Firenocks founder Dorge OÕsome Huang approached us at BowCountry.com about reviewing his new Firenocks. Dorge felt he had built a better lighted nock and wanted to let the world know about it. The BowCountry.com team currently uses lighted nocks for filming our hunting adventures so we are familiar with at least two other brands of lighted nocks. We used this experience as a base line for reviewing DorgeÕs new Firenocks.
Lighted nocks have been around for a while now but Firenocks are relatively new to the lighted nock market. Making their debut in the fall of 2006, Firenock has been setting the bow hunting world on fire, so to speak. Lighted nocks are very useful for seeing exactly where your arrow impacts your target, especially in low light situations. This can make arrow recovery as well as game recovery much easier than it would be with an unlit nock or even a wrapped arrow. Lets take a look at the Firenock and see what makes it so different from their competition.
Installation
The Firenock system comes in separate pieces and requires assembly. DonÕt get to nervous. The detailed directions walk you through the assembly and installation of the system. Assembly and installation is pretty straight forward and only takes a few minutes. Once you have the nock assemblies installed in your arrow you need to mount the magnet onto your riser as close to the arrow as possible without interfering with your fletching. This is done with a super strong double sided 3m tape, and believe me, it is strong. Make sure you have the magnet where you want it when you stick it on. Once thatÕs done, just fire the arrow and make sure it lights during launch. Simple.
What makes up a Firenock
What makes up a Firenock
Lets look at the Firenock itself and see how it works compared to their competition. Firenock uses a magnetically activated focus beam LED compared to the majority of the competition which uses a plunger style standard LED nock system. The Firenock system utilizes a magnet mounted on the riser of the bow and upon firing the arrow it passes by the magnet thus electronically lighting the nock. This magnetically activated system is probably the most important feature of the Firenock as far as IÕm concerned.
This system has no moving components that are used to activate the focus beam led. This is much more accurate compared to the plunger style lighted nocks on the market, and it doesnÕt damage your shafts after repeated shooting like other brands have a tendency to do. It also wonÕt shut off on impact with something solid like bone or hard ground. It stays lit until you retrieve the arrow and swipe the nock over the magnet again. I watched a good friend and fellow BowCountry.com Staff writer Jeff Sagehorn shoot a doe this past season with another lighted nock system. When he fired, the arrow the nock lit, but when it struck the doe it went out. This was extremely disappointing due to the fact we where video taping the hunt. With the new Firenock system this is no longer a concern. When you fire the arrow the Nock lights, and stays lit until you retrieve it and turn it off.
Firenocks versions v1.2, weighed in at 29grs and its focus beam led produced a whopping 4000 lux, making it the brightest lighted nock on the market. But by utilizing a focus beam led compared to a standard led the firenock is able to reduce the amount of light seen from the side of the nock. Why is this important? Firenock claims by reducing the light seen from the side of the nock it will spook less game. I canÕt prove or disprove this fact, so youÕll have to draw your own conclusions there. Personally I feel once you fire your bow spooking game shouldnÕt be a concern, but to each there own.
Even though Firenocks are the most technologically advanced lighted nock system on the market they do have draw backs. The Version 1.2 (the second version) overall weight can cause a tuning issue when used with utralight arrows. Also when fired from high performance bows some of the Firenocks have a tendency of lighting without the use of the magnet that is normally used to activate the nock. They donÕt light consistently enough to use without the addition of the magnet but some do light. When I brought these issue up with owner Dorge OÕsome Huang, he told me that he was already working on a new version 2.0 and that they should be out around the time the review goes live and the issues will no longer be a concern. Version 2.0 will come in about 9-10 grs lighter than the previous version, which will help greatly with the tuning issues we saw with our ultralight arrows. 2.0 will also be 300 lux brighter than the previous versions. There are actually 7 different design changes being made to the Firenock in their 2.0 version.
This is what you see in low light
Pros:
- Very bright
- Magnetically activated and deactivated
- No moving components
- More accurate
- Up to 48 hours run time
Cons
- Cost 49.99 for 3
- Tuning issues on ultralight arrows (6.4 grs or lighter)
Summary
With todayÕs compounds becoming increasingly faster, arrows are getting harder and harder to see during flight. Lighted nocks certainly make not being able to see your arrow a thing of the past. They make being able to see shot placement a piece of cake and make arrow loss almost a thing of the past. They are invaluable when it comes to video taping hunts and they allow the viewing public to see what, at times, is almost impossible to see.
The fact that Firenocks use no moving components to operate the on/off feature of the system make them some of the most accurate lighted nock system available today.
Cost is an issue that is personal to many people. What is expensive to some is not to others. Since Firenocks donÕt move during the shot like their competitors, they tend to be more accurate. Is that worth the extra money? To us it is. We would rather pay a little more and have an accurate arrow compared to paying less and having less accurate arrow.
If you think lighted nocks are in your future you owe it to yourself to check out Firenock
