Bear Cruzer G2 Review
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Pros
- Grows with the shooter: 5-70 lb draw weight and 12-30 inch draw on one bow, from a backyard beginner to a 70-lb whitetail setup
- Complete ready-to-hunt kit under $400 at launch: Trophy Ridge sight, Whisker Biscuit rest, quiver, stabilizer, sling, peep and D-loop
- Press-free setup: modules set draw length and limb bolts set weight with an Allen wrench, and three full turns take a maxed 70 down to 60 pounds
- Real speed lands close to the spec: 309 fps at 70 lb and 30 inch with a 350-grain arrow versus the 315 IBO claim
- One of the widest color and camo ranges in the budget class, from full hunting patterns to bright youth colors with matching strings
Cons
- Shallow valley and a back wall that is soft rather than firm since there are no limb or cable stops; staying pulled into the wall and not creeping handles it in practice
- A little shot buzz creeps in above 50 lb and it sits a step behind flagship-quiet; a few dollars of stick-on limb dampers tame most of it
Video
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Editors' review
Very few bows ask a five-year-old in the backyard and a grown deer hunter to shoot the same riser, but that is exactly the trick the Bear Cruzer G2 pulls off. Its draw weight bottoms out at 5 lb and climbs to 70, and its draw length covers 12 to 30 inches, so one bow can carry a kid from first arrows to a real hunting setup without a single new purchase. That range, wrapped in a complete ready-to-hunt package that launched under $400, is why the G2 earned such a following in Bear's Cruzer line, sitting between the original Cruzer and the later G3 and G4. It is not a flagship and does not pretend to be one; it is the bow you hand a beginner, a growing teenager, or a budget-minded hunter who wants everything in the box. The 30-inch axle-to-axle length and 6.5-inch brace height keep it compact and honest at 315 fps IBO. What follows is what the G2 does well, where its budget roots show, and who should be looking at it.
Finish
The G2's finish range is one of its calling cards and a big part of its appeal. Hunters can order it in full camo, including Realtree Edge, TrueTimber Strata, and TrueTimber Kanati, while a straight black Shadow option keeps things plain. Where the G2 really separates from most budget bows is the run of bright colors: Moonshine Muddy Girl, Toxic, Undertow, and Wildfire appear across the catalog, and Bow-Only configurations add solid purples, blues, oranges, and greens, often with matching strings and cables. For a first bow, that palette matters more than it sounds, since a teenager who picks the color is a teenager who keeps shooting. The dip-applied finishes hold up to normal field use, and the camo patterns are the same durable coatings Bear uses across its hunting line. Buyers should confirm exact color availability by year and by package, because the RTH kit ships in the camo and Shadow options while the wilder colors tend to live on the Bow-Only side.Riser
The Cruzer G2 is built on a machined aluminum riser rather than the cast piece you might expect at this price, which is a meaningful part of why the bow feels more solid in the hand than its sticker suggests. The geometry is compact, holding the bow to a 30-inch axle-to-axle length that suits treestands, ground blinds, and younger shooters with shorter wingspans. Bear routes the string stop off the riser through its RockStops suppressor to catch the string after the shot, and the cable guard keeps the system clear of the arrow's path. There is no modular accessory rail here in the flagship sense; the G2 uses conventional Berger-hole and rest mounting, which is exactly what the bundled Whisker Biscuit and sight bolt into. The riser's reflex geometry helps the bow store energy for its 315 fps rating without a punishing draw. It is a straightforward, proven platform, and nothing about it reads as fragile or disposable.Grip
The grip is a slim, moulded design that runs long, narrow, and flat-backed down the throat of the riser. That flat back is the useful part: it steers the web of the hand into a consistent, low-torque position shot after shot, which is precisely the kind of repeatability a new shooter needs while they are still building form. It sits close to a low-wrist profile, so hunters who like to really seat their palm into a grip will feel at home, while those used to a high-wrist flagship grip may want a few sessions to adjust. The narrow shape works well for smaller hands, which matters given how many of these bows go to teenagers and youth shooters. There is no rubber overmould or side-plate warmth here, so in genuine cold a thin glove helps. For a budget bow, the grip does the one thing it must: it gets out of the way and lets the hand repeat.Limbs
The G2 rides on EnduraFiber split limbs seated in machined pockets, a limb design Bear uses across its more affordable hunting bows precisely because it has proven durable in the field. The split configuration keeps mass down and helps the bow hold its 3.1-lb published weight, and the draw-weight span is where these limbs earn their keep: back the limb bolts all the way out and the bow drops to a genuine 5 lb, then crank them in to reach 70. Adjusting weight needs nothing more than an Allen wrench, no bow press, which is central to the G2's family-share appeal. In practice three full turns of the limb bolts take a maxed 70 down to 60 pounds, so a parent can walk a child's weight down predictably from there without a press. The limbs bottom out at the low end without drama, and the pockets have not shown the sloppiness that plagues cheaper cast-pocket designs.Eccentric System
