Hoyt’s 2014 Carbon Spyder Turbo was an amazing bow. I wasn’t sure how much they could do to improve on it, but in typical Hoyt fashion, they did. The Carbon Spyder ZT Turbo is a screamer, but doesn’t compromise the shootability Hoyt is known for. Driving the new bow is the Turbo Cam & ½, which produces a sizzling top speed of 350 fps ATA despite the very comfortable 75-percent letoff. The Helical Flex Tune Carbon Riser is billed as Hoyt’s strongest, lightest and quietest to date, but it’s the ZT (Zero Torque) Cable Guard system that gives the new Spyder series bows their name. Uniquely designed with a reverse mount, it directs side cable tension in the opposite direction to effectively cancel it. Sporting all the latest technology you’d expect in a flagship from Hoyt, the new Carbon Spyder bows boast XTS Pro Arc Limbs, adjustable AirShox, Shock-Rods, Silent Shelf, Pro-Fit Custom Grips and the offset Perfect Balance Stabilization System to name a few. Three cams with modules offer draw lengths of 24-25.5 inches, 26-28 inches and 28-30 inches, respectively. Peak draw weights are 40, 50, 60, 65 and 70 pounds. Mass weight is a very pleasant 3.8 pounds, and the bow is 33 inches axle to axle with a 6-inch brace height. Standard hunting finishes include Realtree Max-1, Realtree Xtra and Black Out, but a wide range of custom accents, camo patterns and target colors are available as well. The Hoyt Carbon Spyder ZT Turbo retails for around $1,200.
It’s been a winning formula for Hoyt in recent years: offer a high-end, no-compromise line of new carbon bows along with a new aluminum-riser series offering virtually the same features and technologies. The results are invariably impressive. This year’s non-carbon answer to the Spyder series is the Nitrum series, including the Nitrum Turbo. Energized by the same Turbo Cam & ½, it reaches the same impressive top speed of 350 fps as the Carbon Spyder ZT Turbo. It also boasts the same new ZT Cable Guard system along with the XTS Pro Arc limbs, AirShox and all the other goodies. The specs are much the same, too. The most noticeable difference, aside from the risers, is a slightly heavier mass weight of 4.2 pounds and, of course, the difference in appearance. Draw lengths are the same, 24 to 30 inches, via three different cam sizes. Draw weights also match up, and the brace height is the same at 6 inches. Even the finish options are the same. You can take this bow home for around $950.
Those are the flamethrowers, but Hoyt also introduced the Carbon Spyder ZT 30 and Carbon Spyder ZT 34. Both feature the new patent-pending Zero Torque Cable Guard System as well as Hoyt’s racy Z5 Cam & ½. This buttery-smooth cam system drives arrows from the ZT 30 at 332 fps while the ZT 34 achieves 330 fps. Those who favored the short, compact and easily maneuverable Carbon Spyder will undoubtedly love the ZT 30, and those who prefer a little longer axle-to-axle rig will again be amazed with the ZT 34. Both bows retail for about $1,200.
Aluminum fans will also find 30- and 34-inch axle-to-axle models in the Nitrum series as well. Built like rocks and tough as nails, the Nitrum 30 and Nitrum 34 are fitted with the Z5 Cam & ½ system and mirror the speeds of their carbon cousins. In addition, the bows offer the same 6 ¾-inch brace height and Zero Torque Cable Guard System. Though a tad heavier at 3.9 pounds (Nitrum 30) and 4.2 pounds (Nitrum 34), the Nitrum twins are engineered for maximum performance.
For more information, visit www.hoyt.com or call (801) 363-2990.
