Tracer Nock

The final nock tested was the Easton Tracer Nock.  With an average cost of $8-9 per nock, these were right in line with most of the other nocks tested.

The Tracer nock works a bit different than others in that it actually uses a magnet to activate the nock as your arrow is shot.  The magnet itself is mounted on the shelf of your bow, close enough to activate the nock but far enough away to not affect arrow flight.   While the magnet installation isn’t a major undertaking, my biggest concern is what happens if the magnet is dislodged and falls off while I’m in the field?  If that happens, my $9 lighted nock just becomes all but worthless.

I mounted the Tracer magnet to the riser of my Heli^_m.

Magnet aside, the Tracer nocks are extremely easy to use.  They come pre-assembled and ready to shoot.  All you need to do is slide them into your arrow and start shooting.  When shot out of my bow, my Tracer nocks turned on every time.

Now when it comes to turning your nocks off, you must pass them back by a magnet.  Again, not a huge difficulty but it can be a little annoying.  I kept finding myself wanting to turn my nocks off and put my arrows back into my quiver before picking up my bow again, but couldn’t do that with the Tracer.  Instead I had to pick up my bow, run each arrow by the magnet, then put them away.

Additionally, the Tracer’s built-in functionality keeps the light on constantly during the shot and for several seconds after, and then the nock begins flashing.  There is no way to change that or turn the flashing off if you want a solid light.  I personally prefer a solid light rather than a blinking one, and it would be nice to have that option.

The overall brightness of the Tracer nock was on the lower side of the nocks I tested.  I wouldy say it was tied with the Laser Eye for the dimmest of all the lighted nocks.

The other item I didn’t care for was the sheer size, and specifically the length, of the Tracer nock.  It appears to use a full size nock like you’d find on your dad’s old 2317 arrows.  I mean this thing is BIG.  I’m sure that helps account for the fact that the Tracer was tied for heaviest nock shot at 27.8 grains.

Here you can see the size difference between the Tracer nock (orange) and standard Carbon Express nock (white).

My overall impression of the Tracer is that it’s a good product, but just not up to today’s standards.  The size of the nock and requirement of adding a magnet to your bow just make it seem a bit antiquated. 

Price: 4 – At $8-9 each, they are in line with other lighted nocks
Ease of Use: 3 – Installation of the magnet on your bow’s riser brought this score down
Reliability: 5 – worked every time, no problems turning them off or on
Brightness: 3 – average brightness
Weight:  2 – the heaviest nock at 27.8 grains

Overall: 3.4/5

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