Article by Keith Dunlap – August 3, 2007
Edited by Stanley Holtsclaw – April 19, 2017
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Field Evaluation: LimbSaver® Elite Prism Sight from Sims Vibration Laboratory
Sims Vibration Laboratory has many new LimbSaver products hitting the market this year, including two new bow sights that boast some of the brightest pins on the market today.
According to SVL, they have developed a light collection system that loads ambient light into the end of the fiber optic material. Light loaded into the end of fiber optics is far more effective in transferring that light to the other end of the fiber optic, or the sight pins in this case. These two sights have a light collection lens located on the top of the sight, and the fiber optics are coiled inside of this lens. This lens collects and intensifies the light gathered, and transfers it directly to the sight pins.
Light is gathered and intensified from the top using a prism lens
SVL has also incorporated their NAVCOM material at specific points in the sight to eliminate vibration and noise. This should make for a very quiet sight. The sight I evaluated, the LimbSaver Elite Prism Sight, features five .029-inch diameter fibers secured by liquid metal pins. LimbSaver developed these pins using a new process that produces a very strong, yet very thin design. In addition to these five fixed pins, there is a sixth fully adjustable .019-inch diameter pin that you can set for distances 60 yards and beyond.
I found the pins to be among the brightest I’ve seen
– Initial Inspection –
Upon initial inspection out of the package, the LimbSaver Elite Prism sight had no visible defects in the materials and workmanship. One thing I noticed right away is that this sight is solid and very well built. The main body and sight ring is constructed of precision CNC machined 6063 aluminum, which makes it light, yet durable.
Tools required for installation include: 5/32″ hex to mount the sight to your bow; 3/16″ hex to adjust major windage and elevation on the sight; and 3/32″ hex to adjust the minor elevation for each pin. There are four mounting holes on the outside of the Elite Prism sight to attach a quiver if desired. The Elite Prism includes 2nd and 3rd axis adjustment screws for fine-tuning the sight to your bow once mounted. These adjustments enable you to fine-tune the sight to your bow for both level and plumb.
The fiber optics on the Elite Prism sight, travel from the light collection prism lens into the sight pins, with very little fiber optics exposed. I like this feature as it eliminates the possibility of breaking the optics easily while traveling through thick woodlands and terrain. The prism lens enables the fiber optics to gain as much light as possible from above the horizontal plane, intensifying it in the process. According to SVL, the geometric shape of the prism lens, combined with the reflective housing for the fibers, actually “traps” light in the housing. This is what intensifies the light as it enters the prism lens, thereby maximizing light travel to the pins on the sight.
There are five horizontal sight pins and one adjustable long-range sight pin. The five sight pin posts are constructed of a very durable and non-corrosive Liquidmetal® material. Liquidmetal is a lightweight alloy that boasts high yield strength, high wear-resistance, and high corrosion resistance. The five .029 fibers are recessed into the Liquidmetal posts to prevent them from snagging and/or breaking during normal use.
The .019 fiber on the adjustable long-range sight pin is coiled around the body of the long-range pin and arches across the post to the pin itself. It does not travel into the prism lens, as do the .029 fibers. The .019 pin could be susceptible to snagging or breaking if not careful with it, as it is not recessed into the pin like the other five .029 fibers. The purpose of this pin is for sighting in to distances 60 yards or beyond. The adjustable long-range pin has two thumbscrews for minor elevation adjustments. One thumbscrew locks the pin in place, while the other adjusts the pin up and down within the sight ring. There is also a 3/32″ hex screw on the long-range pin for minor windage adjustments to bring the pin in line with the other five horizontal pins.
The 3-inch diameter sight ring has a bright white outline that trains your eye quickly to the sight ring and pins when you draw your bow. The built in bubble level is a common, but nice feature that enables you to hold your bow perpendicular while drawing.
The adjustable long-range pin
Mounting and setting up the Elite Prism sight on my Darton Avalanche rig was a snap and took less than five minutes. The next step was to test the sight for durability and light gathering ability.
– Testing –
Durability: To test for durability, I headed to the woods with my Avalanche fitted with the new Elite Prism sight. I decided to take a hike 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 you’ll encounter. I literally have to use my bow to push briers out of the way just to get through the deer trails and whitetail hotspots. I took my Avalanche bow (without any arrows as it was not hunting season) and the Elite Prism sight for a walk through this same hunting terrain. I was scouting for whitetails while testing the sight for durability at the same time. This sight held up nicely and no damage was incurred during this part of my evaluation. The Prism sights from SVL were manufactured with solid materials and I believe these are very well built sights that will last a long time.
Pins glow brightly under lower light conditions
Light Gathering: The final phase of my evaluation of the Elite Prism sight was to evaluate the light gathering ability and brightness of the fiber optic pins in low-lighting conditions. This was a simple test?I shot my Darton Avalanche equipped with the Elite Prism sight and I shot my Bowtech Tribute equipped with a 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 sights I was comparing used coiled fiber optics to maximize light gathering. The Elite Prism sight performed very well and the pins were far brighter than those of the comparison sights.
The primary goal of using the prism lens system to trap light and intensify it to the pins is to eliminate the need for adding LED lights to the Prism sights. I can state with confidence that you do not need to add any LED lights to the Elite Prism sight to still have glowing pins in low-light conditions.
Specifications as Tested:
- Available in right handed or left handed applications
- Overall length: 7.875 inches (including adjustable long-range pin and noise dampener)
- Sight ring inside diameter: 3 inches
- Weight: 11 oz.
- Sight main body material: Extruded 6063 aluminum – CNC machined
- Sight ring material: Extruded 6063 aluminum – CNC machined
- Pin Material: Liquidmetal® posts with fiber optics
- Finish: black anodized
- Suggested Retail: $199.95
– Conclusion –
This is a solid performing bow sight. I found it to be one of the brightest I’ve seen in any lighting conditions. The only negative about the sight for me was the fact that you must send the prism lens and fibers to SVL for replacement in the event a fiber is broken on the Elite Prism sight. Despite this fact, this is one sight I will keep for personal use, and I don’t say that about every sight I evaluate.
Don’t forget to check out more posts by Keith Dunlap, or to learn more about SVL and the products they offer – shop current LimbSaver products on Amazon, visit limbsaver.com online, or check our sister site, BowList.net, for more Bow related links.