The best crossbow broadheads

Everything else — cut diameter, blade count, fixed against mechanical — is a genuine preference argument. The speed rating is not a preference. It is the thing that decides whether the head arrives at the animal in one piece.

In detail

The five picks

01One-piece steel, nothing to come loose

$44.95/Amazon

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G5 Montec 100 gr

G5 Outdoors

8.9/ 10

One-piece metal-injection-molded steel with a 1 to 1-1/8 inch cut, cut-on-contact geometry and every head spin-tested before it ships. There are no blades to replace, no screws to loosen and no collar to fail. For a fast bow, a fixed one-piece head is the most reliable thing you can put on the front of a bolt.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr (85 and 125 also offered)
Cutting diameter	1 to 1-1/8 in
Blades	3, fixed
Construction	One-piece MIM steel
Sharpening	Diamond cut, cut-on-contact
Quality control	100% spin-tested
Per pack	3

What it does well

• One piece: no blades, screws or collars to fail
• Every head spin-tested before it ships
• Resharpenable, so a head survives more than one animal
• Cut-on-contact geometry starts cutting immediately

Where it falls short

• A 1-1/8 inch cut is narrow next to a 2.25-inch mechanical
• Fixed blades plane more in wind than a closed mechanical
• Needs careful tuning to fly with field points

Our rubric

Flight

8.2

Penetration

9.4

Consistency

9.0

Durability

9.6

Value

8.4

02The mechanical most crossbow hunters land on

$57.49/Amazon

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Rage Hypodermic Trypan NC

Rage

8.6/ 10

A one-piece titanium ferrule, .039-inch stainless blades, a hybrid tip and No Collar retention — meaning the blades are held closed by the ferrule geometry rather than a rubber band you have to replace every shot. For a fast bow, the collar is the part that fails, so removing it matters.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Blade thickness	0.039 in
Type	Mechanical, expandable
Ferrule	One-piece titanium
Retention	No Collar
Tip	Hybrid
Per pack	3

What it does well

• No Collar retention removes the consumable rubber band
• A titanium ferrule is lighter and stronger than aluminum
• .039-inch blades are thick for a mechanical
• Ferrule alignment adapter helps it spin true

Where it falls short

• Most expensive broadhead here
• No cutting diameter published on this listing
• Mechanicals lose energy opening, which matters on a slow bow

Our rubric

Flight

8.6

Penetration

8.4

Consistency

8.8

Durability

8.8

Value

7.2

03The most total cut from a fixed head

$48.99/Amazon

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Slick Trick Standard Pro Series and Magnum

Slick Trick

8.7/ 10

Four .035-inch stainless blades in a short Super Steel ferrule giving 2-1/4 inches of total cut, with a 4-edge bone-splitting tip and Alcatraz blade lock. Short, fat and fixed: it flies like a field point because there is barely any ferrule forward of the blades to plane in the wind.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Total cut	2-1/4 in (1-1/8 in + 1-1/8 in)
Blade thickness	0.035 in
Blades	Stainless, 4
Ferrule	Super Steel
Blade lock	Alcatraz
Tip	4-edge bone splitting

What it does well

• 2-1/4 inches of total cut from a fixed head
• A short ferrule means less wind planing
• Alcatraz blade lock keeps blades seated through bone
• Explicitly suited to crossbows, compounds and recurves

Where it falls short

• Four fixed blades need a well-tuned bow to fly cleanly
• Replacement blades add to running cost

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

9.0

Consistency

8.8

Durability

9.0

Value

8.2

04A Montec built for crossbow speed

$44.99/Amazon

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TenPoint EVO-X Montec

TenPoint

8.8/ 10

Built for TenPoint by G5, which is to say it is a Montec specified for high-speed crossbows: 100 grains, three fixed blades, a 1-1/8 inch cut, one-piece MIM construction and a 100 percent steel ferrule. If you shoot a fast bow and want a fixed head, this is the one that was designed for the application.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Cutting diameter	1-1/8 in
Blades	3, fixed
Construction	One-piece MIM, 100% steel ferrule
Designed for	High-speed crossbows
Sharpening	Diamond cut
Per pack	3

