Martin Tiger Review

Martin Tiger

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Pros

  • Good starter bow for kids from 4 to 8 years old
  • Very lightweight - important for smaller kids
  • One of the safest youth bows
  • Has built-in fully adjustable sight
  • No need to adjust the draw length
  • Extremely affordable bow - great value for money

Cons

  • Factory strings could be of better quality
  • Coarse-grained draw weight adjustments

Video

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Editors' review

The Martin Tiger has been manufactured for over a decade and comes in two major styles: the original (before 2007) Martin Tiger with the Mini Z cam, and the new Martin Tiger (manufactured from 2008) with the T-Pro cam. While both types of Martin Tiger are designed for small kids they are quite different in terms of design, specs, and suitable ages. This review highlights a quick summary of the older Tiger manufactured until 2007, and contains full information on the new Martin Tiger built from 2008.

Original Martin Tiger - Summary

The old-style Tiger is equipped with an adjustable eccentric system and comes with a set of interchangeable modules covering the overall draw length range of 17 to 23 inches. This Mini Z cam is capable of producing IBO speeds of up to 220 fps. The let-off on the Mini Z cam is 65%. The original Martin Tiger has a wide range of draw weights (10-40 lbs) and can be adjusted by turning the limb bolts. With these specs, the bow can grow with the child without the need to upgrade for a long time. The riser is machined from high quality aluminium and the grip is designed to fit small hands nicely. Also, its mass weight is pretty low meaning it can be handled by youngsters from 4-5 years old (on average).

Martin Tiger Review (new bow design from 2008)

Being very lightweight, the new Margin Tiger is specifically engineered for smaller kids from 4 to 8 years old and is considered to be one of the safest youth bows.

Riser

The bow is outfitted with a shoot-through machined plastic riser that is pretty solid and reliable although it's not made from aluminum. With the shoot-through riser, both right-hand and left-hand kids can shoot this bow. Also, the riser comes with a built-in fully adjustable sight with 1 pin, which is nice because you don't need a separate sight for this bow.

One of the safest youth bows

Experts and parents agree the newer Martin Tiger is one of the safest youth bows out there due to its riser design. The arrow capturing shoot-through system helps to keep the arrow in the right direction and prevents it from falling when moving the bow up and down or side to side.

Draw weight adjustments

It's important to note, that the limbs are attached to the riser without using typical limb pockets and limb bolts. As a result, the draw weight is adjusted a bit differently. Specifically, the adjustments are made by loosing the slip knot and moving it to one of the 3 available knots corresponding to the draw weights of 10, 15, and 20 lbs. The knot closest to the upper wheel is used to set the draw weight to 10 lbs. Similarly, the next 2 knots are used to set the draw weight to 15 and 20 lbs correspondingly. It is recommended to use a bow press to compress the limbs before changing the draw weight.

Eccentric system

The eccentric system on the newer Martin Tiger is pretty flexible because the bow can be shot at any draw length from 14 to 24 inches without any adjustments or extra modules. The T-Pro cam system has the let-off of approximately 40%. This design helps to bridge the gap between the versatility of not having to adjust the draw length and normal let-off (40% let-off is still better than nothing).
BowMartin Tiger
Version 2011 (T-Pro Cam)
PictureMartin Tiger
Brace Height6.5 "
AtA Length24 "
Draw Length14 " - 24 "
Draw Weight10 lbs - 20 lbs
IBO Speed fps
Weight1.375 lbs
Let-Off40%
Where to buy
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Suitable ages

Due to its low mass weight and the minimum draw weight of 10 pounds, the newer Martin Tiger is suitable for smaller kids from 4 to 8 years old. This range is approximate - while it's correct for the majority of kids, it's not unusual for some children to be smaller or bigger than average. So, some children can start shooting this bow a bit earlier or later.

Summary

To conclude, the Martin Tiger is a very affordable youth bow suitable for small kids. This bow has been manufactured for more than a decade now and has 2 different styles: the original Martin Tiger (Mini Z cam) built until 2007 and the newer Martin Tiger (T-Pro Cam) manufactured from 2008. While both bows suitable for small kids, the newer Martin Tiger is specifically designed for smaller kids from 4 to 8 years old. The newer modification of the Tiger is considered to be one of the safest youth bows out there. This popular rig received a lot of very positive feedback from many parents who say their kids enjoy shooting the Tiger. While the factory strings could be of better quality and the draw weight adjustments are coarse-grained, overall the Tiger is a very affordable and good little bow suitable for smaller kids from 4 to 8 years old (new Tiger manufactured from 2008).

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