As a young archer and bowhunter, I never considered the overall balance of my bow when talking about accuracy and comfort. As I got older and became more invested in the sport, I started to research a little more, and eventually stabilization became a major concern of mine. I started with a standard front stabilizer, which sufficed for a few years until I moved into larger bows and bigger sights, making my bow both top and forward heavy. I decided that in order to balance my bow I needed to include a back bar on my setup.
I settled on the Dead Center Level Hunter XS Lite stabilizer kit. This kit has two different size combinations for your two bar sizes, 8” / 6” and 10” / 8”. I went with the 10” / 8” combination because I had more confidence in those lengths. If you are worried about keeping your bow more compact, the 8” / 6” option will do perfectly. Each stabilizer has a very lightweight carbon construction, paired with two rubberized vibration dampeners to limit the amount of sound, and felt vibration with each shot while not adding much weight to the overall setup.
The total weight of my stabilizer setup comes in around 1 pound. Each stabilizer can also use a quick detach mounting system for easy removal. This is a huge plus for me because an early concern of mine was that I could not keep my bow fully assembled in my case, but with the quick detach system I can have my bow ready to shoot in under 10 seconds.
Each stabilizer also has a ¼ – 20 thread on the end to allow the shooter to add weight to balance their bow and optimize accuracy. The thread is adjustable to accommodate more or less weights while maintaining a compact look. The kit includes six 1oz weights, but more can be purchased if need be. I use two weights on the front stabilizer and four on the back, which has been the winning combination for me. However, each shooter varies in preference and needs, so some experimentation will be needed to find works best.
The Dead Level Hunter XS Lite kit also comes with the Diamond Series Single Mount. You will find that this mount has numbered laser engraved tuning marks for precise stabilizer positioning. This was a key factor in my decision to use this kit because I had seen other setups that had no tuning marks at all. Owners of those rigs had added their own marks and complained about losing track of which mark was the one they utilized if their stabilizer position had gotten bumped or shifted.
With the numbered tuning marks, it is significantly easier to recall which mark was utilized for the correct stabilizer position. The TaperLok design at each joint of the mounting system allows for infinite adjustment. No matter the angle you need your back bar to be, the Diamond Series system can get you there.
I have been using the Dead Level Hunter XS Lite stabilizers for more than three years now and I am very happy with how they have performed for me both in the field chasing whitetails and on the target range during competition. The quick detach mounting system paired with the engraved tuning marks make these stabilizers very easy to use and with different size and color options, they can fit just about any shooter’s needs.
The price of the total kit comes in at $219.99. That gets the buyer two stabilizers, a Diamond Series Single Lite Mount and six 1oz custom weights. If you are looking for a new stabilizer system, I recommend checking out the Dead Center Level Hunter XS Lite.