What it does well

• Specified for high-speed crossbows, not adapted from a compound head
• One-piece construction with nothing to come loose
• Made by G5, whose Montec is the reference fixed head

Where it falls short

• A 1-1/8 inch cut is narrow by mechanical standards
• Costs more than the standard Montec for the same geometry

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

9.4

Consistency

9.0

Durability

9.4

Value

8.0

05A mechanical rated explicitly for crossbow speed

$54.99/Amazon

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Grim Reaper X-Bow Razor Cut

Grim Reaper

8.3/ 10

A 3-blade mechanical with a 1.5-inch cut on a one-piece stainless tip, and the listing states it is engineered for crossbows and stable to 400 fps. That speed statement is the thing to look for: plenty of mechanicals are sold for compound bows and come apart at crossbow velocity.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Cutting diameter	1.5 in
Blades	3
Type	Mechanical
Rated speed	Up to 400 fps
Tip	One-piece stainless steel
Accuracy claim	Field-point accuracy to 100 yd

What it does well

• A published speed rating, which most broadhead listings omit
• A 1.5-inch cut from three blades
• A one-piece stainless tip holds an edge through bone

Where it falls short

• 400 fps rated, so it is not the choice for a 430-470 fps bow
• Expensive per head
• Mechanicals need a bigger entry hole than a fixed blade

Our rubric

Flight

8.6

Penetration

8.0

Consistency

8.4

Durability

8.2

Value

7.4

How we picked

Published cutting diameter, blade thickness and construction, with weight given to one-piece designs that have nothing to fail and to heads with a published speed rating. See our methodology.

The comparison

Fixed or mechanical

Fixed blades

No moving parts, no energy spent opening, better penetration. The one-piece metal-injection-molded heads here — the G5 Montec and TenPoint's G5-built EVO-X version — have literally nothing that can fail: no blades to replace, no screws, no collar. The trade is that fixed blades plane in wind and demand a well-tuned bow to fly with field points.

Mechanicals

Closed in flight, so they fly like field points; open on impact to a much wider cut. They spend energy opening and the retention system is a part that can fail. Rage's No Collar design removes the consumable rubber band by holding the blades closed with ferrule geometry instead, which is a genuine improvement for a fast bow.

The full argument is in mechanical vs fixed blade.

What to look for

Blade thickness, if you expect bone

Published figures here run from .027 in (Wasp Boss) to .040 in (QAD Exodus). A thicker blade survives a shoulder; a thinner one is sharper for longer at the edge. .035-.039 in is the sweet spot represented by the Slick Trick and the Rage.

Cut diameter, in context

Wider is not automatically better. A 2.25 in mechanical needs energy behind it to open and still drive through; a 1-1/8 in fixed head penetrates more with the same energy. On a fast crossbow you have the budget for a wide cut. On a 330 fps youth bow you do not.

Total cut versus diameter

Slick Trick publishes 2-1/4 in total cut from four blades — two crossing pairs of 1-1/8 in each. That is not the same as a 2-1/4 in diameter. Read carefully when comparing, because makers quote whichever number flatters the head.

Spin testing

G5 states every Montec is 100 percent spin-tested before it ships. A head that does not spin true on the shaft will not fly true, and checking is the first thing to do with any new broadhead regardless of what the maker tested.

Which to buy

Before the season

1. Spin test each head on the shaft. Any wobble, replace or re-seat it.
2. Shoot three into a broadhead-capable target and confirm they group with your field points. Three, not thirty.
3. Never shoot broadheads into a bag or mesh target. They shred the fill. See broadhead targets.
4. Check state rules. Some states specify minimum cutting diameter or prohibit certain designs.