Field Evaluation – Kingsway TRIAD Bowsight

By Keith Dunlap
Mar 7, 2007 – 4:54:29 PM

KINGSWAY ARCHERY, LLC was founded by Mitch J Weener of Holland, MI and Kirt L Walbrink of Fruitport, MI in 2005. Together they combine over 60 years of bow hunting experience and over 43 years of Engineering and Machining background. Mitch and Kirt started out with the idea of designing items to help archers shoot more accurate, have more confidence and not just follow the crowd. They’ve developed the TRIAD Bow Sight with three models that eliminate the need for a peep sight, and two models that may be used with a peep. They also have a TRIAD Illumination System that will light the fiber optics on the TRIAD sights or other existing sights.

The sight I evaluated, the TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight, has three fixed pins with a 3-dot alignment system that eliminates the need for a peep. Three pins create a 3-dot horizontal shooting plane, which is similar to aiming using open sights on a gun. There are two pins on the rear ring of the sight and one pin on the front ring of the sight. The TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight is intended for applications where the hunter is comfortable out to 30 yards using the same pin. If the hunter wants a TRIAD sight for situations beyond 30 yards or where they may have a much slower bow, they would want the TRIAD Double Adjustable Pin sight rather than the TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight.

Initial Inspection:
Upon initial inspection out of the box, the Double Fixed Pin sight had no visible defects in the materials and workmanship. The main body of the sight is constructed of CNC machined 6061-T6 Aluminum, which makes it light, yet durable. This is the same durable aluminum that is used in many bicycle frames. The camo pattern on the main body of the sight is Mothwing Fall Mimicry. The two sight rings are constructed of glass filled Delrin®, and CNC machined to +/-.001 of an inch tolerance. FYI?Delrin is one of DuPont’s engineering polymers line and is a lightweight but durable low wear, low friction plastic. The additional glass filling makes the Delrin that much stronger. All fasteners on the sight are stainless steel. The thumbscrews for windage adjustments are made of plastic with aluminum-threaded inserts. These make for very easy windage adjustments without the need for tools.

The fiber optics on the TRIAD Double Fixed Pin travel through clear tubing along the entire length of the sight and into the sight pins. This enables the fiber optics to gain as much light as possible. There are two fiber optic pins in the rear and one fiber optic pin in the front of the sight. They glow bright green even in low-light conditions.

Mounting and setting up the sight on my Darton Avalanche rig was fairly simple using the spacer block included and following the instructions for setup and initial sight in. Several tips are provided in the instructions to speed up this process. One note of interest?if you are used to using a peep sight, it will take some getting used to using this sight without the peep, but the transition is smooth and rewarding.

The next step was to test the sight for durability, light gathering ability and shot accuracy.

Testing:
Durability: To test for durability, I headed to the woods with my Avalanche fitted with the new TRIAD sight. I decided to do some still-hunting in one of my favorite spots. You have to understand something about this hunting terrain to understand how this would test a bow sight for durability. I still-hunt for whitetails in some of the thickest greenbriers on the face of the earth.

I literally have to use my bow (or gun) to push briers out of the way just to get through the deer trails and bedding areas. I took my bow and the Double Fixed Pin sight for a walk through this same hunting terrain. I was scouting as much as I was hunting while testing the sight for durability at the same time. I was concerned that the fiber optics might get caught in the briers, or maybe the sight pins would get damaged?but neither was the case. The sight passed with flying colors even though my bow had a few more scratches on it from the time in the deer woods, or should I say deer greenbriers.

The TRIAD Double show with Trigger Adjustment to allow yardage changes at full draw.
Shot Accuracy:
The next phase of my evaluation included testing for shot accuracy. I sighted the bow in at 20 yards and shot less than 2″ groups. I found that both windage and elevation adjustments on the TRIAD sight were simple. You don’t need any tools to adjust windage and you just need an Allen wrench to adjust for elevation. I immediately noticed that when using a Double Fixed Pin sight, bow torque is eliminated. The front and rear sights are in alignment on opposite sides of the riser?so your grip can be thought of as a pivot point. If you torque the bow slightly while anchored at full draw the sights will move in opposite directions. I quickly noticed this while holding at full draw. This causes you to hold steady on the target while at full draw and helps to correct for bow torque prior to releasing the arrow.

Light Gathering:
The final phase of my evaluation of the TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight was to evaluate the light gathering ability and brightness of the fiber optic pins in low-light conditions. This was a simple test?I shot my Darton Avalanche equipped with the TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight and I shot my Bowtech Tribute equipped with another top name bow sight?both in low level conditions. I compared my ability to shoot into a 3D whitetail target well after the sun had disappeared into the horizon. Without any additional light source, I was able to continue grouping arrows into the 3D target well beyond what I would normally consider shooting light. The other sight I was comparing used coiled fiber optics to maximize light gathering. I was impressed that the TRIAD sight held its own against the coiled fiber optics system of the other sight.

Specifications as Tested:

Arrives set up for right handed shooters, but can be reversed for left handed shooters
Overall length: 7 inches
Weight: 7 oz.
Hardware material (screws, nuts, etc): stainless steel
Sight main body material: CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum
Sight rings material: glass filled Delrin®
Camo: Mothwing Fall Mimicry
Retail Price: $109.95

Conclusion:
The TRIAD Double Fixed Pin sight is a great product if you want a sight that is accurate out to 30 yards and if you want to eliminate your peep and improve your aiming abilities in low-light conditions. I really like the concept of the 3-Dot alignment system for shots out to 30 yards?it eliminates bow-torque while at full draw and keeps you centered on your target.

To see the full line of TRIAD sights, visit the website of Kingsway Archery, LLC – www.kingswayarchery.com.

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