Martin Archery in 2013

While I love the living snot out of my Bengal, like Barry has mentioned, chamfered edges on the module would most likely greatly help the cable wear that some are seeing. Going back to my Cheetah and the old style module or even the modules that comes on the Nitro/Hybrix - there is a flat where the cable is to come to rest, with the Fury mod, it just drops off, so there is no way to know what the proper rotation is or where the cable should come to rest. A little more clarity there would be killer.

I think they will continue to push the bar as far as riser design goes, as we have seen in the Bengal/Onza/XT/Nemesis to name a few over the past years and that is exciting. I think having more variance in the specs would greatly help. Right now there are a good number of bows in the 30-32" ATA range, which is fine with me, that is what I shoot, but I know there are more people out there that like longer bows. The Onza/Scepter/Pantera offer that, but I would bet 1 more in between Pantera and Scepter would probably make some folks happy.

The web presence lately on Facebook has been awesome, I think continuing to reach out through social media will continue to bring good things to Martin. I think some YouTube videos on process/manufacturing or tips, etc would be great.

I feel like they have really pushed the bar recently with what they can do and as long as they continue to prove it, things I think will take off. Regardless I'm a Martin/Rytera guy for life. Can pretty much guarantee I'll never own any other brand of bow ... even if it were given to me or I happen to win one in some crazy contest, I'd look to move it for a Martin.

I can't really comment on the traditional world as I have no experience with them, but plan to in the future.

I like the vem grip its really comfterble. I think they should keep that instead of the slim hard grip. The idler wheel should have a nice smooth edge. And keep the vem riser shelf. Oh ya and specs could definitly be more precisce. And cam rotation should be specified. Other than that i love me 2010 cheetah.

I posted over at the A.T. Link

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Originally Posted by dugout

There is a lot that has nothing directly to do with the product.

Corporate Branding; why spin off a new brand while struggling to keep the parent brand relevant? Rytera? It just screams why! If there was a product group that needed its own identity it is the traditional bows with the obvious difference in customer base. What does a second brand of Compound Bows bring to the table besides splintering available R&D, Support, and promotional resources?

The product groupings and model maze does nothing but confuse the potential customer base. Names mean things. The word "pro" needs to be reserved for the pro line. "Silencer Pro" in the Gold Line makes no sense. When a model is named it needs to carry that name through its life and be dropped when the particular line of bows is dropped. The model name "Jaguar" has been applied to multiple compound and traditional bows, coming in and out of the product line over the years. It's like Ford introducing a pickup truck and calling it a "Mustang". Too much energy goes into branding to just purposely dilute it.

As a company grows and matures it must adapt to current market conditions. A company cannot "do it the way we have always done it" and maintain, or gain, market share. Change is good and change is necessary but change needs to be balanced, progressive, and follow consistent logical goals. Adaptive change is possible while maintaining the original Martin Company identity. It was product change and innovation which made what Martin is today and those same principals judiciously applied to its marketing plan will ensure Martin’s future.

I will admit to being overly sensitive to marketing but I've spent the better part of thirty years successfully marketing recreational products. It's a puzzle which starts with limited resources and ends with maximization of product sales expectations.

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amen brother. rytera bows, the exact same bow with some crazy looking riser, with the motto light years ahead as if the technology is different from a regular martin bow. seems like they would loose money on this. i would like to see some more speed bows, the crossfire is a dual cammed very short bow at 30 inches, it even has speed nocks and the specs claim 320 fps. something is not right about that. other than that no issues

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Originally Posted by bfisher

More attention to detail concerning cams and modules needs to be implemented. All areas such as string/cable grooves should be chamfered or rounded to eliminate abrading of string/cable servings. This bit of machining would save the company money replacing strings/cables from excessive wear and make customers very happy.

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EXACTLY! Nothing to add. I am very happy with my Onza 3 after I repaired the modules of it myself, but I feel this is something the factory should have already done.

I traded my Hoyt CRX 32 for the Onza 3 and to me, that was the right choice.

