Best Bow Hunting Gear 2025: Top Bows, Arrows & Must-Have Gear

Finding the best bowhunting gear can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. After decades of bowhunting experience, including years testing gear as a Special Forces soldier and dedicated bow hunter, I’ve narrowed down exactly what gear performs best in the real world.

In this guide, you’ll find my carefully tested and hand-picked recommendations for the best bows, arrows, broadheads, hunting clothing, boots, trail cameras, optics, and essential accessories for the 2025 hunting season. Whether you’re brand new or seasoned, this gear will give you the confidence and reliability needed to succeed in the field.

I review a lot of gear, but rarely have the opportunity to put all of my recommendations in one place. This is it. Enjoy!

🏹 Best Bows for Bowhunting

• 🏆 Best Overall: Xpedition XLite 32 – Fast, quiet, and ultra-smooth draw cycle.
• 💰 Best Budget Option: Bear Adapt+ RTH – A great entry-level bow for hunters who want quality at a lower price in a full, ready-to-hunt package.
• 🎯 What I’m Carrying: PSE Decree – Incredibly smooth draw, forgiving, and a 90% let-off that I love.

🏹 Best Hunting Arrows

• 🏆 Best Overall: Victory VAP TKO Elite – Great balance of durability and penetration in a 4mm carbon arrow. I love these arrows.
• 💰 Best Budget Arrow: Gold Tip Hunter XT – Affordable and reliable.
• 🔥 Best Aluminum Arrow: Easton 4mm FMJ – Low wind drift and high penetration in an aluminum full metal jacket arrow.

🔪 Best Broadheads for Hunting

• 🏆 Best Fixed Blade: Trifecta 150g Stealth Bomber – Razor-sharp and built like a tank for deep penetration. I like the 125g too. Incredible rotation and blood trails.
• 💰 Best Budget Broadhead: Muzzy Trocar – Affordable, durable, and great for new hunters. It is a hybrid, but it has done great for me over the years.
• ⚡ Best Mechanical Broadhead: G5 Megameat – Large cutting diameter and reliable deployment for maximum wound channels. *Best seller for the last 5 years.

🥾 Best Hunting Boots

• 🏆 Early Season Boots: Crispi Attiva Mid GTX – Lightweight, breathable, ideal for warm weather and early-season hunts. Unmatched quality.
• 🏆 Waterproof Boots: LaCrosse Alphaburly Pro – Rugged, waterproof, suitable for variable terrain and moderate temperatures.
• 🏆 Late-Season Boots: Schnee’s Extreme 10″ or 13″ – Highly insulated, perfect for extreme cold and snowy conditions. These are the absolute best cold-weather boots you will ever own.
• 💰 Budget-Friendly Waterproof Boots: Tidewe Neoprene Boots – Reliable and comfortable waterproof rubber boots that perform well across multiple seasons. *Use ARCH18 for an 18% Discount.

🧥 Best Bow Hunting Clothing

Early Season Gear

• 🏆 Hoodie: Sitka Equinox Guard – Breathable lightweight wicking hoodie with Insect Shield protection built in. Ideal for warm-weather hunts.
• 🏆 Jacket: Forloh Stretch Woven Jacket – 100% Made in the USA, all-season jacket. Tough, durable, water and wind-resistant, and has built-in scent control.
• 🏆 Pants: First Lite Trace Pant – Lightweight and breathable. The quietest and coolest early-season pants I’ve tested.
• 🏆 Gloves: Huntworth Ames Gloves – Minimalist gloves for warm conditions. My favorites. I’m on my second pair.

