Nice.

 

I shot the Lift 33 today, hands down the best valley/back wall I’ve felt on a Mathews. Balanced, light and dead. I was impressed.

 

The back wall feels like an old school Elite with limb stops!!

SCFox

 

felt amazing on comfort but all Bowtechs do. At first the bow was set at 27inch draw and felt fine on performance. When we changed it to the 29inch position the hump and dump became much more prominent.

See I knew I was not crazy, my draw length is only 27.5" and have always shot my bowtechs in performance, they feel great to me.
Its the same way for me with PSE's S2 cam at my draw length, that is a little more aggressive, but is a little faster.

 

Great info., thanks for sharing. I personally disregard any Bowtech on Performance, the draw is stupid stiff deep into the draw cycle. More and more reviews have the LIFT coming in as the fastest compared to its peers.

 

Thanks for sharing. Surprised by your comments on the Core SR. It's either a bad setup on the bow you shot or somehow a meaningful diff between 27.5" and 29" on DL. I shot the bow in comfort and it felt awesome. Super linear and smooth draw, held lock a rock and felt good on the shot. Was a much better experience than the Lift 29.5 (couldn't shoot 33).

With respect to your comment on the Lift having a very short valley that doesn't surprise me with the SW cams (even the new X version). People think when they shoot a Mathews with an 85% mod they are actually getting 85% letoff. Often not the case at all. The Lift 29.5 I shot was timed and cables right through the tuning holes. Drawing 71.7# on the scale. Had an 85% mod on it yet it was at 79% letoff calc'd off the scale. Felt like a small valley and pretty jumpy at full draw.

I had a V3x 33 - stock from Mathews with 85% mod it measured 80%. With new threads and a full tune I got it to 83% which felt decent and isn't unreasonable but again, from the Mathews factory it was 80%. I then experimented with an 80% mod because of an upcoming elk hunt in MT (where max letoff is 80%). Doing absolutely nothing else to the bow other than swapping the mods it dropped from 83% to 76% which felt unshootable at 70#. Couldn't get that bow to 80% without taking out of spec. Never did hunt with that bow before selling it off.

Point is, those SW cams can give you letoff that's all over the place but they skew to the low side which is why so many people feel Mathews bows have small valleys and often feel a bit jumpy. Most people never actually measure letoff - they just assume the mod is "telling the truth" which it rarely is.

 

This was my experience with letoff on my V3X as well. 85% mod was closer to 80% and 80% was about 75% or less. You would think that since each mod has a specific weight, DL, and letoff, all 3 would be spot on. Kinda annoying that each change to DL and LO costs $60 and it’s not dead nuts on.

 

That's great information predator. Thank you for the write up. I had a Vertix and man was that thing jumpy. Shooting a EC2 Fortis now and I feel like I can fall asleep at the backwall without any issue. You took one wrong breath with that Vertix and it was going to try to take off on you. I think I'm just not a fan of the switch weight cams. Draw felt heavier than it actually was. Like 70# felt more like 75# to me.

 

The EC2 cam eats the Mathews cams for lunch. The draw cycle to performance ratio on the EC2 is SO much better than it is on any of the Mathews SW cams it's not even remotely close. Closest I've felt is recent elite cams (unfortunately they've had a lot of cable rubbing and tuning issues) but other cams from other brands aren't even close and the Mathews SW cam is frankly one of the worst on that ratio. It's unfortunate because there are so many other good attributes on the bow especially with the weight reduction on the Lifts. Improve the draw cycle to performance ratio on the cams and dump the awful engage grip and it would be hard for any other brand to compete with them.

 

Shot the Lift 33, the Alpha X 33 and the Core SS today. All fantastic choices depending on what you are looking for in a bow.

All bows were shot at 70-72lb and all came in pretty close to a true 29 inch draw. The alpha X was off the most and they was only off a tiny bit under 3/16 inch and that isn’t bad.

The Lift felt great in the hand, light weight and easy to move around. Hard to believe that much riser only weighs 4.2(ish) pounds.
The core SS felt amazing on comfort but all Bowtechs do. At first the bow was set at 27inch draw and felt fine on performance. When we changed it to the 29inch position the hump and dump became much more prominent. I was going to shoot the Core SR, but have already shot that and didn’t even really like it in comfort, no interest what-so-ever in that bow on performance. It is just nasty and while 70lb isn’t hard to pull no matter what why subject yourself to that deep dump on the back end.