Please bring back a long ata bow. I know we that shoot fingers are all but gone, but we are still here and Martins last best finger bow was the Shadowcat.
Just like the old saying goes, "build it and they will come" Build them and they will sell.
It was 2 Shadowcats that won the Ca. State Broadhead Chaampionshipds in the non-sight fingers classes.
Don.

I would think that and ATA between Pantera and Scepter would probably make some folks very happy. Attention to detail! My 2011 ONZA dip is terrible, fading and or flaking off on the bottom limb. Saying that I'm still a Martin man...

barry is exactly right, more attention to detale where the moduals are concerned , this is J M O , it appears to me that 2 or more machine shops are used or several machines in 1 shop, some get it right & some don't. i 've replaced or modified all the mods on all my martin rytera bows with the help from customer service {joel } to the point where i don't have any serving wear at all.more quality control in this area would save the co. lots of money & less down time for the customers. i'm not griping i love all my rytera bows,

I am going to say some things have already been said. Why would I do that? Because I think the more times a different person says it the more weight it will carry as being something important to address with 2013. This is all about Quality Control. If you use a golf scale of QC within the 2011 line (I use that line because of a personal involvement in that year).

If you notice though many have constructive things to say where Martin needs improvement they many times start off with something they like good about the bows first. This is not to soften the blow of the negative comments following that or keep from sounding mean or harsh about it. Its because they really to have an awesome shooting bow to say something nice about. My 2011 Firecat 400 is the fastest, hardest hitting, smoothest, and most accurate bow I have ever owned. I love this bows performance. That is why so many start off with something good to say.

But....

Quality Control has let much more to be desired. Finish problems right out of the box brand new especially the carbon black that chips and loses finish so easy. Seems like some sort of protective coat on that would help a lot but I know you need to keep the glare down. Still have a lot of glare when most of your riser is showing aluminum from stick and limb scratches though. A little pro and con and a solution to that issue. Also the higher end bows are being equipped with cost cutting parts. The carbon rod for my cable slide has broken twice with less than 200 shots. Just splinters out and breaks. I know they stay quiet but Id rather have a stronger material. Again someone mentioned the stickers are being placed different and without care. My adhesive pad to stop the module pin that rotates into the cam limb to stop for the proper let off percentage was halfway in the cam placed on with no care at all. My bow also had a cam alignment problem right out of the box. It would have taken someone 10 times or less of pulling the bow back to see the imprint it was leaving on the cable. Each imprint contributes to damage. I know someone can not pull back dozens of bows a day but surely there is an assistance machine that is ergonomically fit to accomplish this. I kept the inspection tags for a long time. A sticker of the name or initials of the person that inspected my bow. I was instantly aggravated because I know Martin is better than that and I expected more from them.

I took a deep breath and called Martin...

That is when the magic happens. Martin's never failing insurance plan.. Their people. Joel and another guy (forgive me other guy I do not remember your name right now) helped me with excellent solutions that benefited my situation at every angle. I hated having these unnecessary issues that should have never left the factory but knowing I had an easy no hassle help with the problem was worth while to associate with the martin name. Its like calling one of my good buddies rather than an a over structured business with return and repair rules, and fine print.

Other little things like my thin thermal grip leather is pulling out of place which is pulling the glued insert over the leather material in the side of the riser because they over lap. Again though its all being taken care of.

I can not say Quality Control and process discipline enough. Offer the employees an incentive for finding and identifying bows for quality problems and watch the results of quality checks raise. I know if I was getting a gift card or pre pay or an employee of the month visa I would help find these problems a little better. Otherwise people become robots in assembly line type work.. The final person gets it and puts on their inspection stickers and off it goes.

Look forward already for 2013 improvements. The fact the company takes the time to connect with customers to find out their opinions and needs shows the right direction.

I made a comment over on archerytalk. but I just thought of a new one. Put serial numbers on the riser for better tracking of said bow. I bought a martin Shadowcat 2011 is what I thought I was buying turned into a 2010 riser 2011 limbs and 2010 cams that the shop slapped together to "just sell a bow" and I got the mixed batch. Sure I have been taken care of by martin but it shouldn't have happened in the frist place. I gave up a Hoyt to buy the martin. I think if the bows had numbers on them it might make things easier to track and maybe get those bad shops to stop mix and matching just to sell bows.