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Nika C1s WOW

7K views 98 replies 13 participants last post by  josephtreadlightly  
#1 · (Edited)
First off let me say, thank you to Remote for the JAM UP review of these limbs which is the whole reason I pulled the trigger on these.

So I ordered the medium c1s 48 pound limbs and gained the typical 1 pound per inch as you go down in riser length. These are on a vpa yes it’s only 13 inches but it gained what a 17 inch riser would typically gain. This is with the tiller bolts all the way down and even tiller. 57.7@28 to be exact. I could bump that down some if I want to but I’ve got a short draw, just shy of 26 inches. 48 on my fingers to be exact. So far I’ve only been able to do a little tinkering but what blew me away was how QUIET these limbs are. Yes this is my first ILF set up but I’ll be honest I was expecting some noise with a metal rig coming from the wood bows. My draw length probably helps with the noise so take that into consideration no bow is really loud to me.

Fit and finish is really good especially for 139 dollar limbs shipped. I can only find one slight blemish in the carbon but the light has to hit it just right and its going to get more wear from hunting anyway. Customer service was on point they were very communicative about ordering no logos on the limbs and English was great being they are based in china.

So far I was able to get a 2117 full length to bare shaft with 175 grain points just about dang near perfect and I’m not even used to this bow yet but I can usually tell if I’m going to like a bow in the first 20 shots or so. Also forgot to mention I did zero tiller adjustments they were perfect when mounted and alignment was perfect with my limb pockets centered. Just had both bolts bottomed out and they were even which is what I want for 3 under shooting.

Yes the 2117 full length is just shy of 600 grains so there’s another factor in helping the quietness but there’s zero hand shock and the bow has a nice “thump” sound but zero string buzz they come to a nice stop as the arrow leaves and the limbs recover immediately. I believe the nice thump sound is due to the carbon, I know my maple limbs take longer to recover you can see this in slo mo videos etc and I can feel the longer vs shorter recovery time after the arrow is launched. I would imagine this adds some performance. If it gives you more confidence that's all that matters right?

Lastly, like remote said in his review they are a heavy mass limb so they are best paired with a heavy riser to have that center mass. I notice this only slightly and this is easily fixed with some weights added to your riser. In my case it will probably be tiller bolt weights since the vpa riser has no stabilizer bushing. But for me I didn’t notice this so much that it bothered me or made the aiming difficult but I do agree a little heavier riser would prob just cure that right up. If I was ignorant to this I may not have noticed it initially but after time I could see this being a factor at some distance. Remote, well done.

Oh one more thing, I ended up getting that vpa riser during their sale plus a promo code for 360 shipped! Pair that with the nikas and a ttt string from Trevor fielder and this is a killer set up for about 500 bucks. I won’t go into much detail about the riser itself I will have to do that down the road but let’s just say it’s NICE can’t wait to get in a tree with this thing.

Hope this info helps those interested in Nika. So far so good!!
 

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#15 ·
I scrubbed mine off with acetone, paper towels and a lot of elbow grease.


But honestly, if wary, just get the milspec camo wrap. Tried and true, field tested, and has no adhesive. Does not stick to limbs, rather clings to itself. It's super light, cheap and does not take on humidity. It comes off with no need to clean as it has no adhesive.
 
#26 ·
Shooting mine today, trying different arrows and tip weights…

first impression, best bang for the buck… hands down.

The limbs are heavy, going off memory here but at least 3 oz per limb heavier than winex honey foam of same spec…I have them on a heavy mass riser, RMSG P2P 17”… the weight is very noticeable when swapping from one to the other… but after a while it feels fine…

they are very quiet, I’m not fully tuned up yet and these things just thump… no hum, no buzz, just one thump…super happy with that…

They draw smooth, feels very linear, not noticeable soft or hard spots in the draw… happy with this as well… I have an issue with o we drawing sometimes… this helps me with that… zero stack to 29” , that’s just as far as I pulled, didn’t try any farther…

speed wise??? I’ve paid way more for this type of performance… I haven’t got the chrony out yet… but I’m shooting right at 10gpp and I would guess these to be in the 170-175 fos range… I’ll get chrony out when I have more time and prettier day…

fit and finish is great… I have 2 sets… I weight bother of them… one set was .1 of a gram off… the other set was 1 gram (15grains)…

im very happy with these limbs and big shout out to Remote for his original review… I prolly wouldnt have game Nika the chance they deserve…

Customer service has been absolutely wonderful!!! I really coundt ask for anything more…

Now… hopefully they don’t blow up!! Hahaha
 
#33 ·
I am looking to experiment on some inexpensive lighter # limbs. I would be interested to see the chrono results and specs of the set up. More weight in the limbs usually translates to less performance.

When I find the right weight after experimenting I will go for N3 or SX50 limbs. If I find these C1 capable I will stick with them. You can't beat the price. My bows are high mass weight so the extra weight won't bother me.
 
#34 · (Edited)
The way I see it, Nika didn't know it but with the C1 and C2 they have made a practically ideal hunting limb, with features many far more expensive limbs cannot compete with. They have the #1 feature locked down: quiet. With tiller correct, a tuned 9GPP+ arrow, they are quieter without string silencers than many popular hunting limbs with silencers, tuned by a skilled archer. The #2 ideal feature is that they are tough, very tough. Go anywhere with these things, bang them around. They are plenty quick for their weight too.

Can't go wrong - as long as your riser has good centering mass.
 
