A while ago I bought the Elong Archery compound bow wrist release. Back then little there were very few reviews on Amazon and Aliexpress, but even now there are very few reviews available. Therefore in this article, I want to review this release and give my opinion after extensively using it for at least a year. I will discuss the pros and cons and will compare it to a more expensive wrist release I have.
Summary
The Elong Archery wrist release is a very good product for the price. This is a good release for starting archers. The wrist strap is really comfortable and the trigger pull is just right. You can’t however change the length between the release and the wrist strap, which is the main con of this release.
What I like about the release
I am going to be 100% honest with you. I bought this wrist release purely because it was the cheapest available. I wanted to get into compound archery without investing hundreds of dollars into compound gear. Since the price of the release is between 10 and 20 dollars I didn’t expect much. But I was really impressed with the overall quality of the release. I shot it last year with compound bows with up to a 70-pound draw weight and it never broke or failed.
The padding on the back of the release is really comfortable and the trigger pull is not too heavy or too light. It is also really easy to adjust the wrist strap with the Velcro. When I bought the release I was worried that the Velcro might not hold under higher poundage. But it never stretched or came loose. Therefore I think this overall a great product for the price.
What I don’t like
Although I am really positive there are also some negative points to this product. The first negative is that you can’t adjust the length between the wrist strap and the release mechanism. In general, I didn’t have any issues with it, but some people complained about it. You can adjust the wrist strap however, so you can make minor adjustments to the length by tightening or loosening the wrist strap. There are however more expensive releases where both the length of the wrist strap and the distance between the release mechanism is adjustable.
Another negative is due to the general nature of cheaper products. Don’t expect the quality of a $100+ release. This doesn’t mean that the release will break easily, but I have noticed some scratches and the Velcro was fraying a bit. Since it doesn’t affect the performance of the release it doesn’t really bother me.
Compared to a more expensive release
The Elong archery release is the first release that I bought. I also bought a second release, the Jim Fletcher FletchHunter Shorty. For the reason why I bought this release, read the ‘’why I bought a second release’’ section of this article. I bought this release for $70 at a local archery shop.
To make a long story short, I wasn’t really happy with this release. I believe the release has some major design flaws that make the release a pain to use. I also don’t see a big difference in quality. The hosing of the release mechanism feels really strong and is completely made out of metal. The wrist strap however is uncomfortable and it’s kind of difficult to get it attached to your wrist. The biggest design flaw however is the rope between the mechanism and the strap. Therefore you have to be really conscience when attaching the release because you can twist up the rope. This makes the length of the rope a bit shorter influencing your release. The last reason why I prefer my Elong release over the FletchHunter is the feel of the trigger. Although they mention on the packaging that it’s designed to be a hair trigger, the trigger pull is quite stiff. The trigger pull on the Elong release is way lighter.
There are of course also positives about the release. The first major positive is that you can change the length of the rope. Another positive aspect of this release is flexibility. Due to the large hook and because you can change the length of the rope you can also use this as a thumb release. You can also configure this release to work with back tension.
Fletcher FletchHunter shorty
Elong Archery wrist release
Who would I recommend this to?
I would recommend this product to starting archers who want to shoot with a wrist release. This is a great product if you are not familiar with wrist releases. It’s inexpensive and is high quality where it matters. The only reason why I would not recommend this release to well-experienced archers is that you can’t configure the part between the mechanism and the wrist strap.
I have had this release for more than a year, but because I don’t shoot compound very often I don’t feel that I need something else. I think this will be a great release for when you start because you often don’t know your preferences regarding a release until you are more experienced.
What other people said
Before I started writing this review I read some reviews on Amazon and Aliexpress. In this section, I will discuss some points other reviewers made. In general, most archers are happy with their purchase. The release got 4.9 out of 5 on Aliexpress and 4 out of 5 on Amazon
Cheaper materials
Some reviewers mentioned that the materials feel cheap and I agree. Yes, the materials feel cheap, but I didn’t expect anything else for this price, it didn’t break in my particular case.
A defect
One reviewer mentioned the following: ‘’Not happy with this. The default position is open and does not hold the D loop through the draw. Too easy to lose an arrow before you’re ready.’’ I do not have this experience. I believe the spring in his or her release is either broken. Without the spring the release will stay open by default. Based on the ratings I think this must be a lemon and not a major flaw in the product design.
Shorter than expected
One reviewer mentioned that the release was shorter than expected and that he therefore can’t correctly use it. I think this is because this archer is probably using the release wrong. Many people think that you have to attach the release tightly to the wrist. This is however not the way to do it. On the contrary, the release should be attached so that it will almost slide over your hand. You wear the wrist release in fact more on your hand than on your wrist, which might be why some people get confused by it. I have very long fingers and I can comfortably use this release.
Why I bought a second release
I promised to tell you why I bought a second release, I kept it for the end of this review because it’s quite a long story and I don’t think everybody is interested in it. When I bought my first bow, I simultaneously bought the Elong archery release. My bow was delivered within two weeks, but my release was taking a lot longer. Since I was so excited to shoot my compound bow I shot it a few times without a release. This isn’t however a good idea in the long run. Read this article for more information about shooting a compound bow without a release.
After 4 weeks I got a message from Aliexpress that my package was delivered. But when I came home there was no release. So after waiting a few days, I sent a complaint to Aliexpress and the local post office. Sadly I couldn’t get a refund or get compensated because the package was sent uninsured. So I accepted that I would probably never get the release I ordered.
Since I still wanted to shoot my compound bow, I drove by my local archery store and bought the only wrist release they had, the FletchHunter Shorty. When I got back home I wanted to configure the release and try it out. Before I could leave a neighbor came by, with a letterbox package. And yes you guessed it, that package contained my release.
I went by every house in the street, to ask if they received my package but none did. My direct neighbor however was on a long vacation, so I thought they couldn’t have it. I didn’t expect it to come in a letterbox package.
I preferred how the Elong archery release felt and worked, so after a few tries with the FletchHunter, I haven’t used it again.
Where to buy
This product is available at both Amazon and Aliexpress. I bought this release on Aliexpress because Amazon doesn’t deliver to where I live (The Netherlands). If it was possible, I would buy it via Amazon, even though it’s a bit more expensive there. Aliexpress has extremely long shipping times and you can’t ship your items back if you don’t like it.
Tim van Rooijen
For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by archery. First due to its historic significance but later because I like being outdoors. With this blog, I share my knowledge about Archery and how you can improve your shot. More about author…
