Contents
Bow Package Contents
If you have no idea about compound bows so far, please feel free to read my beginner’s guide about them here => Beginner’s Guide To Compound Bows.
The Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth comes in a version for right handed shooters only and it is recommended to introduce children at the age of 4 – 7 years to archery.
It has a Full Capture Arrow Rest that tends to break fast. Nxt Generation’s customer support is pretty good and they will send you a replacement as soon as possible. But that won’t help very long as the replacement will break as well. Problem here is, that the rest is made out of cheap plastic and that the index feather (the one that is colored differently than the others) needs to point up when the arrow is nocked in. But this is mentioned nowhere. If the index feather does not point upwards, either the fletchings get ripped off by the arrow rest or the rest gets ripped off by the fletchings.
A customer stated he switched the rest out against a Whisker Biscuit. There is a starter hole in the riser that he drilled and tapped for adding the Whisker Biscuit, so I assume that voided the warranty. All in all the original arrow rest does not seem to take the beatings of children for too long.
According to some parents the adjustable sight is way off. You can try to sight it in but I am not sure if it’s worth it, as children at that young age tend to be better without a sight anyway. As there cannot be a peep sight served into the string, the bowsight won’t be that useful, in my opinion, because for aiming you would need both. If you want to sight it in nonetheless I have a guide about doing it here => How To Sight In A Compound.
Some customers stated that the string of the Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth did not line up with the sight and that it was not possible to hit anything at all like this, so please check if the string of your model is lining up with the sight and arrow rest.
The 2 18″ arrows made of fiberglass tend to break when hitting hard objects. Their tips are glued on and tend to come off when the arrow is being pulled out of foam targets, so maybe get hay bales or cardboard boxes for practicing. The arrows are so short because the maximum draw length of this one is only 18″, but normally they need to be one inch longer than the models’s maximum draw length for safety reasons. That’s the reason why some parents stated that the arrows tend to fall off the rest being too short, which is dangerous, as they could land in the hand of your child. As 2 arrows are not enough anyway, I suggest you get a bunch of better youth arrows. Problem is that most of the available youth arrows are 28″, so you might need to get some that are cut to the desired length by a pro shop.
Also tell your kids to not pull the string farther back than to their chins. If they pull it back behind their ears, even longer arrows will be too short at some point or the Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth will get damaged.
The 2 Piece arrow quiver can hold up to 2 arrows. As the plugs tend to get loose or fall out completely, I would not use it.
The arm guard is a small hard plastic thing as are the finger tabs. As there are finger rollers on the string you don’t need the finger tabs. But get a better armguard as it prevents string slaps to your kid’s forearm which happen from time to time. String slaps are a sign that you are not shooting with proper form. If you want to learn more about that, please read my article about it here => Proper Form For Compound Bow Shooting.
The Nxt Generation X-Flite is available for girls (pink colors) and boys. Please click on the image below to check out the version for boys (camo finish)!
I assume you get a standard warranty with this model, so better keep your receipt – the chance that you will need it is pretty high with the Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth. A warranty usually covers bad materials or mistakes in workmanship. It won’t cover string, cables or moveable parts or when you drill additional holes into the riser or when you dry fire this model. Dry firing means shooting without an arrow in place, so the saved energy of the bow goes right back into its limbs. I have an article about dry loosening here => Dry Firing A Compound.
Noise Level / Hand Shock Of The Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth Compound Bow
This model is very noisy and loud. There are also a lot of vibrations going on while shooting. As this one was not designed for hunting or competition, it wouldn’t bother me much, though.
Bow Specifics / Limbs / Riser / Grip / String
Like with a lot of other sets in this price range the bow itself is pretty sturdy but the accessories are crap. Is it worth it to get better accessories? I don’t think so, as this model is pretty cheap anyway, so better accessories (if you are able to attach them at all) will cost the same amount as this one or even more.
The axle to axle (ATA) length is 25″, which makes it compact enough for very young children that carry it with them for hours.
With a weight of around 2 pounds it is not on the light side, though. This may make it heavy for very young children or kids that are on the weaker side.
The string is a single cable and in some cases it was off by 1.5″ from the arrow rest, which is not good at all for hitting where you want to. Also the cable guard is not long enough to keep those apart from each other while shooting. A solid cable makes it impossible to serve a peep sight in, by the way. This might not be needed for a child’s bow anyway, but I thought you should know this as well.
Draw Cycle / Shootability
The Nxt Generation X-Flite shoots more or less accurately. You need to fix the finger rollers on the string with a tape or nocking points to make sure that your kid is able to nock the arrows in at the same spot every time, which is very important for consistency and therefore accuracy. If you don’t do this the finger rollers tend to move along the string all the time.
The draw weight is 15 lbs. I found one statement from a customer that the riser got bent into a C-shape after a few months. If this is true the whole compound bow was crap – hopefully that was an exception. Another customer stated it got warped after being 11 months in the garage. This may be due to extreme temperatures like heat, which can bend the limbs of a compound, but it does not make a good impression nonetheless.
This one has a draw length of 18″, which is pretty short even for a kid’s model. And I remember one customer who stated that the cable guard fell out.
Shooting Speed Of The Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth Compound Bow
As this is a model for children there is no speed given, but please assume it to be slow. As it is not meant to be used for competition that’s not a problem here, though. For children at the age of 4 – 7 it is the fun that should be in focus, not speed or power.
Suitable For Hunting / Kinetic Energy (KE)
With a maximum poundage of 15 lbs the X-Flite Youth is way too weak for bowhunting. It won’t meet any minimum requirements concerning draw weight in any state, so please don’t try to kill anything with it, as this would be considered to be illegal.
Suitable For Bowfishing
I doubt there is an option to attach a bowfishing reel without drilling an extra hole into the riser. Apart from that, 15 lbs are way too weak for penetrating the water. So no, it is not suitable for bowfishing.
Pricing
At around 40 bucks the Nxt Generation X-Flite Youthseems to be a pretty good option for the younger crowd to test if they like archery at all. But given all the negative feedback I found throughout the internet, it seems that even these 40 bucks are too much for it. If you want to stay in this price range, maybe take a look at the Bear Archery Scout. It is cheaper but still better.
Pros & Cons
Pros
– very affordable
Cons
– cheap arrow rest
– cheap arrows
– cheaply made
Summary
As I mentioned above already the Nxt Generation X-Flite Youth Compound is recommended for children at the age of 4 – 7 years to be introduced to archery. It should teach them how to handle a model like this, develop respect for a weapon (it is not a toy and supervision by an adult is needed all the time) and respect for prey – but I doubt that it can do all of this.
I would suggest you take a look at the Bear Archery Scout or the Bear Archery Brave, which are a lot better qualitywise. It does not help when parts of the compound break, fall out or get bent. This will kill the motivation and fun of your kiddos and they will lose interest pretty fast.
If your kid is already a bit older like 8 years and up, I would suggest you take a look at the Crosman Elkhorn which is a good option as well. If you want to spend a lot more, check out the Diamond Atomic or the Bear Archery Cruzer.
Thanks for reading and shoot straight!
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