Arctic, is their a chance of blade loss without them when using carbon arrows, yes, but I honestly don' t know how big. Plywood and Steel drums don' t really duplicate animals so it' s hard to say for sure. I personaly would not use them with out the UBAR' s. As for not as easy to work with, I mean when it comes to putting them together and if you like to line to line up the blades with the fletch. The O-rings are a pain in the butt. They are however a very well made head.