In this video I’m in Montreal at Buffa Distribution with Jimoo, throwing the brand new Hammer NU 2.0 on a 38-foot Viper sport pattern. The whole idea was to see if this “not urethane” piece can give you that short-pattern control without the ugly urethane carrydown issues, and I put it head-to-head with my Black Hammer 78D—one of my favorite newer urethane options (especially since I can’t throw my Purple Hammer in certain events). We had Specto running behind us too, so I could actually see how tight my variance was at the arrows and breakpoint while we tested lines. What I saw right away: the 78D wants to roll earlier and stand up sooner, giving you that slower, controlled shape. The NU 2.0 was cleaner through the fronts and noticeably sharper off the back because it isn’t trying to roll as early like urethane. Midway through, the NU 2.0 started getting a little too far downlane for what I wanted on short, so Mark hit it lightly with an older 1000 pad and it read earlier and faced up better—exactly the look I want when I’m trying to keep angles in front of me. The big takeaway for me is “less is more” on short: straighter angles, controlled roll, and actually practicing outside of first arrow so it’s not a panic move when it matters.