Bear Odyssey II Compound Bow

The Bear Odyssey II is a discontinued 2007-2008 intermediate compound that did something most youth bows still don't: it put a machined 6061-T6 aluminum riser, compression-molded limbs and a 15-position no-press cam into a package sized for a 13-to-27-inch draw and a 40- or 50-pound peak. That construction is why it earned the "Dad's bow" comparison, and why it stretches across three or four seasons of a kid's growth instead of one. Bear's 283-287 fps rating is a youth-setup figure, not an IBO number, but on the bow it feels genuinely quick, and the 70-percent let-off keeps a new shooter steady on the pin. My one caveat is the bare shot: it carries a little hand shock and noise until you spend forty dollars on the string stop the riser is already drilled for, after which it settles noticeably. With complete examples trading around $70 to $100 used, it is one of the better-value ways to put a real compound in a young or short-draw shooter's hands. An excellent choice for the household where a growing kid or a short-draw adult will share and re-tune one bow across several seasons, particularly strong as a first genuine compound that teaches real form. Buyers who want a single bow that scales all the way to a full 70-pound adult hunting setup should also look at the Diamond Infinite Edge... read full review