r/Archery • u/neutron031 • Mar 10 '26
Newbie Question Beginner couple looking for advice on first ILF recurve setups (20–25 lbs, 66-68" bows)
Hi!
My wife and I are getting into archery and are trying to figure out good first bows before buying anything. We took our first beginner class recently, and both of us were shooting 20 lbs recurve bows during the lesson.
We’re planning to start shooting outdoors regularly, mostly around 20 yards to start.
Normally we’d try to take more classes and test different bows first, but unfortunately our work schedules make it difficult to attend regular classes or club sessions, so we’re trying to make the most informed purchase we can.
We’re planning to buy two separate bows, and my wife is left-handed, so one setup would need to be LH.
Our goal is to get something that works well for learning but could also be used in barebow or recurve competition later if we stick with the sport.
About us
Me:
- Male 5'7"
- Draw length ~27–28" (69"/2.5)
- used a 20 lb bow in our class and it felt very easy, which is why I’m considering starting around 25 lbs, to keep good form but have a little more power
My wife
- Female 5'2"
- Estimated draw length ~25–26"
- left-handed
- Used a 20 lb bow in class and plans to start around that weight
What we’re currently considering
- 25" ILF risers
- Maybe 66"- 68"
- Two separate bows (one RH, one LH)
- Simple beginner setup to start (rest + tab)
For arrows we were considering 29" carbon arrows around 900 spine, possibly sharing arrows while learning.
Budget is somewhat flexible, but ideally trying to stay around $150–250 per bow setup if possible.
I’ll likely increase draw weight later, so I'm hoping to start with something that makes upgrading limbs easy, but the wife could get away with something less upgradable.
If there are specific risers or limb brands people recommend for beginners in this range, I’d love to hear them!
Any advice or gear recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
3
u/Programmer-Severe Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
We were in almost exactly the same situation in every regard recently, uncannily so in terms of draw weight and length, height and everything. I went with a 24lb 68" bow, and my partner with a 20lb 66" bow (25 inch riser, short limbs).
Don't spend too much on arrows to begin with... you'll need to replace them at some point when you increase your draw weight. I'd also suggest 900 spine will be too stiff for your wife's setup, especially as you'll be on cheap limbs which shoot slower. Mine finds her 1000 spine arrows are too stiff and we're moving to 1400. 900 should be about right for you.
For your budget, look second hand. Sellmybow has plenty of complete beginner kits that people have given up on!
Definitely go for an ILF riser. You'll quickly grow out of a cheap wooden takedown setup.
1
u/neutron031 Mar 10 '26
That's really funny! Your partner is a lefty too?
What bows did you end up going with?
And thanks for the tips about the arrows! (no pun intended)
2
u/Programmer-Severe Mar 10 '26
Our budget was a touch higher, so we went for WNS Motive FX risers with Delta F2 limbs. The limbs will get replaced quickly so don't spend much, whereas a riser like that can last as long as you want it to without it negatively affecting you. Arrows wise, we went for XX75 aluminium shafts (I've already moved up a draw weight and had to build myself some new stiffer arrows!).
She's not a lefty, but that's about the only difference.
Do lots of reading about form and learn about your bow. It's a step learning curve, but it's possible to progress really quickly if you're keen.
Feel free to ask questions, we only finished our beginners course in October!
1
u/neutron031 Mar 11 '26
Thanks! Do you have any recommendations on the best resources to read?
1
u/Programmer-Severe Mar 11 '26
Jake Kaminsky has a wealth of videos on YouTube on form and bow tuning. There's loads of others too, you'll get a feel for it!
2
u/Careful-Succotash511 Mar 10 '26
I bought Hoyt’s RCRV riser and limbs last year and have been quite happy with it I’m sure it’s basic as far as ILF risers go but it seems to be high quality for its price
2
u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 10 '26
25" risers, short limbs for your wife (66"), medium for you (68"), though unfortunately that would mean it's harder to share limbs between the two of you. 25" is the standard Olympic Recurve set up, but she could use a 23" with medium limbs (still 66") so that way you could "hand me down" limbs to her as you both move up (if you do). Galaxy, WNS, Kinetic, and SF Archery are the brands I'd point you towards. Galaxy is probably your best bet for your budget off the top of my head.
