NAP Spitfire 100 Grain 3 Blade Screw In Broadhead:
Construction: Aluminum Slimline Ferrule, Steel Trophy Tip, Stainless Steel Blades
Weight: 100 grains
Blades: .030 Stainless Steel
Cutting Diameter: 1-1/2"
Heads Per Package: 3
Cost: 28.99 (BassPro Shops)
Head Type: Screw In Mechanical
Overview:
New Archery Products has been a leader in high quality archery products for a long time. The SPitfire borrows a few time tested design features of the Thuderhead broadhead. The Slimline Low-Drag Ferrule is one of those features along with the Trophy Tip. This is a straight forward 3 blade mechanical head that dosn't use o-rings to hold the blades in place. One of the best features of the product is the practice blade feature. I really like this and it was one of the main reasons I wanted to try this head out last year.
Rating system: 1 = poor, 10 = best.
Durablilty: 6 - Blades can break with a hard impact into a solid object such as bone and I also noticed that the tips would get a little loose after time. I am not sure why this happened with the tip and I never had this problem with the Thuderhead which uses the same design. I also had a few friends that had the same problem so it wasn't just the batch that I tried. On any broadhead I do not like a loose tip so this really caught my attention, in other words it's asking for trouble if you hit bone!
Quality: 6 - NAP have always made very well made products with good quality. They have some of the sharpest blades out there and would run a close second to Rocky Mountains. Once again those loose tips hurt the rating of this head.
Flight: 10 - They fly where you point them and shot just as good as field tips. The practice blade system is a good bonus and I really like that idea.
Price: 5 - A 3 pack of broadheads for $28.99 is a bit much if you ask me.
I tend to think most mechanical heads cost more than they should. I think the Shockwave is a better value and a better product for $10.00 less.
Total Score: 6.75
Final Comment:
The design of this head seems to be a solid one. The idea of a practice system for mechanicals is novel. I didn't like the fact that the tips came loose after a few shots in my pillow target. I did try this head last year on deer and did not like it's performance. I think that the 1-1/2" cutting width takes too much kenetic energy to open the blades. I have known several people who have tried them and all have complained of poor penetration on deer. I normally do not talk about penetration but in this case I felt that I should. 5 Shot's test also showed the Spitfire to be a poor performer when it comes to penetration.
Please Note: My test results for any broadhead is based on the quality, inovation, and basic durability of that broadhead. My reviews do not include any penetration tests. I am not concerned with that, if you want more information on those types of test please search for 5 Shots broadhead penetration test.
