Mathews NoCam HTR Bow Review

So for the past few weeks, the new Mathews NoCam HTR has been the talk of the archery industry. I get questions all the time, stuff like "How does it shoot without a cam?" or "Isn't it slower since there is no cam." Here I'm going to give you the details on how the NoCam operates, and my personal opinion of it in this brief review.

When this bow was released, I had just come back in from a morning hunt and a picture of it popped up in my Facebook feed. Up until then I had no idea what Mathews was going to do. When I got into the bow shop the next day, we already had our demo in (for those of you who don't know, I work as a tech at an archery pro shop). Our shop manager already had it set up with a QAD arrow rest, ready to go. He told me, “You have to shoot this thing!” Keep in mind that he and I both are Hoyt guys.

I put an arrow on it, shot it...and I was amazed! Like previous Mathews bows, it had that super smooth draw cycle, but what got me was how quiet it was. You think the Chill R was quiet, you haven't seen anything yet! The new NoCam is in my opinion the quietest bow ever made!

So how does it work? Here's the simple version. The NoCam is indeed made of of two wheels, neither of which are considered cams. The axle itself is centered in the wheel, but the tracks for your cables are offset, giving you more smoothness, and more efficiency directed toward that arrow.

There is also no nock travel whatsoever throughout your draw cycle. You can watch any compound bow being drawn back in slow motion, and throughout that draw cycle, the nock of your arrow is going to vary off of level plane. The NoCam, having two perfectly round wheels, allows the string to remain at a consistent radius from the center of rotation throughout the draw, allowing the nock to remain level all the way through to the point of release.

32 inches axle-to-axle, IBO at 330 fps with a 6 5/8 inch brace height. It's no speed bow, but it is definitely a game changer. Granted I currently shoot Hoyt, but I can honestly say in today’s archery world, every manufacturer makes a good bow. I respect Mathews and those that shoot their bows, and I've always been very impressed with their Chill series, but I honestly think that the NoCam is the next big thing! I don't care what brand you shoot, if you have the opportunity to, you need to put some arrows through the NoCam. You won’t regret it!

-Sam Thrash, Fall Obsession Pro Staff