2024 Hoyt Lineup
Equipment
Just seen Hoyt released their flagship offerings for ‘24 RX-8 and Alpha X look like some well thought out engineering improvements as well as performance, I’m not in the market for a new Hoyt yet but certainly tempting!!!
Bou,
Can you ever resist from being a jerk?
Good to know they are out. I’m getting a new bow this next year and Hoyt is on the top so far. Still shooting my 2012 hoyt carbon element and it will become my backup bow.
After my recent neck surgery, I may be in the market for a slightly lighter draw weight than my 2011 Carbon Element. I was just looking at Hoyt bows two days ago. Glad to see the new models out, especially with a 75% let-off option.
I personally was underwhelmed, maybe I’ll change my mind after I shoot one, but I doubt it.
—Jim
Going to try them out after work today! Pumped for the new innovation in them. 80lb Alpha X 33 may be in my future…
Bou, I’m evidently on their email list from previous orders and got an email about 9:30 this morning showing the new models
Come on Treeman “Get Serious” haha!!
Promised a new string system, don’t see that. Promised a new leg system, rubber block glued to the cam. Agree, underwhelmed. Need to get rid of the spacers and come up with something better. Do like the 1/4” draw adjustments.
I like the sound of a bow that is both lighter and quieter than past models. It strikes me as odd that, with so little actual improvement/innovation that occurs from year to year, people actually get let down that a bow company only moved the needle so much.
IL, there is a new leg system. Upgraded the Go Stix to something similar to a bipod for a rifle. Can just flip them forward or backwards instead of needing to unscrew them. I also like the rubber footer for the cam as well so my cam doesn’t have to be touching the ground and roughing up like in the past. I’d say that’s an upgrade. The upgrade of the string system is just new strings and cables for the bows than what they had been using.
I have been in rehab for over a year. At 73 always shot Hoyt, however now looking at Matthew's Impact, someone thinking of older hunters
Oh yeah. It is that time of year isn't it.
Just shot them. The cam adjustability (draw length, let off, and back wall) is super nice. They both are very quiet and fairly dead in the hand. I will say the Alpha X 33 is super cool with how the new limb system is making the ATA feel an inch or so longer because of the less steep string angle.
Still probably one of the harder bows to tune .
Earlier this summer I was thinking about clearing out my collection of Elites and checking our a Hoyt or Mathews. But I sure enjoyed hunting with my Synergys and my Enkore. Initially I wasn't real thrilled with the Enkore, but it shoots great for me and draws nice at 52#. Probably will hang on to the Enkore for a few more years.
Venom, I’ve had no problem tuning my RX7 Ultra. You just need to know what you’re doing.
My last new hunting bow was a Hoyt Vector purchased in 2014. I've been using my 2004 Supertec as my target bow for a long time. I passed in 2023. It's time. Looks like I might be shooting some new bows after the first of the year. As for tuning, I've never had any issues.
I’ve never had an issue tuning any one of my Hoyts. I’ve had them going all the way back to the Super Slam series.
Rather than having to pull axles and move shims around I think people were hoping Hoyt would come out with a simpler method to tune similar to what PSE and Bowtech have. They got part of the way there with eliminating the C clips and paper washers and I’d suspect they can’t do much more to do patent restrictions. As far as I’m concerned this isn’t much of an issue since once it’s tuned it’s tuned. People used to complain that Spot Hogg sights were hard to make small adjustments to and this seems similarly silly.
I’m in the market since it’s been 6 or 7 years but I need to see some speed tests to see if speed drops off when moving from the top of a lower draw length module (say 30” on the RX8 Ultra) to the bottom of the next module (30.5” on the RX8 Ultra). Last year the RX7 Ultra would lose 10 FPS when the above draw length was increased but it should’ve gained 5 FPS. They say they’ve minimized this with the addition of a third module but the exact details are unknown.
Venom is correct, you have to remove the axle to shim the hoyts, pse and primes you do not, bowtech has deadlock, elite has set technology. So yes they are more difficult to tune, but at least they have a shim kit and tool
Has anyone seen the selling prices on the RX 8? Are they selling any bellow map?