The valley on the Core SS and the lift were both short but manageable, on the alpha X 33 it felt great. Like you could hold all day. To the ear the Lift was the quietest and it wasn’t really even close. All 4 of us standing there could easily tell that .
Now onto speed. All shooting the same mid-weight 470grain arrows.

Lift 33 278fps
Core SS in performance 278fps
Core SS in comfort 267fps
Alpha X 33 275fps

Hard not to like the Lift 33. I do love carbon and the draw of Bowtechs on comfort but there are a lot of good qualities about that bow. The draw is really nice, the string angle and hold is good. The valley might take a little getting used to (still no one can convince me that in a hunting bow you need to be kept honest or a shallow aggressive valley is a good thing. And all the accessories that streamline and clean up the bow are great.

Shot all the bows you mentioned yesterday and agree with your comments..My biggest surprise was how stiff the Core SR felt in comfort compared to the others. The shop owner had the same opinion.

 

Some good info here. Thanks for sharing. My bow is coming on 6 years old so it's hard to not have a bit of envy seeing all the new bows coming out.

 

has anyone compared 85% vs 80% with the new mods in terms of valley? I felt like 80% was jumpy with v3/x

 

 

Great review! Thanks

 

Nice assessment comments. Thanks for sharing.

 

Just got my Alpha X 33 in last night.... insane bow. 286fps on a 476 grain BE Rampage 250 spine. 27.75 in draw
Around 84 Lbs if memory serves me right.

 

Shot the Lift 33, the Alpha X 33 and the Core SS today. All fantastic choices depending on what you are looking for in a bow.

All bows were shot at 70-72lb and all came in pretty close to a true 29 inch draw. The alpha X was off the most and they was only off a tiny bit under 3/16 inch and that isn’t bad.

The Lift felt great in the hand, light weight and easy to move around. Hard to believe that much riser only weighs 4.2(ish) pounds.
The core SS felt amazing on comfort but all Bowtechs do. At first the bow was set at 27inch draw and felt fine on performance. When we changed it to the 29inch position the hump and dump became much more prominent. I was going to shoot the Core SR, but have already shot that and didn’t even really like it in comfort, no interest what-so-ever in that bow on performance. It is just nasty and while 70lb isn’t hard to pull no matter what why subject yourself to that deep dump on the back end.

The valley on the Core SS and the lift were both short but manageable, on the alpha X 33 it felt great. Like you could hold all day. To the ear the Lift was the quietest and it wasn’t really even close. All 4 of us standing there could easily tell that .
Now onto speed. All shooting the same mid-weight 470grain arrows.

Lift 33 278fps
Core SS in performance 278fps
Core SS in comfort 267fps
Alpha X 33 275fps

Hard not to like the Lift 33. I do love carbon and the draw of Bowtechs on comfort but there are a lot of good qualities about that bow. The draw is really nice, the string angle and hold is good. The valley might take a little getting used to (still no one can convince me that in a hunting bow you need to be kept honest or a shallow aggressive valley is a good thing. And all the accessories that streamline and clean up the bow are great.

I’ve owned bowtechs the last few years. I wanted to try something different this year so I shot both the lift and the alpha x, unfortunately at different stores. I ended up ordering an alpha x 33. I just loved the draw cycle and the valley. I have received it yet but time will tell how well I get along with it. I can imagine that I won’t like it. It should be a shooter.

 

Being a lefty, I'm beyond jealous for those of you that get to try multiple top tier bows at one time! I appreciate everyone's opinion since most shops might have one to try & you better like the color, cause that's your only choice, lol.

I get to test a Lift 33 in Ambush Green tomorrow. A take it or leave it decision awaits.

 

Being a lefty, I'm beyond jealous for those of you that get to try multiple top tier bows at one time! I appreciate everyone's opinion since most shops might have one to try & you better like the color, cause that's your only choice, lol.

I get to test a Lift 33 in Ambush Green tomorrow. A take it or leave it decision awaits.
[/QUOT

lefty here also lol. What did you do?

 

core SS by Bowtech shoots very nice...tunes it in 5 min...Lift and Alpha X did not impress me...I would say Mathews ugliest bow too date..A good year too skip on buying..

 

Full Moon....wanted to make sure we heard you huh? LOL!

Agreeing on your last point thus far. Think I may skip buying anything for first time in as many years as I can remember (often more than one per year).

 

"The valley might take a little getting used to (still no one can convince me that in a hunting bow you need to be kept honest or a shallow aggressive valley is a good thing. And all the accessories that streamline and clean up the bow are great."