#37 ·
I was putting them on a 19" riser and have a 30" draw. The mediums will give me a 62" bow. I usually shoot 64" and 66", but I will give them a shot. I worry more about the limbs being over stressed. They should make a snappy bow though.

If I were to get 30# on my 19" riser at 28" they would be approximately between 34# and 35#. Then add 2# for the extra 2" of draw length making them between 36# and 37#. That could wind up being a 23% increase in draw weight over the stated weight on these limbs.

Does anyone know if an increase like that would be detrimental to the limbs?

At one time I was shooting longs on a 17" riser and did not have a problem so I imagine these should be fine too.
 
#39 ·
Shouldn't the weight increase be proportional to stated weight? 12# over 30# is a 40% increase while 12# over 40# is a 30% increase.

I am just going to give them a go. At the performance for the price they sound like a great value.
 
#43 ·
Good analysis as to draw smoothness. You are onto something @Supraspinatus.

For their weight they do well for speed, which - you are right - places them about average. I will say though that with a longer draw the C1's seem to start working where other limbs of same length will begin to lock up, and it's there they start to make some ground on the mass/speed game, especially with a heavy arrow.

The C series would be way down the list for target, one wonders why they are marketed so. A bit odd. I want a light limb for light arrows. But for hunting they make very good sense. I did suggest to Nika they rebrand for a hunting line, things like matte bolt caps and a natural colour small logo design, but no bites so far.
 
#44 ·
I am going to try a pair of C1s @ 30# on my Spigarelli 25". They should wind up between 32 and 33#. That will be my form bow. I will try them on my 19" but at a 30" draw making them 38# may be pushing it.

Uukha states for their limbs, after a 10% increase over the marked weight, you begin to over stress their limbs. An increase of 15% would be like over drawing the bow 5". Uukha states that their limbs perform the best between a + or -5%.

For my 19" riser the Uukha configurator recommends 70"/30# to hit 38# for SX limbs making a 64" bow at my draw. Since that would be a 26% increase over marked weight and it wasn't flagged as over stressing I don't think their 10% recommendation may be much of a concern for my purpose. I have XLs SX50 on one of my 19" riser and the back end is a bit soft. I like a harder stop so maybe longs will give me that.

My plan will be C1s to start on the 25" then N3 longs on the 19". Unless I can find a cheap pair of used 30# SX50.

Reading what Bowmania said in the Draw Weight thread I feel more confident stepping down to hunt whitetails at close range with a lighter weight bow. Maybe I will step down to 36# depending on how I feel shooting the 30# C1s.

This year was the first time in my life I couldn't do something I wanted to do, because of my age and strength. In the last year and a half I lost a lot of muscle mass. I have to change that scenario. I will come back and regain that strength, but at least with my shooting I am going back to low and slow to gain a more stable bow arm.
 
#45 ·
Uukha states for their limbs, after a 10% increase over the marked weight, you begin to over stress their limbs. An increase of 15% would be like over drawing the bow 5". Uukha states that their limbs perform the best between a + or -5%.

For my 19" riser the Uukha configurator recommends 70"/30# to hit 38# for SX limbs making a 64" bow at my draw. Since that would be a 26% increase over marked weight and it wasn't flagged as over stressing I don't think their 10% recommendation may be much of a concern for my purpose. I have XLs SX50 on one of my 19" riser and the back end is a bit soft. I like a harder stop so maybe longs will give me that.
I think this part of your post would make a great thread starter. Based on Uukha's thinking there, nearly every hunter shooting limbs marked for 25"H risers would be well over their safe draw limit. Those of us with long draws even worse. I'm often drawing limbs 10-12lb over marked weight. I'm yet to have an ILF limb fail however. Risers yes.
 
#46 ·
Uukha's comments about Gillo risers and 15% is a little confusing. I think asking them for clarification might be a good idea.

For instance, Uukha recommends 70" (long) limbs for 29" draw length. I asked them what they would recommend for 29" draw length on a 17" riser. I was expecting them to suggest XL (72") limbs. They did not - they recommended longs. So they recommend long limbs for both 25" and 17" risers.

If we take long 40# SX+ limbs and put them on a 17" riser, we'll get draw weight about 48#, for a 20% increase. So we've already exceeded the 15% rule.

I think there is a little more to this. Uukha has always been very forthcoming with me in response to email questions.
 
#47 ·
Uukha's comments about Gillo risers and 15% is a little confusing. I think asking them for clarification might be a good idea.

For instance, Uukha recommends 70" (long) limbs for 29" draw length. I asked them what they would recommend for 29" draw length on a 17" riser. I was expecting them to suggest XL (72") limbs. They did not - they recommended longs. So they recommend long limbs for both 25" and 17" risers.

If we take long 40# SX+ limbs and put them on a 17" riser, we'll get draw weight about 48#, for a 20% increase. So we've already exceeded the 15% rule.

I think there is a little more to this. Uukha has always been very forthcoming with me in response to email questions.
I agree.

I am going to go on as I did in the past. I have a set of Border longs I shot on a 17" Das. My draw at the time was 30.5" with my thumb tab. I did draw curves on all my limbs and the Borders on the 17" were smooth drawing to 31" with similar pounds per inch.
 
#48 ·
I checked with Breathn first to see if he had Nika C1s or N3s in stock. At this time he doesn't.

I went to eBay and put a pair of C1s @30# and N3 Longs at 30# in my cart. If I don't get any hits on my ad in the trading blanket I will pull the trigger on eBay. The only problem is the 21 days shipping, when I am a, buy it now and get in 3 days, kind of guys.