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A Classic or an outdated relic? | NAP Thunderhead Broadheads Review

In this review, I tested a classic broadhead… the NAP Thunderhead!

These heads have been around for a long time. I actually like testing these older broadheads like this one, just to see if the newer designs have passed them by or if they really are still holding their own.

For these tests, I used my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds, 27” draw. I’m using Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the shots, but then the Bishop FAD Eliminators for the really hard impact ones.

So, let’s go through some of the design features and specifications and then put them to the test!

The NAP Thunderhead At First Glance

Let’s zoom in and check out the Thunderhead and then put it to the test.

nap thunderhead length

Here’s a good look at the 125-grain Thunderhead. It’s a petty cool, classic design. It has a cutting diameter of 1-3/16”. It has an overall length beyond the ferrule of 2”, so it’s pretty long by some of today’s fixed-blade standards, especially for 3-blade heads.

thunderhead blade thickness

It has steel blades that are 0.027” thick, which are pretty thin by today’s market standards.

thunderhead chisel tip

The tip is a hardened steel, chiseled tip that’s really pointy. I really like this chiseled tip. The ferrule is made out of aluminum.

thunderhead ferrule grooves

Notice that the ferrule of the Thunderhead has micro-groove channels in it.

The micro grooves in the ferrule are supposed to aid in flight as it carries the air around with it and it rotates, which is supposed to aid in penetration. This is similar to what the dimples on a golf ball do.



Thunderhead Testing

So, I was really eager to put the Thunderhead to test and see how it would hold up, especially since it has been around so long and has such a loyal following. Let’s see how it did!



Flight Forgiveness Test

thunderhead flight forgiveness test

In the flight forgiveness test, I shot one filed point and then two broadheads into the target at 40 yards.



Initial Sharpness: 225

thunderhead initial sharpness test

To test the “out-of-the-box” sharpness of the Thunderhead, I tested how much pressure it would take for the blade to cut through a metal wire (the lower the number, the sharper it is). It registered 225.



Penetration Test #1

thunderhead ballistic gel test

I shot the Thunderhead into a block of ballistic gel that was fronted with a 2/3″ rubber mat and 1/2″ MDF. It penetrated 6-1/4″.



Edge Retention Test

Thunderhead sharpness test #2

After Penetration Test #1, the sharpness scale registered the Thunderhead’s sharpness at 325.



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Penetration Test 2 (layered cardboard):

thunderhead cardboard penetration test

The NAP Thunderhead penetrated through 59 layers of cardboard.



Angled Shot Test (1/4” MDF/Carpet)

thunderhead angled shot

I shot the Thunderhead into angled MDF fronted with carpet.



Durability Test #1 (1/2” MDF max 3 shots)

I also shot the head into 1/2″ MDF (3 shots).




Durability Test #2 (Steel Plate)

thunderhead steel plate test result

In this durability test, I shot the Thunderhead into a .22 ga steel plate (max 2 shots) to see how it would hold up.Here’s the head after going through the steel plate two times.

The Thunderhead looked brand new after going through the MDF and the steel plate and it still held up really well. But, the blades got a bit nicked up (“edge chatter”).

And then you can see the hole. You can see how it looks like just a ferrule hole with 3 slits coming off of it.



Durability Test (Concrete)

thunderhead blade in concrete block

I shot the Thunderhead into a concrete block to see how it would hold up. The tip embedded really deeply into the concrete and I couldn’t get it out. I didn’t want to mess up my concrete by digging it out. And, this one blade got stuck right in the end into the concrete as well.



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thunderhead after concrete test

Here’s the Thunderhead after being shot into the concrete. As you can see, the ferrule just broke off right there. The other two blades just stayed intact. They got a little bit nicked up there at the end but they still stayed in place.

And overall, after the concrete block test, it still spun decently, but it did just break in half. Now, that’s after going through the MDF 3 times and the steel plate twice. So overall, fairly impressive durability.



Final thoughts on the NAP Thunderhead

So what do you think of the Thunderhead?

When my buddy told me he was going to send me a pack of these, I was intrigued. I like to test every head. But, at the same time, I thought, “They are so old school. The newer stuff is going to be blowing it away.”


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But, then when I started playing around with them and looking at them, I thought, “No, these are really well-made and well-constructed and designed.”



And the tests just proved just that. I can see why they have such a loyal following and why they’ve taken so many animals over the years.

