure but In my opinion these companies have history of putting out above par hardware.I will always also look at the pool and draw my conclusions for what is reliable,performs to my expectations,has good customer support and is the leader in what they do.So far it has been Mathews in my treestand.