I think they are my favorite recurve of this style. Fast, no I don't have a chronograph, basing it off having to add weight to the arrow so I didn't shoot over everything. Very stable and forgiving, especially in a recurve. And quiet, just dang near longbow quiet. As to the grip style, I have always ordered my Toelke's with the classic grip but picked up the Chinook used and it had the thumb rest. I actually liked it, not overbearing, just the right amount of a bump to position your hand in a very repeatable manner. All in all, an extremely fine example of a recurve that pulls together all of the elements that are needed to deliver an arrow to the target.