Bowhunt America

Article Topics

Hoyt Carbon Matrix

By Bill Krenz

Consumer confidence in Hoyt is perhaps at an all-time high. It seems the company is operating at maximum rpms, and that ongoing effort is delivering an almost constant flow of exciting new products.

In 2009, for example, Hoyt shook the archery world with the introduction of the Hoyt AlphaMax, a lighter, smoother, quieter, more vibration-free, high-performance compound bow that looked great and shot even better. This year, Hoyt has trumped the AlphaMax with the debut of the new-for-2010 Maxxis, a bow that’s even better on all of those counts.

At the same time, there is also the new 2010 Hoyt AlphaBurner, the new Vicxen, the new Contender series of target compounds and even a revolutionary new series of world-class competition recurves. The Hoyt machine is really cranking.

Further proof lies in the 2010 introduction of the startling Hoyt Carbon Matrix. The Hoyt Carbon Matrix is already being touted as the most advanced compound bow in the world.

What’s so special about the 2010 Hoyt Carbon Matrix? To begin with, this new bow sports what may be the wildest and most durable compound bow riser ever. That riser features a revolutionary carbon-structure approach that yields a stiffer, stronger, more vibration-free and lighter weight riser than anyone has ever before offered. It’s a riser that can withstand over 1,500 dry-fires. It’s a riser that will shoot arrow after arrow into the same spot. It’s a riser so different and so cutting edge that it instantly turns heads wherever it goes.

It’s also a riser that was years in the making. While a few other bow companies dabbled with improvised carbon risers, Hoyt invested fully in the most advanced carbon-structure technology known in order to develop a bow riser like no other.

The 2010 Hoyt Carbon Matrix is an engineering marvel, offering archers what very well may be a glimpse of the high-performance future. And that’s exciting.

How It Shoots

Futuristic engineering aside, the Hoyt Carbon Matrix, or any bow for that matter, is only as good as it shoots. This bow happens to shoot like a million bucks.

I shoot better when a bow’s draw length fits me just right. Too long and I tend to experience slight misses right and left. Too short and I can’t seem to aim as steady as I would like. With the new Carbon Matrix, draw length is easily adjustable in precise half-inch increments with conveniently interchangeable cam modules. I also shoot better when the bow has a solid draw stop of some sort. The Carbon Matrix sports a rubber-coated draw-stop peg, located on the lower cam, which pivots around to contact the bow’s inside cable and delivers a nicely solid and reassuring back wall.

This bow is fast. Not crazy fast, but deadly fast. What’s a bit amazing, given that relatively high level of arrow speed, is how smoothly the Carbon Matrix draws. Draw weight builds and lets off gradually, which is a wonderful thing in a treestand or on a stalk.

Partly because I have tried carbon risers before, I was particularly interested to see how the 2010 Hoyt Carbon Matrix would handle shot vibration and noise. Most previous carbon risers on compound bows have tended to do a pretty poor job of it, vibrating like tuning forks and rattling like train wrecks. Not so with the Carbon Matrix. I was shocked (excuse the pun) to discover that the lightweight Hoyt Carbon Matrix is an absolute champion in the area of vibration and noise suppression. Apparently this riser’s radical hollow carbon-tube technology does more than just look cool. It seems to deliver the utmost in weight-to-strength ratio while squelching shot vibration and noise in the most amazing manner. In fact, the Carbon Matrix seems virtually devoid of shot vibration, and that’s wonderful.

At the same time, the Hoyt Carbon Matrix seems to shoot up a storm in terms of accuracy. I set this groundbreaking new bow up in a Hooter Shooter shooting machine and then proceeded to drill arrow after arrow in essentially the same hole at a distant target. That ultra-stiff carbon platform evidently behaves with uncommon consistency from shot to shot.

The testing revealed it all––a relatively smooth draw, excellent arrow speed, a wonderfully dampened shot and superb accuracy. It would be hard to find a better-shooting bow anywhere.

Key Features and Benefits

Hoyt O-Tech Carbon Riser

Radical. Groundbreaking. Revolutionary. Pick a word and it still probably isn’t enough to adequately describe the startling nature and capabilities of the carbon-tube riser on the 2010 Hoyt Carbon Matrix. It’s stiffer, stronger, more vibration-free and lighter in weight than any compound bow riser ever designed. It’s so light that it makes the 35-inch Carbon Matrix feel in the hand like a much shorter bow. It’s so stiff and strong that it delivers the utmost in shooting consistency. It’s so high tech that it seems to stop shot vibration dead in its tracks.

Hoyt XTS ARC Limb System

The riser on the new Carbon Matrix is so exciting that it’s easy to miss the fact that this bow also features a brand new limb system. Hoyt’s new, laminated XTS ARC Limbs have been specifically designed to deliver exceptional past-parallel performance. They’re faster, quieter and stronger than ever before. To go with this high-tech riser, they are among the most advanced bow limbs in the world.

Hoyt Pro-Lock Pocket System

Connecting limbs to riser is an art. The Carbon Matrix does so with Hoyt’s new Pro-Lock Pocket System, a system engineered to provide airtight tolerances, precise adjustability and perfect limb alignment.

XTR Modular Cam & ½ System

There is a consistent power seemingly inherent in Hoyt’s XTR Cam & ½ Performance System. With the cams slaved together by one advanced harness arrangement, those cams draw and fire at the exact same time, delivering a smooth and accurate shot with every arrow. Integrated into the system is a draw stop that conveys a solid back wall, as well as a convenient system of draw-length modules.

Hoyt Stealth Shot

Located below the grip on the 2010 Carbon Matrix is a cushioned string stop that deadens each shot while promoting a cleaner release of the arrow from the bowstring.

Hoyt Pro-Fit Grip

The right grip is crucial to shooter comfort and accuracy. Hoyt’s Pro-Fit Grip delivers both. It’s small-throated to reduce shooting torque and perfectly angled and shaped to enhance consistent, comfortable and strong bowhand placement.