As most of you know, BowCountry.com is an all archery community site and the archers who visit are responsible for a majority of the content and innovation. Well, ask and you shall receive. We contacted Mark Garcia at Trophy Ridge. Mark thought that it would be a great idea to get an outside opinion on what they strongly believe to be a great product.

The Matrix sight that we were provided came with Trophy Ridge's new Match/Tek Mossy Oak break up camo pattern. Match/Tek camo actually means that the sight's aluminum mounting brackets are anodized camo to match the composite sight housings‚ dipped camo. We felt the match was reasonably well done and professional looking. Fit and finish scored well. This Match/Tek Mossy Oak camo system should do an excellent job of concealing the Matrix in almost any hunting situation. The Matrix is also available in Realtree Extra Grey.

One of the features that makes a Trophy Ridge sight stand out in a crowd is the fact that all the sight pins rise from the bottom of the sight housing in a single line. Since one pin is stacked behind the other with each successive pin slightly taller than the next, this gives the illusion of having only one pin with multiple dots. Think of it. The illusion of one vertical pin, instead of five horizontally oriented pins taking up precious real estate in the eye relief area of the sight. The Matrix is offered in 3 and 5 pin, left and right models, and weighs a paltry 5.3 ounces. The most immediate and obvious advantage of this pin orientation, is that it allows the archer to see more of his target and less of his pins. There will be those who will rightfully point out that the same effect can be accomplished by using only one or two horizontal pins, and that having five pins is silly. We agree to a certain extent, but would also point out that most archers sight down or up on a target and a vertical pin orientation makes more sense to us. Besides, there is the practical reality that some archers slap a sight on their bow and sight in 5 yard increments, and truly need those five pins. Then, there are those that may only use one or two pins but never take the time to remove the extra pins anyway. To our knowledge, this may be the only "true" zero pin gap sight on the market.

Besides the vertical orientation of the pins, we felt the most important feature of the new Matrix for 2002 is the Trophy Ridge DVD system. No, not that kind of DVD! At Trophy Ridge, DVD means "dual vibration dampers". These are installed into the sight's mounting bracket. The DVDs not only look really cool, but also do an excellent job of absorbing vibration generated during the shot process. This may sound like harmonic "hoo-ha", but in the case of the Matrix it actually works! To test this we used a very scientific method. We removed the damper system and struck the sight composite pin housing, which is attached to an aluminum mounting bracket, with a screwdriver. Then we reinstalled the dampers and repeated the process. With the dampers installed, the vibration was stopped almost immediately. This damper system does an excellent job of absorbing vibration before it has a chance to loosen up mounting bolts, sight pins, etc. We all realize the importance of taking vibration out of the equation. Vibration is an inevitable by-product of archery, which if left unattended translates into noise. Any place we can either disperse vibration or absorb it is a good thing. Just ask the folks at Sims!

While seemingly a small thing, we felt the DVD could easily be the most effective system for absorbing vibration near a pin sight. We are constantly surprised at the level of innovation in products you would think have pushed the envelope as far as it can be pushed. Maybe it's the highly competitive nature of the industry, maybe it's that archers demand the innovation, or maybe totally avid enthusiasts just keep coming up with ideas that simply must make it to market. We're pretty certain all three come into play, and the Matrix is no exception.

The Matrix doesn't require allen wrenches to mount or adjust the sight. Nice! It comes with adjustable knobs for mounting the sight to your bow, as well as vertical and horizontal lock down knobs. These lock down knobs make installation and removal of the sight a snap, and do an excellent job of staying locked down. We easily put at least 320 shots through our trusty Buckmasters G-2. These adjustable knobs also make horizontal and vertical adjustments quick and easy when sighting in your bow. Set your right to left adjustments once because of the vertical pin alignment. Very nice!

The adjustable pin housing of the Matrix is, in a word, amazing. This pivoting housing allows the user to adjust the housing to their own individual torque. The archer can always keep the sight pins square to his or her eye. This also is the only adjustment on the Matrix that requires allen wrenches. The fiber optic sight pins are more than bright enough for any hunting condition short of hunting in a cave. The fiber optics are wisely wrapped completely around the sight housing, with an ample window through the housing by which to gather even more ambient light. But, if hunting in a cave is your thing, the Matrix comes with Trophy Ridge's new Nitro glow sticks. These ingenious little glow sticks slide into the sight housing and align over the top of the fiber optic sight pins, allowing you to shoot in complete darkness. Shake 'em to activate, and you have 14 hours of use before they are spent. It's not that you would need to or want to shoot in complete darkness, but extending that magic 15 minutes at pre-dusk and gaining a couple more minutes could possibly provide for a shot on that big whitetail who sets his watch to near darkness. The real life practical application of these glow sticks made it much easier for our test staff to see through a small peep sight in low light conditions.

Sighting in the Matrix is a breeze with Trophy Ridge's lever lock sight pin adjusters. Located under the sight housing, you'll find either three or five levers and cam locks, depending on the model you have. It doesn't get much simpler than this. First, unlock the desired pin by sliding the lock toward the center of the housing and move the adjustment lever up or down. Doing this in turn will raise the corresponding sight pin up or down, then re-lock the cam lever by sliding it back to the right. You have simply got to see this for yourself! Visit your local archery shop or archery retailer. It's so simple and easy, Mike's 9 year old son could sight in his bow by himself!

The BowCountry.com test crew was very impressed with the new Trophy Ridge Matrix. Their attention to detail on the Matrix is outstanding, and the ease of use is incredible. Plus, the fact that they packed so many features into a reasonably affordable hunting sight makes it even more desirable. The average retail, of $115 for the 3 pin, and $125 for the five pin Matrix, skirts the edge of the high end of the retail pin sight scene, but we felt the value and innovation were obvious and worth the money. BowCountry.com gives the Matrix a perfect 5 star rating.

Mark Garcia and everyone at Trophy Ridge should be proud of this product. If the Matrix is an example of the quality of products Trophy Ridge produces, we can't wait to see what they come up with next. If you get a chance, stop by their website and register to win a new Matrix. In short, the Matrix is a sight built by hunters for hunters.

BowCountry.com would like to thank all the people that make Test & Tune possible by donating their time and equipment. If you get a chance stop by their website, give them a call, or better yet, buy their products. We are grateful and our sincere thanks to:

Trophy Ridge

Spot Hogg

Apple Archery Products