The Best Youth Bows for Kids
Morgan Rogue 08.11.21
Are you ready for your kids to get involved with archery? My kids started learning as young as 2. Of course, at the age of 2 they didn’t have a whole lot of interest in actually shooting, just holding and trying to be like mommy.
However, the older they get, the more interested they became and with the right equipment, we can help kids explore archery right alongside of us. My daughter started with a very simple recurve bow with rounded tip arrows. But after a while she wanted the arrows to go into moms target so it was time to upgrade.
My personal advice, for kids and adults, is to start off with traditional archery, or as traditional as possible. I feel as though traditional archery offers the user time to master the basics of archery. Once they feel comfortable with a traditional bow, or at least a bow without a lot of moving parts, it’ll be extremely easy for them to move to a compound or crossbow.
In general, I would recommend starting them off with something simple and upgrade as needed.
In saying all this, teaching is fundamental to archery. Patience, positive reinforcement and getting the proper target that fits their arrow so the arrow will actually stick, are all important pieces of the puzzle to teach kids archery. We want them to feel excited and confident with their equipment and skills.
Here are the best bows for kids:
3Rivers Archery
There are a variety of bows available for kids at 3Rivers. They have traditional bows starting for ages 3, going all the way through adulthood. They offer a variety of options including types of trad bows, packages and even the targets to go along with the bows. Be sure to pay close attention to draw weight and draw length. Their website offers a lot of great tips and advice, too, but if you’re ever unsure, contact them and they’ll be able to help.
Bear Archery
The legend. Even if you don’t shoot a bow, you know the Bear legend. They offer quite a few youth bow options. My daughter started off with their simple Bear Goblin. For youth they offer traditional style and compound style. The Spark is a really fun introduction to compound but has a kind of traditional feel. Whatever you choose, Bear is bound to have something your kids will love to shoot and to grow into.
Diamond Archery
Diamond Archery has taken the youth bow to a whole new level. This is a great introduction to a compound bow for youth. It comes in a variety of sizes, it weighs 1.9 pounds and draw weight can be adjusted between 6-29 pounds, giving plenty of room for growth with the same bow. Their website is interactive for kids as well with a ‘kids zone’ that has a lot of fun archery games. There’s also the Diamond Infinite Edge where the draw weight can be adjusted between 5-70lbs. However, the biggest difference between the Atomic and the Diamond Infinite Edge is the size. The Diamond Infinite Edge is 31″ axle to axle, while the Atomic is 24″ axle to axle. Depends on what your child can handle, they’re both great bows, though.
Genesis Archery
I’ve always been a fan of Genesis bows because they’re almost the perfect introductory bow for kids and adults. They’re lightweight, simple, accurate and affordable. You’ll see Genesis Archery being used a lot in school programs because of their ease of use. They offer a few varieties including the Mini Genesis which weighs 2lbs and made for smaller archers. Then they have the original Genesis which is a total of 3.5lbs and can be adjusted between 10-20lbs in draw weight. The Gen-X has a draw weight of up to 40lbs with a total bow weight of 3.4lbs.
The bow you choose will be dependent on the age of your child, your child’s height, strength and let’s be honest, interest.
What bow will be best for your family?
