Wow! That is the only word I could think of to start this review on the new Mathews Switchback XT. What an awesome bow the XT is. This 31-inch axle to axle power house has a 7 ½ brace height with parallel limbs weighing in at 4.25 pounds and with the advertised IBO of 315 fps this is a tree stand hunters dream.

The first thing I noticed about the XT when it arrived was the parallel limbs. A flawless finish completes the bow complementing the perfect balance of it in my hand. Of course the first thing to do was get the XT set up and start shooting. I opted to put an HHA drop away rest on, along with the new HHA Optimizer Light Series Sight. I have found that the HHA line of bow accessories is hard to beat for performance and durability. The rest is simple and solid and works well in the woods or on the range. Their new optimizer lite sights are the best I have ever used with 3 feet of fiber line wrapped around the sight casing. It is one of the brightest on the market and there is also an optional blue burst light for those very low light conditions.

After getting these two pieces of equipment on I opted for a 1/4 inch floating rear peep and a braided wrist sling. As far as string silencers and stabilizer it just didn’t need them. There just wasn’t any vibration going to my hand. I am not a big stabilizer fan so this was an awesome extra. As far as string noise goes it’s just almost not there. You just have to shoot the Switchback XT to know what I am talking about.

The draw cycle on the new straight line XT cam is extremely smooth. While it has a mild valley there is a solid back stop. It’s a joy to pull without the harsh characteristics that many single cams are known for. The grip felt perfect on my open-handed style shooting while settling in for the shot and upon release. Sometimes I wondered if the shot went off again. This is one extremely quiet, shock-free bow, like none I’ve ever shot. The XT also has three harmonic dampeners in the roller guard and one on each of the string silencers. This differs from the standard Switchback. Both the cam and the idler wheel have sealed bearings which are also a big plus, saving wear on the axle pins.

I am shooting Gold Tip 55/75 with 100 grain tips at 29 inches with 2 inch blazer vanes weighing five grains each and arrow wraps from Extreme Arrow Wraps weighing two grains. The total arrow weight was 390 grains total the Switchback XT is a 29-inch draw at 60 lb. peak weight and 65% let off. My XT shot these through the chronograph at 260 fps average, a quite impressive reading after only seven shots from this 60 lb. bow. I also shot a Gold Tip 35/55 with a 100-grain tip with same set up as above weighing in at 346 grains and got an amazing 272-fps average after seven shots. Again with no recoil and almost no shot noise.

I went out to shoot the XT at the range and I found no disappointments. When it comes to accuracy this is definitely Mathews at it s best. A true tack driver at any yardage. Mathews is going to have a tough time topping this one.

As soon as you get a chance go to your nearest Mathews dealer and try out a new Switchback XT. You will be hooked from the first shot.