Bear Archery Crusader Youth Bow, Ages 9-12, Ambidextrous

First, I should note: We did not receive any of the additional items that are advertised for the bundle. Looking at the reviews, I now see that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t receive all of the components. The only items we received were the bow and 2 arrows. No finger tab, no arm guard, no quiver and no paper targets. The finger tab wouldn’t have been necessary anyway as the bow has rubber nock guides that cushion your fingers. I would say the bow itself is 5 stars for the price, but paying 20% more and not receiving the additional items was waste of money.

My 12 year old daughter has been using the bow most weekends for the past 10 months and the string and bow still appear to be in good condition. We purchased additional 26″ safetyglass arrows early on and surprisingly the flights and tips from the 2 starter arrows have lasted longer than most of the additional arrows. I’m planning to move her up to 28″ arrows soon as this bow should support the additional draw length.

Bow was not protected, packet was damaged and opened. The bowstring is missing and I can’t use it.

Looks like a great kit, haven’t shot with it much yet (need a back stop) but it’s a good size and weight, and seems good value.

Arrived in great time

I am a long time archer and I bought this bow for my grandson as a starter. The bow that we received looks nothing like the one shown on the amazon sales page. First of all, it is not a recurve. It can only be classified as a longbow. It is basically a straight piece of green fiberglass with polymer ends and grip. The grip is nice, and the ends are pretty good, retaining the string well. The arrows, arm guard, finger guard and “quiver” really, really suck, and would make Fred Bear turn over in his grave, if he knew that his company was selling garbage to future customers. I wonder if bear ever shot the ones we received with this bow. The arrows are way too long for any young person attempting to use the bow, and they are rated at a maximum draw weight of 10 pounds, while the bow is from 10 to 20 lbs draw weight. The result is very poor flight characteristics. I tried them, and was amazed at how poor they were. Luckily, I ordered a glove, a dozen properly sized arrows, and a decent quiver for my grandson so he dosen’t get turned off with the two POS arrows provided by Bear. This ran my bill up to $115, but it is my opinion that lousy equipment is worse than none at all as it causes disappointment, and dashes a youngsters confidence into the dirt. Not good for a beginner. I would have paid more for a decent set with at least 6 arrows, but I guess bear dosen’t think that way for low end stuff. The point is, there is a level of quality below which you cannot go and still have something that actually performs. The fact that the max draw weight printed on the arrows does not match the bows draw weight bothers me, and could represent a safety problem.

Update: The bow sucks too. As I stated in my initial review the bow we received is a straight piece of fiberglass that is about 3/4 of an inch wide. It does not narrow at the arrow rest. The result is that the arrow does not align along the centerline of the bow. As the string is released with an arrow knocked, the arrow is skewed as it is thrown off the bow. The result is horrible flight characteristics. I kind of blame myself for thinking I could buy a bow for $34 dollars, but I thought I was OK as it had the BEAR name on it. I guess I thought wrong, and if bear has decided to sell crap , I will not be buying anything else from them.

Product only included the bow and two arrows. It did not include the armguard, arrow quiver, or paper target in the product description. I contacted the manufacturer and they promptly sent the missing pieces. The bow is well made but simple. I bought it for my 10 year old son after he expressed an interest. If you want an easy starter bow to dip your toe into archery, this is your bow.