Now, I will say that I think there are other 3-bladed heads on the market that do better than this one. But then again, this is better than a lot of them that are on the market as well.

So check out the score sheet in the description box and see how it performed in the areas that matter to you the most and see if it might be a good fit for you.

lusk score of thunderhead
The Thunderhead received 7 out of 10 golden arrows.


black widow arachnid broadhead review

Arachnid Broadheads Review [6-blades?!] | In-Depth Analysis

In this review I tested the Arachnid broadhead from Black Widow Innovations.

Now, this is a really cool head!

So, let’s check out this Arachnid and then put it to the test.

I’m using Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds and I’m using Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the tests. But, on the really hard impacts tests, I’m using the Bishop FAD Eliminator.

A close look at the Arachnid Broadhead from Black Widow Innovations

Below is a good look at the Arachnid. Now, it doesn’t make a really wide hole but I imagine it’s going to cut a lot of tissue and open up that 1″ hole fairly well in an animal.

black widow innovations arachnid

This is a cool-looking head and it has got some really unique features. First of all, it’s 6 blades with a 1-inch cutting diameter, giving you a total cut of 3 inches. The blades are made out of stainless steel.

arachnid broadhead tip

The tip is made out of A2 steel, which is much more resistant to impact than typical stainless steel, about double the resistance to impact. So that’s going to make that tip extra durable and strong.

Now, another neat thing about the Arachnid heads is that they come with 3 extra beefy chiseled tips that are made of A2 Tool Steel, just like the blades.

And they are really big!

arachnid broadhead extra tip

The Arachnid comes with three heavier tips made of A2 tool steel. With these you can up the weight from 100 to 125 grains.

So, you can either shoot it in a 100-grain or in the 125-grain, just by unscrewing and screwing in the other beefy, chiseled tip.

So, I like that modularity, and I like that 125-grain head makes up that weight not just by adding a heavier washer, which really doesn’t do anything to strengthen the head or make it fly better.



But, by adding an extra beefy tip, you’re making that head a lot more durable.

Also, you’re putting that weight all the way at the front which is going to increase your front of center just a little bit as opposed to putting the heavier washer back here.

The blades are relatively thin at 0.027″ thick. That’s probably due to having 6-blades and being able to make the weight.



black widow arachnid single bevel blades

The blades are also single bevel, on the front and the back of the head, which is really interesting. It’s probably done so that they don’t get too narrow, too thin. If they were double bevel at 0.027″ thick, they might be too thin.

Because the blades are sharpened on the back as well, if you are pulling out of a target, that will make it a little easier. And, if it’s backing out of an animal, it will be cutting tissue while it backs out of an animal.



arachnid broadhead ferrule

The ferrule is made out of 7075 aluminum, so it’s a pretty short ferrule and it’s a pretty stout aluminum. So, I thought the durability would be relatively good.


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Now, one thing I will say is, when you’re putting the head together or when you unscrew it from your arrow, those blades can fall out really easily; a lot more easily than a lot of different designs.

And so, you have to be extra careful. They come with bases that you can screw on when they’re not in the end of your shaft just to keep the blades in place.

And, you really want to use those because it is pretty frustrating trying to get them all lined up and get them snagged on your arrow.





Black Widow Arachnid testing

I was really eager to put it them to the test and see how they performed.

Flight Forgiveness Test

arachnid flight forgiveness test bumper

I tested the Arachnid to see how the heads flew vs. a field point.


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Initial Sharpness Test

arachnid initial sharpness test

The initial sharpness test result of the Arachnid was 150 on the Sharp electronic tester.



Penetration Test 1 (2/3″ rubber mat, 1/2″ MDF, FBI Gel)

arachnid ballistic gel test

The Arachnid penetrated into the rubber mat/MDF/ballistic gel 6-7/8″.



Edge Retention Test (sharpness after Penetration Test 1)

arachnid sharpness after first test

After the first penetration test, I re-tested the sharpness… 225.



Penetration Test 2 (layered cardboard)

arachnid layered cardboard test

The Arachnid penetrated through 57 layers of cardboard.



Angled Shot Test (1/4” MDF/Carpet)

arachnid angled shot test

Here’s a look at the angle shot test setup.



