2015 Bowtech Carbon Icon Review

[Chicken Shoot]

Coming soon!!! LOL I had it about 1/2 done and saved then this damn forum kicked me off and it lost ALL of what I had so I try it again in a few. All I will say is you'll like this review!! Stay tuned! This bow may belong in the bar ... it's THAT sexy.

[Chicken Shoot]

OK ... it's time to get this posted. I have acquired a 2015 Bowtech Carbon Icon compound bow in Black Ops. (Because black ops matter!!!) We'll start with the specs on this bow.

Draw Weight ................ 50 60 70
Mass Weight ............... 3.2lbs
Effective Letoff .............. 80%
Draw Length ................. 26.5-30.5"
Axle to Axle ................. 31"
IBO Speed ................... 335fps
Kinetic Energy .............. 87.2
Brace Height ................. 7"

This bow is right hand, 70lbs and set at 29" draw length. The bow comes from the factory maxed out, which mine was at 74.8lbs and that's where it's staying. The 3.2lb mass weight is extremely lightweight for a compound bow. It's really a true selling factor. My other bows are up over 4.5lbs before loading them with accessories like the quiver and sight and stabilizer and rest etc. This light weight equals a bow that one can carry all day without fatigue in the arm and hand it is in. This is a plus for stalking while hunting. The 80% let off is VERY nice as it allows one to remain at full draw for a VERY long time. The 7" brace height makes this a forgiving bow with awesome speed. Normally, the faster the bow, the less forgiving it is. Bowtech hit a home run here with what I would consider a very nice balance of performance and forgiveness. The 31" axle to axle is about perfect for hunting from the ground, a blind or a stand. Having a bow too short takes away forgiveness and having a long ATA is no good for blind hunting and treestands due to the lack of room and movement allowed by both. The draw length is adjustable from 26.5" to 30.5" without the need for a bow press OR modules. The adjustable draw mod will get you where you need to be with ease. The kinetic energy is WELL above and beyond what one would require for hunting most large game on this planet!! (Not sure about the planet Washington D.C. because there are alot of RINO's and ASSES there and I'm not testing this on because they're both full of Peshitta and I ain't Peshittating up an arrow!!!)

I'll continue this review and make it a picture review because ... well .... I know the IQ average on this here forum and I don't wanna lose you all. So without further delay ....














































Bowtech Carbon Icon 001.JPG


Ahhhhh ... a tactical bow for stealth mode!! Carbon riser, carbon limbs and aluminum cams are the reasons for the low weight of this bow. This is the Black Ops version of this bow. It is available with a camo riser and black limibs as well. In Bowtech fashion, staying with the full on American and Military names of their bows, the Black Ops is 100% appropriate. Bowtech has a long history of aligning themselves with the military and even paying tribute to those in different divisions of the armed forces. There have been Bowtech bows with names like the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, Tribute, The Legend (Chris Kyle bow) and so on. As I post more pics, you'll see the American pride reveal itself .

Bowtech Carbon Icon 006.JPG

The fit and finish on this bow is just awesome. The one thing I noticed immediately while giving it a testing was that the riser NEVER gets cold. No matter the temperature, it never feels cold to the touch. This is something many archers have had to deal with when hunting in cold weather. That dreaded freezing riser!!! No more with this bow. The predecessor to this bow was the Carbon Knight. The riser is actually called the Knight riser BUT there are distinct differences between them. The riser of the Carbon Icon is more refined and the corners have been rounded more making this riser MUCH nicer than that of the Carbon Knight. In other words, it feels better in the hand than the Carbon Knight does.

What is that Powershift Technology on the limb you ask?? That would be a feature of this bow that allows the archer to switch from an aggressive draw cycle to a smoother draw cycle via Bowtech's FlipDisc. That golden draw module is not only used to adjust the draw length, it is also used to "flip" from the "comfort" setting to the "performance" setting. I have flipped it for this review which I haven't seen anyone else do in the archery magazines where they have done reviews. To be honest, we've sold quite a few of these bows at the shop and not one customer wanted to flip the disc because the bow is just that good in the comfort setting. I will tell you there is a HUGE difference between the two settings. The performance setting allows you to let this bow show it's full potential. It's aggressive like one would expect from a speed bow. Yes .. it WILL and DOES hit the IBO rating at my settings which is nice to see since there are so many bows out there with inflated IBO speed ratings that they will never hit in the real world. I achieved 338fps at my settings with a 326gr arrow in the performance setting and saw a high of 328fps in the comfort setting. The comfort setting is much smoother and honestly, it is really nice in the colder weather as drawing an aggressive bow back after sitting in one position for a long time along with the low temps, can definitely become an issue quickly when the time comes. I tested this on both settings and I had it on performance during most of the testing BUT I put it back on comfort when the temps dropped and I was headed out to hunt. This bow REALLY has alot to offer thus far and I'm impressed from the get go!!

