Our bow test & review of the Bear Refine EKO turned up some interesting findings including its price. At an MSRP of $999.99, the Refine EKO was the least-expensive premium bow in the HuntStand 2022 Compound Bow Field Test. That total was right at $200 less than the average test bow cost, and a full $300 less than the two most-expensive models in our test. That’s good news for bowhunters everywhere, and especially those on strict budgets.
Our Stable Of Premium Test Bows
In addition to the Bear Refine EKO featured here, our stable of 2022 test bows included the new Elite EnVision, and the PSE EVO XF 30. In addition, we tested the Mathews V3X 33, the Prime Inline 3, and the Bowtech SR350.
All bows were competing for one of our three awards: The 2022 Best Value Award is a gauge of ultimate bang for your buck, which considered both features and performance. And the coveted 2022 Editor’s Choice is the bow we’d pick from this high-class, premium group if limited to just a single model. As you might guess the 2022 Silver award is the “Second-Place” finisher to our Editor’s Choice.
How We Tested
We put these six bows through a battery of tests that included speed (with help from a shooting machine and a chronograph). We also tested for Mass weight (with help from a digital scale), and silence (with help from a decibel meter).
In addition, we considered things like accuracy, fit and finish, ergonomics, in-the-field maneuverability, letoff, draw cycle, and price point. All of these can be important when choosing a new premium hunting rig.
Bow Test Accessories
All test bows were equipped with a proven G5 Outdoors Meta Peep Pro, as well as an all-new Redline RL-1 10-inch Stabilizer, and a Redline RL-3 5-Pin Dovetail Sight. In addition, we used the latest full-containment drop-away UltraRest models from Quality Archery Designs.
Also used in our test were Easton 5mm Full Metal Jacket arrows fletched with New Archery Products’ Quikfletch QuikSpin Vanes. And finally, we shot those arrows into a selection of Delta-McKenzie block-style and realistic 3-D targets.
More Bow Videos On The Way!
We hope you learned a few things from this bow test & review of the Bear Refine EKO. If you’ve got interest in learning about more of the best new hunting bows of 2022, don’t forget to check back in the coming days and weeks. Why? We’ll also be posting individual videos highlighting each of the tested bows. Thanks for watching!
