I have tried a nice handful of bows of all different styles and I will say that difference of 10-15 fps, you're not often gonna see that on bows of the same style compared to each other..it's more when comparing say a Hill bow to a radical hybrid for example.  On two bows of the same style that are same rated draw weight but maybe just different limb materials and/or limb design variation you'll see better change/gains just changing string size/material and gpp and maybe draw length.  Putting on a skinny string and shooting 8-9 gpp imstead of 10-12 and making sure youre fully extending and not short drawing instead is much cheaper than buying a whole new bow.  To me the real benefit in more exotic materials is gaining things like torsional and lateral stability in a limb and hence maybe more forgiveness.  There is so much misunderstanding out there as to the benefits of carbon or foam in a limb.  Some bowyers like Sixby or Kirk could chime in and explain. From what i remember, many out there think carbon/foam limbs for example are all about speed but one benefit that is often overlooked by hunters is that limb type's ability to resist temperature changes affecting performance better than glass/wood.

It's funny you should mention temperature! I have noticed a slight difference in performance in several of my bows on large temperature swings. IE; Say one day it's 70+, and then the next day it's in the 30 or 40's.

I was going to start a thread on this subject but never did.

Speed is important to me, I like it. And it does kill!    

Why would I consider giving up my favorite bow?  I wouldn't even consider giving up my 25 year old LL Bean Guide Wool shirt for a new one.

I use my Bear is not the fastest but I can shoot it well and I never had a deer say DAM that is a fast bow.  LOL

Looks like there's a demand for bowyers who intentionally build slower bows. Things that make you go...HMMM?

QuoteOriginally posted by Manitoba Stickflinger:
Looks like there's a demand for bowyers who intentionally build slower bows. Things that make you go...HMMM?

made me lol

QuoteOriginally posted by daniel boon:
HYPOTHETICALLY, take 2 bows, Your favourite one, and the new one. Both exactly the same, looks, weight, string etc, shooting the same arrow, everything the same, except the new one is 10-15fps faster.
Which one would you go home with. (silly?)

Back to the original question - how much speed increase would you need to replace your current bow?  Not which would you pick off a pile of free bows, etc.  It is assumed you'll be a pile of cash lighter after the transaction if you go with the new faster bow, I believe.  And IF speed were the only difference (how that could be achieved is another question).

I doubt I'll ever buy a "new" bow again, so I'll buy the 3 fps slower bow someone is casting off for $120 when it comes up on some bid site and no one is interested in that old, slow dinosaur.            

I like the old technology, not the cutting edge stuff.