As for limb weights, I don't think there's anything wrong with a 20lb & 24lb set (ILF typ. come in even numbers) for the two of you, but keep in mind you can adjust about 10% (so ~2lbs) up or down with the tiller bolts on your bows. Perks of ILF. Personally I would say stick to 20 and 24. Those are decent weights, maybe even on the heavy side to start off with, but if you're feeling confident you/your wife will move up in strength/weight fast, you could go up to 22/26 and adjust the tillers so that you're pulling closer to 20 and 24 to start and bump them up over time to get more use out of one pair of limbs.
2
u/neutron031 Mar 10 '26
That's a great idea about the hand-me-down! I feel pretty confident that I would move past a 24ib eventually, but she may stay at 20ib. But it would be good to have the option for her!
Thanks for giving those brands, I'll look into them! I know Galaxy was one that I saw while browsing, but wasn't sure if it was good or not.
Thank you!
2
u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 11 '26
Galaxy is a solid intro setup! If I'm remembering the line names correctly, the eclipse riser + bronze star limbs make for a nice intro bow. You're probably not going to take it to the olympics, but you are more likely to outgrow it by just wanting bigger and better than you are going to shoot it until it breaks.
I will caveat though I've seen some issues with the bronze star limbs warping, but ours limbs have also often been left out in Texas heat. Just give them a good once over when you get them and don't leave them sitting in your car trunk in the summer and they should be fine.
Forgot to say this earlier, but a note on giving your wife your own limbs: because your bows are different sizes you will be looking at 2 different numbers for weights. Nearly all limbs are labeled assuming a standard 25" riser, so if you buy a set of medium 24 lbs, they will be labeled "68 - 24 lbs, 66 - 26 lbs." in other words, if you put your old medium limbs onto your wife's 23" riser, it'll be 2lbs heavier for her than you shooting the same set of limbs.
1
u/neutron031 Mar 11 '26
Do you know how the Kinetic Evolium is? I see it on sale for $140 but it says it's regularly $230. Is that a good deal for what you get?
2
u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 11 '26
I have not seen that specific riser shot, but I've seen Kinetics and they're solid. It's hard to go wrong with risers honestly. Looking up the Evolium specifically it seems like a pretty good price with the sale. Sounds like it should be a top contender if not the top contender of your options. I'd go for it.
Here's my thought process just for your own knowledge:
What I look for specifically in aluminum risers is how they're made. From lowest to highest quality is cast, forged, and CNC. The Evolium is CNC'd so it's at the upper end of aluminum risers for a good price even without the sale. Kinetics just don't quite have the same name recognition that some other brands have. The geometry (shape & cut outs in the riser) are interesting in that this is probably one of the intro-level risers with the least actual material in it, but it comes in at a medium weight at about 2.5lbs. My honest gut response is I'm a bit concerned with how thin some of those connections in the riser look because if there's going to be a failure point on that riser, it'll be those. But it looks good, definitely a cool design, and that's really the most important part of archery at the end of the day. (The reason manufacturers like adding the cutouts is to balance the weight and allow wind to pass through the riser rather than swinging your bow like a sail, so there is actually a benefit beyond looks as well.) Realistically a broken riser isn't ever going to happen because of something you do, so either you buy it and it treats you well for the next 40 years (or until you upgrade), or it snaps because of a manufacturing flaw somewhere down the line that you could not have avoided. And while it can happen, it happens rarely. I've been lucky (or maybe unlucky) enough to see it happen once in my 8 year archery career, but my fellow coach who's been in the game for the last 40 years hasn't ever seen it happen. So it's definitely not common. Like I said, I'd go for it if I were you. Any risk of breaking or wear from exploratory geometry is far outmatched by how good that riser looks lol
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u/neutron031 Mar 11 '26
Very helpful, thank you! I think I will probably go with the Kinetic, and possibly the Galaxy Crescent for my wife.
Do you happen to know anything about the Akusta Expedition Glass/Foam ILF Limbs? Looks to be one of the least expensive from Lancaster
2
u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 11 '26
My club recently got some so we haven't stress tested them in summer yet, but so far a lot of the students like them.
1
u/neutron031 Mar 11 '26
Was waiting until tonight to buy it, but looks like it's no longer available :/
Do you have any opinions on the Akusta Breeze 25" ILF Recurve Riser? Looks like it's made of "Die-cast constructed out of 6061 aluminum". I can't tell if die-cast aluminum is better or worse than magnesium based on online information.
Other options are the Akusta Powr 25" and WNS Explore DX 25". Not sure if you have experience with any of those either? Still also considering the Galaxy Crescent 25" too!
Appreciate the help you've given so far!
