Reviewed by Andy
Home > Bow Reviews > Bosen Reaper with RCX Limbs

It's somewhat of a stereo type that everything is made in China these days, it's been that way for some time no doubt but when you think about it surely it makes sense given that close to 20% of the worlds population live there, simple mathematics would dictate that a similar percentage of manufacturing would take place there. Most major companies will manufacture at least some of their products wholely or partly there. This has been true of archery equipement as much as it would any thing else, but we are now seeing something slightly different happening, rather than using those facilities to make products on behalf of companies based elsewhere in the world we are seeing Chinese companies making products in their own name. It makes total sense, they know how to make them they have been doing so for years and there can be no lack of talented bowyers and desginers in that huge population.

One of those companies is Bosen, a company based in China that have been making bows under that name since 2009. Their range covers all forms of archery, traditional, hunting and target bows are all on offer. I became aware of Bosen some time ago but it's only now that I've managed to get my hands on one to give them a really good test. We contacted Bosen as part of our ILF mega review to see if they could provide a set of limbs and they very kindly sent us their new RCX foam core limbs to test, of course a set of limbs isn't much use and so they also sent us a reaper riser to try.

When the package arrived we were very impressed with the package, the riser and limbs come in a really nice combination of riser bag and limb sleeves, very high quality and durable with a fantastic looking embroidered logo. The riser is made from CNC'd 6061-651 aluminium plate, well finished and painted black, it weighs in at [[]]  and feels nice and stable in that hand. It has a few gaps in the riser, presumably to reduce the weigh and has bushings for sight, button and arrow rest. It also comes with a hair strike plate utilising the button bushing as well as a redial area on the shelf to reduce the contact surface when the arrow is shot directly from the shelf. The riser as you would expect from aluminium is true centre shot, allowing for easier tuning. It has a removable grip which you could remove and replace with a custom grip if you were inclinde to make one, however the stock grip is excellent, it is a durbale rubber to give a nice slip free feel when held. The riser is ILF fit and fully adjustable, both tiller, poundage and limb alignment are possible. A great feature of the riser are the dials on the side of the limb pockets, this allows you to measure the adjustment accurately, they come with roman numerals which is something I haven't seen on other risers, it actually makes a lot of sense to have some sort of guide. Not only is it practical it gives the bow a really nice look. We haven't yet mentioned the lenght, this particular riser is 19", that pretty much puts it firmly in the hunting category of bows, this gives an overal length of 68" or 70" depending on the limb length chosen.

The limbs are equally impressive, the finish is excellent. They are understated in terms of graphcis, the only visible mark a small Bosen logo at the base of the top limb on the belly of the bow, a nice stags head design. The thing you first notice is these are hyper recurves, the tips going well past the 90 degree mark when the main body of the limb is held straight, proper back scratchers. They have a nice carbon weave pattern on both the front and back of the limb, however the limbs themselves are packed with different types of carbon. They have five active layers, cross carbon, high-modulus carbon and then a foam core, then back the other way with another layer of high-modulous and then another cross carbon layer. Basically these are all carbon limb which normally means a fast speeds but with a slightly less soft feel than you woud with a wood core. But we are getting ahead of ourselves, we haven't finished with the dimensions, these limbs are thin and not just at the tips, they limb is sleek and slender across the full length only getting up to [[ ]]  at the widest part. The limb tips are not chuncky as such but do look solid, string grooves nice and pronounced so no messing with out of position strings when you string up, a real boon with those hype recure ends. One final thing is the ILF pins are mounted on a slightly raised circular area, I assume to avoid damaging the carbon, a really nice additional touch and something some other bowyers might consider.

When strung the bow looks very good indeed, those forward sweeping limbs really making a menacing looking bow, it very much looks like it means business. As mentioned the grip is excellent and easy to find a nice positive position, hand in place and fingers on string and it's time to draw. Its smooth with the power building streadily and consistently, however the super recurve tips give a slight boost towards the end of the draw, almost as a check or positive feedback that you are at full draw, assuming of course you are at the standard 28 inches. People claim a feeling of letting off at this point with similar limbs, but with all respect to them that isn't actually possible, it's just a symptom of the draw and a feeling, you are holding the full weight of the limb on your fingers as opposed to a compound where there is an actual mechanical process taking that weight away. A few shots told me that a little bit of tuning was in order, a few minutes of messing around and I had something that felt good if not perfect, but we were here to shoot and not spend hours getting it bang on, plenty of time for that later.

All of this limb technology suggests speed and the Reaper doesn't disappoint, it's sending the Penthalon carbon arrows I'm using nice and fast and more importantly with great accuracy towards the target. The bow is well balanced in this natural state, however the physical weight and length suggest to me that a bit of stabilization wouldn't do any harm at all, it could certinaly be shot without however. There is a little noise or vibration from the limb, again a bit of stabilization would help in that regard, as would something like string silencers. However the heavier weight of the riser gives a level of stability which is often missing in traditional bows, this means that even without extra weights it offers an advantage over other bows.

I spent a good couple of hours shooting the Reaper, it's a very solid bow and an excellent choice for archers looking to move out of the the starter bow level and in to something a little more premium. The finish is excellent and the ability to add various bits and bobs such as sights, elevated rest and button means it offers a great level of versatility. As I mentioned previously this is the first Bosen bow I've tested and I really hope it's not the last.

 

 

 

Features & Design

Super recurve limbs, bushings for all the usual bits, scores top marks for features and design.

Performance

The all carbon limb really is top level in terms of performance, possibly a little harsher in the shot than a wood based limb but still a nice shooting bow

Value for Money

It's in the middle range in terms of price, but for a fully carbon limb it offeres great value

Overall

Well worth considering if you are looking to upgrade to something a little more than starter or lower level bows.