No other product on the archery shop store shelves creates as much discussion and debates as new broadheads. We love to talk about them. Conversations on how well they fly, cut, and penetrate can last for hours. Broadheads are serious business, no doubt. So here’s a look at some of the latest in broadhead offerings for 2018 that are sure to fuel the fire when it comes to the best new broadheads on the market.
A Look at the New Broadheads
There were a lot of new entries in the new broadhead category for 2018. This list in no way covers them all. But the heads we cover here will certainly give you a look at some of the best of the best when it comes to new broadheads you’ll find when preparing for turkey and deer season this year.
NAP Killzone Swingfire Broadhead ($39.99)
NAP’s goal for the Killzone Swingfire was simple – to be the best penetrating broadhead ever built. It’s a 2-blade, 100-grain broadhead with independent pivoting blades to reduce friction loss as the broadhead passes through an animal. This rear deploying head cuts a massive 2-inch entrance hole and creates the least amount of resistance throughout the shot.
The Killzone Swingfire boasts exceptional accuracy with its four extremely sharp blade surfaces that create a monster blood trail for trophy recovery. The head is super versatile, pulling double duty as a perfect option for crossbow shooters as well as low poundage vertical bows. The Swingfire’s blades are specifically designed and weighted to never open in flight, no matter what the speed.
NAP Killzone Swingfire
Rage X-treme 4-Blade ($29.99)
The new Rage X-treme 4-Blade broadhead is a radical new design engineered for massive wound channels. We’ll see more on how well it performs in the days ahead, but based upon first impressions, the head looks like it could produce some nasty results on whitetail deer or turkeys.
The machined aluminum ferrule is the base for the deadly head that features a 2.3″ cutting diameter and a 7/8″ wide cut on contact tip. Beefy blade thickness comes standard with this broadhead with .030″ thickness on the contact tip blade and .035″ thickness on the wing blades.
Like other Rage heads, the X-treme 4-Blade features Shock Collar blade retention. The X-treme 4-Blade will be sold in a 2-pack.
Rage X-treme 4-Blade
TRUGLO Titanium X Backflip ($ n/a)
TRUGLO is still a new player in the broadhead game, but they aren’t wasting any time in establishing themselves as a viable option in the market. For their second year in broadheads, the company releases their new Titanium X Backflip. The head is available in 2- and 3-blade versions with reverse-folding blades that immediately open after the tip creates a generous pilot hole.
You’ll find both the 2- and 3-blade heads available in 100 grain, with cutting diameters measuring 1 3/4″ and 1 1/2″, respecitvely. The companies TRU-THRU precision-sharpened blades are designed to be the ultimate in pass-through performance, while their TRU-CUT one-piece titanium tip leads the way busting through flesh and bone. The broadheads come standard with an installation wrench and one set of replacment blades.
TRUGLO Titanium X Backflip
Blood Therapy OCD 125 ($34.99)
Just one look at the OCD broadhead and you’ll immediately find an outside-the-box concept that has turned a lot of heads. For 2018, the company has unleashed a 125-grain version of the OCD 100 head they introduced in 2017. Like the 100 grain, the 125 grainer is designed for maximum penetration and minimal entry resistance.
The unique circular blade is designed to rotate upon contact with bone. The result is less resistance and more pass throughs. This crazy looking head delivers a 3.14″ circular cutting surface (1″ diameter) with a 9/16″ cut on contact tip. The aircraft grade aluminum ferrule houses the stainless steel blades.
OCD – 125
Trophy Taker Quad Steel ($39.99)
The new Quad Steel broadhead brings Trophy Taker’s incredible accuracy, toughness and penetration that they’ve been known for in their Shuttle T-Lok broadhead into what could be one of the deadliest new broadheads on the market for 2018.
The 4-blade Quad Steel head incorporates Trophy Taker’s CNC stainless steel construction which should make this head super tough, and the Air-Channel tip was built for better flight. The blade-over-shaft design is a unique concept built into this head, delivering a 1 1/4″ cutting dimeter.
The blades appear to be simple to swap out and replace. The Quad Steel broadheads are available in both 100 grain and 125 grains.
Quad Steel
Rage Hypodermic Trypan X ($54.99)
Last year’s Hypodermic Trypan broahead introduction combined the wildly popular Hypodermic broadhead with the all-new beefed up Trypan. It proved to be a devastating broadhead that claimed lots of game across the globe.
For 2018, Rage introduced the new Hypodermic Trypan X, designed specifically for crossbow shooters. Strength and penetration were the goal of this design and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this head. It features a High-Energy Shock Collar to retain the blades, even from today’s fastest crossbows.
