The best fixed blade crossbow broadheads

For a crossbow specifically, the fixed head is the reliability choice. Crossbow velocity is what defeats mechanical retention systems, and a one-piece steel head has nothing for velocity to defeat.

In detail

Five fixed heads

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

02A 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

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 steep cutting angle in a very short head

$49.99/Amazon

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QAD Exodus Full Blade 100 gr

QAD

8.7/ 10

A deliberately short fixed head with a steep cutting angle, a 1-1/4 inch cut and .040-inch blades on an SST tip. The short body is the design argument: less length forward of the shaft means less lever for a crosswind to push on, which is why short fixed heads group better than long ones.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Cutting diameter	1-1/4 in
Blade thickness	0.040 in
Type	Fixed, full blade
Tip	SST
Design	Super short body, steep cutting angle
Per pack	3

What it does well

• .040-inch blades are the thickest on this page
• A very short body reduces wind planing
• A 1-1/4 inch cut is wide for a fixed head

Where it falls short

• A steep angle needs energy to drive through bone
• Replacement blades required after a hard hit

Our rubric

Flight

8.8

Penetration

8.8

Consistency

8.8

Durability

9.0

Value

8.2

05Rear-sharpened blades and a pivoting head

$29.99/Amazon

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Ramcat Crossbow Hydroshock-X

Ramcat

8.5/ 10

A pivoting fixed head: it moves on impact to keep the arrow driving forward even when it meets bone, with .032-inch rear-sharpened stainless blades cantilevered over the shaft. The listing also states it meets broadhead regulations in all 50 states, which is a genuinely useful thing to know before you order.

Published spec	Value
Weight	100 gr
Blade thickness	0.032 in
Type	Fixed, pivoting
Blades	Rear-sharpened stainless, blade-over-shaft
Aerodynamics	Deep tip lobes form an airfoil
Legality	Meets broadhead regulations in all 50 states
Cutting diameter	Not published

What it does well

• A pivoting head keeps driving forward through bone
• Rear-sharpened blades keep cutting if there is no pass-through
• Legal in all 50 states, which the listing states outright
• Cheapest broadhead on this page

Where it falls short

• No cutting diameter published
• Blade-over-shaft geometry is unconventional and needs tuning

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

9.0

Consistency

8.2

Durability

8.6

Value

9.2

How we picked

One-piece construction weighted heavily, then published blade thickness, cut, and ferrule length — because a short ferrule planes less in wind. See our methodology.

The comparison

What separates fixed heads

One-piece versus assembled

A one-piece metal-injection-molded head is the whole thing cast as a single unit: ferrule, tip and blades. There is no blade to come loose, no screw to back out, no blade lock to fail. G5's Montec is the reference design, and TenPoint's EVO-X version is the same thing built by G5 and specified for high-speed crossbows.

An assembled head — the Slick Trick, with four replaceable blades in a Super Steel ferrule and an Alcatraz blade lock — gives you a wider cut and replaceable edges, at the cost of parts that can move.

Blade thickness, which decides what survives bone

Published figures: .027 in on the Wasp Boss, .032 in on the Ramcat, .035 in on the Slick Trick, .040 in on the QAD Exodus. A thicker blade survives a shoulder; a thinner one takes a finer edge. For a quartering shot on a mature animal, prefer .035 in or more.

Ferrule length, which decides wind planing

This is the fixed head's weakness: blade area forward of the shaft acts as a lever for crosswind. A short ferrule reduces it. QAD's Exodus is built around this — a deliberately very short body with a steep cutting angle — and Wasp's Boss uses a short aerodynamic aluminum ferrule for the same reason.

Spin-test discipline

G5 states every Montec is 100 percent spin-tested before shipping. That is a quality claim, not a substitute for your own check: spin each head on the shaft and look for tip wobble before every hunt.

The Ramcat, which does something different

A pivoting head: it moves on impact so the arrow keeps driving forward even against bone, with .032 in rear-sharpened blades cantilevered over the shaft. Rear-sharpened means the blades keep cutting if there is no pass-through. And the listing states it meets broadhead regulations in all 50 states, which no other head here says.

Tuning, which fixed heads demand

A fixed head will show you every flaw in your bow's tune. Mechanicals forgive, because they are closed and shaped like a field point. If your fixed heads do not group with your field points:

1. Spin test every head. A wobbling head cannot fly straight.
2. Check nock fit and indexing. A half-moon nock out of index changes string contact.
3. Check for an uneven cock. The most common cause of a flier people blame on the arrow. See how to cock a crossbow.
4. Try a shorter head. The QAD Exodus exists for exactly this.
5. Try a mechanical. Not a defeat — a closed head is genuinely more forgiving of tune.

What we would buy

The G5 Montec for value and the fact that you can resharpen it and use it again. The TenPoint EVO-X Montec if you shoot a fast bow and want the version specified for it. The Slick Trick Magnum if you want the widest fixed-head cut here and accept the extra parts. The QAD Exodus if your fixed heads have never grouped well — its short body is the fix.