Mid-Season Gear

• 🏆 Hoodie: Huntworth Grayling – Water and Wind-resistant. Versatile for changing conditions. Super warm for a mid-season hoodie and has a built-in mask.
• 🏆 Jacket: Asio Hybrid Hooded Softshell – Windproof, warm, and highly water resistant. One of the best new products I’ve tested in a while. *Use Code: ARCH20 for 20% Off.
• 🏆 Packable Warmth: Kuiu Kenai Jacket – Packs into its interior pocket, this jacket is built for archery hunting. Wind and Water-resistant, and amazingly warm for its weight.
• 🏆 Uninsulated Pants: Forloh AllClima Stretch Woven Pants – Thick material, built-in knee pads, side zip vents, tough, quiet, and Made in the USA. The best pants I own for saddle hunting!
• 🏆 Insulated Pants: Asio Windproof Sherpa-lined Pants – Sherpa fleece insulation, windproof, water resistant, side zip vents, durable, and warm. *Use Code: ARCH20
• 🏆 Gloves: Huntworth Barrow Heat Boost Gloves – Let’s face it. Huntworth just makes great gloves. These are warm without bulk and can be used in the late season, too.

Late Season Gear

• 🏆 Jacket: Pnuma Highpoint – Windproof, quiet, and extremely warm for late-season bow hunting. See how it fared in my heat retention test compared to six other jackets.
• 💰 Budget Jacket: Huntworth Matterhorn – Wear in single-digit temps and stay warm. Ranked #1 in my heat retention testing. Windproof and waterproof, but a little noisy. The Bibs are a perfect complement to the jacket, too. Super warm.
• 🏆 Packable/Mobile Warmth: Sitka Ambient 200 Jacket – Pricey, but Sitka’s Ambient collection is just plain awesome. I love the 100 and the 200 variants.
• 🏆 Pants: Sitka Fanatic Bibs – While I love the Pnuma Highpoint, it only comes with pants. These bibs are perfect for bow hunting. Ultra quiet, windproof, water resistant, and warm.
• 🏆 Gloves: Forloh AllClima Softshell Gloves – Windproof, waterproof, and extreme cold weather warm. These are expensive, but they are the best cold-weather gloves I’ve ever used.

🎒 Best Tree Stand Hunting Gear

• 🏆 Climbing Sticks: Tethrd Skeletors (See Them Here) – After 4 years of use, I am impressed with the toughness, longevity, and quality of these sticks. They aren’t ultralight, but they aren’t bad at 2.2 lbs each. Plus, the mid-tier price makes them something I’m happy to recommend.
• 🏆 Minimalist Saddle: Latitude Outdoors Maverick (See it Here) – A great saddle at a great price point. Removable leg straps, lightweight, and comfortable.
• 🏆 Comfort Saddle: Cruzr XC (See it Here) – XC stands for expansion chamber, and with it, it’s like a hammock in the tree. Very comfortable and well built.
• 🏆 Saddle Hunting Platform (Budget): Latitude Outdoors Profile Platform (See it Here) – Sleek, slim, and lightweight. Plus, it comes with a great price for the feature set you get. Great platform.
• 🏆 Saddle Hunting Platform (Ultralight): Tethrd Predator CFX Platform (See it Here) – Unbelievable to feel in your hands. So light, yet tough and great in the tree. It will surprise you.
• 🏆 Mobile Treestand: Novix Helo Stand (See it Here) – Small but roomy. If you wear a Size 13 boot, you might want to get their next size up. Easy to carry, hang, and hunt. Love it.
• 🏆 Tree Seat: Millennium M300 Tree Seat (See it Here) – There’s really no competition in this category. If you want a lightweight, portable seat for the base of a tree, this is it! I even got one for my Dad for Christmas!

🎒 Best Hunting Backpacks

• 🏆 Treestand Hunting: Pnuma Highpoint Treestand (See it Here) – Organized storage and easy treestand access. The quietest pack you’ll ever own.
• 🏆 Saddle Hunting Minimalist: Evolution Mobile Hunter 1100 (See it Here) – Small company, great pack. This is an ultra-customizable pack for saddle hunting and mobile treestand hunting.
• 🏆 Saddle Hunting Large: Eberlestock X2 (See it Here) – Made for the saddle hunter who carries just a little more. The most unique pack I’ve ever tested.
• 🏔️ Spot & Stalk: Kifaru Shape Charge (See Price Here) – Durable, compact, and great for mobile hunting.
• 💰 Budget Backpack: ALPS OutdoorZ Pursuit (See Price Here) – Affordable, but highly effective. My brother’s favorite pack with an organizational shelf (for in the tree).

