Genesis Archery Original Compound Bow, Draw Hand - Right, Black

Why it's worth it

The Genesis Original is a single-cam bow with no let-off, so there's no draw-length setting to get wrong and no wall to crash into. One bow fits an eight-year-old and a grown adult, which is why school archery programs run on them.

The reason this bow works for beginners is that it removes the decision you're least equipped to make. Most compound bows lock you into a draw length, and picking the wrong one is the single most common beginner mistake. The Genesis has no let-off, so it just draws farther the farther you pull. Anyone from about 15 to 30 inches of draw can shoot it without a single adjustment. You stop worrying about fit and start worrying about your form, which is where a beginner's attention belongs.

Draw weight runs from 10 to 20 pounds. That sounds light next to the 70-pound bows elsewhere in this guide, and it is. But 20 pounds is plenty for target work at 10 and 20 yards, and it's low enough that you can shoot a hundred arrows in an afternoon without your shoulder giving out. Volume is how you get better. A bow you can only draw a dozen times teaches you very little.

From our review of 6 compound bows for beginners, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +The reason this bow works for beginners is that it removes the decision you're least equipped to make
• +Draw weight runs from 10 to 20 pounds
• +The single cam is the other quiet advantage
• +It arrives assembled and ready to shoot, with an aluminum riser and composite limbs, and it weighs about three and a half pounds

What to know

• –It tops out at 20 pounds, so it's a target bow, not a hunting bow
• –There's no let-off, which means you're holding the full weight at full draw
• –It ships bare. No sight, no rest beyond the basics, no quiver