Many of us are drawn to particular bows by the brand and certain brands are deemed to be more valuable, like Bear's or Howatt's.

I have a bunch of big name recurves but am also drawn to less well known bows that are well designed and constructed. These bows should be much more valuable due to the construction and design details, but are not.

Case in point is this Tri-State Archery Lynx I just picked up off the auction site.

This bow has 13 contrasting laminations in the riser, and three additional limb laminations, two in the back and one in the belly-total 15.

The sight window is cut with a beautiful radius, and the shelf has a delicate overdraw built in. Leather grip is first class work.

Limbs are deflex/reflex and faced with excellent tight weave Owens Permaglass in green. Tip are small and delicate (no overlays) but they're adequate. The overlays can be found on Jaguar's, the next bow up the line.

Shoots fast and hard and to the mark..

Point I am making is that this bow should be afforded a far greater value than many plain Jane "big names" receive due to the sticker on the limb but never will be.

That's really too bad because these are the keepers!

Anyone else have examples of bows that deserve higher status than they're afforded?

The other side of the riser...

Picture before I cleaned it up.

Forgot to mention...paid the lordly sum of $44 for this gem.

For me it boils down to consistency of quality in bows such as howatt bear etc. I am sure other bows are the same I just hate to gamble on that.

I saw this one too- had it in my watch list but forgot about it. Good job.

Nice

Wow that is a beauty!

That is a tautology. They are only worth what someone will a pay; so what is the basis upon which people will pay more or less; supply and demand. So why is there more demand for some bows than others; because they are worth more; why is that?; because... And it just goes on until I can figure out how to shoot myself with back tension.

But seriously, the Bears are worth more, and the Martin guitars, not because they are anything like the best bows, they were just the biggest brands. Some people were born too late, or too poor, so now they are taking advantage of the internet to get the thing they couldn't have when they were young. And over the long haul, they aren't making any more Bear bows, so what is out there is all there is, and over a very long time the big brands tend to be more collectible.

Given the brand advantage, the lesser brands either have to be headed up with a really good talker, or they actually have to make better, or more specialized or customized gear. If there wasn't something good about them (ok could be cheaper), then they couldn't sell any of their bows again the brands.

Sometimes brands aren't that good, but at least in the case of Martin guitars, and Bear, they were the people who invented the key products and created the industry. Bears may have been designed to double as a good walking stick and to be dry fireable endlessly, but at least they were the real deal even if the demographic they served was mediocre. To my eye, in a few of his videos where I could see it, Fred's recurve looked a lot different in limb construction than the ones they sold to the punters. And why wouldn't they. He was an artist of archery tackle and didn't need a bow whose main marketing feature was that it could take a beating.

Collecting and "value" are strange birds sometimes. As everybody says on here, a bow is only worth what somebody will pay for it. A one of a kind masterpiece made by Joe Smith down the street is virtually wordless compared to a one of a kind piece of crap made by Fred Bear or one of the other "collector" worthy manufacturers.

If you got a masterpiece and a shooter to boot for only $44, then I say good for you. If you want to increase the value of it now that you own it, then you can "educate" the archery community as Frisky does with his Deathmaster and Drake bows.

A friend had a litter of championship cocker spaniels, he put them in the local classified for $50 each, he didn't get one call about the puppies. On a whim, he placed the same ad the following week and priced them at $400 each, they all sold the first day.

Same for bows, cost gives the perception of value.

In my experience, the bows that get most of the hype on this forum really do shoot better than average bows. There are thousands of bows out there that shoot just fine, but there are some that are truly outstanding.

I recently paid roughly double the typical price for what is without a doubt my "Grail" bow. I haven't regretted it for one second and would gladly do it again. It's all about rarity and how much you want something. Money is easier to get than a rare/exceptional bow. - John

P.S. Don't tell my wife about my "double the typical price" statement. She wouldn't understand.

Names sell, but fit is what makes a bow really sing. There are lots of old bows every bit as good as Fred's models, and some better. All depends on who is shooting them and how they fit the archer and the purpose.

I will likely choose a different bow if I'm walking all day over some mountain territory. If I'm sitting in a blind all day, then I likely will opt for another one. On the field range, depending on what class I'm shooting, I may opt for a Wing Presentation, or a Wing Thunderbird....or a Shakespeare Ocala, or Bear Takedown.

There likely isn't a bow made that won't shoot better than any one of us can shoot it. As for price....which one is talked about all the time over a lot of years? And if you really pay attention, you will see that bows talked about, and swooned over here on the LW, will bring higher dollars as well. Folks read these forums, and a lot more than you may think.

You don't always get what you pay for, but if you feel that you did, it doesn't much matter anyhow.

"In my experience, the bows that get most of the hype on this forum really do shoot better than average bows.

I've rarely seen that to be the case in all the years I've been on here...........

I am not taking anything away from the old big name bows but I don't understand is how a bow that sold for less then 100$ dollars years ago are asking 200$ to 300$ now.

It's not just old bows its everything. I'm sorry I guess it's just me.

Why should bows be any different than cars? Look at the then/now price difference in a 64 1/2 Mustang convertible or a 57 Chevy convertible. Of course then you have your Ford Pintos...

To me all bows are not created equal, but "your mileage may vary." Its all good. - John

I agree with Fisher Cat. All bows are not created equal. Some bows are just "magical" and you know it from the first shot. Price? Willing buyer-willing seller!. After 42 years of longbow and recurve shooting, and many bows along the way, I'll pretty much pay the asking price on that bow that whispers "magic" when its held, drawn and shot to the mark the first time.

I think the responses so far to this post have been interesting and thoughtful.

Marketing is everything and I think the bigger manufacturers got to a critical mass where there sales were sufficient to support an effective ad campaign and things go exponentially from there.

What I do recall from myriads of other posts is that archers in the 60's wanted to buy big names but could not afford them and the less known manufacturers got the nod due to price. I don't think they missed much.

I think bows like Cravotta, Tri-State/American Archery (same company), Darton and Shakespeare (to name a few) were every bit as good as most of the offerings of the big names.

Howatt pursued a different path in having less production but very high quality and excellent designs.

Peter, Tri-State and U.S. Archery were made in the same building in Danbury, Ct....but their bows used different glass in production. Wish I could find more information on them. American Archery was made in Clarendon Hills, Illinois and later in Wisconsin.

Right George...this clueless Canuck confused American Archery with U.S. Archery! Knew another company shared space with Tri State...

Pete you have a dandy looking bow there. Love all those lams.

Well...everybody knows I'm an opinionated die hard Bear fanatic!....BUT...being a Minnesotan I've always also had a thing for Herters...and I knew the bowyer...spent a lot of time and money at the old Herters store. Now my wife....she's into the old Brownings. Different strokes for different folks. Some bows are worth more for some sentimental reason that what anyone would normally pay for one...otherwise it's all in what you shoot well. And some just have mojo...like old Bears. Though I think all my Herters are actually faster shooting bows pound for pound. There's enough Rosewood in them to make 2-3 Bear risers!

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