Compound Bow Comparator

The Browning Micro Midas 4 is the one-year oddity of Browning's youth line: a 2007-only restyle that borrowed the adult Illusion's new riser and Hyperlite Unibody limb pockets to give a kid a bow that looks and feels like the grown-up rig. Underneath the styling is a sound grow-with-the-child platform - a Hypermax 10 single cam with a full 10 inches of press-free draw-length adjustment across 18 to 27 inches, two peak weights of 29 and 40 pounds each stepping down at the limb bolts, 70 percent let-off, and a published 254-to-246 fps IBO that is honest about being a youth bow. At 3.6 pounds it is a touch heavier than the Micro Midas 3 it bracketed, the price of that adult look, but a young shooter still holds it up easily and groups well with it. What keeps coming back to me is how the adult styling does real work here: a kid who feels like they are shooting a serious bow stays interested, and interest is what turns a first compound into a lifelong shooter. Browning never published an MSRP that survives, so today it lives on the used market in the rough 85-to-175-dollar range, which makes it an inexpensive way to put a genuinely adjustable compound in young hands. It is an excellent first bow for the youth hunter or smaller-framed beginner who wants a real, grow-with-me compound that does not read as a toy. Buyers who want a single bow that never gets outgrown and the backing of a living brand should also look at the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro, and those wanting a pure youth grow-with-me platform should look at the Bowtech Rascal. Read full review...

The Infinite Edge Pro came back for a reason: it does one thing better than almost anything at its price, and that is stretch to fit whoever picks it up. The 2026 Legacy edition keeps the formula - 13 to 31 inches of draw, 5 to 65 pounds, an 80-percent let-off and a smooth, quiet shot - and wraps it in a complete ready-to-hunt package at around $330, less than the model cost at its 2015 launch. It gives up five pounds of peak weight and ten fps against the original, trades that are invisible to the beginner, youth archer, and shared-family buyer this bow is built for. In my time around bows like this, the ones that get a household actually shooting are rarely the fastest or the quietest - they are the ones that fit everyone and are cheap enough to shoot without worry, and the Infinite Edge Pro is squarely that bow. It is an excellent choice for youth archery, new adult hunters, and any family that wants a single adjustable rig, particularly strong as a first bow that will still fit years later. Buyers who want more top-end poundage or speed for big game should also look at the Bear Cruzer G3. Read full review...

The BowTech Rascal is the rare mid-2000s BowTech that was never about speed - it is a featherweight, grow-with-me youth bow built to fit a child and keep fitting them, sold from 2002 through 2005 at a $279-to-$289 MSRP. Its strengths are the ones that matter for a first bow: about 2.2 pounds so a small archer can hold it, a tall forgiving brace, a high adjustable let-off that drops the holding weight to a few pounds, a 10-to-40-pound and 19-to-25-inch range that spans several years of growth, and the upgrade-limb retrofit that re-fits the bow instead of replacing it. The speed numbers are honest youth ratings, not adult IBO, and the grow-with-me parts are harder to find now that the bow is long discontinued, so a used buyer should plan the setup with a pro shop. What I keep coming back to is how well the basics are judged for the job - light, forgiving, and easy to hold at full draw, which is everything a kid learning to shoot actually needs. An excellent first bow for a family that wants one bow to carry a child from their first arrows into the pre-teen years. Parents starting a much younger or smaller child should look at the Diamond Atomic, while those who want a youth bow that grows toward a real hunting setup should look at the Bear Apprentice. Read full review...

• Grows with the child - the Hypermax 10 cam shifts draw length across a 10-inch span (18 to 27 inches) using cam modules, with no bow press needed
• Two peak-weight models (29 and 40 pounds, each adjustable down at the limb bolts) cover a wide stretch of a kid's progression on one bow
• Light and easy for a young shooter to hold up and aim, which owners notice the moment they pick it up
• Styled to look like an adult Browning bow, with a new riser and Hyperlite Unibody limb pockets - the rare youth bow that does not read as a toy

• One set of limbs covers 13-31 inches of draw and 5-65 pounds of weight - genuinely one bow for a young beginner and the adult hunter that beginner becomes
• Smooth draw cycle that rolls over the peak with no lope and settles into an easy valley against a solid back wall
• Quiet, low-shock shot for the price tier - the arrow is in the target before the riser finishes settling
• Forgiving to tune thanks to a double-yoke setup - cam lean comes into line quickly and a bullet-hole tune is easy to reach
• Complete ready-to-hunt package - sight, rest, quiver, stabilizer, peep and sling - at a price below both its main rivals and below its own 2015 launch

• Built to grow with the child - BowTech sold upgrade limbs, cam, and strings, with a low-cost factory retrofit that re-limbs the bow as the kid gets bigger instead of making you buy a new one
• Featherweight at about 2.2 pounds, so a small child can actually hold it up, aim it, and hold steady long enough to learn good form
• Wide span for a youth bow - roughly 10 to 40 pounds of draw weight and a 19-to-25-inch draw reach from a first-timer up to a pre-teen
• Candy-colored finishes like SourApple, BubbleGum, and RazzelBerry are chosen for the young shooter, not the parent - a bow a kid wants to pick up

• The draw tops out at 40 pounds and 27 inches, so a teen who keeps growing eventually ages out of it - buyers who want an adult hunting weight later should plan for a bigger bow then
• Some owners have noted the factory combo sight is weak - any basic aftermarket youth sight drops in cheaply and fixes it
• A 2007-only run means parts and strings are now vintage - budget a fresh string and a tune when buying a used example

• Changing draw length means pressing the bow to reach the module screw and re-timing the cam afterward - set it to your draw once at a shop and it is a non-issue day to day
• Some owners find the grip a touch bulky in the hand though the shape stays comfortable - an aftermarket grip is an inexpensive swap for anyone who wants a slimmer throat

• The 246-to-262 fps speed is rated at a youth 40-pound, 25-inch, 200-grain setup, not the adult IBO standard, so judge it as a learning bow rather than cross-shopping it on fps against grown-up compounds
• Long discontinued, so the grow-with-me upgrade limbs and modules are now hard to source - a used buyer should confirm the right parts are available or plan on a custom string and a pro-shop setup