Brand rankings
The best crossbow brands, ranked by what they publish
Every brand has a specialty and a blind spot. Here is what each one actually publishes, which is the most reliable signal a buyer has.
String & Stock earns a commission when you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. Prices come from Amazon and change; the date beside every price is when we last verified it. Full disclosure.
Ranked
Quick picks
| # | Product | Cocking aid | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank 1 | TenPoint Titan X De-Cock | ACUdraw De-Cock, integrated | 9.0 | $799.99Amazon |
| Rank 2 |  Wicked Ridge Commander 400 | ACUdraw crank, built in | 8.7 | $599.99Amazon |
| Rank 3 |  Killer Instinct LOGIX 435 | DSC crank on this package; sled rope cocker on the base kit | 8.8 | $529.99Amazon |
| Rank 4 |  Ravin R26X | 8.7 | $1,999.99Amazon | |
| Rank 5 |  CenterPoint Wrath 430 | Silent cranking device, included | 8.9 | $749.99Amazon |
| Rank 6 |  Barnett Alpha 410 | Crank cocking device, installed | 8.3 | $549.00Amazon |
| Rank 7 |  Excalibur Micro 360 Pro TD | 7.4 | $1,399.00Amazon |
TenPoint and Wicked Ridge publish the most complete specifications and the lowest cocking effort, at 5 lb. Killer Instinct publishes the most specification per dollar. Ravin builds the narrowest bows. CenterPoint and Barnett compete on price. Excalibur is the recurve specialist and publishes the least.
Brand is a shortcut, and on this site we treat it as one piece of evidence rather than a verdict. The most useful thing a brand tells you is which figures it is willing to print. A maker that publishes cocked width, cocking effort and kinetic energy is a maker you can shop honestly; a maker that prints a speed number and nothing else is asking you to buy on reputation. That difference runs straight down the rankings below.
In detail
One bow from each of seven brands
TenPoint Titan X De-Cock
The de-cocking version of TenPoint's best-selling bow, and the most complete answer on this site to the question that brings most people here. The integrated ACUdraw De-Cock drops cocking effort to 5 pounds, and it backwinds, so you can unload the bow at the end of a sit without firing a bolt into the dirt. 400 fps and a 9.75-inch front end are the supporting cast.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 400 fps |
| Cocking effort | 5 lb |
| Cocked width | 9.75 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw De-Cock, integrated |
| De-cocks | Yes, backwind the handle |
| Trigger pull | 3.5 lb |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Pro Elite 400 arrows, quiver, bow hanger |
What it does well
- 5 lb of cocking effort is the lowest figure any bow on this site publishes
- Safe de-cocking: the Auto-Brake gear system holds the handle wherever you let go
- A 9.75-inch front end clears blind windows and stand rails
- Ships assembled and pre-sighted, so first setup is a scope zero and nothing else
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.6
- 8.4
- 8.5
- 9.0
- 7.8
- 8.6
Wicked Ridge Commander 400
An American-built 400 fps bow with the ACUdraw crank built into the stock, which TenPoint rates at 5 pounds of effort against a 190-pound draw weight. Both widths are published, which is more than most bows at this price manage, and 11 inches cocked clears most blind windows. The 7.3-pound carry weight is the price you pay for the crank being part of the bow.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 400 fps |
| Kinetic energy | 146 ft-lb (410 gr arrow) |
| Cocking effort | 5 lb |
| Cocked width | 11 in |
| Uncocked width | 14.5 in |
| Weight | 7.3 lb |
| Draw weight | 190 lb |
| Power stroke | 12.5 in |
| Overall length | 35.75 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw crank, built in |
| De-cocks | |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Match 400 carbon arrows, quiver |
| Built | Mogadore, Ohio |
What it does well
- 5 lb of cocking effort from a crank that is already on the bow
- 11 in cocked is narrow enough for a pop-up blind window
- 146 ft-lb published with the included 410-grain arrow
- Assembled and pre-sighted in Ohio, with a limited lifetime operational warranty
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.4
- 8.4
- 8.0
- 8.4
- 7.2
- 9.0
Killer Instinct LOGIX 435
435 fps, 155.5 ft-lb, 6.75 inches cocked, and a LET-DOWN triggerbox that de-cocks the bow without a shot: numbers that read like a bow costing three times as much. The catch is the 210-pound draw weight and 7.9-pound carry weight. Buy the package version with the DSC crank, because on a 210-pound bow the rope cocker is not a realistic long-term plan.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 435 fps |
