So I am looking for a new bow and I thought I would ask everyone here what there thoughts were on these 2 bows. I have narrowed it down to the Elite Energy 32 or the Hoyt Faktor 30. Both bows have about the same specs and IBO speeds. I did get a chance to chrono the Elite with my hunting arrow, but not the Hoyt yet to see what the true velocity would be for me. Price wise there is only $50 difference between the 2 pro shops. And yes I did shoot the new Mathews also, but didn't care for it at all, very spongy back wall.

Any and all help or advice would be great as this would be my first new bow purchase that I have ever made, and they are not exactly cheap.

Thanks for the help

With the price difference being minimal, it's really up to personal preference. Shoot them both and decide which one you like.

That being said, my major issue with Elite is that they haven't caught on with dealers in my neck of the woods. I bought an Elite at Scheels only to have them quit carrying them within a year. I don't regret the purchase and love the bow, but if issues arise it could be a major PITA to service without having to ship directly to Elite. Hoyts seem to be ubiquitous.

The bows have completely different feels as far as letoff, draw cycle, valley are concerned. Which one you buy is totally up to you. Buy the one that you shoot the best. As a side note, Hoyt has been pretty soft on their ibo ratings. Most when properly tuned are exceding advertised IBO speeds. Another thing to keep in mind is Hoyt is using BCY X strings on their bows this year. And quality wise their strings top the Winners Choice strings on the Elites. With that being said, both bows tune quite well. So, see which one feels best to you

I went and shot them both and they feel different but shoot very good to me. The one mistake I did make was that I shot the new Carbon Spider 30, and boy oh boy, it is an awesome shooter. But very hard to justify the extra $450 for it.

The original spyder 30 is a shooter as well.

Yes, that was my favorite last year as well, I just didn't pull the trigger on getting one last year.

Elite was my choice, Hoyt a close second.

I hate admitting to being an all-out Fanboy. But I like Elite. Started w Hoyt. Still have a Hoyt AlphaElite dedicated 3D bow. But I am going to move it for a new 35 when the lefties hit the dealers.

It's still a personal matter. Either a great bow

Elite for me between the 2

I shot the Hoyt Carbon Spyder, Hoyt Faktor and Elite Energy 32. All are great bows. I went home with the Elite and took a wild hog and three does with it in four days of hunting. I am getting back into compounds after three years of shooting nothing but crossbows. My specs:
Elite Energy 32 60LBs at 30 inches
380 grain Carbon Xpress Blue Streak @ 280 FPS

I am going to shoot a Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo this week. As everyone has said, buy what feels best to you.

Go with what feels best to you. Personally, a small grip and a solid wall on the cam bring out the best accuracy for me. Been competing in 3D for lots of years and hoyt's bridged riser offers one of the smallest torque free grips available. If the Carbon Spider shoots easiest for you go for it. Bows are not like guns as far as resale but trade in prices are fairly relative to what you pay, but some brands/models do hold value better. My thoughts are if the bow fits you well hang on to it for a while. I am still shooting a 07 model for hunting because it shoots so well for me and bows haven't really made leaps and bounds in technology since that era. Don't get caught up in buying the latest and greatest every year, you will never get used to any one bow. Every one has different preferences, weight, draw, speed ect., just go after what works for you. Good luck

Hoyt vs what? Where do you get warrantee service on that? How long will they be around? I have been pretty wary ever since High Country. There have been lots of bow companies come and go in the last 30 years - Hoyt has been there from the beginning and is getting stronger - no brainer for me. Only thing I would suggest is that you take an honest look at the Charger. Might just save yourself $400.

Elite wont be going anywhere. At least for the forseeable future. Been around for quite some time and they are rapidly gaining ground. So cut the fanboy BS.

So was High Country, XI, York, etc......not a fan boy - I buy what I want, but when I spend my money I want quality and a warrantee that will be there if I need it. Time will tell. Elite, Prime, Parker and a few others are trying - and good luck to them. Not that I don't support the little guy I own several custom Trad bows. So I believe the fanboy BS is cut.

Earlier this year the Bear Rep was at the local shop selling his wares. I went through the lineup tried them all. Some nice, some yuk. After I'd shot them all the shop owner pulled me aside and ask what I though. I told him that for the same price I could have a Hoyt or Mathews - either of which I would take over the Bears. I feel the same about Prime, Elite, etc. If they were priced 60% of a Hoyt of Mathews maybe I'd take a look, but for the same money - no thanks.

My Hoyt startd Squeaking,creaking bad 3 or 4 months after owning it.....needed to grease the limbs. The guy who fixed it said after about 3 or 4 more treatments it will quit squeaking,creaking for life. I love my Hoyt.....but I am sure some time it will start creaking around when I least expect it, and that will not be fun.