Bowtech Carbon Icon 008.JPG

Here you get to see the other side of this beauty. You can see the Bowtech wrist sling, the Octane Stabilizer (Octane is a Bowtech owned accessory line) and the PARKER quiver. You can also see the flip discs alittle better here. One may ask why I didn't want a bow already loaded in the Ready Aim Kill (RAK) package and to that I will say that in archery EVERYTHING is preference. I prefer the QAD HDX Drop Away rest. It's the only drop away I've found fast enough to get out of the way of the fastest bows out there and I see no need to go to a Ripcord. The Ripcord drop away is alittle bulky for me and just makes a bow look ... well ..... weird at times. The Ripcord is a good drop away BUT I prefer the QAD. The reason for the 4 arrow Parker Red Hot quiver is the fact it's easy to put on and remove and it's QUIET!! The Octane quiver fell short here. I will say that the Octane quiver is a good quiver BUT the noise was the determining factor when all was said and done. This is Black Ops after all and I don't want to alert the enemy with a noisy quiver!! The sight you see is the Trophy Ridge V3 FireWire sight. It unfortunately has been recently discontinued by the manufacturer so if you can find one on the internet and you're someone that prefers to have a single vertical pin look when aiming BUT want 3 pins, this is the sight to buy. I don't like pins coming from the side because it covers up too much of the target. Again, we're into preference. When aiming at an animal, I want to see the most I can to assure the placement of the arrow and there is no doubt it's going into the boiler room for an ethical and quick kill. The sight allows me to see more of the target and depending on how the animal is presenting itself, this is HUGE to me. For target shooting, it doesn't matter much. Hunting is a different scenario and thus the reason for my preference.


Bowtech Carbon Icon 009.JPG

This is the ever awesome FlipDisc that Bowtech took the archery world by storm with. At the ATA show this bow, along with it's big brother the Prodigy, had the dealers and reviewers all excited. It wound up on the Best Bow's list numerous times and for good reason!! I've gone over what this does but I really can't stress enough how this makes one bow actually two!!


If you're looking to upgrade, or even get serious into archery with a quality bow that you won't want to upgrade in the near future, I would HIGHLY recommend this bow. It's price is $599 bare (no accessories) or $699 RAK (fully loaded). I'm highly impressed with this bow. The speed is there if you want it. The comfort is there if you want it. Both of these aspects of archery have finally been introduced into ONE bow .... the Bowtech Carbon Icon.

[usmcveteran]

What is price as pictured? Does this replace your current bow of choice?

[Chicken Shoot]

What is price as pictured? Does this replace your current bow of choice?

$599.95 Carbon Icon
$109.99 QAD HDX Rest
$34.99 Parker Quiver
$10.59 Bowtech Wrist sling
$7.99 Peep sight
$85.99 Trophy Ridge V3 FireWire sight
No charge for the stabilizer.
-----------------
$849.54 Subtotal
$59.47 Tax
--------------
$909.01 as it is seen above

Now, if someone wanted that same bow and wanted it fully loaded from Bowtech, they could have it ready to go for $699.99 out the door at the shop AND get a 1/2 dozen custom cut Gold Tip Hunter 400 arrows. At the shop, they are running an early holiday special where one can get the 1/2 dozen arrows with the purchase of ANY new bow.

My main bow prior to this was a Parker Frontier. I still have it and I plan on keeping it for awhile as well. I also use a Bear Carnage and a Parker Hornet Plus 2.

[4excalibursquared]

Why do girls just wanna wine??

[Chicken Shoot]

Why do girls just wanna wine??

Ask them .....

[big flash]

oh that is really nice! great review too, thanks!