My personal opinion is that Shrewd were ahead of everyone else with the Revel but don’t seem to have managed to keep up. Others just seem to offer better product now. I have not shot the Indx, fullstop, it could be great but which of the Shrewd Sponsored archers are shooting them? (I assumed recurve as your were using the SVT currently and looking at the Indx Lite).
The Revel is still a great stabiliser but I prefer the feel of the Ramrods (I like the Vektors just ahead of the Ultra v3, not tried the v4). Do they shoot better? Probably not but then they probably don’t shoot better than my 35 year old Easton ACE rods - they feel nicer though.
”expensive” stabilsation vs cheap stabilisation is easy to understand. The more weight you put on your rods, the more difference it makes but it is diminishing returns. You have to pay a lot more for a small increment in performance. Hence my preference to buy “lightly” used. Simply put, Revels set up with the same mass and (roughly) the same lengths (13.5” vs 14”) and roughly the same mass on the outside of the damper - the hold is a little less stable (pin movement), the bow is a little noisier and there is a little more post shot vibration vs a Ramrod Ultra V3. (My Vektor have tungsten powder so can’t be directly compared). Switch to a budget rod (eg Epic Fusion Ex) the rod is heavier and the aiming has more movement, on shot the sound is quieter (maybe just a different pitch) but the bow has more low frequency vibration (Because the rod is not very stiff)
My bows actually sound and feel OK with the RamRods stabilisers without any additional rubber. If I was fully fit and competing I might shoot them that way (or at least the longrod) - you could not realistically do that with the Revel and certainly not with cheaper rods (yeah yeah 1990s, no dampers, ACE rods, high weights, high scores, good dentists) - realistically you would be unlikely to find it a comfortable option.
Lastly, of course, a 12mm/0.5” rod vs an 18mm (or fatter) rod really does make a difference if you shoot a lot in wind. Where I shoot, it is always windy - money well spent. Again, diminishing returns, 15mm rods can be had for less but don’t hold
quite as well in the wind.
All of that changes depending on how well the rod suits your bow, how much weight you’re shooting, how light your arrows are, how much mass on your rods, how much energy is going into the arrow vs into noise and vibration etc.
So, in my opinion, to go with the Indx and not be doing it for “the hype” you’d really need to try them first. Is anyone shooting them at top level? The only review on Lancaster is one star. They’ve been around for 6 months plus. I also get that Ramrods and W&W ACX/LX are so popular that is seems like a boring option but…
Oh, and snazzy stabilizers look the bomb if money is not an issue. Well down the list of priorities if money is an issue.
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