Angus, sometimes the little bushings on the outside of the top limbs (the ones hold the yoke) will squeak against the limbs. Lubing that area will often take care of the squeak.

Hank the Cowdog was the book collection that really got my daughter hooked on reading! Great books.

I have had three Hoyt Carbon Elements in the last three years....traded my "2013-2014" Hoyt in on the new Elite and never looked back. The Elite was, without question, the smoothest, most forgiving bow I ever shot...period. Got a nice buck with it this fall too! The Hoyt CE was a great bow...I loved em all...but once I shot the Elite, it was game over.

Shoot em and make your own educated choice...you'll be fine with either.

Bear, Hoyt, Bowtech, Mathews, Elite, PSE will all be around for yrs to come. All make great bows. Some Im not a fan of. Some I like a lot. They are all quality products. Especially the high end offerings. Its no secret Im a Bowtech guy. And its no secret Im a fan of cam systems with at least one set of tuneable static yokes. Elites are nice bows with their own feel. But the huge valley isnt for every one.

You really need to shoot both bows and spend some time drawing and holding them at draw. Elite will have a hard "back wall" , Hoyt kinda "giving". Elites can be tuned to give about 85% letoff , Hoyt 75%. Both are a quality product. I hunt with Elites because of the high let off and long valley.Let off and valley can be a good friend when You have to hold the bow for extended periods.

Be doubly sure you know what you are doing when messing with the let off on the Elite. The cams can and will lock up on you. Disastrous results normally follow. This isnt to discourage or sway your purchase. Just to say "if you dont know what you are doing adjusting the let off, let someone that does adjust it for you".

Elites are nice bows, my brother owns one and I shoot it occasionally. In fact he sold his Hoyt Alpha and kept the Elite...also has a Mathews Creed? Which is also very nice. I don't care for the grip on the Elite, the cutouts are almost sharp feeling.

All that said, I like the history of Hoyt, they've been around since the early '30s, even longer than Bear I believe.

I shoot all Hoyts for compound bows, and have since the early 1980's. But Hoyts history is well in its past now. Seeing it is owned by Easton. Which adds more history one way or the other.

What Hoyt does bring to the table is on average the best bow designs year in and year out. Yes they have had the occasional flop. Name one company that hasn't? They dominate all target archery and have for a very long time. I know what you are going to say, Not 3D. Well this is somewhat true. But 3D isn't target archery. So for those scratching their heads with all this target talk, saying I am a hunter. Well all of Hoyts success in the target world has flowed over into their hunting bows. This is why they have such a strong Hunting Pro-Staff, arguably the deepest Pro-Staff in the industry.

With all that said it still doesn't mean Hoyt is right for everybody.

So for the update to this thread.
After much debate and shooting each model, I ended up going with the Hoyt Spider Carbon 30 and man I have been very pleased with it. I really like the tuneability, draw cycle, back wall and the way it handles. Yes I did change the grips out to just the small narrow side plates, I didn't care for the big wide full grip at all. I have found that I don't have to correct the lean of the bow when anchored, it's just plumb and ready to go. I even debated on wether or not to use a stabilizer right now cause it was pretty quiet and not much vibration with out it, but found a nice 6" version and decided to run with that. Now all I need is a quiver and ready to hunt this fall, after many more rounds of practice.

What is everyone's thoughts about which quiver now? I know technology has changed but strongly thinking about that 5 arrow tight spot quiver. Any suggestions would be great as I have never had one before.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I greatly appreciate it.

Tight Spot is THE quiver.

Have you shot it with fletched/bare shafts yet? If so, how did it do with them? As for a quiver, ill never own a tightspot. Have no desire to spend that kind of coin on something that just needs to hold arrows and hang from a hook most of the time

Meant to comment on quivers yesterday. I haven't used the tight spot, so no comment.

Things I've learned about quivers: Make sure the quiver you buy now meets your arrow needs now and in the future. I switched over to thin shaft arrows, the quivers I had with the CE Max Hunters would not hold the arrows, the rubber pinchs were too big.

I tried the Mathews Arrow Web quivers for a while, decided I didn't like the single rubber grip on the arrow shaft, found I knocked them loose walking through the woods, raising or lowering the bow from the stand, and generally lost control of arrows with sharp broadheads on them. Liked the attachment to the bow, but not the retension of the arrows. The hood insert worked, but need replacement pretty often, about once a season for me.

I am currently using the Apex MQX Nano Quiver, two seperate rubber shaft grips, and a well protected cover over the broadheads. They hold the thin arrows well, I can use a bigger arrow shaft, and the rubber will recover after I take it out. The Nano has a seperate quiver holder for a tree or stand, I use it on the stand. The magnetic hold does well, I've only popped the quiver off once in four years pulling it up into the stand.