| Kinetic energy | 155.5 ft-lb |
| Cocked width | 6.75 in |
| Uncocked width | 10.75 in |
| Weight | 7.9 lb |
| Draw weight | 210 lb |
| Power stroke | 15 in |
| Overall length | 32.25-33.75 in |
| Trigger pull | 3.5 lb |
| Let-off | 56% |
| De-cocks | Yes, LET-DOWN triggerbox |
| Cocking aid | DSC crank on this package; sled rope cocker on the base kit |
| Scope | Illuminated glass-etched Lumix 4x32 |
| Included | Three 20 in 390 gr Hypr bolts, five-arrow quiver, rail lube |
| Warranty | Limited lifetime on non-wearable parts |
What it does well
- 6.75 in cocked is narrower than anything else here outside Ravin
- De-cocking on a budget bow, which is close to unheard of
- 435 fps and 155.5 ft-lb are the highest published figures in the Killer Instinct range
- Full spec sheet published: both widths, let-off, trigger pull and power stroke
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 8.8
- 9.6
- 7.6
- 9.4
- 7.0
- 9.0
Ravin R26X
5.75 inches axle-to-axle cocked, 6.5 pounds, and a cocking system you can stop mid-stroke without the bow fighting you. The one-way bearing is the feature that matters on a cold morning in a blind: you can cock in stages, quietly, instead of committing to one noisy pull.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Cocked width | 5.75 in |
| Weight | 6.5 lb |
| Cocking | Silent, stop mid-cycle; Trac Trigger and one-way bearing |
| Cam system | Helicoil, 340-degree cam rotation |
| Arrows | Three Ravin .003 arrows, 400 gr total |
| Scope | 100-yard illuminated |
| Speed |
What it does well
- Stop-anywhere cocking is the quietest draw stroke published here
- A 5.75-inch cocked width beats every non-Ravin bow on this site
- A 100-yard illuminated scope is included rather than an upsell
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.2
- 8.0
- 9.4
- 9.6
- 9.0
- 6.6
CenterPoint Wrath 430
A 9-inch cocked bullpup that shoots 430 fps off a 200-pound draw, with a silent crank in the box. That combination — tight blind geometry, real speed, and a crank you do not have to buy — is why this bow keeps turning up in the answer to the ground-blind question.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 430 fps |
| Draw weight | 200 lb |
| Cocked width | 9 in |
| Cocking aid | Silent cranking device, included |
| Design | Bullpup, full-bearing cam compound |
| Scope | 4x32 illuminated |
| Included | Three 20 in 400 gr carbon arrows, detachable quiver, rope cocker |
What it does well
- A 9-inch cocked width with 430 fps behind it
- A silent crank and a rope cocker both included
- CNC-machined aluminum rails and cams
- 400-grain arrows included, which suits the speed
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 8.6
- 9.4
- 8.6
- 9.4
- 7.4
- 8.8
Barnett Alpha 410
Barnett ships this one with the crank cocking device already installed, which is the thing most bows at this price make you buy separately. Add the illuminated multi-reticle scope, quiver, arrows and lube and it is a complete first setup with no cocking-aid decision left to make.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Cocking aid | Crank cocking device, installed |
| Scope | 4x32 illuminated red/green multi-reticle |
| Arrows | Two 20 in Headhunter carbon, 100 gr points |
| Quiver | Lightweight side-mount, 3 arrow |
| Included | String and rail lube wax |
| Speed | |
| Cocked width |
What it does well
- The crank comes installed, not boxed separately or sold as an accessory
- Complete package: scope, quiver, arrows, wax
- Multi-reticle illuminated scope at a mid-range price
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 8.8
- 8.4
- 7.6
- 7.6
- 7.6
- 8.8
Excalibur Micro 360 Pro TD
Excalibur builds recurve crossbows almost exclusively, and the Micro series is the compact end of that line. TD means take-down: the limb assembly comes off without tools, which is why it travels well. The Amazon listing publishes no specifications, so the figures below stay empty rather than guessed.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | Recurve, take-down |
| Speed | |
| Draw weight | |
| Cocked width | |
| Weight | |
| Cocking aid |
What it does well
- A take-down limb assembly packs smaller than any compound here
- Recurve architecture means no cams or cables to serve
- String replacement is a field job rather than a press job
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 6.4
- 8.0
- 7.4
- 6.0
- 8.0
- 6.6
How we ranked them
Three things: how complete the published specifications are across the range, how low the cocking effort gets, and the value of the bow we would actually buy from that range. Our scoring rubric is on the methodology page. We do not run a test lab and do not claim measured figures of our own.