🎯 Best Rangefinders for Bowhunting

• 🏆 Overall: Maven CRF.1 (See it Here) – Compact, accurate, reliable in low-light. This 2400-yard option is close in features to the Maven RF.1, but most of us bow hunters don’t need a 4500-yard rangefinder.
• 💰 Budget: Tidewe Rangefinder (See it Here) – Reliable performance, affordable price. Plus, get an extra 18% Off w/Code: ARCH18

🔭 Best Binoculars for Bowhunting

• 🏆 Best Overall: Vortex Diamond HD 10 x 42 (See Them Here) – Excellent clarity, rugged, and reliable. Great price for what you get.
• 💰 Budget Option: Vortex Raptor 10 x 32 (See Them Here) – Not exactly budget, but close. Great for the price.
• 🔥 Compact Option: Maven B.7 8 x 25 (See Them Here) – Lightweight, ideal for mobile hunters. Pricey, but once you see the clarity, you will be sold! I love these! See my review here.
• 🏆 Best Binocular Harness: Rick Young Outdoors Ultralight Binocular Harness (See it Here) – I am not a huge fan of a big bino harness when bow hunting, and when I tried this, I found the perfect thing for my minimalist approach to hunting. Remarkably comfortable for a bungee-style setup.

🏹 Best Archery Accessories

• 🏆 Bow Sights: Spot Hogg Fast Eddie (See it Here) – Precision tuning and adjustability. My brother likes the CBE Tactic Hybrid for the quality (and Price).
• 🏆 Bow Stabilizers: Trophy Ridge Hitman (See it Here) – Reduces vibration and enhances accuracy. I lost mine and am using a Sunya stabilizer now. Both are good, but I like the Hitman better.
• 🏆 Bow Releases: TrueFire 4-Finger Release (See it Here) – Smooth, reliable release. I carried this for over 10 years until I lost it last season. It just works.
• 🏆 Arrow Rests: QAD UltraRest HDX (See it Here) – Consistent, accurate drop-away rest. The best in the business. I am testing a new rest this year, the Hamskea Everest, but it’s too early to rate it.

🦌 Best Scent Control Gear

• 🏆 Best Overall: Ozonics HR600 (See it Here) – Highly effective ozone scent elimination for the field. I have the HR500, and the HR600 has taken things to the next level this year. So much quieter.
• 💰 Best Scent Kit: PhaZe Scent Control System (See it Here) – One complete kit will help keep you scent-free through the entire season. My brother and I both use this system and love it.
• 🔥 Best Laundry Detergent: Scent Killer Gold Laundry Detergent (See it Here) – Keeps gear scent-free without damaging fabrics. The best I’ve ever used. The PhaZe kit above has done well, but if I’m just washing clothes, this is the best option.

📢 Best Hunting Calls

• 🏆 Buck Grunt Call: Woodhaven “The Intimidator” (See it Here) – Versatile and highly effective for attracting bucks. Two years of using it and I love it. It can do a great snort wheeze too.
• 🏆 Doe Bleat Call: Primos “The Can” Bleat Call (See it Here) – The only bleat call I’ve used since I started bow hunting. I’m on my third one. I’m a believer.

📷 Best Trail Cameras

• 🏆 Best Cellular Camera: Tactacam Reveal 3.0 Pro & Moultrie Edge 2 Pro – Why two? I’m testing both against each other right now and will come back later and update this. So far, both have been impressive and much better than the non-pro versions of each.
• 💰 Best Budget Camera: Hrivcam Solar (See it Here) – Cheap, dependable, easy to use, regular trail camera. This is not cellular. You can hang this thing and never need new batteries.
• 💰 Best Throw-Away Camera: Usogood Trail Camera (See it Here) – At one time I had 15 of these cameras. I hit a special of 5 cameras for $100 and went crazy. Now, I have 5 of them left and they still work after 5 years. Bears and Mother Nature took the rest.

I’ll keep updating this gear list throughout the season as I continue to test new equipment in real hunting conditions. Have a question or need specific gear advice? Drop a comment or reach out directly—I always enjoy helping fellow bow hunters get set up for success.

Ready for more detailed insights? Check out my full, in-depth gear reviews here: Gear Reviews