Exactly!

Cutting diameter is more important than cutting surface.

Imagine a12 blade broadhead with a 1" cutting diameter. That's a whopping 6" of cutting surface! But.....

You still are only affecting a 1" circle of tissue on the animal. Granted, you may have sliced the crap out of that 1" circle, but you still only affected a 1" circle on the animals vitals.

I'd rather have a big cutting diamater. You have a better chance of hitting somethingvital on a marginal shot (like clipping the liver on a paunch hit).

I'll take cutting diameter over cutting surface any day. I want to spread the damage over as large of an area as possible.

Only when comparing two broadheads with equal cutting diameter would I consider cutting surface to bea factor. For example, I'd take a 3 blade with a 2" cutting diameter over a 2 blade with a 2" cutting diameter.

The reason I don't like 2 blade broadheads very much is becuase you can't control the orientation of the blades as they pass through the animal. For example, on a marginal hit the blade might pass through vertically or horizontally. That could make the difference between hitting a vital organ and missing it.