Toelke Troll Review

52" AMO 45# @ 28" 2-piece takedown

I like short bows.  I like how their compactness makes it easy to maneuver in the field, to use inside a blind, or to shoot from a variety of positions without smacking a limb tip into a ceiling or the floor.  Perhaps it's nerdy of me, but there is a certain "cuteness" to a small bow.  While looking at short bows, I came across the Toelke Kestrel - a short 52" recurve.  Owners of this little bow raved about its compact size, yet smooth draw.  I thought about it and the idea of a tiny recurve that could break down into a smaller travel package would be a really neat bow.

I gave Dan Toelke a call to inquire further about the Kestrel and that was when I learned that model had been retired and replaced with the Troll.  According to Dan, he had redesigned the Kestrel for improved performance and the new design was different enough to warrant a completely new bow, so the Troll came into being.  After discussing bow details and woods, my place in the queue was secured and the Troll arrived about a month later.



- Riser -

The Troll riser is primarily made of black linen micarta for strength.  Within the micarta is a Bow-Bolt takedown system that allows for simple tool-free disassembly/reassembly.  Being solid steel, the Bow-Bolt also helps add some heft to the bow for improved stability.  The grip portion of the riser is built out of pau ferro and is capped off at the end with a bit more micarta.  The way the grip is carved out of the riser makes for an attractive display of the wood grain and laminations in the palm swell area rising up to the grip throat.

Solid linen micarta riser.  You can barely tell where the takedown seam is.

That it is a short 52" bow, the riser is naturally on the small side and has a small sight window and shelf that is cut to center.  I normally prefer a shelf cut a little past center due to the wider tuning options I have to adjust centershot for my existing stash of arrows.  The vast majority of my bows end up in the low to mid 40# range due to the fact that I find that draw weight comfortable and my 500 spine arrows will tune in with perhaps a change in point weight if even that.  Shelves cut to center push the centershot further out towards the stiffer side, thus requiring a weaker shaft to bend around the bow.  I will get into the shelf further in the tuning section.  As it is, the shelf and window are nicely radiused to minimize arrow contact.

Dan's bows are known for their comfortable grips and the Troll is no exception.  I particularly like the higher wrist grip on this one than what is normally seen on longbows.  Additionally, there is a slight thumb rest present that offers just enough purchase for my thumb without being large and bulky like a target bow riser.  As much as I like a large supportive target grip, it just looks oddly out of place in a svelte little bow like the Troll.  As I delve deeper into traditional bows, I find myself gradually accepting lower wrist grips more and more.  Perhaps someday I will be able to shoot a Hill-style bow...

Nicely radiused shelf for minimal arrow contact.  The Troll comes with pre-applied shelf and strike plate pads.

- Limbs -

The limbs on the Troll are bamboo core with clear glass over mangowood veneers.  Being such a short bow, the recurve limbs have full working tips and open up as one draws further back.  I believe this design is what allows a short bow to accommodate a longer draw and not give too acute of a string angle on the fingers and cause pinch.  However, physics will not be denied and the string angle will inevitably be different than a longer bow.  Overall recurve profile resembles a conventional recurve with only a few inches of string-to-limb contact on the bellies.

Braced profile of the Troll

I must admit, I am a bit spoiled by the ultra stiff all-carbon limbs made by Border in their Hex-series and had to give the Troll limbs a twist-test to see how torsionally stable they were.  Unsurprisingly, they twisted about with moderate effort.  This is not a strike against the Troll, since it is not a super recurve and does not require the same levels of torsional rigidity to prevent the limb from twisting in on itself.  As expected of Dan's work, the limbs are nice and straight without any twist in the limbs as evidenced by the string tracking dead center in their grooves.  

Unbraced Troll

Like most modern bows, the Troll's limb tips are reinforced to accept modern string materials.  The tips are small and minimalist which helps with reducing mass weight at the points that move the most.  This helps to improve efficiency and overall performance.  Overall, the limbs are flawlessly finished and the braced bow presents a handsome recurve profile.  I particularly, like how the Troll maintains a "normal" recurve look that is not excessively deflexed to accommodate the short length.  

