Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?


VTbowman

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Planning a return to the dark side from years in the dark ages. smirk.gif LOL

Always shot a Mathews before my road down to traditional archery hunting.

JMO but I have not liked any other bows out there so its Mathews all the way for me so please spare me the Hoyt pleas. tongue.gif LOL

I am looking at the Outback, and Switchback, and naturally the XT.

I dont see much difference in any of them other then price.

I have shot the Outback and Switchback side by side one day and came away liking the Outback better. But that was when the Switchback 1st came out.

I have not shot the XT but plan to my next trip to a bow shop.

Can some who has shot all 3 explain the subtle differences to me?

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

[ QUOTE ]

Except the LX used the NEW weighted C-1 Cam....

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Huh? confused.gif

Not one of the bows I was asking about...

Must be the quit smoking thingy messin with an already taxed brain. LOL

Thanks for the spec sheet side by side. That cool.

Guess like any other bow, ya need to shoot it to see if it feels and to see if it like you...

smirk.gifgrin.gif

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

Nope it will be a Mathews but even the Outback used is still pretty high dollar.

Between and use Outback and a new XT is only a matter of $150 to $200 with buying new at Datillioes.

Might as well buy new and get the warentee and all the nifty stuff that comes with it.

Plus a few year newer manufacturing date stamp.

Although I am way ahead of the game still since I dont have near enough $$$ for even a used field tip. LOL

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

I haven't shot the XT because I'm scared I'd have to trade in my Switchback for it. blush.gifgrin.gif

I have shot the Outback and Switchback side-by-side. They were both very similar. I went with the Switchback because it had the newest technology and felt a little bit better.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

I have to take that offer back.

Sorry.

If your going to be a hoyt shooter and accidentally touched a Mathews bow that would be like matter and anti-matter touching.

Could end the world ya know, so I dont want that on my hands.

LOL

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

Well, I have never owned the XT, but I have shot it. That being said, I owned an Outback and now own the Switchback.

When I was in the market for a new bow last year I compared the Outback and the Switchback side by side as well. When all was said and done I walked away with the Outback because I seemed to like it better for some reason.

Well, time went on, I loved my Outback, but still continued testing Switchbacks and playing with them every chance I got. The more I did that, the more I realized I had made the wrong decision on which bow I liked better. To make a long story short, I just sold my Outback and got a Switchback.

The Switchback is definitely smoother drawing, it's faster, and I believe because of the slightly longer ATA it just hold on target better for me. As I said, one side by side shoot wasn't enough to tell the real story, it took a few different sessions to really bring out the differences, basically because every Mathews is so smooth and feels so good your mind doesn't know what to do at first lol grin.gif

Now, the XT in my honest opinion is yet another great bow, but it was very "Outbacky" to me. It basically is an Outback on roids lol. 7 fps faster, and a HAIR smoother in drawing, but other than the new dampeners everywhere, I didn't think it was all that different from the Outback I owned.

As I said, I ended up choosing the original Switchback simply because it was the smoothest of the 3, the longest ATA of the 3, and to boot, it's also the fastest. Regardless of which one you choose, you won't go wrong bud.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

from what Ive seen the switchback xt is "the" bow if you want a Mathews...smooth draw, solid wall and let off is great even at high draw weights...did I mention faster?? and when you release, the bow just sits in your hand, extremely quiet.And No vibration!.. I beleive I found my next bow

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

I too have shot all 3 bows. Between the Outback, and the original switchback, I prefered the Outback hands down, It just was a better fit for ME. I was much more comfortable with the Outback. Now throw the XT into the mix and it is by far a smoother, better shooting bow then either of the other 2, in MY opinion. It isn't as fast as the original SB, but it is faster then the Outback. If I was in the market for a new bow, the XT would definetely win out over my Outback.

For you Shawn, knowing that you want to shoot fingers, the original SB witht he 33" ATA would probably be the better choice for you, though it still may be pushing it a bit. If you were going to shoot a release, I would reccomend the XT. But, after all is said and done, it comes down to personal preference. You are the one that has to be comfortable shooting the bow, not anyone else.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

Woudn't a more forgiving bow with say 7-5/8 brace height and 31-1/2" ata be more fitting for a finger shooter. If you are going to use a release then I'd say go with the more forgiving and tested bow of the Outback instead. It has been oppinioned to have less tunign problems than the other two and In my personal oppinion just feels more comfortable. Who cares about more modern technology? It still shoots great and I guarantee you will have the same amount of deer walk in front of you as you would with the XT. The only difference is you won't be out $200 for the effort. Good luck and I hope you pick the Outback. It's more than worth the money and I picked mine up for around $490.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

[ QUOTE ]

from what Ive seen the switchback xt is "the" bow if you want a Mathews...smooth draw, solid wall and let off is great even at high draw weights...did I mention faster?? and when you release, the bow just sits in your hand, extremely quiet.And No vibration!.. I beleive I found my next bow

[/ QUOTE ]

The original Switchback is faster than the XT and offers everything else you just stated. Check out the original SWB as well smile.gif

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

For thos of you talking about the forgiveness of short ATA bows for finger shooters, Dan & Guy FItzgerald both shoot instinctively and use their fingers to release, both of them use the new Switchback XT.

