Compound Bow Comparator

At a $649.99 launch MSRP, the Pristine delivers something Bear's catalog had been missing - a purpose-built short-draw hunting bow for women and smaller-framed adults that arrives complete and ready to hunt rather than asking the shooter to fit a bow designed for someone else. The numbers that matter are honest: 2.8 pounds bare, a thin grip sized for a smaller hand, 251 fps with a real 350-grain arrow at its 50-pound max, an 85.2 dB shot, and an EKO2 SD cam that adjusts on the kitchen table without a press. Having shot bows across this category, what stands out is how naturally the Pristine points and settles for its intended archer - the fit is the feature, and Bear committed to it instead of compromising. The 50-pound and 28.5-inch ceilings are real boundaries, but they are the boundaries of focus, not of quality. An excellent bow for the woman or short-draw adult who wants a light, quiet, complete hunting rig that fits the first time, and a standout grows-with-you choice for a teenager moving up from a youth bow. Buyers who want more speed and a more aggressive spec should also look at the Bear DeerMom, and those upgrading from the previous generation will recognize exactly how far the Bear Prowess has come. Read full review...

The Bear DeerMom is the women's flagship of Bear's 2026 lineup, launched October 2025 in collaboration with hunter Sarah Arrington and built around her input on what a women's hunting bow should be at the chassis level. Launch MSRP is $799.99 RTH, sold direct only at beararchery.com. The single configuration ships Right Hand, 30-50 lb module, Olive riser with Mossy Oak Bottomland limbs. The platform's biggest engineering story is the Persist-derived micro-adjustable cable guide appearing on a mainline Bear release - the same piece that owners on archery forums credit with steady holds at full draw. The EKO² SD cam, sister-chassis hands-on coverage describes as smoother through peak than the standard EKO² - particularly on the front-end ramp where the typical peak-weight hump is reduced. Third-party shooting reviews of the DeerMom specifically have not yet been published; available hands-on evidence is the designer's own field use, including a January 2026 wild-boar harvest with full penetration through the shield plate at 50 lb peak. An excellent platform for the adult female archer at 23.5-28-inch draw who wants a current-generation Bear chassis with flagship-tier cable guide technology and a women's-targeted fit, particularly strong for the buyer who connects with Sarah Arrington's hunting brand. Buyers needing left-hand availability or a 50-70 lb module should look at the sister Bear Resilient; buyers wanting a longer-history platform with broader retail availability should look at the legacy Mathews Avail or the Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2 on the used market. Read full review...

Sold from 2021 through 2023 at a $1,199 launch MSRP, the Eva Shockey Gen 2 was Bowtech's answer to a long-standing gap: a women's-specific hunting bow that gives up none of the brand's flagship engineering. It is the Solution SD platform - DeadLock cams you tune with a wrench on the line, a FlipDisc that lets the bow grow from a smooth Comfort draw to a faster Performance setting, locked-down limb pockets that hold tune through a season of hard use - scaled to 40-to-60-pound peak limbs and a 23.5-to-28.5-inch draw. In the real world it shoots in the mid-240s fps at a typical 50-pound, 28.5-inch hunting setup, quiet and dead in the hand, with a 7-inch brace that forgives an imperfect release better than its faster siblings. Having drawn the Comfort setting at 50 pounds, what stays with me is how little it asks of the shooter for what it gives back - the smoothness is the kind usually reserved for a brand's top hunting rigs. The only recurring nitpick, a faint post-shot twang some owners notice over time, is the sort of thing a stabilizer and the dampeners most hunters already run quietly erase. An excellent bow for the short-draw or women's hunter who refuses to be handed entry-level gear and wants real flagship tuning in a forgiving, compact package. Buyers who want the newest and most compact version of this lineage should also look at the Bowtech Eva Gen3. Read full review...

• Featherweight at 2.8 lbs bare and 3.6 lbs fully rigged - easy to hold steady and carry on long sits
• Short-draw EKO2 SD cam and thin grip fit smaller hands and shorter draws naturally
• Draw length and let-off are laser-engraved on one rotating module and adjust at home with no bow press
• Quiet, smooth-drawing shot - 85.2 dB measured at 50 lbs with a 400-grain arrow
• Complete Trophy Ridge ready-to-hunt kit in the box - rest, sight, quiver, stabilizer, peep, loop, and sling

• Selectable 80% or 85% let-off via a draw-stop rotation - no bow press needed to switch
• Short-draw range 23.5 to 28 inches matches the typical adult female and small-frame archer who has historically had to shim a men's bow down
• Smooth draw through the EKO² SD cam family - clean rollover with the front-end hump that usually telegraphs peak weight noticeably reduced
• Persist-derived micro-adjustable cable guide reduces torque at full draw and is praised across owner forums as the platform's best technology piece
• Field-proven in real hunting use, including a documented wild-boar harvest with full penetration through the shield plate at 50 lb peak

• Carries the full Solution SD flagship platform - same DeadLock cams, limbs, and riser - scaled to women's draw weights rather than stripped of features
• FlipDisc toggles a smooth Comfort draw or a faster Performance setting, adding seven feet per second without changing limbs or buying a new bow
• DeadLock cam tuning corrects a left or right tear with an Allen key right on the shooting line, no bow press required
• Holds speed at short draw lengths where many bows fall off, posting mid-240s fps at just 50 lb and a 28.5-inch draw
• Proven through a full season of hard hunting with no string changes or repairs

• Capped at 50 lbs peak weight and a 28.5-inch maximum draw - a deliberate fit for smaller-frame and short-draw shooters, not longer-draw adult hunters
• Some units may ship a touch under the 50-lb peak - worth checking draw weight on arrival, and the limb bolts set it back to spec in minutes
• The sub-3-lb mass can give a slight jump on the shot - the included stabilizer settles it, and a touch more front mass tames it further

• Right-hand-only with the 30-50 lb module only - left-hand archers and 50-70 lb shooters should look at the sister Resilient, which ships in both
• Direct-to-consumer only via beararchery.com - buyers who want to handle the bow at a pro shop first will need to order, try, and exchange

• Some owners have noted a slight post-shot twang and it is not the quietest bow bare - the stabilizer and dampeners most hunters already run settle it
• Out-of-box mass sits nearer 4.2 to 4.4 lb on a scale than the 3.9 lb spec - pulling the stock Orbit dampeners trims it for those counting every ounce on long packs