Small, beautifully sculpted limb tips are reinforced for use with modern string materials

- Takedown System -

Dan uses the Bow-Bolt system which consists of steel male and female screw and receptacle ends, respectively.  The two halves assemble and separate with about a 1/4 turn, making the takedown system very handy and easy to use.  With practice, I was able to assemble the bow and brace it up in less than 10 seconds (less than half if I used the push-pull method).  One potential drawback I noticed about the Bow-Bolt system is the chance for having a twisted bow if one does not fully twist the two halves together tightly.  I managed that my first time assembling it as the two halves fit together rather tightly and required a good bit of effort coax into position.  The sculpted lines of the grip assist one in proper assembly.  If the seam is open and there are parts at odd angles, you haven't put it together completely.

A view of the Bow-Bolt system.  

Straight-on view.  Note how the bolt has flats.  These serve to guide the bolt into the receptacle so that the bow goes together in about a 1/4 turn.  If you look closely, you can see the 1/4 turn channel cut into the female side and the little indexing pin on the male side.

Scouring the web, I was able to find reports of the Bow-Bolt failing and people's bows literally folding in half on them at full draw.  I am not a bowyer nor will I pretend to have that knowledge, but I would imagine any takedown system has potential for failure.  I would think (and hope) my moderate draw weight would not be overly taxing on the takedown system.  Reassuringly, testimonials of Dan's takedown bows are glowing and he seems to have made enough of them to really know what he is doing.  Since taking delivery of the bow and writing this review, I have shot hundreds of arrows out of the Troll as well as taken it down a dozen times or so and the system is as solid as it was the day I got it.  It has not loosened up at all and still requires a good bit of effort to turn into place.  I get the feeling the bow itself will fail before the takedown system will.

A view of the bow with the two halves unlocked and ready to separate.  1/4 turn is about all it takes.  Quick and easy.

Honestly, the Troll is short enough that it really does not require a takedown system to make it portable.  I can very easily place the bow in the trunk or back seat of my car and not have to worry about how to maneuver it into place so it will fit diagonally without jarring loose in transit.  But, being able to break down even smaller makes it easy to stow in the bow pocket of my Vista Maverick quiver or in the neat takedown soft case Dan supplied.  In addition to the handy ability to stow more easily, my other reason for requesting the takedown feature was to add more heft to the Troll by way of the Bow-Bolt itself and the linen micarta riser material.  The few extra ounces of weight helps stabilize an already lightweight bow and minimize twitchiness inherent in short bows.  On the digital scale, the Troll comes in at 1.68# or 27oz.

When broken down, the Troll takes up very little space 

- Tuning -

I ordered the bow with a draw weight of 45# @ 28", following the usual 28" draw standard.  I draw 27" and estimated that one inch deficiency would cost me about 2-3#, resulting in about 42-43#.  Once I had the Troll unpacked and put together, I braced it up with one of Dan's included strings, twisted it till I was in the recommended brace height range, and gave the bow a slow draw to anchor.  A few pulls and I was thinking the bow is slightly on the lighter side, which was later confirmed by my bow scale.  The Troll came in at 43# @ 28" and just under 41# @ 27".  Not bad.  I would have liked an extra pound or two, but the draw felt very easy and smooth out to my anchor so I'll take it.  The only reason I would like a tiny bit more weight is so my existing arrows would tune in without any changes needed in point weight.

Photos do not do the bow justice.  The mangowood veneers are subtle and attractive.

Dan included a bow stringer and two strings with the Troll, along with a nice brown soft case for takedown bows.  The strings are endless loop with rubber cat whisker silencers already tied on.  Upon further examination, the loops themselves appear to be padded out thicker to minimize stress at the string notches.  Very nice.  I usually stretch my strings before shooting to work out all the creep in them and decided to do the same with these two.  24 hours of stretching at 100# tension resulted in the strings having gained nearly 1/4" in length.  Both were placed on the bow and twisted up to the appropriate brace and then thoroughly waxed.  The spare was carefully packed back up with the takedown case and the other was left on the Troll with a brace height of 7-1/8".  Now began the process of tuning.

