Bowhunt America

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Last year Diamond Archery introduced the IceMan, a bow that proved to be a huge hit with bowhunters far and wide. The main reason, I feel, that the IceMan was such an enormous success was that it artfully combined a distinctive high-tech look with an agreeable performance package. The IceMan’s sweeping Center Pivot riser––with wide-span limb-pocket system, carbon rod string stop and superb grip–was striking. And its airy split limbs only added to that racy appeal. Then, with the very first shot, the 2009 Diamond IceMan distinguished itself as one of the most user-friendly bows available. Its rotating module made draw-length adjustments a snap. Its no-timing-issues one-cam eccentric system provided almost instant tuning, especially with broadheads, and a silky-smooth draw. In action, the high-flying IceMan delivered a wonderfully quiet and shock-free shot with reasonable arrow speed. In other words, the 2009 Diamond IceMan handed over practically everything that bowhunters really wanted. Some called the bow perfection.

How do you improve on that?

Diamond Archery did by introducing the 2010 Diamond IceMan FLX. The FLX refers to the new IceMan’s FLX-Guard Cable Containment System. That ingenious new system is revolutionary.

For decades, rigid cable-guard systems have been used by every compound-bow manufacturer to tug the bow’s cables off to one side in order to create shooting clearance for the arrow. That worked. But it also imparted some measure of torque (sideways twisting) to the riser. In many cases, that cable-guard-induced torque caused the bow to twist slightly to the side as the bow was shot. That, in turn, created lateral nock-travel issues as the bowstring rushed forward.

In the last decade or so, leading bow manufacturers have worked diligently on their most advanced cam systems to minimize vertical nock-travel issues. That’s improved the tuning capabilities and the accuracy of many bows. But until now, no one has truly addressed the lateral nock-travel issues inherent in most bows.

The brand new FLX-Guard Cable Containment System tackles the lateral issues like never before. As the IceMan FLX is drawn, the bow’s revolutionary FLX-Guard responds by flexing inward, greatly minimizing the torque that would otherwise be transferred to the riser by a rigid cable-guard system. With much less torque there is a substantial reduction in lateral nock travel, resulting in a bow that tends to be easier to tune, more forgiving and more accurate.

So what you have in the 2010 Diamond Archery IceMan FLX is a bow that combines all the high-tech glamour and performance of the 2009 IceMan with what many are already calling the most beneficial cable-guard system ever.

How It Shoots

For me, how well a bow shoots pivots primarily on four things: the nature of the grip at full draw, the feel of the bow as it is drawn and shot, shot noise and how well it delivers arrows downrange.

The grip on the 2010 IceMan FLX is simply outstanding. It seems perfectly angled and slightly rounded on the back, with wood side plates to warm and class up the affair. It’s even properly cut under the shelf to promote an angled bowhand position for improved forearm clearance and minimized grip contact. When I shoot a bow I want my knuckles to be at approximately a 45-degree angle to the bow, and this grip actually encourages that. Perfect.

The IceMan FLX is a relatively smooth-drawing bow, and it’s just as easy to let up. At full draw the bow’s infinitely adjustable draw-stop peg (located on the lower cam) pivots around to contact the bow’s inside cable. That creates a firm and reassuring back wall that feels great. I even tweaked the peg position just a bit on my bow to make the bow fit me perfectly. That’s a capability I truly appreciated.

If a quiet bow is a gem, then this bow is a diamond! Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. But it is true. The IceMan FLX is a magnificently quiet bow. Even with very light arrows, this bow shoots with a dull thud. There’s also very little hand shock.

Arrow speed with the IceMan FLX is good, but maybe best of all is the fact that the Diamond IceMan FLX seems an especially easy bow to set-up, tune and shoot well. Much of that undoubtedly comes from the bow’s generous 7-inch brace height, Center Pivot deflex riser (more on that in the next section), great grip and forgiving FLX-Guard Cable Containment System.

All in all the 2010 Diamond IceMan FLX seems an especially pleasant and accurate new bow backed up with loads of high-tech pizzazz.

Key Features and Benefits

Center Pivot Technology Riser

The riser on the Diamond IceMan FLX looks and
acts differently than most bow risers. Its innovative wide-span limb-pocket system is groundbreaking. It grabs the limbs at the butt and in the middle. That unique design stabilizes limb flex and dampens shot vibration like never before.

On top of that, the riser on the IceMan FLX is essentially a deflex riser. That means that the pressure point of the grip is positioned forward of a line drawn between where the limb pockets (in this case the midpoint strut of the riser) first contact the limbs. That deflexed configuration helps to significantly minimize bow torque and in doing so boosts the forgiving
nature of this riser and bow.

FLX-Guard Cable Containment System

Stiff, inflexible cable guards can impart unwanted torque into any bow, causing tuning and shooting problems. The flexible Diamond FLX-Guard minimizes those problems. As the IceMan FLX is drawn, the FLX-Guard flexes inward, absorbing much of the guard torque that would otherwise be transferred to the riser. The result is a substantial reduction in lateral nock-travel issues, and a bow that is easier to tune and more forgiving to shoot.

Single-Cam with Rotating Module

Because it eliminates cam-timing issues, the IceMan FLX’s single-cam eccentric system delivers simple tuning, great arrow flight (especially with broadheads) and first-rate accuracy. This particular single-cam system is also conveniently adjustable. Draw length adjusts with a single rotating module all the way from 24 to 30 inches, and can do so in precise half-inch increments. In addition, an infinitely adjustable draw-stop peg allows you to further fine-tune draw length to a perfect, personal setting.

Carbon String Stop

Carbon is one of the strongest vibration-dampening materials available, and it’s the exact material that Diamond chose to use in its String Stop. The Diamond carbon-rod String Stop is positioned directly below the bow’s grip, opposite the bow’s stabilizer insert so that excess shot vibration is transferred from the bowstring through the String Stop and into the heavier stabilizer.

InVelvet Coating

The InVelvet overcoating on the IceMan FLX looks and feels great. It’s a light armor coating that pads the bow, warms up the bow’s feel, dampens outside impacts and helps to quiet shot noise.