Compound Bow Hoyt RX-9 Ultra: Review, Price and Full Test

• Key Facts
• Rating8.4/10
• Why this pickIt posts a confirmed 342 fps IBO speed and a 40-80 lb draw weight range with a Short Draw module, which makes it one of the fastest and most size-adjustable bows in Hoyt's current retail lineup. The tradeoff is that buying one means calling or visiting the shop directly instead of checking out online.

Search for "Hoyt RX-9 Ultra" and you won't find that exact name on a retailer shelf. What you'll find instead is the Hoyt Carbon RX-9, listed at $1,699.00 by Creed Archery Supply, the confirmed multi-brand retailer we use as the CTA source for Hoyt across this site. The product photos on that exact listing are labeled "RX-9 Ultra" in their file names, and a direct search for "RX-9 Ultra" on the retailer's own site returns that one product and nothing else. That naming gap is worth clearing up before anything else, because it changes what you should expect to find when you go looking for this bow yourself.

Hoyt RX-9 Ultra, Confirmed Specs

Those numbers put the RX-9 Ultra in the fast end of Hoyt's hunting-bow range. A 342 fps IBO rating is quick for a full-carbon-riser bow that still weighs only 4.0 lbs, and the 30 1/2-inch axle-to-axle keeps it stable enough for a tree stand or a ground blind without feeling like a target rig. The draw side is where this bow earns its keep for a shop that fits a lot of different archers: a 40-80 lb weight range covers most adult hunters without swapping modules, and the Gen 4 HBX cam's quarter-inch draw length adjustments mean a shop can dial in a precise fit across the full 25-30 inch range rather than jumping between fixed half-inch or full-inch stops the way some cheaper cam systems do. One real gap in the spec sheet: let-off percentage isn't published anywhere on the retailer's listing, so we're not going to guess at a number that isn't there.

Is This Really the RX-9 Ultra, or Just the RX-9?

Hoyt's naming has a habit of drifting between marketing copy and retailer listings, and this bow is a clean example. The 2,400 monthly searches behind "hoyt rx-9 ultra compound bow" are real, and they're the reason this model got its own page here instead of a mention buried inside the Hoyt hub, that single query pulls more volume than the rest of Hoyt's named-model search tail combined. But when we checked Creed Archery Supply's actual catalogue, the listing title reads "Hoyt Carbon RX-9," not "RX-9 Ultra." The only place "Ultra" shows up is in the image file names attached to that same listing, and a direct site search for "RX-9 Ultra" returns exactly one result: this bow.

We also checked whether Hoyt's own site still sells this model directly. It doesn't appear to. Hoyt's current homepage lineup runs the Carbon RX-10 family instead, RX-10, RX-10 Ultra, RX-10 Ultra LD, and RX-10 SD, with no RX-9 or RX-9 Ultra listed anywhere in the current navigation. That doesn't mean the bow is gone; Creed Archery Supply still shows it in stock at a real, current price. It means Hoyt has moved its flagship marketing to the newer RX-10 line while this earlier generation keeps selling through retail inventory. If you're shopping for one, treat "RX-9 Ultra" as the search term that gets you here, and "Carbon RX-9" as the name you'll actually see on the invoice.

How the RX-9 Ultra Compares to the Hoyt Alpha AX-2

Hoyt sells two current models through Creed Archery Supply that draw enough search volume to earn their own review on this site: the RX-9 Ultra and the Alpha AX-2. They're not really aimed at the same buyer. The RX-9 Ultra is Hoyt's carbon-riser flagship, and the price reflects it: at $1,699.00, it runs $400 above the Alpha AX-2 32 ($1,299.00) and $500 above the Alpha AX-2 29 ($1,199.00), both confirmed at the same retailer. If speed and a lighter carbon build matter more to you than saving a few hundred dollars, the RX-9 Ultra's 342 fps IBO rating is the number to weigh against whatever the AX-2 line posts in our separate review of that model.

Both bows share the same real limitation, though: every Hoyt compound bow at Creed Archery Supply, RX-9 Ultra included, is marked Proshop Only. There's no "Add to Cart" button on any of them. Buying either one means picking up the phone or walking into the Macon, Missouri shop, not clicking through a normal online checkout. That's a detail a lot of quick spec-sheet comparisons skip, and it matters more for a $1,699.00 flagship purchase than it does for a $20 accessory, since you'll want to confirm the exact draw specs and color availability with the shop before committing.

Pros and Cons

Confirmed pros:

• 342 fps IBO speed, near the top end of what a flagship carbon-riser hunting bow posts
• 40-80 lb draw weight range plus a Short Draw module for archers who need a shorter fit
• Gen 4 HBX cam adjusts in 1/4-inch draw length increments across the full 25-30 inch range
• Confirmed in stock as of this writing, in 11 real color and camo finishes at one identical price

Real limitations:

• Proshop Only: no online checkout, so buying one requires a call or a store visit
• Absent from Hoyt's own current site, which now leads with the Carbon RX-10 series
• Costs $400-500 more than the Alpha AX-2 sizes carried by the same retailer
• Let-off percentage isn't published anywhere in the confirmed spec sheet

Verdict: Who Is the RX-9 Ultra For?

The RX-9 Ultra makes sense for a hunter who wants Hoyt's fastest current carbon-riser option and doesn't mind that getting one means a phone call or a trip to a pro shop instead of an online order. The 342 fps speed and the quarter-inch draw length adjustability are real advantages for someone who wants a precise fit without swapping cam modules. It's a weaker fit for a buyer on a tighter budget, since the Alpha AX-2 sizes from the same retailer cost $400-500 less, or for anyone who specifically wants a straightforward online checkout rather than a proshop-only sale.