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Pace of innovation?

bobthebowhunter

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I have had my current bow since 2007 (brand name not important). I've recently started to worry about components failing just due to age, reps, ect ect. So my wife asked me what I would get, and she really stumped me with that question. I sure wouldn't go with my current brand with what they are putting out now. Because bows seem to be so different from when I used to trade up every year. Seems like bows didn't change as much year to year, but they did improve each year. Now days the designs seem to change pretty drastically every year. So to the point. I wish bow companies would slow down and stick with the designs that work...or at least stick with a single design for a longer period of time and improve it. Seems like the competition between brands has drivin companies to rush products that may or may not meet their previous standards. And if you're like me they change the design to something I don't like. Kinda goes back to the ,"if it aint broke don't fix it" I hate that there's a demand for such drastic change in designs just to keep up with the market of folks who want the newest badest bow each year. Seems to me quality has suffered in multiple companies in an attempt to put out something new every year. IMO Yall know what I mean?
 
Bob, good post.
I couldn't agree more. I worked in Hunting/Sporting Goods Retail in Maryville (Wynn's) and Knoxville (Outdoor Sports) through high school and college and EVERY year you see the same thing - companies just trying to one up the next company with some new color, new twist, new look, many times just cosmetic things or things that just look gnarly enough to differentiate their product from the other guys. I have a 2004 bowtech stalker - shoots great, shoots fast enough - and I even find myself getting suckered into feeling like I "need" something new, not want, but need. But, why do I need something else - what's wrong with what I have? Nothing. I would like to have a little faster bow, but why? Arrow not drop as quick I guess would be a plus because my bow does shoot different at 10 and 20 yds unlike some of my buddies. It is so difficult anymore to differentiate between the hype and proven products. As I get a little older and wiser I see my self doing a lot more research before I bite the bullet on a new purchase and looking at things like PRACTICIALITY, EASE of operation, LONGEVITY/RELIABILITY, and many times I see myself moving backwards to the proven equipment and not so much to the latest and greatest. I love innovation and engineering, where would we be without it? However, I think you have to validate all the new innovations to make sure they satisfy all or most of the criteria you want out of your equipment.
 
It's all a marketing illusion. King Solomon said it best when he wrote:

" The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

Bows today are just basically carbon copies of one another...and all stem from progressively making inventions of yesteryear better today. Follow the forums and you'll see the same guys getting a new bow every year and claiming it is the "smoothest-quietest-fastest-most accurate bow" they've ever shot. Sooner or later that will reach a point of peaking out....I.e. you can't get any smoother or quieter. Some people just have to have the latest thing out and justify it by convincing themselves and others that its superior to the one they had last yr and made the same claims with.
 
Crow Terminator said:
It's all a marketing illusion. King Solomon said it best when he wrote:

" The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

Bows today are just basically carbon copies of one another...and all stem from progressively making inventions of yesteryear better today. Follow the forums and you'll see the same guys getting a new bow every year and claiming it is the "smoothest-quietest-fastest-most accurate bow" they've ever shot. Sooner or later that will reach a point of peaking out....I.e. you can't get any smoother or quieter. Some people just have to have the latest thing out and justify it by convincing themselves and others that its superior to the one they had last yr and made the same claims with.

And the funny thing is, these new bows/equipment that folks have to have every year are, as BlountArrow put it, "unproven". It's like buying the first year model of a new car design every year..there's bound to be bugs. IMO with change in design comes flaws. At the pace archery seems to be moving with innovation it seems as though the inevitable flaws in design show up in the hands of the buyer.
A perfect example that comes to mind is the new Mathews. As another gentleman posted in another thread he had an issue with his bow that, from what I read, was becoming a common problem on their new design. When was the last time Mathews put out a bow that had a recurring problem. My point is that it seems even the most prominent companies are pushing too hard to advance, and presenting potentially flawed products. I'm sure mathews isn't the only company. I don't want this to turn in to a brand name bashing thread.

And I don't study every bow companies design changes so I'm sure that there are many legitimate arguments to my comments. I'm just going off what I have witnessed and noticed in the industry over the last several years.
 
Crow Terminator said:
Follow the forums and you'll see the same guys getting a new bow every year and claiming it is the "smoothest-quietest-fastest-most accurate bow" they've ever shot. Sooner or later that will reach a point of peaking out....I.e. you can't get any smoother or quieter. Some people just have to have the latest thing out and justify it by convincing themselves and others that its superior to the one they had last yr and made the same claims with.
My thoughts exactly!
 
The resaon for new products every year.

Many many hunters buy new bows every year and they want them soon as they are introduced.Its a pretty good share of the market too.If the manufacturers dont bring out something new these buyers will buy from another manufacturer.The last think they want is to lose that share of the market.Let a customer that has been buying from you for years go to another brand and you may lose him for life.

Notice i diddnt say their newer product was any better than their last years model.Just new and differant.

I was one of these people for many years.Had to have a new one every year.Most of the new year models have small differences.But small differences every year add up to big difference after 4 or 5 years.

2008 was the last year for a new bow every year for me.I purchased a Mathews DXT.To this day i still think its one of the best "hunting" bow i ever had.I am sure the newer ones are a little faster and would love to own one.Would they help me kill more od bigger bucks? NO!

New products are what keeps the bow manufacturuers in business.
 
A change in design doesn't always mean an improvement in performance. An animal can only be so dead. Even when I was sponsiored by a bow company, I never encouraged anyone to buy a new bow just because there were new ones out there. If your old bow is still shooting fine, save the money and buy something you really need.
 
Just to play devils advocate, you should always try to improve your product. If your not going forward you are going backwards.

I don't buy a new every two but technology can change dramatically for good or bad in a year or 2's time frame.
 

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