The New Kid on the Block | Epic Fusion Ex Bow review

2020 has been a difficult year to say the least. Fortunately for us archers, despite the troubles of this year, some incredibly awesome bows still came out. The Fusion Ex being one of them. A 25 inch aluminum ILF riser from Epic, a sub brand of Korean archery mainstay Cartel.

The Fusion Ex is stunning. Its profile and cutouts I would describe as classic Korean reminiscent of the old Samick Max. The limb pockets are unique and give a modern vibe to the classic looking bow. Quite unlike anything you will see in bows in this price range. It comes in 4 color variants. Blue, red, titanium silver and black. The paint finish on this bow is excellent with only minor flaws in the Berger holes. The tiller bolts and stabilizer mounts appear very premium. Another thing you don’t often see in bows are this level. The riser is super narrow. You can slice steak with it. Well, not exactly but it is the narrowest riser I have ever tested. If you think the Forged Plus is slim, you have got to see this bow. It will probably rival the Samick Max Pro narrow profile.

The Epic Fusion Ex has all the standard features on modern recurves. Being an ILF bow, it can take any pair of ILF limbs. It has tiller/poundage adjustment via the solid limb bolts. And since they are black, an automatic 100 point bonus on looks. 😊 Lateral limb adjustments are done via opposing set screws making it a breeze to line up. The riser also has the standard top, center, and bottom stabilizer mounts. It also has mounts for sights and a clicker. Of course, front, and back Berger holes are there as well. Aside from its profile and narrow sight window, the Fusion Ex also shares very similar hardware with Samick bows. I swear its tiller bolts and stabilizer bushings are exactly the same with the Samick Ideal’s. Not a bad thing at all.

Epic/Cartel says that they designed the Fusion Ex in way that gives shooter a “reassuringly solid feel”. I am happy to report they got that right. Specially considering how narrow the riser is, you wouldn’t believe how solid it feels. Shooting the bow feels sharp. Concise. No flex or wobble. Simply solid. Cartel’s taking off of some material from the limb pockets somehow made the weight distribution more balanced and not focused on the pockets. A very different feeling to other bows in this range. I also think these same cutouts help control vibrations. The grip in the bow is amazing. Unlike anything on similarly priced and even more expensive bows. Rubberized unlike the plain plastic on entry level bows. It has a high (mid to high) wrist position. The grip also has this angle coming down from the lifeline side to the thumb. If you’ve seen Coach Kim Hyung Tak’s video on how to customize bow grips with putty, the angle is exactly how he teaches it should be. It is like how Fivics grips are angled although more so with the Fusion Ex. For many, there won’t be a need to add putty to this grip.

One thing I did notice which beginners might not enjoy is that because of the bows narrow profile and sight window, the string will tend to slap or maybe graze arms. It is common for bows this narrow so it’s not really a big deal.

The Fusion Ex’s design is quite the departure from the any of the bows produced by Cartel. And this is a great thing. It shares some really great things with Samick bows. From the profile, slim design and even the hardware. All very positive things about the bow. Incredible looks. Class beating feel and performance. A grip that feels like it should be on bows 3 times the price. And BLACK tiller bolts!!! I have not been the biggest fan of Cartel bows but the Epic Fusion Ex just turned things around for me. The change is like what happened with the 2011 and 2012 Kia Rio. Drastic change in all the best ways. This new kid on the block is just full of surprises.

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