10 is a perfect age to get into archery. But your child must have the right gear, they can easily learn proper form. In this post, I’m going to recommend what I consider to be the best youth compound bow for kids under 14. I’m also going to detail what things you should focus on when getting a bow for your kid.
The best youth compound bows for kids under 14:
The most important things to focus on when choosing a bow for a kid under 14 are the dimensions and draw weight of the bow. They should be comfortable with the poundage and the length, so they can properly draw the bow to the wall.
If you’re just getting your kid started in archery, you might want to also read my post about getting kids started with archery. There are a few things to consider besides getting the bow, so it might help to improve your child’s experience.
If you’re also looking for a general compound bow buyer’s guide, I dedicated an entire page to detail everything you need to know. I recommend you go read it, after reading this post.
Let’s go.
Note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means that if you buy through one of them, I’ll earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. It’s a great way to support the website.
Bear Archery Cruzer Lite
A2A Length: 27.125″
Draw Weight: 5-45 pounds
Draw Length: 12″-27″
Total Weight: 3.2 pounds
The first bow we’re going to discuss, and the currently the best youth compound bow for kids under 14 in my opinion, is Bear Archery Cruzer Lite. It’s a great option for a bow the kid can grow up with, adjusting the draw weight and draw length as needed using a simple Allen wrench.
The draw weight on the bow can go as low as 5 pounds and up to 45 pounds, which is a pretty large range for a kid up to 14. Even a young kid can start with this bow, on a low draw weight setting. The draw length on the bow can be adjusted between 12″ to 27″.
The bow itself is made of quality Aluminium, which is certainly more durable than standard material of youth compound bows. Still, the bow is pretty lightweight and easy to handle.
The bow itself comes with various accessories, so it’s pretty great to use as-is. These include a sight, a whisker biscuit, a quiver, and stabilizer, and peep sight, and a nock loop. You’ll still need to get arrows that match your kid’s draw length.
Overall I think this bow is the best youth compound bow you can get a kid under 14. It’s a great, high-quality, starter bow, and your child can grow with it can keep practicing.
Genesis Original Bow
A2A Length: 35.5″
Draw Weight: 10-20 pounds
Draw Length: 15″-30″
Total Weight: 3.5 pounds
The Genesis Original Bow (Link to Amazon) is recommended by many youth archery teachers. It’s currently the official bow of the NASP® (National Archery in the Schools Program), which is one of the biggest youth archery programs in the US. Needless to say, for a starter bow, it’s of great quality and is a pretty great budget option.
The coolest thing about it is that it has no draw length requirements. Most youth compound bows have a limited range of draw lengths, but this one is specifically designed for growing archers.
It can be adjusted to any draw length between 15″ to 30″, which is more than enough for a kid. For example, the average draw length of a kid under 14 is about 22″.
The draw weight on the bow is pretty reasonable for youth archers – 10 to 20 pounds. It can be adjusted with a simple hex wrench (that is actually provided by the manufacturer). The range is not as big as the other options listed here, but still pretty good, especially if your kid is a bit younger.
The bow itself is made out of aluminum, so it’s fairly lightweight but still sturdy. Many youth compound bows are made of out cheap plastic, so this one should handle hits and drops better, and generally last longer.
Since it’s a single cam bow, it has pretty minimal tuning and maintenance issues. Generally, single cam bows are recommended for beginners since the added arrow speed of dual cams doesn’t matter as much as the reliability of the solocam. If you’re not sure what cam systems are or want a detailed comparison, read my post about cam systems.
If you want a whole kit with a belt quiver, 5 arrows, and an armguard, there’s an option to get this bow within a kit (link to Amazon). The quality of the kit items should be decent, so I think it’s a pretty good deal.
Diamond Archery Atomic
A2A Length: 24″
Draw Weight: 6-29 pounds
Draw Length: 12″-24″
Total Weight: 2.4 pounds
Another amazing option you might want to consider is Diamond Archery’s Atomic youth compound bow. It’s more of a high-end option for you if you’re willing to invest a bit more into a bow.
The draw weight of this bow starts at 6 pounds and goes up to 29 pounds, which is a pretty large range for a youth compound bow. The draw length options are between 12″ and 24″. These parameters are great for a youth bow because they allow your kid to grow up with the bow.
The bow itself is extremely lightweight, which makes it really easy to handle. The riser and cams are made of aluminum, and the limbs are made of carbon glass – both are durable but lightweight materials.
While most youth compound bows are single-cam, this one is actually a dual-cam compound bow, meaning it’s able to provide more power and speed into the shots.
The bow comes with a set of accessories: A single-pin sight, an arrow rest, a hip quiver a nock, and 3 arrows. The accessories are of good quality. This means when you purchase the bow, you don’t need to buy anything else for your kid to start with archery.
I think this bow is a great option if you’re willing to invest a bit more into a bow, mainly because your kid will get so much more in return. Overall it’s a great deal.
What to consider when buying a youth compound bow?
Bow Size And Mass Weight
The physical size and weight of the bow are important to consider when buying a youth compound bow. A longer bow is harder to handle and carry around, but also more forgiving with small aiming errors. A bow that is too heavy will make it hard for them to steadily hold the bow when training.
Most kids under 14 will be completely comfortable with bows up to 40″ tall. Taller kids might find bows that are a bit taller fine to use, but shorter bows will probably be the safe bet.
Regarding the mass weight of the bow, kids under 14 can typically handle bows up to 3 pounds pretty comfortably. This covers almost all youth compound bows, but you should still check if the bow you’re choosing fits this criterion.
Bow Draw Weight
It’s really essential that your child will be comfortable with the draw weight on the bow. High poundage will make properly drawing the bow, and performing the show with good form, hard for them.
The average kid under 14 will feel comfortable shooting 15 lbs to 25 lbs bows. Most youth compound bows come with adjustable cams, that allow changing the draw weight on the bow. If your bow has that feature, start your child off with a low draw weight and slowly increase when they can handle it.
Bow Draw Length
The ideal draw length of your child can actually be found pretty easily. If you want a detailed guide on draw length, where I detail this method, and a few others, read my post about draw length. An improper draw length on a bow can make it really difficult to form good shooting posture habits, so it’s essential that you pick a youth compound bow that will fit your kid.
The easiest way to find their draw length is the arm-span method. It’s pretty quick and simple: just measure the distance between their left and right middle fingers when standing in T position, and divide it by 2.5. This should be their draw length
This is actually the same way you’d measure the draw length of an adult. It works pretty well. The draw length of an average kid under 14 is around 22″, but it varies, depending on their height and physical size.
Dominant hand
While some bows come both in right-handed and left-handed versions, some aren’t. If you give your kid a bow that doesn’t fit their dominant hand, it’ll make their progress harder and limit their ability to learn proper form.
There are a few ambidextrous models, but most bows are tailored for a specific dominant hand. When getting the bow, check the listing and see if it’s right or left-handed.
Conclusions
That’s it! You’re all set to start involving your kid in an incredible hobby. I really this the bow I recommended is absolutely the best choice you can make for a kid under 14, but even if you choose to go with a different model, you have the right things in mind.
Needless to say, that it’s really important that while you make archery fun for your kid, you’ll also make sure to consider their safety. Teach them how to properly shoot the bow, and always stay safe, and be careful while shooting.
