With the release of Garmin's new Fenix 9 Pro Smartwatch, they have introduced a new feature: ArcheryX.
ArcheryX comes pre-installed on the Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro watches, as a one-of-a-kind smartwatch technology. Designed primarily with compound archers in mind – Garmin is working on making it suitable for recurve as well - ArcheryX allows you to record movement and biometrics prior to, during, and after your shot. This allows an archer to see their timing and steadiness via the watch.
With this information, archers can then make tweaks to form and/or equipment to try to improve their performance. Again, the watch will show the effects of changes that are made. Data from individual training sessions can be stored for review on the Garmin ShotView smartphone app.
I know I could make use of this technology, as someone who occasionally needs to remind himself to relax, breathe, and focus on fundamentals when shooting. Being able to easily track and record shot data would be beneficial not only for daily shooting exercises, but also for gauging training progress.
Here is an overview of the features of the ArcheryX application:
Shot Break Analysis: Tracks the movement of your bow arm during the moment of release to help improve consistency and technique.
Shot Execution Time: Allows you to measure the time from draw to release to aid in creating a consistent draw routine.
Arrow Counter: The arrow counter allows you to easily keep track of how many arrows you shoot during any given shooting session.
Minutes of Angle: This is a tool that measures the steadiness of each shot in order to provide statistics that correlate hold stability with shot results.
Aim Trace: Doing exactly as its name implies, it traces your wrist's motion during a shot, and then allows you to see that movement immediately afterwards via animated playback on the watch.
Beyond the Bow: Allows archers to track heart rate, respiration rate, and stress levels throughout the course of shooting sessions.
Stats at a Glance: This is found within the ShotView app, allowing the archer to keep track of every shot, and see shot stats/count for the day, week, month and year.
Whether you are a western hunter or a target archery pro, being able to track and measure training performance can help you reach your archery goals. While the ArcheryX technology is not currently compatible with recurve and longbow platforms, compound bow shooters can capitalize on this amazing technology to ensure a clean kill in the hill country, or a podium finish on the competition circuit.