Like the other broadheads in the Rage lineup, reliable blade deployment comes standard. The Trypan X delivers a large, 2-inch cutting diamaeter, with just a slim, 3/4″ diameter in-flight profile.
Rage Hypodermic Trypan X
Swhacker RAZOR Series ($N/A)
A new year brings a new series of broadheads for Swhacker as they launch their RAZOR Series of fixed-blade broadheads. You’ll find the RAZOR Series available in three models with blades engineered from solid 420 stainless-steel, and featuring up to .075″ blade thickness. This is more than twice the thickness you’ll find on most any other blades on the market.
The RAZOR Series broadheads also feature a bleeder blade for delivering devastating wound channels. The heads in this series come in 100 grain and offer unique blade pitches in 35, 54 and 59 degrees. Even better, Swhacker is 100% made in the USA.
Swhacker RAZOR
Wasp Dart ($37.99)
Flying like a dart is what all broahead manufacturers strive for in their product design. And that’s what you’ll find in the latest broadhead from Wasp that bares that very name. The new 4-blade Dart features an aerodynamic design that delivers field-point accuracy and a devastating cutting surface of 2 1/4 inches. The Dart is available in both 100 and 125 grain models, with .027″ blade thickness on each.
Wasp broadheads performed really well in our 2017 broadhead evaluation, so we’re excited to see how the new Dart performs under a variety of testing in the field for our 2018 broadhead evaluation.
Wasp Dart
BloodSport Reckoning ($24.99-29.99)
The Reckoning Broadhead System from BloodSport was designed to be a customizable option to keep you in the game, no matter what critter you’re after. The head is based on a single ferrule with the company’s Scooptail technology, which defies planing for true field-point accuracy. There are multiple blade options designed specifically for turkey, as well as deer and other big game.
The Turkey Lopper and Turkey Body Shot blades will be the death of many turkeys this spring, no doubt. And the Deep Cut and Wide Cut blades round out the Reckoning Broadhead System for your big game hunting adventures. The head features a cut-on-contact tip and stainless-steel design to maximize penetration and durability.
BloodSport Reckoning
Iron Will v100 ($99.99)
When I saw that these broadheads had a price tag of right at $100, I immediately sat up and took notice. Either these guys were crazy, or they had just built one heck of broadhead that must be worthy of such a price. What I found was the Iron Will v100 broadhead, an incredibly solid looking broadhead.
The head features A2 tool steel blades that were built for impact toughness while maintaining their sharp edge. The ferrule is no lightweight either. It’s built from grade 5 titanium for greater momentum to drive your arrow through game. The broadhead’s back edge blade design ensures maximum internal hemorrhaging and the cut-on-contact Tanto tip for added strength on the front end.
As the name implies, the V100 is a 100 grain head. Heavier options are also available from Iron Will. These broadheads also come with a lifetime warranty.
Iron Will v100
Muzzy HB Ti ($49.99)
The new Muzzy HB Ti is a devastating looking broahead with ample cutting surfaces. It’s a hybrid design, bringing the best of both fixed and mechanical worlds. It has a machined titanium ferrule at the foundation of its 100 grain design.
The broadhead features a 1″ fixed blade cutting diameter, 1 5/8″ expandable cutting diameter, .050 thick fixed blades, and .039″ thickness on the expandable blades. The HB Ti has a slick and simple stainless steel fixed blade retention collar for a secure fit.
Muzzy HB Ti
Slick Trick WickedTrick ($42.99)
Building on an established reputation for some of the most accurate and deadly new broadheads in the business, Slick Trick releases their new WickedTrick broadhead for 2018. The WickedTrick is a combination of the popular ViperTrick cut-on-contact ferrule and the bleeder blades of the GrizzTrick. The result is a devastating wound with nearly 2 1/2″ diameter cutting surface.
When it comes to nasty cutting fixed blade heads, this seems to be at the top. It’s one of the larger cutting diameters you’ll find on a fixed blade broadhead. Slick Trick has long been known for designing fixed blade broaheads that are second to none in long range accuracy, and this new head is said to fall right in line with the rest of the lineup, offering precision shooting and massive wound channels.
Slick Trick WickedTrick
We’ve said it many times before, the key is to find the broadhead that you can shoot with complete confidence. If you’re not 100% confident in your equipment when you’re closing in on an animal, failure is sure to follow. The new broadheads mentioned above are certainly some you’ll want to check out when shopping new broadheads this year.