Durability Test (1/2″ MDF max shots)

arachnid after 3 shots through MDF

The head was in perfect condition after the angled shot test and 3 shots through the MDF. Now, it’s on to the steel plate test…





Durability (22 ga steel plate max 2 shots)

Here’s the head after 2 shots through a .22 gauge steel plate.

arachnid broadhead after 3 shots into steel plate

It held all of its blades perfectly. None were lost. None were bent. The edges did get pretty mangled up as you can see. And, the tip got a little bit blunted. But again, they all held in place and they made really nice holes in the steel plate (that’s pretty cool hole with those 6 blades and a really round circular hole in the center!)



Concrete Test

In the final test, I shot the Arachnid into a concrete block. Below is the Arachnid after that test.

Now, at this point, it had already gone through the MDF 3 times and the 22 gauge steel plate twice. There was a bit of a wobble to it after the concrete test. The ferrule also got a little bit bent.

But, other than that, man, it held together very well in this zero penetration test.

arachnid broadhead after cinder block test

Finally, I shot the head into a concrete block…. The tips got bent somewhat and it had a slight wobble in the spin test.




Final thoughts on the Arachnid Broadheads

So, that what do you think of the Arachnid?

Man, I have to say that it performed a lot better than I was expecting it to.

lusk archery grade of the black widow arachnid

I didn’t think it would fly as well as it did or penetrated as deeply as it did or be as durable as it was. So, I was pretty impressed with it here.

Be sure to check out the total cumulative score and the corresponding Lusk grade! Happy bowhunting everyone!



project one broadhead by mohican sneak

Mohican Sneak Broadhead Review | The Inside Information On Project One

In this review, I test a really cool, innovative, and crazy-looking broadhead to test here today. It’s the Project One by Mohican Sneak.

This thing is definitely weird-looking. But, I was wondering if it might end up being weirdly awesome!

I used my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds and Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the shots. For really hard impacts shots, I used thee the Bishop FAD Eliminator.

A Closeup Look At the Project One by Mohican Sneak

Here’s a good look at the Mohican Sneak.

mohican sneak close up

What a cool-looking broadhead this is! This is the kind of broadhead you just want to look at for a little while to try to figure out. It’s a 2-blade fixed blade broadhead. Those blades didn’t swing into that position. That’s their actual starting and ending position.

The cutting edges of the Project One head are staggered. So, it penetrates with the leading blade and tip, which is sharpened all the way around, and then the second blade begins to penetrate. They say that staggering the blades increases the penetration ability.

mohican sneak project one single beveled

The blades are single bevel, but are sharpened on both opposite sides.

In addition, each of the blades are single bevel, and sharpened on the back and on the front. That single bevel is designed to hopefully make a maybe a circular wound channel. If so, it would make wound a bit more difficult to close up.

cut width of Mohican Sneak project one

Now, the cutting diameter of the Project One is a full 2-1/2″. And that’s on impact because these don’t open or close. This is a fixed blade broadhead. So you’re going a full 2-1/2″ of cut from the get-go.





mohican sneak project one ferrule

The ferrule is aluminum (although I’m not sure what kind of aluminum) and the blades are stainless steel (0.040 inch thick). Being sharpened on the back in single bevel fashion will make them a little bit easier to pull out of a target.

Sometimes as an animal moves, a lodged arrow tends to back out of the animal. So, if that happens with this broadhead, it’s going to be cutting tissue as it backs out.



mohican sneak project one bent blade

I will note that as I was looking at this broadhead, one of the blades was a bit curved, and the others aren’t like that. That’s not by design. That’s just some kind of quality control thing. So, I’m not sure what to make about that.



Mohican Sneak Testing

I was really eager to put the this head to the test. I was also very curious about the flight and the durability.

Without a chiseled tip, and it looks like just one set screw holding the leading blade in place, I was anxious to see how it would hold up. So, let’s check out how this Mohican Sneak fared in the testing!



Flight Test

I had a few obstacles when testing flight that changed the way I did this test. First was the weather. I couldn’t get out where I normally do due to the conditions.

And, I was also down down to only one broadhead because the other two broke in some of the tests that you’ll see later in this review.

So, I was down to one head and I didn’t want to shoot it really far because I wasn’t sure how it would fly. So, I shot only one of the broadheads and one field point at 25 yards.

mohican sneak project one slash in target

The first shot with the broadhead hit way to the right. But man, check out the gash that this thing made.