The Troll and a 58" AMO Dryad Orion ACS-RC pulled to 27" draw together.  Note how the limb profile opens up, but the limb tips are not opened up to an extreme amount.

The lighter poundage and center-cut shelf resulted in my current Gold Tip Warrior 500 shafts being a touch too stiff.  I shoot those shafts with my Centaur Triple Carbon and they tune in wonderfully with a 50gr. insert and a 175gr. screw-in point.  Out of the Troll, they require nearly 300gr. point weight which resulted in a pretty front heavy arrow and made them fly like a brick tossed by a toddler.  I experimented with brace height and trimming the cat whiskers smaller in an attempt to dynamically weaken the arrows.  Despite my best efforts, the arrows still required very heavy point weight to tune in and I was not going to get the kind of arrow flight I would like.  I decided then that I would need a weaker spine shaft to suit the Troll and so, ordered up some 600 spine Warrior shafts.

It is kind of hard to see, but notice the more acute angle the Troll's string makes compared to the Dryad.  

I cut down the 600 spine shafts to 29" and outfitted them with my usual 2-fletch set up and used 100gr. brass inserts to make up for the lighter shaft.  I capped off the tip with a 125gr. screw-in point and obtained a 425gr. arrow.  The new arrows flew straight and true from the Troll and bareshaft tuning confirmed they were tuning in much better.  They came in a touch weak, which I prefer due to the greater likelihood of short-drawing a bow than over-drawing.  I also finalized the nock height position and tied in my nock locators to finish it off.

With any bow review, we need some numbers to benchmark things.  Using 425gr. arrows and 41# on my fingers, the Troll is carrying a load of 10.4GPP (grains per pound).  If you had been reading my other reviews on the blog, you know I like a load of at least 10GPP to reduce stress on the limbs, maintain a quiet shooting bow, and carry more momentum downrange.  A 5-shot average through the Caldwell chronograph netted me 167.2FPS.  It is not blisteringly fast, but this is not a speed bow, nor does it have carbon or foam in the limbs.  This is a wood and glass bow designed to be as short as possible and still accommodate up to 29" draw.  That's certainly more than adequate performance to put an arrow into foam or pass through a deer.

I feel the need to point out a very welcomed feature of Dan's service - the Troll was very well protected in bubble wrap and shipped in a thick rigid cardboard tube.  To me, that shows an extra level of attention to help ensure the product arrives to the buyer safe and sound.  I always cringe when I see a bow arrive that is barely protected with bubble wrap or other cushioning, and is somewhat haphazardly put into a basic cardboard box that is just large enough to hold it.  To top it off, these bows are sent without insurance, leaving the recipient at the mercy of the shipping service to hopefully deliver undamaged goods.  I've seen photos of bows that arrive in pieces with what appear to be tire tracks on the crushed box.  I wonder how the bowyer deals with those issues?  Free new bow?  Refund?  Or "sorry, you're on your own."....




- Shooting -

The fun part of the review.  I actually quite enjoy the tuning aspect of bow ownership along with the assembling of arrows and other bow-related paraphernalia.  Many folks associate archery with the act of drawing and loosing arrows, but not much more beyond that.  A major part of getting a bow to shoot well is the work behind the scenes.  Anyways, if you are reading this review and able to follow along, then you already know all this.  Still, I do very much enjoy just picking up a well-tuned bow and set of arrows and loosing shots down range for just the joy of it.

Thought I'd try out a new back quiver with the Troll.  It is a G4Free quiver found on Amazon.  Not expensive and seemed to be relatively well made.  Not as nice as the Vista Maverick, but it works.

Once the Troll and arrows were all tuned in, I settled in my basement range and started shooting for groups.  The lower draw weight made it easier to hit anchor and hold, while the 600 spine shafts allowed for better arrow flight and a flatter trajectory.  It wasn't long before I was able to establish soup can sized groups in my 12 yard basement range.  I was even able to bust a few golf tees I use as a challenge target.  They are not all that easy to hit, let alone see well at 12 yards.

