(music playing)
Hi! It's NUSensei, and today I'm poking a little fun at Reddit, so don't take this too seriously.
Over the last couple of months I've noticed a bit of a trend and I can't quite figure out what's going on.
But I'm going to try.
Over the Christmas break a lot of people have been getting into archery.
So they've either been receiving bows or they are looking for one.
And if you're looking for one, you're probably looking around, you're asking about something that's
affordable, beginner friendly and generally a good bow.
So...
In almost every one of these threads someone comes in and says: "Get a Samick Sage!"
So the buyer looks it up, they find a good deal and they get it, and they love it.
So they review it.
And then recommend it to the next guy.
And all of the sudden the Samick Sage has become this go-to bow, that everyone recommends.
Don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying the Sage is a bad bow, the Sage is a very good bow.
Especially in its price range - it's great value for money.
But I don't want to call it overrated,
it's certainly not this...
...this magical bow, that can do what everyone claims it can do.
I've shot the Sage ...in fact I've shot the Samick Journey.
Which is the same as the Sage, except it's 2 inches longer.
It's a nice bow.
it's just...
Most bows of this type in this price range
will feel the same.
I'm definetly not saying the Sage is bad.
And I recommend the bow as well.
It's just that it's often recommended for the wrong reasons.
Like...
It's a really good bow and I'm happy with it.
And that's a fair comment.
But in context, if you're spending more that $100 on a bow,
you'll probably be happy with it. I mean, I've never actually seen someone spend that much money on a bow or more,
and wasn't happy. Whether it's a takedown wooden recurve or an Olympic-style recurve.
You get what you pay for. And any bow in the same price range will feel just as good.
It's not that the Sage feels any better.
Every bow like that will feel just as statisfying.
I mean, if you're going towards the lower $50 range you get those really cheap fibreglass bows.
That's when things start feeling bit dissatisfying. Things break and it's really cheap and plastic like.
But if you're getting, you know, a wooden recurve, or wooden takedown recurve, then
regardless of which one you get, it won't disappoint.
Then there is this really easy to draw and learn with comment.
While it is
true, it's a fair comment, but that's more of a reflection of your chosen draw weight, rather than the bow itself.
Some will say it shoots really well.
Which can be true, but that's more of a testimony to the shop setting up correctly and matching the right arrows.
Or people say that you can swap limbs out and you can put different limbs.
And you can do that, Yeah.
But it's not unique to Samick Sage. Every takedown recurve can swap limbs out.
That's not a Sage thing.
That's the pattern I'm trying to show here is that
practically every other bow in the same price range of the same type can do these things.
Just because everyone gets this bow, doesn't necessarily mean it's a good bow.
Now I'm not saying it's not a good bow, it's a good bow.
But not for that reason.
Someone actually had a go at me for challenging this mythical notion.
"Hey, why don't you recommend a few bows then?"
Well where do we start? I mean there's the... the Samick Polaris.
There's the Fuse Focus.
The Win&Win Flame, the SF Optimo, the PSE Razorback.
The Explorer 2.0, the Smoky Mountain Hunter.
There are so many alternatives.
And it's only a small price variation, talking about, you know, $20 to each one.
The only rule of difference is the wood it's made out of.
For beginners, it's not going to make that much of a difference
You could buy a slightly more expensive recurve, which costs like $200, $300, $400.
And those have really quality wood finishes.
That tend to feel a lot nicer. It's more meant for the serious traditionalist or the serious hunter.
But otherwise if you go for the $120 range,
every bow is going to be very similar.
So when you get a Samick Sage or an Optimo, or a Focus, or a Razorback,
it's not going to be much different.
What I'm trying to say is that the Sage isn't a unique bow.
Just because a lot of people recommend it and buy it,
doesn't mean it's better than other bows.
I get it, I'm not saying it's bad, it's a very good bow and
it comes with a good price and I'll recommend it any day.
But it's not magical.
I'm gonna end this video with 2 questions.
One.
If you have a Samick Sage, what do you like about it?
And is it anything you think that it sets it apart from other bows?
Two. If you have a similar bow,
do you think the Sage is anything special, or anything different?
I look forward for your responses.
This is NUSensei.
I'll see you next time.