Judo Like Head Test

[SC Bowhunter]

It just so happens that when Terry asked for volunteers to test a 100 grain judo head I had just ordered some Zwickey 100 grain judo heads.
This worked out great for a good side-by-side comparison.
Below is the Zwickey on the left and the test head on the right.

[SC Bowhunter]

I put both heads on the scale.
The Zwickey came in a little light (98.8 grains) and the test head came in a little heavy (102 grains).

I used Beman Centershot 400's for test arrows.
The test arrows with the heads were 504.6 grains for the Zwickey head arrow and 506.6 grains for the test head arrow.
I am shooting these out of a 56" Big Jim Thunderchild, 50# @ 28" with a 29" draw.

[Terry Green]

Tell us Sir....good or bad....gotta know the truth.  I already have one report that came in private....lets see how you faired....

[SC Bowhunter]

The first shot was at a dead oak log. The Zwickey head stuck in the log while the test head hit and glanced off.
This seemed to be a common theme as the Zwickey head has a thin, pointier tip while the test head has a flat, wider head.
Below are the two heads after one shot.

The Zwickey still looks like new while the test head spring arms have bent back slightly and the 90 degree end of one arm has broken off.

[SC Bowhunter]

Here are the heads after 20 shots.

Notice the Zwickey still looks pretty much like new while the test head has all of the spring arms bent back substantially.
Because of this the test head tends to skip off the ground and continue on a fair distance while the Zwickey head tends to grab the ground and not go far after the shot.

[SC Bowhunter]

Here are the heads after 80 shots.
Not much has changed in appearance for either head but the springs on the test head are very loose and flop around while the springs on the Zwickey are still tight.

I will continue to shoot both heads but at this point I would NOT recommend the test head.

[Terry Green]

Thx.

[Possum Head]

Funny because years back I picked up a couple judo look alikes from Academy and noticed they failed in the same manner. Nuttin like the real thing I guess!

[Charlie Lamb]

How many spring arms does the test head have?

[SC Bowhunter]

Five

[Charlie Lamb]

Oops! Forgot about the first set of pics. 5 of course.

[Gdpolk]

Funny because years back I picked up a couple judo look alikes from Academy and noticed they failed in the same manner. Nuttin like the real thing I guess!

I did the same thing too.  I honestly liked the flatter heads better than the protruding heads on the Zwickey Judo points because rocks do tend to damage the Judo heads in the protruding pedestal area sometimes.  However, after having used 2-3 off brands over the years because they were available I am sold on the Zwickeys.  In my experience, the spring arms on the Zwickeys are by far the highest quality and longest lasting spring arms out there.  Since those are the primary feature of the head which I am buying, Zwickey gets the nod, even though I would prefer the center blunt to be more blunt, flat, and flush.

[Trenton G.]

The first stumping heads I bought were the same as the test head. I can't remember exactly what they were. Excalibur brand or something like that. First shot I ever took with them I brained a squirrel. I noticed the same thing that you did. The spring arms bend and get loose very quickly, which makes them rattle around and buzz whenever you shoot them. They have some thumping power though.

[KAZ]

Excellent test, thank you for documenting the process and damage....

[TomMcDonald]

Are the others made in China?

[McDave]

My tests support those done by SC.  The head on the left is a Zwickey Judo with probably more than 100 shots on it.  The one on the right is Terry’s test head after 10 shots.  I will continue to shoot it as long as it lasts, but it clearly is no match for the Zwickey.  The thing that amazes me is that someone would put time and money into designing a new head that clearly has defective spring steel in the tines.  It would be fine if had the same spring steel as the Zwickey, but then it might cost as much as the Zwickey, which would kill any competitive advantage it might have.