LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
In 2008 Bowtech released their new line of bow accessories under the name Octane Archery. Their quivers, rests, and stabilizers were anxiously awaited in the bowhunting world as they were slated to be the newest addition of cutting edge products. In my personal search for the best gear (by best I mean most effective for me) I was drawn to the Octane Hostage Pro arrow rest. It’s a full containment rest that allows for the arrow to pass through with zero fletching contact. It is simple, good looking, fairly priced and is constructed with the utmost quality in mind. The rest can be purchased right here at bowhunting.com at quite a competitive price.
I purchased my first Hostage Pro in the summer of 2008 and set it up on my 2007 Bowtech Allegiance. Hunting western animals such as elk and mule deer obviously requires a lot of time walking and a full containment rest that was not a drop-away style rest is what I needed. Due to my picky nature of having a bow completely in tune, I was not interested with products like the whisker biscuit that could not eliminate fletching contact. After the first day with this rest, I was extremely impressed at the simplicity of the Hostage Pro and its performance.
As I ran thousands of arrows through this rest, I ran across one issue. I shoot a small diameter Easton Axis 340 fletched, with either Blazer vanes or the new Fusion vanes from Duravane with a right helical. Due to the small shaft diameter there is very little room between each vane thus causing the lower bristles fray on the edges where the base of the vane would skim across. I contacted Bowtech and they informed me that they had come up with a design that uses stiffer bristles made of pig hair for the bottom. These stiffer bristles take the brunt of the wear from shooting. With this simple addition, the Hostage Pro is in my mind is one of the best arrow rests on the market.
In a bowhunting world where products get more complex every year, it’s nice to see something that’s simple yet at the same time productive. The Hostage Pro has zero moving parts, there are no strings to tie to cables or limbs and it’s easy to adjust. The “Pro” model is marked for micro adjustability to make tiny adjustments fool proof. As would be expected with a stationary rest, it is as silent as any rest can be at release. It’s made of machined aluminum and is lightweight (a huge plus when packing a bowhunting rig through the Rockies or anywhere else). For an arrow rest that performs in all categories and is easy on the pocket book check out the Octane Hostage Pro arrow rest.