Cams only need to be shimmed once. It is not a big deal to remove c-clips and pop the axle out and shim. The Hoyt shim tool really simplifies the process. That being said, I prefer hybrid cams and don’t see a distinct advantage for binaries.
Tilz, what speed are you looking for? I have the Hoyt Ventum Pro at 75lbs 30” and I’m hitting 283 fps at 575 grains. What more or less do you need??
Butcherboy.....
I was a hoyt guy , first a pro vantage, then the super slam. Shot that bow @80 lbs indoors, bowhunter division, fingers, pins, short stabilizer. Never got a 300 but lots of mid 290s & killed a poop ton of deer with it.
Blood,
I’m just hoping to not lose speed compared to my 2018 RX1 Ultra and 2014 Carbon Spyder Ultra. At my 30.5” draw, 70# (+/- 1-2#) both are pushing a 483 grain arrow at 287 FPS. As with most of us a new bow isn’t a need but a want for a new toy….
You’ll be pushing that arrow at 300 fps with your specs on a new Hoyt. No doubt.
“You’ll be pushing that arrow at 300 fps with your specs on a new Hoyt. No doubt.”
I have doubts. IBO speed on the new Alpha X 33 is 334 while the RX8 Ultra is showing 332. Both the Carbon Spyder Ultra and RX1 Ultra have an IBO speed of 330. With those speeds one would assume the new bows would be 2-4 FPS faster. But with the Alpha X 33 I’ll be near the top of the module while I’ll be at the bottom of the module on the RX8 Ultra so that likely means the Alpha X will be 5 FPS faster than IBO while the RX8 might loose speed given last year’s performance when shooting at the bottom of the mod.
I just spent some time watching some YouTube videos and Podium Archery came up with the numbers below at 70# and 30” draw. There were two other reviews I watched. One by Extreme Outfitters with similar numbers (when adjusting for different draw length or weight) for the Alpha X 33 but they shot the bow at 72.6# while the review by Mike’s Archery was at 29” draw
Alpha X 33
350 = 323
450 = 287
550 = 261
RX8 Ultra
350 = 323
450 = 287
550 = 262
Bou, you saw the RX8 price. RX8 Ultra is $2049.99.
Would be interested in a comparison of the RX7 Ultra at 28" vs RX8 Ultra at 28" to see if there is a benefit in speed or tuning of the 2 vs 3 module draw length adjustments. If anyone does or sees such at test on the web.
I remember waiting on a paycheck to buy a 650$ Mathews switchback XT. Lol
2k for a bow.
Absolutely unbelievable
Gene
A guy on AT who works at a shop did a speed test of the Alpha X at 65lbs.
For those curious and not saying they are all like this. But I had a friends bow to setup pre released. So I checked it out pretty good. Draw length measured 30.25” on the dot at 85% , poundage was 65.10#. This was the first bow that I’ve touched that hit or exceeded advertised speed out of the box. Added a Raptor peep which was 18 gr and it didn’t change. All results are in hunting trim. D loop , tied nock set and peep. Numbers checked on two separate chronos over 2 days. And yes the 322 at the bottom wasn’t a typo lol. That’s why it got checked twice. Everything was a 5 shot average done twice. OTBS (out of the box speed) 65# 30.25” dl and 325gr arrow was 347-348 fps
Insane, I don't get it. Two grand for something that will be obsolete in a few years. I'll keep shooting my obsolete 15 year old non flagship bow.
I quit reading when I saw $2000.
Peco, that makes no sense. Obviously, you don't consider a bow to be "obsolete in a few years". Nor do I. My last bow is a 2011 Carbon Element. If I buy a $2000 bow now (likely my last) and shoot it for 10 years, that's only $200/year. Seems like a pretty good bargain to me.
I’m certainly a Hoyt guy, but not ignorant to other brands any of the flagship bows out out by the major vendors are a great choice it’s literally a ford Chevy thing, but just to clarify these prices are not out of bounds as far as industry standards compare that RX-8 to a PSE levitate and it looks pretty cheap if you don’t like Hoyt fine but get educated on todays world flagship bows are exspensive ,but I guess haters will hate…
Everything has gotten dramatically more expensive the past few years. Trucks in particular are ridiculous and gas/diesel prices in Nevada seem to never decrease. On a brighter note, Hoyt only raised the prices of the flagship bows by $50 compared to last year.