Although the first shot with the broadhead was really wide right, it made and incredible slash in my target. I mean it just cut like an axe through my target. Very impressive.



mohican sneak flight forgivenss test

The second shot with the broadhead was better, but still pretty unforgiving. See the broadhead shot in the middle? The dot on the left is where I was aiming! I hit that same dot with a field point.



Initial Sharpness Test

mohican sneak project one initial sharpness test

The initial sharpness test registered 250 on the tester.




Penetration Test #1 (2/3″ rubber mat, 1/2″ MDF, FBI Gel):

mohican sneak project one ballistic gel test

The Project One penetrated 5-1/2″. Check out the entrance hole. The cut was 2-1/2″ as expected. However, the head didn’t rotate much in the gel, and it actually lost a blade.

I think I’ve only lost a blade a couple times in all of the different tests that I’ve done. However, this was one of those times.

The main blade was in perfect shape, but it broke off at the pin. So the pin that holds it in place at the top somehow broke off or got dislodged in some way, causing the blade to just fall out.



mohican sneak project one broken blade

Here’s the head after penetration test 1. And unfortunately, it lost a blade in the gel after it passed through the 2/3″ of rubber foam mat and the 1/2″ of MDF. That’s really rare that that happens.



It’s rare that the first penetration test turns into the durability test, because it’s not intended to do that. However, since the durability test is actually shooting into a 1/2″ of MDF, that’s what happened and unfortunately it didn’t pass.

So, it only got a score of 2 points on the durability test because it did make it through that 1/2″ of MDF. The ferrule is in good shape, but it lost a blade.

mohican sneak project one entry hole foam pad

Here’s a look at the entry hole when I shot the head into the foam matting/MDF/ballistic gel.




Edge Retention Test (sharpness after Penetration Test #1):

mohican sneak project one sharpness after penetration test 1

The Mohican Sneak Project One tested 275 in the sharpness test after penetration test #1.



Penetration Test #2 (layered cardboard):

mohican sneak layered cardboard test

It penetrated through 52 layers and that’s quite a bit considering its cut size.



Angled Shot Test (1/4” MDF/Carpet):

I wondered if the Mohican Sneak would be able to do well on the angled shot, and actually, it did. But, unfortunately, it lost a blade on that angled shot.

In this instance, it looks like the blade just completely broke off inside my target.

mohican sneak broken blade after angled shot test

The angled shot test proved to be another “durability” test… and it didn’t fare too well. Once again, it lost a blade.

So, I had a 1/4″ of MDF followed by my target beyond that and I don’t know if it broke off when I was pulling it out, or it broke off as it was going in. But I just know when I pulled it out, it only had one blade.

The penetration test and the angled test are not intended to be durability tests and yet, in both of those different tests, it lost a blade.



Final Thoughts And Score of the Mohican Sneak Project One Broadheads

So what do you think of the Project One by Mohican Sneak?

I’ve got to tell you, I love the innovation. I love the creativity. I love the cut size. Wow!

When you see the swath that it cuts in gel or in cardboard or in my target, it’s really impressive.

I can imagine that’s going to do some serious damage on an animal that it hits.



The durability, however, was very questionable.

It’s rare that I have a head break in penetration test #1, and it’s really rare that I have one break on an angled shot through just a 1/4″ of MDF. And yet, it did on both of those.

So, the durability was really disappointing. I couldn’t go on and do the other remaining durability tests because it didn’t even make it through those.

And, then the flight… it’s very rare that a broadhead does not fly extremely well out of my bow and setup.



Now, as I mentioned, I wasn’t able to go to my normal place to shoot because the weather is just so cold and there was a bit of a wind.

So, wind could have played a factor in that. There was a 15 mile-per-hour crosswind. Yet, I was only shooting out to 25 yards because that’s the maximum distance I could get in the spot and it’s relatively protected from the wind. And yet, I shot it a few times, and each time, it was quite a bit to the right.



In my opinion, this is not a very forgiving head when it comes to flight.

It doesn’t mean you can’t get it to fly well out of your bow.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t get it to fly well out of my bow if I really tried. But just testing it like I do all the other heads, it was quite a bit challenged in terms of flight forgiveness.

So, look through the score sheet and see what you think about the areas that matter to you the most.

Best of luck in your bowhunting adventures!

mohican sneak project one lusk score
The Mohican sneak scored 6 out of 10 golden arrows.