The G2 runs a dual-cam system with draw length set by swappable modules rather than a rotating post, covering the full 12 to 30 inch range in one-inch steps with a half-inch module option for fine-tuning, all without a press. Let-off is 70 percent, meaning at full draw the shooter holds 30 percent of peak weight; that is a hair less relief than the 80-percent competitors, so the hold is a touch heavier but the aim stays lively. On a chronograph at the IBO setup of 70 lb, 30 inch draw, and a 350-grain arrow, the G2 clocks 309 to 310 fps, only a few feet per second under its 315 claim, which is honest performance for the class. Speed falls with a shorter power stroke: the same test at a 28-inch draw showed 287 to 288 fps, about 10 fps per inch of draw length. One quirk I always flag for parents: with the limbs maxed, the bow does not hold 70 lb across every draw length. Set the draw shorter and the peak weight ceiling falls with it, so a 24-inch draw tops out near 62 lb, not the full 70, and the shortest youth settings land in the 37 to 48 lb range. Out of the box the cams can show a little lean and slightly imperfect timing, so a quick paper-tune or a five-minute visit to a local shop, no press required, gets it flying straight.Draw Cycle/Shootability
Drawing the G2 at mid-weight, I found the cycle genuinely easy and about as pleasant as a two-cam bow in this bracket gets, with a smooth pull that never spikes into a harsh hump. The catch is the back end: the valley is shallow and the wall is soft rather than firm, because the bow has no limb or cable stops to slam against. In practice that means staying actively pulled into the wall, and I had to keep myself conscious about not letting the string creep forward, a small discipline that becomes automatic within a session but that flagship shooters will notice immediately. Hand shock is low for a sub-$400 dual cam and the shot is comfortable, though there is a bit more buzz and vibration than a premium bow, and it grows noticeable above 50 lb where the split limbs have no damping material between them. The fix is cheap and standard: a set of stick-on limb dampers quiets most of it, and the included wrist sling lets the hand stay relaxed through the shot. Shooting a heavier hunting arrow, the G2 stays planted and quiet enough that the arrow hitting the target is often the loudest thing you hear. It is not a silent flagship, but for its price it shoots with more composure than the number on the tag implies.Usage Scenarios
The G2's natural home is the household that wants one bow to do several jobs across several people. A parent can set it at 15 to 20 lb for a child in the backyard, then walk it up over a few seasons to a 60- or 65-lb hunting weight as the kid grows, all on the same riser. For whitetail hunting it has the energy for ethical shots to roughly 35 to 40 yards with a proper hunting arrow, which covers the vast majority of treestand and ground-blind situations. First-time bow owners are the other core audience: the ready-to-hunt kit means someone can buy it Saturday, set it up Sunday, and be sighting in for opening week without a separate accessory shopping trip. It doubles nicely as a relaxed 3D or backyard-target bow, and its adjustability makes it a favorite loaner at clubs where different shooters need different draws. What it is not is a long-range western rig or a competition target bow; the soft wall and modest speed put a ceiling on precision past 40 yards. Inside that honest envelope, few bows serve this many roles for this little money.Versions
The Cruzer G2 is sold in two main configurations under one model. The Ready-to-Hunt (RTH) package launched at $399.99 and includes a Trophy Ridge four-pin sight, a Whisker Biscuit arrow rest, a five-arrow quiver, a stabilizer and wrist sling, a no-tie peep sight, and a D-loop, plus the three cam modules for draw-length adjustment; it ships in the camo and Shadow finishes. A Bow-Only configuration serves shooters who already own accessories or want to build the bow their way, and it opens up the wider range of solid and bright colors with matching strings. Both are offered in right- and left-hand, and the whole 5 to 70 lb draw-weight span is available across the line rather than split into separate low- and high-weight SKUs. The shooting experience is identical between them; the choice is simply how much you want in the box.Bear Cruzer G2 vs Diamond Infinite Edge Pro, PSE Stinger MAX
| Bow | Bear Cruzer G2 | Diamond Infinite Edge Pro | PSE Stinger MAX |
| Version | 2022 RTH | 2026 Legacy | 2021 |
| Picture |  |  |  |
| Brace Height | 6.5 " | 7 " | 7 " |
| AtA Length | 30 " | 31 " | 30 " |
| Draw Length | 12 " - 30 " | 13 " - 31 " | 21.5 " - 30 " |
| Draw Weight | 5 lbs - 70 lbs | 5 lbs - 65 lbs | 45 lbs - 70 lbs |
| IBO Speed | 315 fps | 300 fps | 304 fps - 312 fps |
| Weight | 3.1 lbs | 3.3 lbs | 3.8 lbs |
| Let-Off | 70% | 80% | 80% |
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The G2's closest rivals are two other budget adjustable bows, and the split among them comes down to who is shooting. The Diamond Infinite Edge Pro is the most direct match: it also drops to a 5-lb floor and reaches 70, spans a 7 to 31 inch draw, and carries a slightly longer 31-inch axle-to-axle length with a 7-inch brace, so it shoots a touch more forgiving while the G2's 6.5-inch brace gives up a sliver of that for a hair more speed. The Infinite Edge Pro's 80-percent let-off holds lighter at full draw than the G2's 70 percent, an edge for young or fatigue-prone shooters, and its current Legacy edition sells for $329.99. The PSE Stinger MAX is the odd one out for families: it is a capable budget package, but its draw weight floors at 45 lb, so it cannot follow a small child down the way the G2 and the Diamond can, and at 3.8 lb it is the heaviest of the three. All three ship as complete packages in the same value tier. The decision comes down to priorities: the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro for the shooter who wants the highest let-off and most forgiveness, the PSE Stinger MAX for an adult who never needs a youth floor and likes its longer brace, and the Bear Cruzer G2 for the widest one-bow reach and the deepest color choice.