I shot the Alpha X 33 and RX8 Ultra today and was really impressed with both bows compared to my 6 year old RX1. Both bows were very quiet, had no perceivable hand shock or vibration, the back walls were really solid set on hard and not X hard (much more solid than my RX1) and the draw cycles were nice, plus they were easy to let down. There was a dramatic speed difference between the two even though the draw lengths (30.75”) and weight (70#) were the same (I watched the shop verify these settings as well as cam timing). On the Alpha X 33 I was near the top of #3 cam module, the brace height and ATA are shorter while I was near the bottom of the #3 module on the RX8 Ultra. Per the shop’s chrono the Alpha X 33 was 14 FPS faster than the RX8 Ultra (477 grain arrow at 299 FPS vs 284 FPS). Since the Alpha is $600 less expensive and has nearly identical shooting characteristics but with way better speed I know which one I’ll buy if I decide to get a new Hoyt.
If speed is important I’d suggest you make sure you know where you’ll fall in the module at your draw length. You can find this information on the Hoyt tune charts on the Hoyt website.
Funny, really, that when someone disagrees, they're a hater.
LOL.
Tilz, what let off were you using for those numbers? There are so many ways to get more or less speed on bows right now.
If the hoyts are anything like most of the other bows reducing the let off won't gain you any speed and sometimes you loose speed with less let off. Its because your shortening the draw by moving the draw stop to reduce let off
Yes Carcus. You’re correct. That’s why I was asking TiLz what let off he had the cams on. I knew he’d be around 300 fps with his arrow and setup…just wanted to see what he had the cams on. Thanks. :)
Ziek, you and I may not think a bow is obsolete in a few years, however. The industry does, and so do many guys here. "Game changer" is a more annoying phrase than "dirt nap."
Ziek, that's 2 grand only for the bow, how much will you spend on a rest, sight, stabilizer, quiver? And will you use the same old release, and ugg, shot the same old arrows?
But I’ve never understood why you care peco? If you’re not buying and you’re not interested, why do you care? It’s my money. I’ll spend it how I see fit.
When you guys go shoot the new bows, do you bring your current bow with and do a side by side comparison?
DC, I don't care how you spend your money. I do care how I spend mine, and when the time comes, I will not buy a flagship bow, and will probably buy another Diamond. I'm happy you guys buy a new flagship bow every year, and the manufactures are forced to improve their product, and that technology trickles down to lower models. Than you for that! Maybe you personally don't buy a new bow every year, but many here do. Now, I'm entitled to an opinion, and it is my opinion that bows and accessories are wayyyy overpriced for what you get and that they do not hold their value. I'm just saying, I won't be dropping 2k on a bare bow. That doesn't make me a hater or means I care how you spend your money.
Peco go shoot some new bows and see how they shoot. I had a similar thought process as you. Thought my Hoyt Carbon Spyder turbo was awesome. And then I upgraded to to a Ventum pro 33. I improved everything on my accuracy. Forgiveness. Speed. Everything. It’s night and day how much better the new bows work. You can alway buy a bow a year or two old. :)
Blood,
Both bows were set at 85% let off. The only differences between the bows were the ATA, brace height and position of the module. I would’ve shot the RX8 Ultra at 30” to see what the speed was there at the top of #2 module vs where I was at on the bottom 1/3 of the #3 module but they started getting a little busier and I didn’t want to take anymore of their time. I do know last year the RX7 Ultra lost 10 FPS when jumping a mod but increasing draw length .5” so I wouldn’t expect much difference this year.
The carbon is slower. Last years models were similar in the carbon being slower. But it was smoother and a bit lighter.
Blood, sure. However I still love shooting my old bow, and every time I kill something with it, I love it more knowing I have saved thousands of dollars by not upgrading every 3-5 years.
The difference in ATA fps between the carbon and aluminum bows is 2 fps. the big difference here that Tilz is hitting on is due to the module position. There can be a pretty big difference in efficiency depending on where your actual DL puts you within the DL range of the module. This is worth considering if you happen to be right on the edge of the module adjustment range.
