2009 Mathews Reezen Review
Review: 2009 Mathews Reezen 6.5
The first thing that you’ll notice different about the Reezen compared with the Mathews bows of the last couple of years is the mass weight of the bow. It is heavier this year at 4.15 lbs compared to the Drenalin at 3.85 lbs or the DXT at 3.75 lbs. The draw is harder than most of the Mathews bows, but it builds smooth and has a very sharp break into the valley. This helps to make sure it remains shootable.
To truly appreciate this bow it must be shot with a few accessories on it to absorb some of the hand shock. For this review we used the Reezen 6.5 maxed out at 69 lbs and 28-inches of draw length. After checking cam rotation and idler lean, we installed a Whisker Biscuit, 5 pin Tru-Glo site, ¼ inch peep with tubing, wrist sling and a Mathews T-5 quiver. We also used a brass nock with eliminator buttons. This is a basic hunting set-up and it weighed in at 5.98lbs with the quiver full of arrows. Our arrow of choice was an Easton Full Metal Jacket. Paper tuning was relatively simple, and it tuned well at center shot with a 340 spine arrow.
While sighting the Reezen in and adjusting the peep, we shot it with the quiver attached and full of arrows to get a better feel for the bow as it would be shot in the field. The Reezen seemed a little louder than previous bows and had a slight jump. In fact, the top of the bow liked to tip back towards me and had a slight jump to the left. One of the first things we noticed shooting this bow is that it is very easy to torque the grip. Add this to the short brace height and you’ll need to have very good form to shoot the Reezen well. Mathews Reezen Specs IBO Rating Up to 340 fps Axle to Axle 32 in. Brace Height 6.5 in. Draw Weight 40-70 lbs. Bow Weight 4.15 lbs. Letoff 80% Draw Length 24-30 in.
 Once we were shooting a decent group at 20 yards and had a good feel for the bow, we added a few more accessories to it. These included an Extreme A.C.A.D 7 inch stabilizer, Fuse String stopper, LimbSavers and cat whiskers. At this point the bow weighed in at 6.28lbs. This made the Reezen feel more like a Mathews when shot, holding well on target and maintaining very good follow through at the shot. The Reezen was now very quiet and more comparable to the Drenalin or DXT.
We used three arrows for speed testing. This speed test was shot with the exact bow described above. We have purposely designed this test to show you what you can expect to get out of the Reezen with a hunting set up. Please remember that advertised IBO speeds are with a 70lb bow with a 30-inch draw length, 350 grain arrow, and nothing more than a brass nock on the string.
We used an Easton bow hunter 340 @ 415 grains, and an Easton Full Metal Jacket 340 @ 450 grains. We also used a third arrow to shoot the bow at a 5-grain per inch minimum. The results are shown in the following table.
Besides learning what this bow will really shoot for speed, we also noticed a distinct crack when shooting the 5-grain per inch arrows. This bow definitely will shoot smoother and quieter with a heavy to mid weight arrow.
The final test was broad heads. For this test we used the G5 Striker and Shuttle T. We wanted to see how much extra tuning was going to be required to shoot a broad head well. At 20 and 30 yards the broad heads hit right where we were aiming and grouped well! We don’t anticipate any broad head tuning issues with good arrows and heads unless you try and push the speed up with lighter arrows. 
There were two things We didn’t particularly like about the Reezen. The first is the new bottom axle. It had a large red head on one end, and a plastic clip that slides off. According to Mathews, the idea is that it makes the cams easier to change out by dealers without scratching the limb as you could by removing a standard e-clip. The red head sticking out could easily catch on clothes or limbs, and the plastic clip appears breakable and easy to lose. The Reezen was shot at Mathews several times with the clip removed with no incidence. We also removed the clip and tried to push the axle out. It could be done, however there is a lot of pressure on the axle and it would take some work to get it out.
 The second thing is the grip. It is the same grip as the DXT. While better than past Mathews grips, our opinion is that the heel and side of the grip will need to be flattened to shoot the bow well. The shape of the grip makes it very susceptible to hand torque,and an aftermarket grip for this bow may be a good choice. 
A few words of caution are needed. If you are a first time archer or a less experienced archer, you may want to consider a Drenalin or DXT. The form required to shoot the Reezen torque free, combined with the short brace height could spell trouble if you’re not willing to put the time and effort into learning how to shoot the bow well.
Overall the Reezen is a good solid bow and the kind that you would expect from Mathews. It shot very well for a speed bow, and performed up to standards We would expect from a high end bow. The trade off with the Reezen is weight for speed. It is physically heavier, however it holds its speed better than previous bows. If you are looking to upgrade your old Mathews and still get good solid performance with more speed the Reezen should be on your list.
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