Carter Enterprises debuted their latest design, the Mini Evolution 20 at this year’s ATA show. In addition to this, they made a wholesale improvement to their entire release lineup that most may not immediately notice. Especially if you aren’t already familiar with their products. Even if you aren’t familiar with their products, you will immediately be able to feel the quality machining, precision, and design that goes into each of their hand-made, self-designed release aids.
Mini Evolution 20
The Evolution lineup of releases has been around for quite a while with significant improvements in design along the way. Enter the Mini Evolution 20. Also a resistance-activated release, the Mini Evolution 20 is a smaller version of the Evolution 20. It is available in a 3 finger style. As you can imagine by the name, it is designed to better fit shooters with small hands.
Both the Evolution 20, and the Mini, feature an enhanced version of the ITS system. This system uses a single-screw for micro-weight adjustment without the need to replace the springs. By adjusting this screw you are able to dial your holding weight over an astounding range from 8 lbs all the way up to 40 lbs. This micro adjustment allows you to precisely dial the tension to fit the archer for better consistency. Previously, in the earlier version of the ITS system you had to replace the springs in order to modify trigger tension.
Nitride Coatings
It wasn’t until we compared the new release to our old ones that we noticed a slightly darker-colored jaw on the release. This new feature almost slipped under the radar! On all their new releases a nitride coating is applied to the stainless steel components. This new coating is substantially harder than the uncoated high-quality stainless steel used for earlier Carter releases. Another benefit of the nitride coating is the additional lubricity of the coating compared to the uncoated stainless steel. The hardness and lubricity reduce wear on the jaw and all other moving components, while providing a butter-smooth action. Typically there is a tradeoff with harder metal. The harder the metal, the more brittle & prone to failure it gets. However, since they didn’t change the stainless steel base metal, you get the same tough-as-nails release with all the benefits above.
Overall Thoughts
Much like all of their other releases the action of the Mini Evolution 20 is crisp, repeatable, and reliable. The ease of adjustability of this release gives it a leg up over some of the earlier versions. Not to mention, you don’t need to keep track of any easy-to-lose components. You can buy the Mini Evolution 20 (MSRP $245.99), as well as other quality releases from Carter Enterprises at their website – www.carterenterprises.com.