Compound Bow Comparator

The Bear Royale is one of the more honest one-bow-for-years propositions on the market: a genuinely light, 2.7-pound compound that adjusts with a hex wrench from a five-year-old's 5-pound, 12-inch backyard setup to a 50-pound, 27-inch rig that will take a whitetail - no bow press, no modules, no shop visit in between. The correction worth carrying away is that this is a dual-cam bow on Bear's Cruzer/Legit platform, not a single-cam toy, which is why it holds a defined wall and lets off hard enough for a beginner to actually aim. Its published 290 fps is a top-settings ceiling rather than a youth-weight reality, and that is the right way to read it - the adjustability, not the speed, is the product. What keeps the Royale on my short list for first-bow buyers is that nothing about it feels disposable, and because it re-fits in minutes it does not become obsolete the week a kid grows. At its $299.99 launch price it is an excellent grow-with-me bow for the household raising a young archer toward a first deer, and particularly strong as a shared family rig that carries a shooter from the backyard to the treestand. Buyers who want that same low youth floor but need the range to reach a full adult draw should also look at the Bear Cruzer, and those who want the single widest adjustment span in a ready-to-hunt package should look at the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro. Read full review...

Those looking for the adjustment of the Bear Cruzer elsewhere will have difficulty finding it. The draw length range is a massive 18-inches, and the limbs can be adjusted for 65-pounds. This bow will fit just about anyone, and coming in with a ready to hunt package for a low price of $399 makes the Cruzer a looker for anyone wanting to get started in the archery world. Shooters that are done growing may benefit from a bow that is designed with a smaller adjustability range. However, those with growing left to do will benefit a great deal from having a bow that can grow with them. The Bear Cruzer has the potential to be the only bow a shooter ever owns. 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...

• Grows with a shooter on one bow - 5 to 50 lb and 12 to 27 inches, all dialed with a hex wrench, no bow press and no modules to buy
• Light and compact at 2.7 lb bare and 27 inches axle-to-axle, so a small child can actually hold it steady on target
• Arrives as a complete ready-to-hunt kit - sight, Whisker Biscuit rest, quiver, peep, and nock loop fitted - and shoots straight out of the box
• A first-timer can be set up, aimed, and shooting the same afternoon, yet it draws and releases like a real bow rather than a toy

• Great bow for shooters with growing to do
• Draw length adjusts from 12-30-inches with a rotating module
• 5-70-pounds of draw weight
• Comes decked out with an accessory package

• 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

• The 50-pound, 27-inch ceiling is a deliberate youth-to-teen boundary - a tall or strong adult will top it out, and that shooter is better served by a full-size bow or the longer-range Bear Cruzer

• Accessory package does not offer the top of the line items
• Perhaps too much adjustability

• 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