QAD Exodus (Full Blade)

Full blade or swept blade — is there any real difference in flight, noise, or forgiveness?

The biggest practical difference is legality, not performance — the swept blade is treated as barbed and is illegal in several states, while flight, noise and forgiveness are close between the two. The full blade is the safer default everywhere. If your state allows the swept version and you want a touch more retention on the blade, it's fine; otherwise the full blade does the same job without the legal risk.

Is the swept-blade version legal in my state, and where do I check the barbed-broadhead rules?

Check your state's regulations on barbed broadheads before buying the swept version — owners list Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado and others as restricting it, and it's a recurring source of confusion. Your state wildlife agency's regs page (or current hunting digest) is the authority. When in doubt, run the full blade, which is legal everywhere a broadhead is.

Do they genuinely fly to the same point of impact as field points, or does the bow need to be perfectly tuned first?

They hit with field points for most owners thanks to the field-point-length profile — but every report carries the same caveat: the bow has to be well tuned first. A fixed head can't fix a bad tune. Confirm impact at 20 and 40, and if they're off, that's your bow telling you to tune, not the head failing. Tuned, the Exodus is one of the easiest fixed heads to get hitting with field points.

Is the crossbow-labeled Exodus actually different from the standard version, and do full and swept blades interchange on the same ferrule?

Check the collar/retention setup for crossbow use, and yes — full and swept blades interchange on the same ferrule, so you can run either style on one head. The crossbow-labeled version accounts for crossbow speeds; if you're on a crossbow, use it. The swappable blades mean you can keep one ferrule and change blade style as state laws or preferences change.

Is it worth paying Iron Will (or other premium single-bevel) money, or does the Exodus do the same job for a third of the price?

For most hunters, the Exodus does the same job for a third of the price — you can buy roughly six Exodus heads for three Iron Wills, and several owners who tried both kept the Exodus. The Iron Will premium buys re-sharpenable A2 tool steel and heirloom build that matters if you keep heads for years and want single-bevel performance. If you lose heads and shoot a season at a time, the Exodus is the value king; if you want a forever head, the premium is real.

How do you resharpen them — including the steel ferrule tip, not just the replaceable blades?

The replaceable blades touch up easily on a Lansky-style sharpener — owners reuse one head across multiple kills before swapping blades. For the steel ferrule tip, use the same sharpener carefully along the existing bevel to bring the point back; it's solid steel and takes an edge. The blade system means you rarely need to fuss with the tip, but it sharpens when you do.

Will QAD ever make a 150-grain version for heavy arrow builds?

QAD hasn't committed to a 150-grain Exodus, and the current lineup tops out below that — heavy-arrow builders asking for it is a recurring wish, not a product yet. If you need more point weight for a high-FOC build, your options are a weight adapter behind the head or a different broadhead line that offers heavier grains (Iron Will goes to 250). Don't buy expecting a 150 to appear.

How badly do they chew up foam targets, and is one blade style easier to pull out than the other?

They chew foam like any wide three-blade, and the full blade is generally easier to pull from a target than the swept blade, whose geometry grabs more. Use a broadhead-rated target and twist as you pull rather than yanking straight. If you practice with them a lot, dedicated field points or practice heads save your foam and your blades.

The dominant theme: hunters call the Exodus near-indestructible, citing torture tests through water heaters and dryers, shattered elk shoulder joints, and reusing the same head on multiple animals. A small minority report blades folding in dense targets, and the full-blade design can drive blades into the arrow shaft on rock strikes.

Most users say the Exodus hits with their field points with no sight adjustment thanks to its compact, field-point-length profile — but the praise comes with a consistent caveat that the bow must be well tuned. A few found them more finicky than Magnus heads, and some crossbow shooters could not get them to match field-point impact at high speeds.

A recurring refrain: you can buy roughly six Exodus heads for the price of three Iron Wills, and several owners who tried both kept the Exodus. It is repeatedly called the best mass-produced or best-for-the-money fixed head, with Iron Will conceded only a slight edge in materials.

Users praise the thick .040 blades as scary sharp out of the package, easy to touch up on a Lansky-style sharpener, and good at holding an edge — several reuse one head across multiple kills before swapping blades. The replaceable-blade system is framed as the best of its type on the market.

Despite the modest 1.25-inch cut, hunters report big three-blade holes that stay open, heavy blood, and short recoveries — some prefer it to two-blade premium heads specifically for blood-trail quality. The usual caveat is that trails still depend on shot placement and exit location.

The swept variant is treated as a barbed broadhead and is illegal in a number of states (posters list Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, and others), which is a recurring source of confusion and frustration. Many hunters default to the full-blade version purely to stay legal across states.