The brand table
| Brand | Specialty | Lowest published cocking effort | Publishes cocked width? | Our pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TenPoint | Cocking systems and de-cocking | 5 lb | Yes | Titan X De-Cock |
| Wicked Ridge | TenPoint cranks at lower prices | 5 lb | Yes, plus uncocked | Commander 400 |
| Killer Instinct | Specification per dollar | Crank on upper packages | Yes, plus uncocked | LOGIX 435 |
| Ravin | Narrow geometry | Not published | Yes, 5.75 in and below | R26X |
| CenterPoint | Speed and width per dollar | Crank on some models | Yes, on most | Wrath 430 |
| Barnett | Price, and a documented crank | 93% / 13 lb at the handle | Rarely | Alpha 410 |
| Excalibur | Recurves and simplicity | 12 lb with the Charger EXT | No | Micro 360 Pro TD |
The brands, in order
1. TenPoint — the cocking specialists
TenPoint publishes 5 lb of cocking effort, the lowest figure anywhere on this site, and it publishes it consistently. It also builds the de-cocking systems that let you unload a bow without firing. Bows are built in Mogadore, Ohio. The cost is price: TenPoint is rarely the cheapest way to any given specification. Full range notes in the TenPoint review.
2. Wicked Ridge — TenPoint's engineering, less money
Wicked Ridge is TenPoint's own value line and shares the ACUdraw cranks, which is why it publishes the same 5 lb figure. It is also the most thoroughly specified range on the site: cocked and uncocked width, kinetic energy with the arrow weight stated, power stroke and overall length. The Invader M1 at 5.8 lb is the lightest de-cocking bow here. See the Wicked Ridge review.
3. Killer Instinct — most specification per dollar
The LOGIX 435 publishes 155.5 ft-lb of kinetic energy, 6.75 in cocked width, a 56% let-off and a de-cocking triggerbox at a budget price, which is an unusual amount of printed detail at that money. The range is uneven below that, and the base packages ship with a sled rope rather than a crank. See the Killer Instinct review.
4. Ravin — the narrow-bow specialists
Nothing else reaches 5.75 in cocked, let alone the R18's 1.3 in of cocked height. If a blind window or a saddle setup is your constraint, Ravin is in a category of one. The complaint is specification: four of six Ravin models on this site publish no speed figure, and the flagship publishes nothing at all. See the Ravin review and Ravin crossbow accessories.
5. CenterPoint — speed and width per dollar
The Wrath 430 publishes 430 fps and 9 in cocked with a silent crank included; the Hellion 400 publishes 8 in cocked and 12 in uncocked at an entry price. That is the best published width-per-dollar on the site. The trade is finish and resale rather than specification. See the CenterPoint review.
6. Barnett — price, and the best-documented crank
Barnett is the volume brand and most of its listings skip cocked width, which is a real gap. What it does publish is what its crank achieves: 93% resistance reduction and 13 lb at the handle, with a named-model fit list you can check. That makes a cheap Barnett a genuinely upgradeable bow. See the Barnett review and Barnett crossbow accessories.
7. Excalibur — the recurve specialists
Excalibur builds recurve crossbows: no cams, no cables, a string you can change without a press, and the simplest machine on the site. It is last here only because its Amazon listings publish very little — speed, draw weight and width are all absent on the models we cover. The Charger EXT crank publishes 12 lb of draw effort and detaches. See the Excalibur review.
Which brand should you buy?
- Cocking effort is the problem: TenPoint, or Wicked Ridge for the same crank at less money.
- Blind window under 9 inches: Ravin if the budget allows, CenterPoint if it does not.
- Most specification for the money: Killer Instinct.
- A cheap bow you intend to upgrade: Barnett, because the crank is documented and the fit list is public.
- Simplicity and field-serviceability: Excalibur.
Our pick
Wicked Ridge, on balance. It publishes the most complete specifications of any brand here, shares TenPoint's 5 lb cranks, builds in Ohio, and sits a clear step below TenPoint on price. TenPoint itself is the better brand if you want the de-cocking flagship and will pay for it. For the cross-brand list, see the best crossbows roundup.
