The Backstory

Back in 2018, RamRods Archery patented our vibration damping technology, which was first featured in the Tungsten Damping Powder Weight. It proved to be extremely successful and popular with our athletes, including Dutch Olympian Steve Wijler. Back then, he was shooting the Classic stabilizer, which came out in 2016. Steve gave us a feature request that would change the future of all premium rods: tungsten weight inside the stabilizers. At the time we experimented with solid tungsten shanks in the end of the rod, which was good but not great; there was definitely more that we could do.

We began experimenting with tungsten powder. We played around with different types, amounts of weight, placements inside the rod, and ways to keep it securely encased. We started with a plastic stopper to create the chamber for the tungsten powder, but it only worked for parallel shafts. After more trial and error, we finally landed on foam, because it fit better, sounded better, and would be perfect for our eventual shift towards tapered stabilizers.

The first RamRods stabilizer to utilize the tungsten damping weight inside the rod was the Matterhorn, and that's all thanks to Steve.

Where we are today

In our stabilizers, the Steve Wijler Edition Tungsten Damping option is available for all of the premium rods: the Vektor, Beast, Ultra v3, Ultra v4, and Ultra v4 Type S.

While all of our stabilizers feature VIBRO-Core, a rubber based damping material, this is an optional 3 ounces of weight in the distal end of your stabilizer. We carefully measure out tungsten powder, create a chamber in the tip of the rod, and seal it before filling the rest of the stabilizer with VIBRO-Core. Vibration damping isn't the only benefit either; the tungsten damping option also allows you to have more weight on the end of your rod without increasing your weight stack. This is a wind efficient, dual-density vibration damper and internal weight.

Aside from stabilizers, we also carry a variety of tungsten damping weights. You can put these anywhere: the end of your rods, on your riser, or in your riser. The options are limitless. We have these in stainless steel or 3D printed weight cases, with different weight options from 1 or 4 ounces.

When you shoot, the tungsten particles rapidly move around to dissipate harmful vibration. Of course, not all vibration is a bad thing; it can be an effective tool when it comes to understanding how your bow interacts with your shot process. The goal is to dampen enough vibration so that you're in the sweet spot of getting feedback from your bow and feel differences shot to shot.