Received my Jason Kendall "Kanati" in the mail on friday.  Will start by saying that Jason was a pleasure to deal with throughout the process.  Several times I had questions after our initial contact and order.  He always either picked up or called back to answer any questions promptly, patiently and honestly.

We discussed length, weight, black or clear glass, actionwood or dymondwood etc...  I settled on a black glass, Walnut actionwood, black/tan overlay and black/tan tips.  Kind of wanted to stay with the black/tan theme, so no red in this one.  The bow is 58",  #53 at 28", i thought about going #55 but glad i settled on a lower weight.

Initial impression on opening the box and taking the bow out of the sock was the very nice "matte" hunting finish.  Ive seen alot of matte finished bows, but have to say this one is the most purposefull of them all, very consistent and from all initial contact very durable.  

The fit/craftsmanship are top notch, meaning that there are no "uneven" lamination lines, tapers etc.  The string notches are cut evenly, deep and smooth with no rough edges burrs etc.  The tips are robust without being "bulky" or blocky looking, and more importantly to me they are ground symetrically (I have recieved more than 1 big name bow with tips and string grooves that were assymetrical).
On the "cool" touch side of things is Jasons emblem, which in my view is the best in the business.  You will see a good photo of it below,  nothing like seeing a big skull mount to make me want to get out into the woods and hunt.

What really grabbed me about handling the bow was the handle.  There are just a few little things that you cant see in the photo, very slight, very subtle but WORK when you pick the bow up.  This bow definitely has the most comfortable and what I will call "repeatable" grip I have experienced.  When I say "repeatable" I mean every time I pick it up, I get the same sweet spot, without shift... without thought.... without fail.  The finish also helps in the "grip" department, as it almost has a textured feel, and my guess is that it will be plenty of traction.  I was thinking of adding a leather grip, but dont want to mess with the perfect feel/locator indexes of how it is now.

I wasnt able to hardly shoot on friday, literally shot 3 or 4 arrows then a storm blew in.  These 3 or 4 were without silencers of any type, and the brace set way too low.  They still hit the mark at 15 yards, was acceptably quiet (even with brace too low and no silencers).  

Added some wool puff balls, set the brace at 7-1/4", and the bow really came to life.   FIrst thing I notice is that for a 58" bow it is very smooth, and at 28+ there was no stack at all.  I was mostly shocked at how quiet the bow is, much more so than other fwd. handle types ive shot, with no limb vibration felt at all either.  I would say it is more quiet than most of the typical 62-64" R/D type bows out there,  which really surprised me.  

When I do my part Im getting nice  fist size groups at 12-15 yard wich for me is GREAT.  Every now and then I pull one, as ive not shot in a while and it shows.  The bow is capable of much more in the accuracy dept. than I can currently deliver, will be working on this between now and hunting season.

While not infatuated with "speed" ,  I will say that this bow at #53 is noticably faster and "flatter" in trajectory/cast then other bows i own or have owned in the 54-57lb. range.

I guess if there is a "down" side its that Jason dont work with exotic woods.  In our conversations he indicated that he is very alergic to most of these exotics.   So in summation if you want a super fancy, exotic, expensive bow that you can brag to your bro's about.... i guess this aint it.   On the other hand, if a dead serious, quiet, fast, extremely well crafted bow with the singular purpose of killing game is on your list,  then you should definitely buy a Kanati.  

Still a very sweet looking bow! Congratulations, I have been wanting to try one of Jason's bows. Gonna have to get me one someday.          

oh i agree, and didnt mean to infer that it was not "attractive",  it is very much so... but in a purposefull, singular way.  Its not the "woods" that you oooh and ahhh over,  its first the simplicity, the perfect execution,  the craftsmanship....   Then when you pick it up,  its that grip, really cant say enough about that....  Once shot, its all smiles and respect.

That's a *great* bow right there!

What's your arrow recipe?

Enjoy!

Shoot straight, Shinken

the only arrows I have to shoot right now are 30" Carbon Express 250's, with 175 grain field points.  Seems to like them although I thought they were going to be too stiff.

I have some wood 57-62 spine, 31" that I need to refurbish, going to try those as well.

Havent had the chacne to bare shaft tune, but will do so once i get some decent weather.   My guess is its going to like the 250's alot.

Man you guys been raging about these Kanati's hard and heavy past few days!! I never seen or heard of them till now but I will say I have fallin in love with the looks and the performance your talking about. I have a fellow TradGanger bringing one to Denton for me to try out and will most likely order after that.  

Thanks for the EYE OPENER   MARK      

Lamey,
With pictures and a review like that you have me leaning more towards the Kanati over a Striker.

Only sharing my experiences with the Kanati, and my honest and unfiltered impressions of the bow.   As with any other thing in life the things I like others may not like and vice versa.  

Now deciding on a quiver!

Looks like the perfect bow to me. If it shoots as good as it looks, what more could you want? I want to shoot one someday.

I really like hunting bows,Bows ment for hunting,don't need the fancy woods and gloss.I have to try one of these.for the way I hunt ,Spot and stock it fits every requirement.Nice stuff.

Sweet looking bow.  Saw a few Kanatis on the classifieds but passed them up.  Now I wish I'd have gotten hold of one.  Hope you enjoy shooting this one.  From what I've read, Jason's work is top notch.  As to grip, it's very important for that repeatability you mentioned - a winning bow will have one that fits your hand the same way every time.  God Bless

Lamey,

It looks good to me! My 46# is the one bow I have had that has that repeatable grip you mentioned. I can leave it alone for days, maybe even weeks (rare) and the first shot will be dead on...every time! All of the other bows I have had needed at least a couple shots to readjust to (though my Orion seems to be pretty close).

Congrats! I like the black and tan theme.

I think a Kanati angle strap on quiver would look real good with that bow. Talk to John at Anneewakee and I'll bet he can get close to the color for ya! Here's a pic of mine, only not a strap on.

Congratulations on a fine looking bow. Jason is top shelf.

Very nice, I have one coming in the near future.

Oh man, another Kanati color combo that I like!  Trouble.

Lamey,
Excellent, well thought out review. I for one appreciated reading it. Not the first raves I've heard about Kanatis.

Congrats on your new bow. Can you beam over that grip for me to feel...?

and it looks like I may actually get some time shooting today,  first decent day we have had since Friday.  

on the handle, i dont think it could have been better if I had been there for a custom fit.  The thunbridge, heel, palmswell/concave area all come together perfectly for my hand.

Looking forward to doing my part, becoming more consistent, and getting into the woods this fall with this bow.

Thanks for the feedback Matt, I am glad to hear you were able to shoot it!

I think black glass makes for a very classy looking bow!

love these bows!