Travis P
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Sep 2005
Location: Williamsburg, ky
Posts: 260 |
I just finished my extended testing with the Mathews 2009 Reezen 6.5. To say that I'm impressed is an understatement. This bow was brought to market to meet the increasing demand for speed and Mathews certainly didn't disappoint. That being said, there are a few trade-offs here and there from the norm as well as some advancements that will be welcomed by the masses, I'm sure. Here are my feelings of the bow:
First, the concrete specs: The bow is 32" axle to axle, a 6.5" Brace height and 80% let-off. It has an exceptionally long riser and past parallel limbs. This geometry yields a very solid and stable shooting rig. My bow is 28/70 RH. Set exactly at 70 lbs and shooting a 350 grain arrow with a loop on the string saw duplicate chronograph readings of 318 fps for every shot I took. The bow is rated 340 fps @ IBO specs and will do that all day long. How Mathews attained such speeds is worth looking into.
While nobody will confuse this bow's draw cycle with a Drenalin (my personal favorite), I must say that it's nicer than any speed bow I have ever shot. I would classify it as aggressive, without a doubt, but not as difficult as some others currently being produced. When you look at the draw force curve it's plain to see that there is still more juice to be tapped if the engineers wanted to. This brings me to my favorite aspect of archery design.........EFFICIENCY!!!!!!
A bow can have the stiffest draw cycle to store the most energy possible. If that energy isn't transferred to the arrow then the effort exerted is wasted. My final efficiency numbers for the Reezen @ 28/70 with a 350 grain arrow were 87.7% This was obtained with a string loop. Had the testing been done with a bare string both the speed and efficiency would've been slightly higher. FWIW.........before the Reezen, I have never tested a bow that broke 85%. When you get into this realm, efficiency increases are much harder to come by than a bow starting at, for example, 77% and going up from there.
Another surprise was how quiet this bow is. For decibel testing, I outfitted the Reezen and a Drenalin exactly the same and shot them each 6 times. I took out the highest and lowest reading of each and averaged the rest. The Reezen was less than one decibel away from the Drenalin's mark. Again, and outstanding achievement for a bow that launches an arrow at these speeds.
Besides the numbers, there are other issues worth noting as well and most of them have to do with the Reezen's cam. The most obvious is that it's a 2pc. design (hence the screws). The cam is still draw length specific to insure smoothness and efficiency are optimum for every shooter. The 2pc. design was necessary due to the milling process used to manufacture it. Many people will be happy to see that this cam, like the idler wheel, has bearings on both sides of it, as opposed to a bushing on one like previous models. While the cam is still perimeter weighted, it does so in a more conventional design of mass remaining rather a heavier material added. Mathews also designed a quick change axle for 2009 with a 2 stage clip. This will save a tremendous amount of time to dealers when changing draw length and allow custom fitting for a perspective buyer much easier than before. Another nice feature is the new timing hole (see diagram). While the 2 holes running parallel to the string still exist, it's far easier and just as precise to set the cam so the cable runs though this hole's center.
The riser itself has a flawless Lost Camo film dip and is more substantial and heavier than other slim limb designs. The wide flat surfaces have an "I-beam" look to them that may have been designed for increased structural rigidity. The weight is listed at 4.15 lbs. The QCC connectors are also a new design. They're harder than what we've been used to and utilize a tear drop shape to them. After the bow is removed from the press, you can now manipulate these new connectors by hand if they weren't exactly lined up.
How does the bow shoot?
Shooting bare, the bow does transmit some vibration to the shooter's hand. It doesn't manifest itself into noise so I could care less.(This test was completed in January. Since then, Mathews has introduced the Harmonic Stabilizer for the lower bushing. It does an excellent job of taking the vibration out of the bow and making it as vibration-free as we have come to expect from previous Mathews offerings. All bows now come with it from the factory, while bows sold before its introduction will be supplied with one free from the dealer where it was purchased.) I put a 5" Doinker Multi-rod stabilizer on it and most of the vibration was eliminated. The valley is the most generous I've ever shot for a speed bow. There is a tolerance there that you just don't expect to find in a bow this fast. When anchored, the bow settles quickly and holds like a rock. The past parallel limbs do an outstanding job of directing recoil so there is no jump whatsoever. From day one, I shot this bow just as well as I shoot my DXT, and that's saying something.
This was done by a guy on the mathews forums.
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Last edited by Travis P on 03-16-2009 at 08:59 PM
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03-16-2009 08:48 PM
