4/06/2007
Would you recommend this product to a friend? : Yes
How long have you owned this product? : 7
: Day(s)
Pros : Well made. Works well and looks good.
Cons : Not the cheapest option.
Nickname : Online Shopper
Title : The best option available?
Detailed Review : There gets to a time when you see something that is nice to have. It might just be the gadget lover in me coming to the fore, but sometimes you can justify spending that little bit more for something if it's well made. The Cartel RX10 bowstand is such a beast. It appeals to my aesthetic appreciation because it's a good looking piece of kit. It also appeals to my lazy side. Which is more important? Lazy of course. Lazy pays off right now. The great things about this bowstand is that it's quick to deploy and feels very solid. The secret to its quick deployment is the little round collar which slides up and down the main shaft. In the "legs up" position, the collars rim traps the legs which fold upwards. The collar is then kept in place by the collet nut on the top which you can tighten by hand to secure it. By unscrewing the collet nut, you can lift up the collar and free the legs. If you spin the bowstand in your hand, the legs will fly out and drop down. This can keep you amused for ages if you're as easily amused as I am. Then you move the collar down so that it holds the legs splayed out. At this point, you can screw it down onto the threaded piece at the bottom. Voila, the legs are now held in the deployed position. Your Bowstand is now ready for use! A nice touch is the hidden spike in the stand bottom. It's about four inches long and screws into the main part of the stand, utilising otherwise wasted space. You screw it out, reverse it and screw it back in so that the point now points outwards. You can now use this pointy extension for various things. Picking up garbage, poking new archers to help them define their form and defending yourself from irate wombats. You could even use it to help keep your bowstand upright on the windiest of days, but that's a lot more boring than irate wombats. So, does it work? I hear you say. Yes. It does at that. There are two modes of use. One is the more traditional "put the bow with the stabiliser pointing at the sky" method with the bow handle in the fork and the string sometimes stuck between the shaft and the string retainer. The other uses the small folding extension which holds the stabiliser while the fork now goes under the handle on the riser. This holds your bow at a forward leaning angle so you can pick it up more easily. Did I mention that I was lazy? It's apparently made of 7075 T-6 which is pretty much the toughest of the Aluminium alloys. With a reasonable amount of Zinc and Copper in it, it's used for lots of aircraft components. Although this metal is more susceptible to stress corrosion cracking than other alloys, I think that it's going to be up to the task of holding my bow for longer than it takes for election promises to be carried out. Problems: In my haste to remove it from the shop, it took till I got home to discover that in transit, one of the leg pivot pins had come out. Nothing to be too worried about as it was easily put back in and secured with the screw. It might be something to check or hold in with some loctite in future. Also, the legs rattle in the stowed position. It's minor, but I hate the little tinkle of aluminium tubes. I fixed mine by putting a thin strip of closed cell foam rubber into the underside of the collar. It lightly presses the tops of the legs when it's closed and stops the rattle. It took all of three minutes to do. So do I like it? It works, it looks good and it's well made. What else is there to say except you can get it in quite a few colours.