Using BOWdometer with multiple bows or setups? Here's what you need to know.
BOWdometer has become an essential piece of your archery kit. Archers all over the world use BOWdometer to track their practice, see their progress and shoot better. Fun fact: archers have reported that using BOWdometer improved their scores by 10%! If you want to learn how, make sure you follow us on social media and watch the full BOWdometer Academy video series!
We’re always working with our BOWdometer Nation to find even more amazing features to add. Bow Profiles is one of these features! Bow Profiles allows you to manage and track multiple bows or bow configurations and easily switch between them with your BOWdometer.
In this video, we’ll chat about what Bow Profiles are and how to use them.
Bow Profiles are how the BOWdometer App keeps your shots and practice sessions organized. You can keep up to 3 different bow profiles stored on your app. A bow profile is simply a set of information about your bow, including the type, usage, bow setup and shot angle configurations that make your shot data easier to read!
Archers use them if they have multiple bows or risers, or if they want to keep track of sessions at different distances or using different limbs or unique setups.
When you create a bow profile, you save your bow setup FOR that bow directly in your bow profile, which means you don’t need to run a new bow setup every time you switch between different bow configurations.
For example, I have a compound bow and a recurve bow. I have 2 profiles stored on my BOWdometer App. When I move my BOWdometer from my recurve bow to my compound bow, I don’t need to run a new bow setup, because it’s already stored in my bow profile!
Instead, I simply connect my BOWdometer and start a new session through the app, selecting the right bow profile in the New Session Screen. The bow setup configuration for that bow profile is pushed to my BOWdometer and I’m ready to start shooting!
The key to using Bow Profiles is to set them up properly. Watch carefully, because this is IMPORTANT! When you first get your BOWdometer, or when you first download the app, you will NEED to create a bow profile before you can start a new session in the App.
To add a Bow Profile, you go to the Menu in the top left and click Bow Profiles. Click “Add New Bow Profile” and fill out the details.
When you get to the “BOWdometer Shot Sensitivity” section, you have several options for how you set it. This Shot Sensitivity is your bow setup that gets saved and pushed to your BOWdometer when start a session – head back to BOWdometer Academy parts 2 and 3 to learn all about bow setup!
If you click “Use Current Setup”, the app will take the Bow Setup that’s stored on your BOWdometer right now and save that as the Bow Setup for this profile. So, if you’ve already run a Bow Setup directly on your BOWdometer, simply connect your BOWdometer and click “Use Current Setup” in the Bow Profile screen to link that bow setup to this bow profile. Easy!
If you haven’t already run a bow setup on your BOWdometer and you’re somewhere you can safely shoot arrows, you can click “Run Bow Setup” right from the Bow Profile screen when your BOWdometer is connected. You won’t even need to touch your BOWdometer! Just follow the instructions, shoot the 3 arrows and click done, and then your bow setup will be saved to that bow profile.
You’ll see a number on the screen on the app beside the words “Current set up”. This number is a representation of your bow setup. It doesn’t really have units – it’s our own patented way of translating data profiles into a readable form. If your “Current set up” says 7000, that’s the BOWdometer default.
In this case, default is BAD. Every archer shoots differently, even with the exact same bow. You want to tune your BOWdometer to know what a shot profile is FOR YOU. So, the BOWdometer App won’t let you start a session with a default bow setup. So make sure your BOWdometer Shot Sensitivity isn’t 7000. If it is, that means your bow setup didn’t save properly and you should run it again.
Now… let’s talk more about this Shot Sensitivity slider. If you have a lot of variation in your technique shot over shot, you may need to tweak your bow setup. Some recurve and barebow shooters notice BOWdometer doesn’t pick up every shot due to fatigue or form variation or techniques like stringwalking.
If you find BOWdometer is missing some real shots, you can come into your bow profile and use the slider to LOOSEN your profile without having to shoot more arrows. Simply drag the slider to the left, save the Profile and start a new session. You can repeat this as many times as you want until you find the best profile.
Conversely, if you find that BOWdometer is counting shots that aren’t real shots, like when you put your bow on your bow stand or your limbs hit the ground while you’re coming off the line, you should try to tighten your bow setup. Use the BOWdometer Shot Sensitivity slider to tighten the bow setup by sliding it to the right. You can repeat this as many times as you want until you find the best profile!
The final detail you can optionally set is your shot angles. Watch Part 9 of this series to learn all about shot angles! Here, you and specify which angle is Cant, Tilt and Torque from the available angles 1, 2 and 3 for this bow profile. Once set, when your session is done, your shot details and charts will be properly labelled as Cant, Tilt and Torque so you don’t need to remember it!
Make sure you always save your bow profile after creating it or editing it.
Once your profiles are set, you select which profile you’re using when you start a new session. Then, when you’re looking at your previous sessions and data, you can filter the charts and session lists by your bow profile.
At BOWdometer, data integrity is REALLY important to us. So, if you start a session on your BOWdometer without using the app, we don’t know for sure which profile you were using. So, you can find those sessions in the “Unassigned” bow profile filter.
Bow profiles make it easier than ever to manage your practice sessions! Take your time to set them up right. Just remember, if you don’t save your bow setup on your BOWdometer to a bow profile, it will get overwritten the next time you start a session through the app. Being consistent with how you start and manage sessions will help you get the most out of your BOWdometer experience!
We have more fun features planned in the future that will expand on Bow Profiles in really exciting ways. Our BOWdometer Nation helped us shape these features and more, so make sure you’re part of our social media community and our Facebook group to be part of the conversation!
Most importantly, have fun doing what you love and stay motivated to keep practicing!
Got questions? Let us know on social media, on BOWdometer Nation or in the comments below and we'll get them answered! Check out our Press Releases and more news coverage here.