Mathews Chill X Bow Review
Whenever you write a review, you're always going to have your haters. That's just a given. For me, in the past with my bow reviews, I've always had those one or two people that consider me bias because I shoot Hoyt, or because I didn't find the BowTech RPM 360 or the Mathews Creed XS to my liking. In a way, yes I am bias because I obviously like Hoyt well enough to own one. Just like your Mathews shooter is going to like the Mathews brand better then anything else, or the PSE shooter his brand.
When you boil it down, in today's market there is really no such thing as a bad bow or brand. Sure different brands and models have their different pros and cons, but in the end there is something out there for everybody. PSE may not design their bows as the most comfortable products on the market, but they have the fastest bows out there. Elite may not design particularly for speed (even though they still hit that 330-340 range), but a 92% let-off is what has a lot of people talking and possibly switching brands.
So what can people expect to see from the new Mathews Chill X? We've talked about the Chill R and the Creeds, but what about this new Monster that has inserted itself in the industry? Let's start with the specs. It's 35 inches axle-to-axle opposed to the Chill at 31 inches and the Chill R at 33 inches. It features the same brace height as the original Chill at 7 inches opposed to the Chill R at just over 6 inches. Granted, it is approximately 6 feet per second slower than the Chill R, but while you loose speed, you gain forgiveness with the longer brace height.
I love a dead in the hand bow. Any bow that comes out I shoot first without any accessories so I can feel what the bow itself does in my hand without help from anything else. The Monster Chill series is everything I like as far as smoothness. With the Chill X, Mathews also came out with their new "Rock mod". Being a dual cam bow, Mathews adopted the interchangeable modular system for their Monster bows opposed to draw length being cam specific. I personally think that the Rock mod is much more solid, and I would definitely take it over the bow's regular mods.
A lot of people say that Mathews created the Rock mod in attempt to keep up with Elite's bows, which have what could arguably be the smoothest draw cycle on the market today, with the most solid back wall I personally have ever felt. Whether Mathews did or not, who knows, but in my opinion they definitely improved their draw cycles and gave people another option when they buy a Monster.
Overall, I am a fan of the Chill X. It's a good bow, and one of my favorites in the Mathews lineup. Ask me anytime, and the Chill X will have an A in my book!
Here's my overall opinion of what Mathews has to offer in their main lineup, and you can go back and read some of my previous reviews on the Creeds and the Chill R. The original Chill is a great bow! Smooth, quiet, decent speed, it's a great setup. I like the original Creed, it's smooth, dead in the hand, a very nice bow as well. I do not like the Creed XS for certain reasons. The string angle you get on a shorter axle-to-axle bow is going to be more severe the longer the draw length. I'm a 28.5 inch draw, and have never felt comfortable or been able to find the smoothness or efficiency in a bow 30 inches axle-to-axle or less. Which makes the Chill R and the new Chill X more my cup of tea. At 28 inches axle-to-axle, the Creed XS does not suit me.
Right now I own two Hoyt bows, a 2012 Carbon Element and a 2013 Spyder 34. My Element is a 32 inch axle-to-axle bow, and I'll be the first to tell you, that is as short of a bow that I'm ever going to own. I feel like I have to have a longer axle-to-axle bow. No, I won't have the fastest bow out there, but I want to have confidence in my bow. I am not a believer in the theory that you have to have a short bow to hunt effectively out of a ground blind or tree stand. The way they build blinds and stands now, you can put 3 people in one blind and have plenty of clearance between your top cam and the ceiling from a sitting position. Don't believe it? Check out some of our videos and you'll see me hunting out of an Ameristep ground blind with my Spyder 34, which is 34 inches axle-to-axle.
Here's what it comes down to, different people are built differently and all have different preferences. We all know they saying about everybody’s got an opinion. That's the way the world is. I may shoot Hoyt, but don't take that the wrong way just because I give a bow you like a poor review. It's all personal preference. Do you shoot Hoyt or do your shoot Mathews? Do you drive a Chevy or do you drive a Ford?
-Sam Thrash, Fall Obsession Pro Staff