Youth Compound Bow Reviews

The Bottom Line:Bear Archery has nailed the mid-range market with the Gamekeeper, refining affordable tech through smart collaborations. Subtle yearly improvements add up, creating a bow that's more than the sum of its parts. The hybrid cams, integrated mounts, and versatile adjustments make it a standout for value... read full review

The Bottom Line:Launched for 2024 at a $1,399 MSRP - with the camo finishes running about fifty dollars more - and carried unchanged into 2025, the Core SS is Bowtech's answer for the hunter who wants a forgiving, all-day draw without giving up any flagship hardware. It keeps the parts that matter: the full DeadLock... read full review

The Bottom Line:Launched for 2024 at a $1,399 MSRP and carried unchanged into 2025, the Core SR is Bowtech's answer to an old compromise: real speed without a brutal draw. It pairs an up-to-344 fps IBO - about fifteen feet per second faster than the brand's prior flagships - with a riser whose reflex geometry lets a... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Persist is a machined-aluminum hunting flagship that trades the last ounce of weight savings for a shot that is genuinely silent and dead in the hand. At a $1,249.99 launch MSRP it sits a clear step below the Mathews and Hoyt flagship tier while delivering the things that actually matter on... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Surpass is the enthusiast's pick in a value lineup built mostly for beginners. At a $749.99 launch MSRP it is bow-only and the priciest bow Bear sold in its 2024 affordable line, but the money is visible in the right places - a cleanly machined, better-finished riser, a DHC hybrid cam tuned... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Species EV was the quiet, simple, made-in-USA single cam in the budget ready-to-hunt field, launched at $449.99 and aimed at the hunter who would rather have a hushed, dead-in-hand shot and a comfortable 80% hold than the last few feet per second. Its 320 fps IBO translates to a real-world mid-260s... read full review

The Bottom Line:At a $749 launch MSRP, the Diamond Carbon Knockout answers a real gap: a genuinely purpose-built women's carbon bow rather than a recolored men's model. The full carbon Knight riser keeps it to 3.2 pounds, the ladies-tuned Synchronized Binary Cam holds a real valley across its 22.5 to 27 inch range,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Mathews Lift 33 is the do-everything member of the 2024 Lift platform - a 33-inch aluminum flagship that weighs like carbon, holds like a target bow, and shoots quieter than anything in its class. At $1,429 launch MSRP it sits at the top of this three-bow field and earns the spot with a real 310... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Whitetail Maxx is the rare value bow that earns a performance reputation honestly: a flagship EKO cam, a 339 IBO rating that a chronograph backs up at 334 fps, all at a $599.99 launch price. It gives up the last slice of flagship refinement, a shot on the louder end of average and a draw that humps... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bowtech Justice is the value entry to a real Bowtech: a $1,099 launch-price hunting bow that trades flagship tuning hardware for proven binary-cam engineering and delivers the brand's signature quiet, low-vibration shot. It is not a speed bow - hunting-arrow speeds sit in the 250-to-275 fps range... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Phase4 29 launched at $1,199 as the more accessible, compact half of Mathews' 2023 flagship line - the everyman's flagship, $100 under its longer sibling. What that money buys is the quietest, deadest-in-hand shot Mathews had built to that point, wrapped in a maneuverable 29-inch frame that reads... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bowtech CP30 is a compact hunting bow that punches above its 30-inch length where it counts - steadiness, quiet, and shootability - and stays honest about where it doesn't, which is raw speed. At a $1,199 launch MSRP it delivers the full Bowtech tuning toolkit: press-free DeadLock cam adjustment... read full review

The Bottom Line:At $1,199.99 launch, the Execute 32 is the long-axle Execute - the one built for a steady hold rather than tight-quarters quickness - and it makes a strong case at Bear's new flagship price. It carries the same redesigned EKO cam with an unusually wide 75-to-90-percent let-off range, the same 340 fps... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Adapt is the value single cam that quietly set the template for Bear's Hunting Public line. Launched at $459.99 for the bow only in 2022 as The Hunting Public's own design, it delivered a genuinely smooth draw, a quiet sub-96 dB shot, and a back-wall choice - rock-solid limb stop or softer cable... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Resurgence LD is the long-draw specialist of Bear's DHC era, and at a $429.99 launch price it holds up well as a used or closeout buy years after its 2022-2024 run. It reaches a full 32-inch draw while dropping to 25 inches, runs a smooth single cam with a fixed 80 percent let-off, and pairs... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Hoyt Eclipse, launched at roughly $1,099 in 2021 and carried over unchanged through 2024, answers a real frustration: it is a premier hunting bow built for the short-draw and smaller-framed hunter, not a full-size flagship shrunk down and cheapened. It pairs a machined TEC aluminum riser, zero-tolerance... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Mathews Prima is a genuine flagship-grade hunting bow scaled for short-draw archers, not a starter bow with a women's badge - the same Crosscentric cam, bridged riser, and 3D Damping as Mathews' top hunters, in a 30-inch, 3.93-pound frame that drops to a 21.5-inch draw. At a $1,099 launch MSRP it... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Whitetail Legend Pro takes the smooth, value-minded Whitetail Legend platform and elevates it with the EKO cam, and the result is a bow that punches well above its $559.99 launch price. It backs up its up-to-339 fps IBO claim with a real 333 fps chronograph reading, holds a quiet 97.1 dB shot,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Alaskan is a lot of hunting bow for its $529.99 launch price, and it holds up well as a used or closeout buy years after its 2022-2023 run. It pairs a 335 fps IBO rating with a draw that pulls like a lighter bow, a shot that reads a hair over 95 decibels and goes nearly dead in the hand with... read full review