Set it and Forget It
I think many barebow shooters have a similar arrow-rest journey, starting with standbys like the Spigarelli ZT or even the Hoyt Super Rest, but eventually want to step up to something better.
Better: what does that mean?
Better will be different for every archer. Obviously we're all looking for better scores, but we also all know the gear is just one part of that. Better can mean a lot of different things. For me, better better is often about improving the interface of my equipment, not necessarily its performance. For me, better meant simple, durable, and reliable. I had shot great scores with my Spigarelli ZT, but it also let me down a few times, coming loose (even after being regularly tightened) or moving out of alignment at inopportune times; The ZT was great, but it wasn’t always great, and it was often finicky and fiddly to adjust when tuning. While some archers prefer dropaway rests like the Zniper, that can be calibrated to your tune and setup, my main focus was simplicity and durability, and if it could drop away too that’d be a bonus. After a lot of conversation with different archers, a few I really trusted (shout out to Matt Reesman, Jon Personn, and our newest favorite National champion and long time heart-throb, Robby Wessinger) pointed me to the AAE Free Flyte Elite.
The Design
Effectively, an AAE Free Flyte Elite is your standard flipper rest on steroids. There are only a few things you can really adjust: you can obviously move the rest arm up and down, in and out by adjusting the set screw inside its pivot block. You can slide the entire assembly left and right with the micro adjustment setscrew on the top (more on this later), and you can set the entire rest to either be a standard flipper or a “pull in” rest (effectively a dropaway) by flipping the magnet inside of it.
In Use
I had to trim the vertical part of rest arm itself a bit, as with some of my arrows I couldn’t get it to sit high enough in the magnet holder to get the arrow centered against the plunger; for skinny arrows, I had to bend the arm a bit towards the front to support the arrow. But after that, well, I just put it on and started shooting, and it worked. Oh, just a note: it doesn't come with any allen keys, so you'll need a 7/64 , 5/64 and a 1/16th key.
For indoor I set it up as a drop away, flipping its internal magnet (a set of pliers or tweezers is helpful for this, just to hold and pull out the magnet should you flip it and it gets "stuck" inside), which took some getting used to as you have to hold the arm while nocking the arrow, but quickly found it was easy to press my bow-hand thumb against the magnet block to pop the arm out and set my arrow on it, which was much easier than trying to pull the arm itself out. For outdoor, I set it be a flipper, and had to trim off the hook at the tip, because I was getting contact issues that caused confusing and false reads, with the arrows always hanging left (as a lefty archer) when I used skinny arrows. The hooked tip will likely be necessary to work as a drop-away, but if I use it as a flipper I’ll likely keep that chopped off with all set ups.
Bonus points: Spigarelli ZT arms, which are thicker, can be used on this rest. While I haven't had an Elite arm break, it's nice to know I could use a beefier rest arm that's readily accessible. It’s Qualities Solid There were two things I noticed in the first few weeks of shooting, which was that (1) I didn’t notice much of a change score wise, which I didn't mind, but (2) When I’d go to check and tighten down all the set screws at the start of every practice, well, they were all still tight. Whereas with my Spig ZT I’d inevitably notice the arm had some wiggle, or would find a screw was loose a bit, time after time the Elite was exactly as I’d left it. If I’m being honest, I eventually just stopped checking minus the occasional tunings, and it stayed exactly where it was after thousands of arrows. Considering a shoot relatively high shooting volumes, it was a good sign that the Elite stayed rock solid through months of practice.
Adjustable
Where the Elite really shined was when it came time to tune. Typically when I tune, I’ll play with my centershot achingly slowly, adjusting my plunger ever so slightly in and out to find it’s sweet spot. With my ZT, this would require me to go back to the bow bench, loosen the arm via the uncomfortably small screws (which I stripped out a few times...I'm now a devotee to the Wera allen key set), pull it in and out, kinda fumble it and have it slip lower, have to redo it it, etc. Eventually I got a system down and got adept at it, but it definitely took work.
With the Elite, I could just slide the entire assembly in and out with the micro adjustment screw on the top, maintaining the arms vertical setting the entire time. It was faster, more consistent, and way easier. It honestly made me more willing to experiment with my tuning, because it was one less thing I’d have to fiddle with, and I could easily reset it back to where it was before.
Performance
It'd be nice to say I noticed a huge change in my groups switching to the AAE, but if I’m honest I haven’t. This season was a rough one for me, as I was working through target panic and the yips, so I can’t speak to scores, and in training on good days the groups were nice and tight, but no tighter than they were before.
That said, I wasn't looking for something better performing than what I had, but rather something sturdy and reliable, and in that regard it's performed beautifully, holding up to thousands of arrows shot without ever slipping in the slightest. Verdict, and Who’s It For
So will the Free Flyte Elite change your world shooting wise coming from something like the ZT? Honestly, probably not. If you’re looking for something really different or finer tuned, something like the Zniper or the Gabriel Bidrop would totally be the choice for you.
That said, with the Zniper, I definitely hear great things from many folks, but for every one of those stories is one of someone fighting to get it tuned, or having it drop away at the wrong moments during a big tournament, and I’ve now seen a few that have (surprisingly) fully broken. Is this user error? Likely, but a part of archery is understanding who you are and where your strengths, and weaknesses, lie, and our gear is no different.
Which is why you should be honest with yourself as the user.
Some archers absolutely tame finicky equipment, and for others it's just a headache. If you’re looking for something simple, something you can set and forget, and something you’ll never doubt, then the AAE Free Flyte Elite is a great choice, an absolute workhorse of a rest that gives you a good ratio of adaptability and reliability. For me, it’s held up and performed excellently, and while I entertain the idea of trying something I could finer tune, I suspect I'll fall back on the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And after a year of abuse, the AAE Free Flyte Elite doesn't seem like it's breaking any time soon.
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