Best Bow Innovations of the Last Decade...or Two

Imagine a nine-year-old kid, pockets bulging with hard-earned cash from winning a local talent show, stepping into a bow shop with a fire in their eyes.

That was me in 2003, in Belmont, Wisconsin. I walked out of the archery shop that day with a PSE Outlaw, a bow that would change everything.

It wasn’t just a purchase; it was the spark that ignited a decades-long obsession with archery and bowhunting.

From that humble beginning to the sleek, high-tech Mathews Lift I now carry afield, the evolution of modern archery equipment is mind-blowing.

Just how far have we come? Buckle up, because we’re diving into the 10 biggest bow innovations that have redefined archery in the last two decades.

Bow String Materials

Undoubtedly, one of the most overlooked yet crucial components of a bow is the string. Recent advancements in bowstring materials have significantly enhanced the overall performance of modern bows.

Not only have factory strings seen improvements, but aftermarket string manufacturers continue to innovate annually. A premium set of custom strings and cables minimizes issues like string stretch, tuning complications, cam timing, and peep rotation, which were prevalent in the early 2000s.

Anyone else remember those peep sights with the rubber tubing? Yeah, the ones that felt like a coiled spring loaded to punch you in the face. Every shot was a gamble – was it going to be a bullseye, or a black eye? Thankfully, those days are over. Modern bowstrings have banished those face-slapping relics to the history books.

Today, companies offer products with superior consistency and longevity, utilizing various high-end materials and blended fibers. As a bonus, you can color-coordinate your string setup to match your preferred color scheme.

Parallel/Past Parallel Limbs

Forget those D-shaped dinosaurs with their limb-flinging tendencies. Bow design has undergone a radical transformation.

Risers have stretched, limbs have shrunk, and bows now sport limb angles that look almost impossibly aggressive. The result? A revolution in performance.

By directing limb movement outward instead of forward, engineers have virtually eliminated hand shock, creating a recoil-free shooting experience.

Sorry, aftermarket silencer companies. Modern bow designs have made your squishy, colorful widgets a relic of the past.

And the energy storage? It’s off the charts. Today’s bows are more efficient than ever, delivering a maximum amount of energy into the arrow as it’s sent rocketing toward it’s intended target.

Binary Cam System

Say goodbye to cam synchronization nightmares. The binary cam system, a technological leap forward, revolutionized dual-cam bows.

Ditching the traditional limb-connected design, Bowtech pioneered a system where two identical cams are ‘slaved’ together by cables. This ensures flawless synchronization throughout the draw cycle and level nock travel, preventing the timing errors and erratic arrow flight that plagued older dual-cam designs.

The result? Unmatched consistency and a cam system that stays in tune.

Bowtech unveiled this innovation in 2005, securing the patent in 2007, and it’s now the gold standard for dual-cam performance.

Built-In Tuneability

Tunability has forever been a struggle for the average bow hunter. If your setup was not capable of straight arrow flight, you inevitably had to take your bow into the local shop to have them make the necessary adjustments, whether that was top hat shimming or cable twisting.

Today, we see multiple companies that have found a way to bypass the bow press by making limb or cam adjustments with the turn of an Allen wrench. Most recently, Mathews released their 2025 bow, the Lift X.

This bow sports the new Limb Shift Technology that allows you to micro adjust the spacing of the limbs and effectively create the proper cam lean for perfect arrow flight. A bow press and Top Hats are a thing of the past! Several years ago, Bowtech created their press free tuning technology, known as Deadlock Technology.

This technology was the first of its kind and gave competitor manufacturers an idea to chase. Bowtech’s Deadlock Technology allows you to adjust the cam, itself, left and right with an Allen wrench to dial in your setup.

Cable/Limb Stops

Nothing contributes more to overall accuracy, consistent anchoring, and better shooting form than a solid backwall. This is a direct result of enhanced limb and cable stops that we see today.

These mechanisms have been on bow setups for years but have been enhanced over the past decade. Full draw on today’s archery setups is rock solid.

Some bow manufacturers now offer adjustability and the option to choose a limb stop or a cable stop so that you can customize the feel of your bows backwall at full draw, whether you prefer the softness of a cable stop or a rock solid feeling that limb stops provide.

Modular Draw Length Adjustment

Adjusting draw lengths has never been easier than it is today, and though modular draw length adjustments are not new to the archery industry, they have seen significant innovation throughout the years.

Draw length is crucial for comfortable and consistent shooting form. Having the ability to simply switch modules to shorten or lengthen your draw length will provide you with a tailor made fit.

The best part about these modular systems is that they can be adjusted or replaced without the need of a bow press. This allows the average archer to play around with the setup to find what draw fits best with each personal combination of release, d-loop and anchor point.

STS - Shock Termination Suppression

In the early 2000’s there was an effort to remove bow riser shock, vibration, and noise from bow setups. From that effort, the STS system was born. The Shock Termination Suppression (STS) was a string stopping device that could be threaded to the rear stabilizer hole on the bow’s riser and provided several solutions to compound bow faults at that time. Primarily, it diminished shot vibration, shock, and noise. However, it also helped with string wrist slapping issues that were often seen in short brace height bows. It was such a game changing innovation that string stopping devices are found on nearly every single compound made in the industry today. I remember buying my first one for my Hoyt Turbohawk in 2010, the shooting experience was remarkably better.

Split Limbs

Though split limbs were first patented in 1980 by Joseph Cadwell, they were not thoroughly explored until the late 1990’s.

Decades later almost all top-tier bows sport split limb technology, and for good reason. Split limbs now offer supreme durability, stability, tuneability and higher performance than ever before.

Mounting Systems for Accessories

One of the more recent designs being implemented by companies across the industry are the options for mounting accessories to the bow such as sights, rests and stabilizers. In an attempt to streamline bow setups, companies like Mathews and Hoyt discovered creative ways to do so.

In 2022, Mathews created the Bridge Lock system. This allows a dove tail sight to be mounted directly through the riser of the bow and eliminating the need for an external bracket on the side of the riser. This allows the quiver to be mounted that much closer to the bow, creating a sleek setup.

This system is now being implemented on their stabilizers as well. Hoyt, on the other hand, took a different approach. Their solution came in the form of a picatinny rail mounting bracket on the front of the riser. This allows for a solid connection point using a standardized mounting system commonly found of firearms.

Ultimately, these systems streamline the bow, cut unnecessary mounting bracket weight, and shift the weight of the accessory to the center of the bow for improved stability.

Carbon Bows

I can vividly remember the year Hoyt came out with the Carbon Matrix. It was 2010, and I had just purchased a Hoyt myself.

As I sat there looking at the expensive models that I was unable to afford, the thought of a carbon bow was beyond intriguing, and at the time nearly unheard of. Hoyt has since been a front runner in the carbon bow.

But they are not alone, PSE has also taken on the challenge of creating a top-of-the-line carbon platform. There are several benefits to carbon including overall strength of the risers, bow weight, and heat transfer to the hand on those cold fall hunts.

They may be costly but have been a popular option over the years.

Final Thoughts

From my first bow to my last and each one in between, it has been incredible to see compound bow innovations the past 20+ years.

I had the pleasure of growing up during the tail end of the archery industry’s “hay day.”

Seeing the technology advancing each season has and continues to impress me, and I’m looking forward to the innovations to come in the next 20 years!

Kurt Thorsen

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