Compound Bow Comparator

The Browning Micro Midas 2 is a reminder that the grow-with-me youth bow is an old, well-solved idea: at its 2001-02 launch price of $195 for the bow and $255 for the full combo, it gave a parent a light 2.5-pound machined-aluminum frame, a MicroMax two-cam with a genuine 6 inches of draw-length growth, and a 15-to-45-pound weight window, enough for one bow to follow a child from the backyard at seven years old into the teenage years. The switch from the original Micro Midas's die-cast magnesium riser to machined aluminum is the real story of this generation, and it is what makes the bow feel like a scaled-down adult hunter rather than a toy. The press-free 3-inch draw adjustment is the feature a parent actually uses, re-sizing the bow at home as the child grows. Its honest limit is the ceiling, 45 pounds and a 27-inch draw, and the fact that it has been discontinued since 2002, so it is a used-market proposition that rewards a fresh string and a quick tune. In my experience a bow like this succeeds precisely because it asks so little of a small shooter: low holding weight, light mass, and forgiving proportions let a kid build real form instead of fighting the equipment. It is an excellent choice for the household that will pass one bow across several childhood seasons, or for a short-draw, lighter-poundage shooter who wants a genuinely light grow-with-me rig. Buyers who want the widest possible range all the way into a full adult draw weight should also look at the Bear Cruzer, and buyers who want a current youth grow-with-me bow with active brand support should also look at the Bowtech Rascal. 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 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...

• One bow that starts a 7-year-old at 15 pounds and still fits them as a teenager near 45 pounds and a 27-inch draw
• MicroMax two-cam gives a genuine 6 inches of draw-length growth, and the first 3 inches change at home with no bow press
• Light 2.5-pound mass and Micro-Class proportions keep it manageable for small arms and short, growing shooters
• Machined-aluminum riser and Taper-Flex limbs feel like a real bow, not a plastic starter, at a youth price

• 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

• 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

• Caps at 45 pounds and a 27-inch draw, so a shooter who outgrows that range needs a full-size adult bow next; read it as a youth-through-transition bow, not a lifetime hunter
• Discontinued since 2002 and only on the used market now, so budget a fresh string and a quick tune, which brings a sound example right back

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

• 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