^^^^ What Matt said ^^^^
The short point of my post above is to pay attention where you fall in the module if speed is a concern. Again you can find this information on Hoyt’s website under tune charts. Hoyt said they addressed this issue with the addition a third module but I suspect they merely reduced it but until someone does a speed test at all draw settings we won’t know for sure. See my link for a test at all draw settings from last year for the RX7 Ultra, you’ll see a 10 FPS decrease when moving from 30” to 30.5” when a .5” increase in draw will normally increase speed around 5 FPS.
Peco, there was a time in my early years of bowhunting when I would buy a new bow every year or two. Even buy two, set up identically. But as others have complained, there is not that much improvement from year to year as there may have been decades ago. Certainly not in speed as much as "shootability", and speed is WAY overrated. As to your comment about a new bow being a "game changer", I agree. It's always been true that it's more about the skills of the hunter than the tools he uses. But over 10 years or so, they are at least worth a look. And in my case, I'm recovering from a 4-level neck fusion, at 70 years old. Last spring I had to lower my current bow to its minimum draw weight for turkey season, and couldn't hunt at all this fall. I anticipate needing a lower weight than that, at least initially. By the time I have it set up, I'll be close to $3000. I will still use my same arrows and release. For something that has been a major part of my life for 40 years, that still seems reasonable. It also seems prudent to buy a top-of-the-line bow, and keep it for a while.
I think the last new bow I shot was a Mathews no-cam.
No wonder you don’t see value in buying new bows. The No Cam was a turd.
Nobody buys a new bow annually to get Material year over year performance improvements. They do it because they like setting up and tinkering with equipment in that way. Their objective and the benefit of the pursuit is fulfilled without fail. Don’t confuse the two reasons for annually spending a couple grand on the latest model.
For the first time in about 20 years, I’m going to try really hard to not buy a new bow this year, ;)
"No wonder you don’t see value in buying new bows. The No Cam was a turd." Exactly! The marketing told us otherwise, and they sold many of those bows.
Speed is one of the last specs on the list I look at. How a bow draws, holds, aims, and ease of tuning is most important to me. Quarter inch draw adjustments, let-off adjustment, back wall feel adjustment, bow grip angle adjustment should all help to get the exact feel I want. Some bows have these adjustments integrated, some will require after market accessories.
"For the first time in about 20 years, I’m going to try really hard to not buy a new bow this year, ;)" I'm going to do the same, I've bought way to many in the past 5 years. What are you shooting currently? Me I have a pse fortis 30 and a pse omen both with the EC2 cam
I actually went and shot the Rx-8 yesterday. Totally bare bow. It shot very well. It held very well.
I had an RX-3 and I hated that bow with a passion. I haven’t been back to Hoyt since I was so disappointed with that bow.
The RX-8 is very tempting for me currently.
However, I’ll Move the stabilizer to the old Location. The look of where it’s at now is just flat fugly.
DC, the lower position makes aiming so much better. I will never go back to a high position stabilizer. It truly makes a huge difference. It also will act like a stabilizer is three inches longer because of the riser design.
Carcus…I’m currently shooting a 60 lb Mathews Phase 4 and I really like it…
Finally a 71/16" brace height now they got my attention
"I had an RX-3 and I hated that bow with a passion. " How did you end up with a bow you hated?
I bought a Mathews vertix that year.
Shot it. Killed a big bear with it. Spent the summer trying to overcome my distaste for that bow. Never could get used to the Mathews feel.
Switched to the RX-3 about 2 weeks before all my hunts started.
Killed a nice bull And a very nice antelope with it. Then sailed off into the sunset.
Does anyone know if you can change out the draw length modules? ie from a #2 to #3. Or would that require new cams?
There is just one base cam. There are 3 different mods to get the whole DL range.
I had this conversation with my buddy last week as I showed him an RX7 Ultra that was sweet. What is hard for me to conceptualize is that I can buy a damn nice deer rifle for less than a bow now and it will literally last more than a lifetime.......................... The last few bows I've ought were 2 year old models on AT for probably 40% of the price of the new retail price.
KY. you understate that point. That rifle , think Winchester model 70 or Remington 700 BDL, and optics for 1,300-1,500 will literally last generations and your grandchildren’s grandchildren will be able to use it if properly cared for.
That new bow won’t last 10 years
