The Rage X-Treme Broadhead

While the debate among bowhunters persists over what type of broadhead is better—fixed or mechanical—the introduction of Rage mechanical broadheads a few years ago can be credited with bringing a good number of nonbelievers over to the mechanical camp. Before that time mechanicals were largely seen as finicky and undependable, not always deploying as designed and difficult to keep closed in the quiver or prior to draw. Rage’s rear-deploying blades and slip-cam design made mechanicals more reliable—both prior to launch and throughout impact—and with this improved reliability, a legion of hunters now swears by the heads. Five or six years ago, it seemed like nearly everyone in the camps I hunted was using them.

For 2012, Rage introduced its largest cutting mechanical yet with the creation of its X-Treme, a twin-blade mechanical head built to deliver a nasty 2.3-inch cutting diameter. To see if the X-Treme lives up to the hype that continues to surround the company’s offerings we put the broadhead through a battery of tests.