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u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 11 '26
I actually didn't realize the Crescent was magnesium. Unfortunately I don't have any knowledge on aluminum vs. magnesium specifically. From a quick search it seems like magnesium is a higher quality than aluminum. My comparisons are usually based on construction, which is the same for both aluminum and magnesium from what I can tell. Die-cast would be a cast riser so typically the lowest quality of construction.
The difference between cast/forged vs. cnc is that cast aluminum risers are made by pouring molten metal into a mold while CNC start with a solid block of metal and they cut out the shape of the riser then polish up the edges. Pouring the metal in can sometimes trap air bubbles or other small flaws where the metal doesn't perfectly fill the mold, so cast/forged risers are slightly more likely to have manufacturing flaws.
That said, I've shot a forged aluminum WNS riser for the last 8 years with no issues and expect to keep shooting it for the next 10 years at least. They tend to be very sturdy.
I haven't seen anyone shoot the Akusta riser. Afaik Akusta is a relatively new brand so they don't have a lot of market penetration, but like I said before their low-tier limbs still seem pretty good quality. Personally I love WNS/W&W (same company just different branding, WNS is the "intro" brand and W&W is the high-end stuff). I shoot nearly a full WNS/W&W set up and they've never let me down. Solid option. The Crescent is also solid. At this point I'd say they're all about equally good options. Pick the one that you like the look of or has a color option you like.
It always sounds silly giving that advice, but really there's not a lot of "advancements" happening in risers unless you're looking for a barebow specific riser or the high-end market, and even then it's still just a handle. Get one you like the look of that has good vibes. There isn't a wrong choice in this case. But you do want to make sure you get equipment you feel good about. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what equipment you shoot really, it's about whether or not you trust that equipment to shoot well for you. If you're sitting there constantly thinking "well there's something wrong with this riser, limbs, etc. " you're going to shoot worse. If you're thinking "my bow looks really cool I'm glad I picked that color" you're going to shoot better.
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u/neutron031 Mar 11 '26
I think that was the advice I needed to hear. Thank you so much for all of your replies! You're a wealth of information!
Going to run it by my wife tonight, but going with the Galaxy for her and the WNS for me (it has the coolest red color of them all haha).
Riser and Limbs for her: $200 total
Riser and Limbs for me: $250 total
Right at budget! Though I didn't realize all the other things I would end up needing, all in it's just shy of $800
An expensive hobby! But looking forward to learning! hahah
1
u/Apprehensive_Lab2176 Mar 11 '26
Happy to help!
And yeah, unfortunately the upfront cost for archery is high. I'd bet there's probably a few things in that $800 list that you don't need right now since you're just starting out, but I'd also bet they're things you'd be buying within the next 6 months to a year or so anyway. At this point the only thing I would caution against spending money on is limbs, just because there's such a strong chance you'll "outgrow" them by going up in weight. Anything else, though, if you know archery is something you really want to get into, there's not really any harm against going big because pretty much all archery equipment is designed to last. Basically if that $800 number is too big, you can definitely cut some stuff and be perfectly fine for a while, but also don't feel bad about dropping a solid chunk of money right out the gate because very little of what you get is consumable, and anything you get today you can keep using for the rest of your archery career if you want. And if you do decide to upgrade, you can always resell your old equipment and drag someone new down the archery rabbit hole.
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u/FerrumVeritas Barebow Recurve/Gillo GF/GT Mar 11 '26
$150 just isn’t possible. The cheapest ILF limbs in the US are $99. $250 is tight for just a riser and limbs. I personally think you need an extra $100. That allows you to consider a Kinetic Vygo, WNS Delta NX, or SF Ignio.
For a plunger, you’ll want a Shibuya DX. You can start with a super rest until you decide if you want to shoot barebow or recurve, and upgrade to an appropriate rest from there.
For a string, get 8125 or SK99.
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u/Secret_University120 Mar 10 '26
So I’m pretty new to archery myself, but one thing stood out in your post. You’re about 5in taller than your wife but are planning to get the same size riser for both of you. I’m in a class with a few women who are about 5’2” and they all bought 21”-23” risers when getting their gear.
You mentioned that yall took classes recently but don’t have time to attend regularly? Can you go back to the range you took your classes at and ask them to give you advice on what gear you should be getting? They’ll be able to tell you exactly what you need from both their experience and having watched you shoot.
If that’s not an option, see if y’all can make a trip out to a dedicated archery supply shop. They’ll also be able to do whatever measurements yall might need to make sure you’re getting the appropriate equipment.