I agree 100%. after shooting PSE's carbon bows for the past three seasons I cannot adjust, or want to adjust, to other bows' limited valley. PSE has that stupid easy locked-in feeling at full draw; perfect for hunting. I do not like the Hoyt or Mathews valley as they are not nearly as forgiving and easy to hold at full draw. Elite and Bowtech have better valleys, but still not as good as the PSE CAMS.

PSE's are not perfect, I still think their carbon risers finish is poor and marks easy and their stock strings are barely average; but once you get used to that locked in feeling at full draw it is hard to accept a jumpier bow.

 

"The valley might take a little getting used to (still no one can convince me that in a hunting bow you need to be kept honest or a shallow aggressive valley is a good thing. And all the accessories that streamline and clean up the bow are great."

I agree 100%. after shooting PSE's carbon bows for the past three seasons I cannot adjust, or want to adjust, to other bows' limited valley. PSE has that stupid easy locked-in feeling at full draw; perfect for hunting. I do not like the Hoyt or Mathews valley as they are not nearly as forgiving and easy to hold at full draw. Elite and Bowtech have better valleys, but still not as good as the PSE CAMS.

PSE's are not perfect, I still think their carbon risers finish is poor and marks easy and their stock strings are barely average; but once you get used to that locked in feeling at full draw it is hard to accept a jumpier bow.

You want jumpy...? try 80% with 84lbs .... shes always ready to spit fire...

 

My draws only 27.5-28 inches.. I need all the help I can get..lol!
These newer bows make it much easier to draw than prior models. My father had a 90+ lb PSE in the late 90s... I don't recall what model. I want to say fireflite, but i think that's one of the 70 lb models I have.

 

I prefer to have around 18-20lbs hold weight... anything less and I feel like I get lax and punch...
I can run those 80s all day long with minor fatigue... who wouldnt after x reps? There are some days where I want to plink and break out my 50lb Altus 38. Thats set at a 70% hold...

 

I shoot my Bowtech Revolt-X in the performance setting. I have S2 cams on my Fortis 33. I love both of them, and am used to the draw cycle, alot of folks don't like either.

I shot a lift 33 and it was nice, I really liked it. To me, because I am used to the other two bows, the Lift 33 felt easier to draw, with a smoother cycle. I know that it will be slower than the other two bows I have.

I ordered one in 75# in the dark green color. I think it looks pretty wicked honestly. I haven't owed a mathews since 2010, figured why not.

I am still keeping my other 2 bows because I really enjoy both of them.

 

i just got the lift 33 a week ago and im loving it

 

But are you McLovin it? LOL

 

Thanks for the review

 

Here I am posting in late 2024. Switch from prime inline 5 to a Mathews lift33. I loved the easy start draw on the lift compared to my inline 5.

 

Glad I'm not alone here.....
Been a Mathews guy since my Dad got his first SQ2 in '01, and I got my Used Ultra 2 in '03. Then my first new DXT in '09....
This season I decided it was time for a new bow after just not being able to love the Z7Xtreme Pops gave me as he couldn't draw a compound or much hunt at all really....Don't get me wrong the Z7 was amazing and I killed a deer with it years before he gave it to me(A story for another time). Pops Z7 was just a signal of the end, and I didnt want it, didnt even like looking at it...after just not being "in it" for the last 2 seasons, I decided it was just time to jump in....

I went to Kinsey Outdoors a short trip from my Brother's house, after I gave him Dad's Z7, and shot the Lift both 29.5 and 33, the Alpha X, and whatever else they threw at me, I can't remember I shot 8 bows that night, but it was really just down to the old hoyt/mathews rivalry for me....

Shooting the Lift 29.5, I didn't love it....everything had more of a torque feel to it on release and the draw....
The 33 felt smoother, and just comfortable.....I liked it....and was way faster than the ol' DXT

Then I shot the Hoyt...whatever the gold standard carbon model is now....I didn't like it, was wicked fast but didn't feel right... that's when the kid handed me the AlphaX.....on the draw I wasn't too impressed, as I'm more conditioned to the mathews cycle, but as soon as I sent that first arrow....boom....bow was dead in the hand, no torque, no vibration, no movement.... Was quite possibly the closest I've ever been to jumping to the other side.....

My decision came down to if I wanted more from 0-full draw, or full draw to 0
My decision was settled on the Lift 33, the easier, smoother cycle and draw sold me figuring on cold weather draw....I did the short A2A bow with my DXT, which I still have, and decided the additional length is negligible for any of my applications.

Made my purchase at a mom n pop pro shop, got it all set up and tuned. Got 2 kills this year on opening day, and I am very satisfied with my choice!