Xcentric Xcentric Bow Review: Made to Order
I admit it, when it comes to archery, I'm a tinkerer. Never satisfied, once I feel like I have the setup, I have to change something; sight, rest, arrows, you name it. I'm not sure how or when I developed this obnoxious and sometimes expensive habit, but there it is - Hi, my name is Dan and I'm a tinkerer.
On a Whim: Ordering an Xcentric Bow
I didn't necessarily intend on switching bows anytime soon, but on a whim I sold the perfectly good bow that I was perfectly happy with (which was set up with a perfectly good sight, and a perfectly good rest, and a perfectly good... Well, you get the picture...) and, at the start of this year, found myself in the position no true archery friend likes to find themselves; bow-less. And so began this year's great adventure: Find Dan's new bow!
Wondering we what stock from Xcentric?
I knew what I wanted- Sort of. I wanted what could be considered a cross over bow. Something that would work equally as well in the woods and on the 3D range. Something not terribly heavy, but not too light. Not too loud or with too much vibration. Something fast but controllable. Something long, but not too long. Modular draw length adjustment as well as adjustable let-off. It was the Goldilocks of bows. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. It didn't take long before I zeroed in on the up and coming manufacturer, Xpedition Archery.
Xpedition Archery: Aerospace Design
At this point, I feel like a little background is in order. Xpedition Archery is owned by its parent company, Applied Engineering. This particular company has been manufacturing parts for the aerospace industry for nearly 50 years. To say they know a thing or two about machining precision would be an understatement. This translates into an unparalleled quality in design, engineering, and manufacturing. I placed an order for their flagship model, the Xcentric.
I was able to check off almost every box on my wish list with this particular bow:
32.25" axle to axle
3.9 LBS okay
354 FPS IBO
Modular draw length adjustment from 27: 30-inches.
80% let-off (adjustable)
Xpedition Xcentric Bow: The Arrival
When I called to place my order, I was concerned with how long it might take for the bow to actually ship. I had procrastinated long enough that I had my first 3D shoot of the year coming up in less than two weeks. While I had all of the parts and pieces to add to the bow once it arrived, I was still missing the main ingredient.
Check out the accessories for your bow we have online.
What I was told by the friendly staff at Xpedition was the bow I ordered would ship in two days' time and I would likely have it within the week. I was ecstatic. What makes this even more special is the fact that every bow manufactured by Xpedition Archery is assembled and tuned to order. No bows just sitting around waiting to be shipped, they wanted your particular recipe before baking your cake and boxing it up.
Unboxing my custom bow from Xpedition
Unboxing the bow was a real treat. After tearing into the heavy duty cardboard box and pulling the bow out for the first time, all I could think was that this was one good looking piece of equipment. I'm, admittedly, very picky about my equipment and I truly appreciated the attention to detail this company provides. From the baked on finish of the all black riser to the matte Defcon limbs, every screw, bolt, and machined part on this bow was outstanding.
Tuning the bow was a dream. I installed a Trophy Taker Smackdown Pro dead level with the berger hole and made sure my arrow was roughly 7/8" from the riser. This combination provided a perfect bullet hole through paper: exactly what was expected. After that, it was time to shoot through the chronograph. This was going to be the real test; was I going to be able to get the speed I was looking for (somewhere between 285 and 300 fps) with the weight arrow I wanted to shoot (450+ grains?)
Wanna refresher course on tuning your bow?
Reader's Digest version, I shot 10 arrows through the chronograph and was pleasantly surprised with an average speed of 294 fps. Shooting the bow was fantastic. The Xcentric was not only fast, but it was quiet, light, and nearly vibration free. It felt like a homecoming. I had found my bow.
My current setup will look something like this:
2016 Xpedtion Xcentric
71.2# @ 28"
461 grain GoldTip XT Hunter arrows
294FPS
For anyone on the fence about which new bow to shoot this year, I strongly urge you to take a good hard look at Xpedition Archery. While they don't offer as many varying models as some larger, more well-known manufacturers, what they lack in variety they make up for greatly in the quality of the models they do offer. As their tag line reads, "Xpedition Archery, Xperience Perfection." Stop by any of your local North40 Outfitters locations and experience perfection for yourself.
Thanks for the comment!
The draw cycle on the Xcentric is something that really drew me to this particular model. While the cams can certainly be considered "aggressive," they aren't so much so as to be problematic. The fact that this bow is equipped with adjustable draw stops really helps the user fine tune the overall feel of the draw cycle.
Xpedition also offers their bows in 5# weight increments, so if 70# feels like a bit too much but you aren't quite ready to step down to 60#, they offer a 65# (max draw weight) model as well.