I also use a couple of the G-5 Halos, now discontinued. They have two mounts, one on the bow, and one for the stand or tree. The magnetic mount is strong, and has a lock lever for the holder for the travel to and from the stand. They are easy on-easy off, and hold thin shaft arrows well, but not as well as the Nano. Only issue is forgetting the seperate quiver holder in the tree...until after you climb down...

I did tune the bow with a fletched arrow so far, have not done the bare shaft tune yet. The arrows are hitting very straight and hard out to 55 yards so far, but need to keep working on that.

As for arrow shafts I have been shooting the Easton Axis and really liking them a lot. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the super small shafts that take a special insert for. I understand that I can increase arrow weight by doing so, but it weighs 432 grains now with 100gr tips. I still need to chrono and find out exactly where I'm at and how much KE it is putting out.

Thanks for the input on the quivers, I'm all ears on the pros and cons of them.

Thanks

I have the Hoyt 4 arrow 2 piece quiver on my Charger - nice quiver. Way over priced new but I picked mine up used for 1/2 price. I also have a Fuse 2 piece 4 arrow quiver that I put on my Dorado - works good also but has the old triangle mount.

The bareshaft is the tell all end all for tuning a bow. If bareshaft/fletched hit like this at 20yds, youre tuned.

As for small diameter shafts, they penetrate better and buck the wind better. I dont like the hidden inserts either. My Eastons run the HP-4 insert. I love em.

I will have to try that, that's some shooting there.

Half price is my favorite way to purchase things, even used in good shape doesn't bother me one bit at all.

Thats at 20yds. It requires arrows properly spined. Cams properly timed. Center shot properly set. Proper nock height. Proper draw length. Proper grip. Then knowing what adjustments to make. And having the right equipment to do it.

But may not be the most consistent and tune............I know guys that will deliberately tune a bow to shoot slightly tail high left. The belief is that every arrow leaves the bow the same - with a bow shot dead center the arrow can leave the bow at different vectors with each shot.

??????

Likeyes I have a 6 arrow Kweikee quiver you can have. It is Black and old but in excellent condition and they work well. Just pay the shipping to you and it is yours if you want.

Tight Spot is the best quiver I've used hands down. I'm not a treestand hunter so the quiver is an important part of my bow set up. It is VERY quiet and the close fit and adjustment for cant makes it balance very nicely. Highly recommend it if you don't spend all of your time in a tree.

As explained by Dee Wilde - an arrow that takes off slightly tail high left does so every time even with minor input from the archer. An arrow tuned perfectly straight will take off at what ever tweak the archer put to the arrow. Definitely in the advanced tuning category, but the theory is sound and works pretty well for Dee and his boys. It seems that I have read the same from Ulmer also.

I have and will continue to tune right down the center of the bows power stroke. Doubtful youll have any luck finding a tuner that wont. The goal is perfect arrow flight. And maximum efficiency from the bow.

If they can make it through that Garrett Armstrong cluster, they can make it through anything...

Very few people know who Garrett is or what he did. On top of that these things die as fast as they come up. Sad but true.

Thank you very much for the offer, I really appreciate that a lot, PM sent

I will mail it out tomorrow.

Yeah, and those guys pretty much got a slap on the wrist for it too...

I've been shooting the Hoyt Rampage and really liked it UNTIL..
I shot the Elite Energy 32!! fast, smooth draw cycle, best wall I've seen and talk about forgiving?? The bow does not move in your hand!! needless to say the Hoyt is up for sale

Considering they knew exactly where they were and what they were doing, you are right it was a slap on the wrist. If I were the judge I would have made examples out of them.

Isn't the Rampage around $500-550 and the Elite Energy around $850-900?

Whats price got to do with it? The Hoyt Charger is in that $5-600 price range and is a great bow. There are others in that price point as well

It is a great bow, but he just compared a 500$ bow to a 900$ bow...

Sometimes, cheaper is better. Heck, I have seen $500 rifles handily outshoot rifles costing twice that. Price doesnt always dictate the "better" product. While Elite doesnt offer any lower price point bows, Hoyt and other companies do. And some of those bows are real "sleepers"

I was comparing the bow that I've been shooting to one I recently tried out.But what your saying is because an item cost more than another item it must be better?? I didn't say the Hoyt was a bad bow, in fact I said that I really like it, just gonna go with the Elite this year.

Guess that was meant for nyskt100. There are some really good bows in the $5-600 price point. And yes some will keep pace with the flagship bows offered by other companies.

Not better or worse, just different. I'm not brand loyal at all either. I would have picked the Elite over a Charger too.