Started looking at the dryads at ETAR this year and I really like the looks and feel of them. That dull finish and the darker risers is right down my alley, but I just couldn't make myself spend the money. What do you all think?
I just bought a Dryad Epic 17" ILF riser. I like it so much I bought another in 15". Good people and customer service. I emailed Jason on a Saturday when The group was away from the shop at Denton Hill. Jason forwarded the email on to Connie. Connie was working their tent and called me on my cell phone. Took the time to snap a few pics of their risers, I made my choice and we done the deal over the phone. They drove all the back home, shipped my riser and I had it by the end if the following week.
I have one riser set up for recurves, and the other as longbow.
I have one of their one piece longbows...quality is obvious
I have an Dryad Orion ACS RC,it is a flat shooting bow.The riser fits me great,I have a low grip 17" riser.I like the grip,fits and feels great for me.I plan on getting some ACS longbow limbs for my riser in the future.I also have an older Dryad Orion T/D longbow and a Dryad one piece longbow I made from one of their bow blanks.They make some fine bows in my opinion!
The following review which was submitted in May 2012 still stands with the exception of the personal preference for the phenolic riser combinations.
DATE: 05/09/2012
New Dryad Orion w/ ACS RC Limbs - Exposed
The plan was to start loosing arrows out of a bow ten pounds lighter than my hunting weight after turkey season in order to more easily focus on form. My objective here was specifically form focused with a forgiving design and specs as prerequisites. The newly designed Orion riser along with new ACS RC limbs was selected for the task.
Much data, stats, hype, hoopla, rhetoric and fascination has been forth coming since the ACS RC debut earlier this year. Unless I can readily and visibly determine and/or experience the improvements and benefits, then I am not the least impressed. These attributes, to me, then are of no added value.
The following is my personal review as witnessed and experienced through my eyes after running ~700 arrows thru her.
Bow Specs: 62" Dryad Orion w/ACS RC Static Limbs
Riser: 17" Dark Diamondlux outer w/Cocobolo center
Limbs: ACS RC Longs
Draw Wt. 45 @ 28 (Note: I draw ~27 ¾")
Nock pt: 7/16"
Brace Ht: 8 ¼"
Arrow Specs: ICS 500 - 29.0"
Insert: 50 gn
Point: 175 gn
Tot. Wt: 460 gn
Grip: The grip and I were at odds the first couple of days. However, if you try a perfectly fitting glove on the other hand, then there will be issues. I was fighting it, relaxed and soon realized that it was the best natural personal match I had ever encountered. She seats on the mark every time and is extremely stable. Was confident that I had identified my favorite grip years back, however the standard has now been updated.
Riser: Robust enough, balanced mass, yet sports a small grip. **Moderate deflex. Again, a nice match for me. Beauty was not my objective where mass and stability were, yet she is quite appealing. Numerous individuals stopped me at the TN Classic to view the riser – simple beauty. If someone wanted a fancy, then I am sure Mike would accommodate them.
Overall mass: The Diamondlux/Cocobola was very nice match for me and I would feel comfortable going with a slightly heavier combination. My propensity to bias heavier mass was quite satisfied.
Shootability: Points naturally and consistently places arrows on the mark. Shooting her seems effortless--.Likely my most accurate shooter to date.
Hand shock: None perceived- Perhaps I take this for granted in my expectations.
** A pleasant ride
Craftsmanship: Excellent
Sound: Have owned several louder bows and have made little effort to quiet her even further. She is currently one of those bows that are louder to the shooter vs. the sound perceived by those nearby.
Draw: Effortless...Smooth...Did not notice the preload as mentioned from other posts.
I was assume this was a reasonable assessment since I am drawing 10#'s less(58") than what I was accustomed to and the static tips draw as if the bow was 64"s vs. the 62" actual.
Aesthetics – Simple beauty as I had ordered
Performance –The flat trajectory was validated by extending my point on ~ 3 yards. This is quite significant since my point on even with my other high performance bows has been 25 yards at similar gpp arrows. Since I am comfortable with my site window, I increased arrow wt and made the simple necessary adjustments to my set up.
Note: Ran into numerous curious gentlemen at the TN Classic regarding the Orion. One gentleman in particular who shoots extremely well declined to shoot it due to a sore elbow. He shoots bows in the mid to upper 50's. When I told him that the Orion was 45#'s, he went for it yet commented that it would likely chuck his 580 gn arrows. Well all three arrows ended up in the bull at 20 yards. He looked at me in disbelieve and promptly parted to share his experience with buds, which one of them is a bowyer. Then a crowd quickly formed.
Service: It was a true honor to work with Mike Westvang. He dealt patiently with my river of flowing inquiries and expectations. I am expecting to turn to him for an additional request for I am in want of a 58" hunting bow..
Over-all Experience: Was totally taken by surprise...All expectations were either met or exceeded. My previous concerns were with the grip, shootability, and actual speed. The results far exceeded my expectations. This particular bow has actually driven me to revisit and re-evaluate my expectations. The bar has been raised to previously unchartered heights.
THANK YOU MIKE!!!!!!!!!!
Note: My tentative 2013/2014 hunting set-up
Am still in the process of setting up two Dryad ACS RC's....one is 60"s and the other is 62"s....both are 52@28.
The 1st one , while still being honed in, is tuning well with BH's from 3 yards to 40 yards.
Arrow specs:
Victory VForce HV300 – 29 3/8'"
Broadhead – 300 gn VPA Terminator
Insert - 50 gn
Fletch – 4" X 3
FOC - ~29%
Total wt - ~578 grains
As typical of most of my set-ups, the arrows end up having a dynamic spine ~15#s below the bow's dynamic spine requirement.
Top notch risers and even better limbs. Oh, and they're just an all around pleasure to do business with. :D
Thanks for all the input guys! Thats pretty much what I expected to hear :)
I had a set of their static recurve ILF limbs that I got from Green and they were great when I was trying the ILF thing. Coolest looking limb tips on a recurve I've seen. Loved the shape. They shot great, zero stack.
Very quiet limbs-
IMHO They are the best in the business. Between me and my two sons (ages 13 and 15) we have 8 Dryad bows and my youngest son has another one on Mike's current build list. You will not be disappointed!
Sounds like I should have spent the money and got the good deal at ETAR! :knothead:
Still awfully tempting, even as a poor college student!
owned an older Dryad Orion 3pc longbow and then had RC limbs made for it...Mike and Jason worked with me and I really appreciated their service...The bow shot very smoothly and accurately for me...
They are beautiful and shoot very well! Great bows.
Mike bent over backwards to handle all my concerns about my Orion order (THANKS Mike for ALL your patience with me). They re-shaped my grip and swapped out the ACS longbow limbs for ACS/RC recurve limbs when I was having trouble with my big paws and the factory grip and not getting the cast I wanted from the longbow limbs. The bow shoots fantastic now and is smooth as all get out. The only little lasting problem I had with my long draw was a little noise I couldn't shake with hush puppies/bow hush/heterodyning and padding the limbs. Each one of those helped a lot and removed some of the shot sound, but I added some Limbsavers about 3.5"-4" from the fade-outs and now my DRYAD is QUIET!!!
I've been very fortunate to have dealt with some fantastic bowyers. Mike and the rest of the Dryad Team are amongst the best in the business!!!
Here it is at full draw when I first got it back...I shoot it 3 under now too...
(http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff310/StumpBuster/DryadOrionACS-RC-Copy_zps7495ccc1.jpg) (http://s236.photobucket.com/user/StumpBuster/media/DryadOrionACS-RC-Copy_zps7495ccc1.jpg.html)