Alpine Frontier Compound Bow

The Alpine Frontier was the value hunting bow in Alpine's catalog from 2006 through 2010, and its whole identity fits in one line: machined-aluminum hardware at a plastic-hardware price. Sold in the ~$299 range as a bare bow and near $400 as a complete package, it paired a simple, low-maintenance Advantage One single cam with a forgiving 35-inch axle-to-axle geometry, a tall 7.25-inch brace, 80% let-off, and a genuinely useful 50-to-70-pound weight span - a 3.5-pound bow rated at 300 fps IBO. It is not fast and it is not a modern parallel-limb hunter, but it does the hard thing a budget bow is supposed to do: give a new archer real metal hardware and forgiving geometry that build confidence quickly, the way one first-time owner was hitting the target at distance in his first session with it. In my experience that combination - durable machined parts, a cam with nothing to time, and a shape that forgives a developing release - is exactly what a first serious bow should offer. An excellent entry bow for the new adult hunter who wants machined hardware rather than a molded package rig, particularly strong as a build-your-form-and-hunt-whitetail first bow. Buyers who want the widest one-bow adjustment range for a whole household should also look at the Diamond Razor Edge... read full review