[rookcaca]

Hi,

For those who maybe interested I thought I would share my experience with regards to the Formula vs ILF debate.

I started shooting Olympic recurve in 2010. I love it and I find it extremely enjoyable. My first recurve was a Sebastian Flute riser with some T-Rex limbs. A starter set-up but I wanted to see if I would stick with it and I did.

A year ago I decided to upgrade. I got into recurve when Hoyt introduced their Formula limb system. My SF was ILF but I took notice of all the people shooting the Formula system and read about the benefits. The advertising worked for me at least. When I upgraded I bought a Formula system. This was my second recurve and I wanted to get something I could shoot out to 70meters with. The 22lbs T-Rex limbs were not going to make it

I shot the Hpx for a year, the finish on the riser was beautiful and I had the F7 limbs that came out to 36lbs on my fingers. I was getting 192fps at my 29.5" draw length and really enjoyed shooting it. The limbs were smooth an I could reach 70m with my acc's.

I then picked up a Win Win TF Apecs with some Samick Carbon/Foam Athlete limbs. These also came out to 36lbs and I used the same arrows.
I was curious how these limbs that cost less than half of the F7's were for speed. I decided to shoot these through the chronograph and to my surprise they were only 4fps slower. I was a bit preplexed, I thought the F7's would have been a bit quicker. I grabbed my Hoyt and shot it again to confirm and it was 192fps. Then I shot the Samicks again, 188fps.

I will conclude with saying that after a year with the Formula limb system I do not see any benefits over ILF, they are both pleasant to shoot and more accurate than I could possibly be. I would say ILF has the advantage right now in the huge selection of limbs at varying price points. I did not like being locked into Hoyt limbs with three choices. MK Korea has started producing Formula limbs but even taking that into account ILF beats Formula limbs in selection hands down. I would be interested in shooting a top of the line limb and comparing it to the Formulas considering a mid range limb compared favorabily.

My comparison has answered some question for me:
-Does the Formula system have less vibration than ILF? Not in my comparison between these two riser/limb combinations.
-Is the Formula system faster at the same weight, yes but not by as much as I would have suspected. I would love to put a set of Win Win Prime limbs at 36lbs on the ILF riser and compare. That limb would still be cheaper than the F7.
-Is the Formula system more accurate, not for me. I have been shooting the Win Win for a week and find I shoot it better than the Formula with less preceived effort.

Disclaimer:
I buy all my archery gear with my earnings and the patience of my lovely wife, I do not have a dog in this fight. I am not sponsored ( I wish....lol) by any company or organization.

These are my personal findings, yours may vary.

This is not meant to bash one brand or another. Just my personal findings.

And lastly, what is a thread without pics.

 

[normlefebvre]

Thanks for your unbiased review. Interesting info.

At 29.5" draw, do you prefer medium limbs or long limbs? Are both set-ups same lengths?

 

[rookcaca]

Both risers are 25" with med limbs.

I have only shot medium limbs so I cannot comment on long limbs.

 

[limbwalker]

Formula bows are good solid performing bows. Not all ILF bows are equal. So keep that in mind. There are very good ILF risers (like your Apecs, which in my opinion W&W should still be producing) and there are not-so-good ILF risers.

After shooting a Formula RX riser with some F3 and F4 limbs, I can vouch for the riser, but not for those limbs. They were dogs. I believe the F7 limbs are very good though. If you don't mind paying for F7 limbs, I think anyone should be very happy with a Formula riser. RX for 31" + and HPX/Ion-X for less than 31" draws would be my recommendation.

In ILF risers, the sky is the limit. There are SO many choices and several should fit any archer perfectly.

At some point, all the top bows are essentially equal in performance. Then it just comes down to the person shooting them. Elite archers know this, which is why they become more interested in shooter support than brand name if they are that talented.

I am not sponsored ( I wish....lol)

Oh, and folks should be careful what they wish for. One cannot believe the pressure, B.S. and baggage that comes with being a "sponsored" archer. Most are not up to dealing with it over the long term. Far better to be one's own person standing on your own two feet IMO.

John

 

[rharper]

Made in Korea, Made in USA.

I know where I prefer to buy. I really dig that there is just so much archery product that I can buy stateside.

 

[limbwalker]

rharper, why don't you try "made in Michigan" and shoot SKY then...

 

[rharper]

That will be next on the list. My local shop helps me out by taking care of their 3D course so I run Hoyt. They don't carry the SKY line but I would love to see what it would take to become a dealer even if they are all of 40 minutes away. I'm trying to start up a small group within JOAD of recurve kids to meet along with the usual mix of compound/recurve.

I shot next to a guy with a silver SKY. It looked really nice. He said it was an older version then the new one. He said the old one felt more "relaxed" while the newer one felt more stiff on the shot. Reminds me of the Ion versus the HPX a bit.

Rod