APA Mamba 34 TF: Bow Review
The 2017 APA Mamba M34 TF is one of the fastest compounds I’ve tested for Inside Archery, recording 365 fps speeds with the lightest arrow in the Bow Report’s lineup. The Mamba 34 TF is less demanding than other APAs I’ve shot. Its low 6-1/8-inch brace might make the Mamba 34 TF slightly touchy, but that’s offset by a more forgiving 34 1/8-inch axle-to-axle length and a smoother-pulling version of the MX Cam.
The Mamba 34 TF includes MX Cams that are much smoother than their predecessors as well as highly adjustable for draw length and tunable for cam synchronization. The newest MX Cam matches the draw-cycle characteristics of some of the industry’s smoothest compounds and delivers high-end arrow speeds. Dual cams must remain perfectly synchronized on the Mamba 34 TF to deliver their full potential. The Mamba 34 TF cams’ easily seen tuning marks make it simple to bring things back into line. The EZ Tune Mods make minor timing and tuning a snap, even without pressing the compound.
The MX Cam includes a solid rear wall, 7 inches of draw-length range in half-inch increments, dual-sealed ball bearings, dead-level nock travel, and comfortable 75 percent let-off. An exclusive camlock feature, which is part of the APA Tool Center, lets shooters quickly replace nicked or worn bowstrings or cables, string silencers or lost peeps without a bow press. The MX Cam is radical enough to push the spine limits of several test arrows in the .340 to .400 deflection range which explains several instances of uncharacteristic jumps in kinetic energy. At our 71.9-pound draw weight and 30-inch draw length, .300-spine arrows would have produced more even energy transitions from the heaviest to lightest shafts.
APA also incorporated Twin Flex Limbs which deliver more performance and speed by incorporating the entire limb surface on this compound. This compound’s Twin Flex Limbs flex all the way through the forks, which better distributes the load while storing additional energy. Twin Flex Limbs are held solidly in pivoting, machined-aluminum pockets, and are ultra slim and held past parallel to make the Mamba 34 TF lighter, super quiet and easier to handle.
APA’s Riser Fang lets treestand bowhunters hang their bows on any handy branch without a bow hook or hanger. The Riser Fang also lets bowhunters hang bows above dirt and debris while resting or glassing for game. The Tool Center is built into the bow’s riser below the grip, so it travels everywhere with the compound. It includes a broadhead wrench, nock-indexing wrench, Cam Lock pin, and a carbide sharpener to touch up knives or fixed-blade broadheads. Other features include: rear stabilizer mount, direct-mount wrist sling with locking set screw, a side-plate grip, a POV camera mount, and APA’s signature Carry Handle.
The Mamba 34 TF includes a LimbSaver string-stop dampener that’s held on a vibration-absorbing carbon rod. This compound also has a carbon roller guide that minimizes buss cable friction and vibration. A Soft Touch Armor coating on the riser eliminates contact noise and feels warmer in cold weather. APA also equipped the Mamba 34 TF with LimbSaver’s latest limb silencers and rubber-combination speed buttons/bowstring dampeners.
That much silence is remarkable from a compound that generates chronograph numbers beyond 300 fps with hunting arrows. The APA Mamba 34 TF is everything bowhunters could want. It’s fast, quiet, quickly tuned, easily handled, and equipped with special touches like the Fang Riser and Tool Center.
To learn more, please visit APA Archery’s website.