Noise level for the Troll is wonderfully quiet.  I experimented with placing soft sided Velcro pads at the string grooves and even Limbsavers on the bellies, but soon found out they really were not needed.  Normally, Limbsavers do a good job of damping out any residual limb noise and vibration, but this time, they literally did nothing.  As far as my ears and hands could tell, there was no difference before and after placement of Limbsavers, so off they came.  All the Troll needed was a set of string silencers and they already came with a set tied on.  How convenient!

Everything that's inside the big shipping tube: brown divided soft case, bow stringer, two strings, instructions, and of course, the bow 

Once I was confidently shooting groups at home, I took the Troll out to my local club's outdoor range during the unseasonably warm weather we were having in January.  I decided to give one of the quivers available on Amazon.com a try and picked up a G4Free back quiver soon after the Troll arrived.  While not nearly as nice as my Maverick, it seems to have all the features the typical archer would need: adjustable shoulder strap, two pockets for accessories, and a main tube for arrows.  It isn't nearly as large as the Maverick and would hold about a 12-18 arrows comfortably.  It only had a shoulder strap and not a 3-point system.  I had to remedy that with some 1" nylon webbing I had at home and a stitcher.  Also, I found the strap up top near the mouth of the main tube to be too wide and would dig into my neck when I drew the bow, so some scissors made quick work of that.  The quiver isn't leather, but some waterproof synthetic suede-like material.  It doesn't seem as durable as the ballistic nylon the Maverick is made of, but we shall see.  If nothing else, this new quiver should work as a back-up or as a spare someone else can use if they go shooting with me.

My quiver was loaded up with a dozen of the new GT Warrior 600 arrows, the Troll was neatly placed in the back seat of my car, and I headed off to the range.  So nice that I don't have to take it down or have to Tetris it into place in the car.  I used the first bale which was marked for 30 yards to get an idea of my point-on distance.  Knowing the majority of my other bows typically point-on around 30-35 yards (especially if FPS is 170 or below), I figured this one would perform about the same and it too came in at about 30 yards.

As I made my way along the walking course shooting at targets at varying distances, I came to realize the Troll shot like any other bow I own, despite expecting it to behave very differently due to its size.  It was shorter and the string angle was a tiny bit more acute, but other than that, it shot very well and would put arrows where I wanted so long as I did my part.  I did not find it any more challenging to shoot nor was it twitchy and temperamental.  I felt rather confident with the little bow and even tried my luck at the 80 yard bale.  It took a few ends for me to get my bearings, but I was eventually able to stick a few into the bale.  I very much enjoyed my outing with the little Troll and would think it could be a great solo bow if I were to have only one (Who am I kidding?  I'd never own just one bow!).



- Final thoughts -

I've been told many times in the past that short bows are difficult to shoot, are twitchy, have a lot of finger pinch, do not draw smoothly, etc.  I honestly did not have any of these issues with the Troll.  Of course, it is nowhere near as stable and easy shooting as a fully equipped Olympic target bow, but you would likely not take one hunting, let alone into a ground blind or in thick brush.  The Troll has its niche like any other bow, but I honestly feel the Troll would be equally at home on shooting 3D targets or harvesting game.

Some of my shooting friends wonder why I don't just shoot a compound bow like everyone else.  They are faster, more accurate, and are significantly shorter than the Troll.  Those are good points they make, but I just cannot seem to enjoy shooting a compound bow as much as a traditional bow.  I have nothing against compounds - I shoot them and own a couple.  I do like how I can repeatedly drill the X on a 5-spot target or gain nearly 100FPS over my traditional bows, but I feel very disconnected from my shooting with a compound.  I love the feel of the string through my glove, the smooth climb of draw weight as I pull further, and the snatch of the string off my fingers as I relax my string hand on the loose.  Shooting a traditional bow is just so much more fun for me that I will never voluntarily give them up for the compound.  As it stands, the Troll is the shortest recurve I have ever shot and that's about as close to a compound's length that I will probably get for a while.

Dan Toelke has an impressive little recurve in the Troll.  The compact 52" length combined with the ability to accommodate up to a 29" draw, and be able to break into an even smaller package for transportation without tools makes this bow an outstanding candidate for folks who hunt out of a blind, in the thick brush, or just like small bows.  I am very pleased with the Troll and would not hesitate to have Dan build me another custom bow in the future.