Anyone with 1st hand experience? (Bow manuf question)....

[michsteelguy]

I plan on upgrading my current bow (fairly soon), with a completely new setup, and was hoping to get some opinions from some of you guys with HANDS-ON experience with manufacturers or products. I'll be more specific...... Heres the 2 bows that I have widdled it down to: Elite (energy 32) and G5 (Prime). Now, I do realize these bows are completely different, and I'm not trying to compare apples to oranges, but rather wondering about just the companies!

1. Yes,...... I plan on shooting both, and know that comfortability is THE #1 factor (for me)!

2. I have read (and saw reviews) about Elite bows and all seem VERY good. I'm quite impressed what I saw and really hoping that everything i read turns out to be true.

3. Talked to a local proshop owner (sponsored hunter.... with TV shows), and he says both are good but,..... G5 is better for 1 reason or another. He may be right, but thats one of his sponsors and sells G5 product..... (does not stock elite).


*** Heres a big one:

4. When I can, I like to support local businesses and G5 manuf is about 3 miles from my house!the proshop informed me of the free maintenance services offered by G5 with new purchase which is an added bonus!


So...... I guess to make a long story short, if cost were equal, does 1 company stand a little taller over the other? Has anyone ever had negative customer service or product issues? Hoping to get neutral party opinions from ACTUAL customers of either bow manufacturer. Thanks for any input you guys could add.

 

[Colberjs]

I know you said "hands on" and as close to that as I have been is test shooting the Elite. But one thing to consider is the warranty. Elite has a lifetime warranty and if your bow gets damaged on a hunt they will overnight you a loaner bow set up to your specs to the closest place to your location so you an continue to hunt until you can get yours repaired. That's pretty stand up customer service.

As soon as I can I will be selling my Hoyt Faktor and picking up an Elite myself. I know nothing about the G5.

 

[michsteelguy]

Thanks for your input..... every little bit of info helps. Much appreciated!

 

[TimeOnTarget]

I've never shot either of the bows mentioned. But I really think its hard to find a bad bow from any brand these days as long as you stay with their higher end stuff.

Find one that feels good to you and go with it.

I wouldn't limit yourself to those 2 brands either.

Or you could just get a Mathews

 

[pabearhunter]

Get a MATHEWS that is all that needs to be said.

 

[Jorgy]

I shoot an elite 35 (not 32), as stated above, lifetime warranty - hard to beat. I absolutely love mine. For me, it's the best bow I have ever shot. Feel, smooth draw, back wall, it's the best.

The only knock that I will give acknowledgement to on the Elite's are that they are not the fastest out there, but I'm not hung up on having the fastest bow.

 

[brownbear932008]

I was always a Hoyt man until I shot an ELITE! I now own two elites I have a 14 Hunter model that was my first one and I love it great shooting bow smooth as can be hunted with it last season had a great time flinging arrows all summer from it. This winter I picked up a 15 Energy 35 and well it out performs the Hunter which I found was hard to believe. The warranty can't be beat and the smoothness of those two bows and any other Elite I've shot amazes me the back wall is very solid. I gotta say Elite all the way even though I too have heard good things about the Prime bows.

 

[Epfd217]

I haven't heard a thing aqbout the Prime bows. They are very new and the only thing I've ever seen about Prime is high buck advertising.

That being said, Elite started the same way and has made a name for themselves. Elite has consistently been discussed as one of the "finest" bows out there as far as finish quality is concerned. Elite is still developing a larger user base.

It seems that you have settled on these two bows based on research, but not actually testing out the bows yet. I would say that you need to shoot all of the bows, not just the ones you like on paper. You're in the pro quality range for bow shopping so trying out the offering from the other major companies isn't going to cost you any more money and you can get real hands on experience with the bows rather than reading internet reviews. Just my two cents.

In 2008 I was dead set on getting a certain bow based on the reviews it got. In the end, I chose between two bows that I wasn't even interested in. I still that bow today and the only reason I would upgrade is to try out the new stuff. The old bow still fits and shoots awesome.

Sorry that doesn't address you're questions about Elite and G5.

 

[Pecos7744]

Shoot every now you can get your hands on several times.. You will know when you find the right one. For me that was Mathews.. And surprisingly the worst how I shot was a Hoyt. But a bow is a very personal choice and as every one feels the bow differently the one for you is the one that feels the best

 

[emrah1028]

I've shot the E35 and the Prime Ion at an archery store. Both great. You're just going to have to shoot them and decide. I wouldn't limit yourself to just those two though. Pretty much every bow out there is pretty damned awesome these days. If you want another comfortable, shootable hunting bow, check out the Synergy from Elite as well.

I'm not an Elite fanboy, but I do have a 2008.5 Z28 I'll never part with. I'd have a Synergy or a Prime Ion if I could afford it.

The Bowtech Prodigy is pretty damned sweet too, as is the Mathews HTR. Go shoot a bunch. You'll see.

Emrah

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Most of my archery career has had me shooting a Hoyt (with a short stint with Bowtech), but a couple of years ago I decided to give an Elite a try. I picked up an Elite Answer (precurser to the Energy 35), adn very quickly hung my Hoyt Carbon Matrix up in the shop.

IME, the biggest thing I like about the Elites over other bows is the draw cycle. Both my Hoyt and Elite are set at 74lbs, but my Elite feels like I am drawing 5-10 lbs less than the Hoyt. The other aspect of the draw cycle that I like is the length of the valley. While I do believe that having too long of a valley can promote bad habits, my Hoyt's was super short to the point of making shooting in ackward positions difficult. My Elite has just enough valley where you still need to maintain back tension, but is still forgiving enough.

The only concern I have heard from Primes is that when they first came out most shops couldn't replace strings and cables, and were sending them to the factory to be maintained, but that may be rectified now. I would definately ask the question before I bought one.

 

[wildaggie13]

1 Vote For Elite

I have shot Mathews my entire archery career, until this past year. I went to a shop and shot 6 different brands of bows. All were very similar except 1 that was totally different than the rest. I pulled them all back without knowing which bow I was holding and every time I picked the ELITE 32 as my favorite. I hated to do it, but I went against Mathews and my accuracy has increased. I can hold my pins exactly where I want it now without circling the bulls eye.
You have to shoot it to see for yourself.