For the record, Dave Watson also used the XT with his fingers a couple of times when he forgot his release lol

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

from what Ive seen the switchback xt is "the" bow if you want a Mathews...smooth draw, solid wall and let off is great even at high draw weights...did I mention faster?? and when you release, the bow just sits in your hand, extremely quiet.And No vibration!.. I beleive I found my next bow

[/ QUOTE ]

The original Switchback is faster than the XT and offers everything else you just stated. Check out the original SWB as well smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point. I know you could probably buy the three dampner roller guard for the SWB and maybe even the suppressors with the dampners?

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

from what Ive seen the switchback xt is "the" bow if you want a Mathews...smooth draw, solid wall and let off is great even at high draw weights...did I mention faster?? and when you release, the bow just sits in your hand, extremely quiet.And No vibration!.. I beleive I found my next bow

[/ QUOTE ]

The original Switchback is faster than the XT and offers everything else you just stated. Check out the original SWB as well smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point. I know you could probably buy the three dampner roller guard for the SWB and maybe even the suppressors with the dampners?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not 100% sure about that in all honesty. I know some guys over on the Mathews forum had asked about that because they wanted to put the damper rolling guard on an Outback, but I never heard an answer to the question. That being said, I don't see why it couldn't work.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

[ QUOTE ]

For thos of you talking about the forgiveness of short ATA bows for finger shooters, Dan & Guy FItzgerald both shoot instinctively and use their fingers to release, both of them use the new Switchback XT.

For the record, Dave Watson also used the XT with his fingers a couple of times when he forgot his release lol

[/ QUOTE ]

This is another reason I am not concerned with stacking on the shorter ata bow. I have seen it dine time and time again by these two guys.

I had even shot finger with my old SQ2 back when I had it and did fine.

So believe me thats not an issue at all for me.

It will most likely boil down to $$$ in the end.

Hopefully all my stuff sells and that willnot be an issue either.

Thanks you for some really in deapth reports guys.

I apreciate them.

keep em coming.

The Good and the Bad.

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Re: Outback vs Switchback vs Switchback XT?

OK, here goes...

I've owned all 3 and shot all 3 pretty extensively.

Tuning issues...haven't had any. All 3 bows tuned right up for no problems what so ever. The original Barracuda string did have some issues that Mathews seemed to get straightened out.

However the serving on the cables is still somewhat of an issue. If you get any of these bows I would suggest putting some Liquid Lok on the servings before you shoot the bow and you should not have any problems.

I loved the Outback. It was/is a very smooth shooting bow. If you were shooting traditional I'm gonna assume that speed is not a factor for you.

However I'll say this: The Switchback si the fastest of the 3 with the OB and the XT about the same. The OB was a bit under rated as far as the speed goes. Also, the OB has athe most solid wall due to it having a draw stop.

I then bought a Switchback. I never got to liking this bow. I had problems right from the beginning with this bow with string/cable. I couldn't stop the peep from rotating. I finally got one that I set up and had no problems with. Something about the bow didn't agree with me. It is, without question, the most finicky of the 3 to tune. It is very unforgiving as far as hand position and torque. I could never achieve the consistency that I'm accustomed to so I get rid of it. The one thing I did like about it over the OB is that I felt the bow was more stable at full draw.

From there i bought another OB. Still love that bow.

I then bought an XT. The XT is the perfect blend of the OB and SB. It's unreal smooth and very stable. IT has the speed and is very quiet and shock free upon release. I did have an issue with the cable serving as mentioned above but Mathews took care of it.Up until that point the string settled right in and didn't budge. No peep rotation or creep. I don't feel the XT has any real downfalls. It's a great all around bow.

All in all it's hard to go wrong with any of the 3. I don't but into "the latest technology" thing since all 3 hold their re-sale very well. The Cobra cam on the SB is smoother than the HP cam on the OB and the Cobra 2 on the XT is pretty much the same as the SB. The bh on the XT makes it a much more forgiving bow than the SB.

It's gonna be hard to choose between the 3 because all 3 are very similiar. You'll probably need to shoot all 3 several times.

That being said, the OB probably won't be around this year so you won't be able to buy a new one unless you find a left over.

Feel free to ask any questions. I can probably answer them for you.

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