Of the ones you listed max stealths are the quietest but the heaviest of the listed ones. I’ve tried tac driver vanes before in the max helical jig, Tac vane engineer I talked to, said they don’t suggest leaving them in the jig for more than 10 seconds. They worked ok but I wound up losing those arrows before I could do extensive testing with the tac vanes in a max helical configuration. I just picked up some Tac Matrix vanes to test out so no report there for ya. Blazers seemed louder when I fletched them with the max helical jig but they definitely stabilized the broadhead I was shooting.

 

yeah they’re 3 grains plus more than the rest of them per vane. That’s why I was thinking just sticking with the blazer in 3 fletch but they fizzz through the air which at short distances is fine but I also want them to be quiet. I saw the matrixes also. Let me know when you test them if you remember let me know the outcome you had.

 

Not on your list, but look at Vanetec HP vanes. I shoot the 3" V-Max with a strong helical from a Arizona jig. Great product and cheaper than the others.

 

Ill take a look. From what I heard they’re not durable just what I read no experience so it could all just be crap what I read.

 

Blazers...always Blazers

 

Honestly out of all the vanes I tried blazers so far seemed to stabilize the arrow the best. They adhere the best and no extra prep. Plus they’re readily available everywhere. The only issue is the noise but shooting a deer within 30 yards at 290 FPS im sure noise won’t be an issue.

 

I think the Tac Driver 2.75's are the best vane out there for fixed blades.
Silent.
Ridged.
and if you use the primer and glue they don't come off.

 

I also have really liked the performance of the ridged Tac vanes. Using the 2" on 250 spine / 660 grain arrows and have shot through two straw bales without losing a vane. It was wrinkled and thought I would replace it, but later the material memory returned it to its normal shape so that I could not tell which one was originally wrinkled. I also put a dab of Fletch Tite on the leading edge of each vane, which works on any vane for good durability. I have never had a Blazer or XRP return to normal after a good wrinkling, lol. I have no experience with other brands. Have some 2.25's on the way to see if there is any difference.

 

Bohning Heat vanes. They're like an elongated blazer but a hair shorter.

 

have these in a 4 fletch right now they’re awesome but looking to go back to 3 fletch. Tried the heats in a 3 fletch didn’t stabilize the arrow for me very well.

 

I have arrows with all your vain options. Here would be my order

1. TAC
2. AAE
3. Blazer

I love he TAC vanes and don’t see myself using anything else for a while. If you do AAE don’t do the hybrids. They are not durable at all. I have the MAX AAE on some shaft and they are pretty good. I like The stiffness and durability of the TAC vanes. Highly recommend.

 

Tac driver? Was thinking I’d go with the 2.75

 

just built some arrows with the TAC 2.75 vane and the EzFletch. used the AAE Primer pen and AAE Max Bond glue and they are glued on strong never had issues with Max Stealth coming off even when going through targets. we'll see how the TAC do but so far they have been great.

 

just built some arrows with the TAC 2.75 vane and the EzFletch. used the AAE Primer pen and AAE Max Bond glue and they are glued on strong never had issues with Max Stealth coming off even when going through targets. we'll see how the TAC do but so far they have been great.

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Those tacs are really slick looking I think I’ll give those a go to try something different. Thanks for the photo!

 

I have the max stealth on my 4mm axis, but going to try the TAC on some others next year. Especially when moving to a solid Iron Will.

 

I really like the material of the Max Stealth vanes. I get that people hate an extra step of prep to apply them, but if you did it right and use their products, good grief you'll never get them off again. Just super durable, will collapse through the entrance wound because it's flexible, fairly quiet flight, and yes, you gain a small edge when it comes to clearance over the Blazers. The only downside, imo, is their weight, which can mess with your FOC a little. But if you ditch the wrap, it's a wash with Blazers using a wrap. And if you're 3 fletch, it's not as big of a deal as 4 fletch. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. They are all good vanes and will work well.

 

I’ve tested a ton of fletching out there.
Lower profile heads like stealth and heat won’t stabilize fixed heads well - need higher profile. TAC vanes frankly suck. Tested 2 of their vanes extensively and they are simply not good.

Answer to you question in Blazers. Every year or so I test options thinking I might go away from blazers but keep coming back. To date nothing will beat them for hunting with fixed blade purposes.

 

Could you describe the extensive testing protocol you put the Tac Vanes through?

 

I have been shooting AAE Stealth Vanes for many years and never had an issues. I liked the looks of the TAC Driver Vanes so I bought a pack of 100.

I fletched up a couple arrows with the TAC vanes and they fly the same as the AAE vanes.

I shot a small buck this year with an arrow fletched with the TAC. The arrow passed through the buck, when I found my arrow two of the TAC vanes had broken. It looked like they had been cut with a very sharp knife. It was a cold day temps were below 32*.

I am going to stay with the AAE Vanes going forward


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I have tried all of them. TACs blow all the others out of the water.

 

I switched to the TAC Driver 2.75 two years ago and can honestly say that they are the best vanes that I have used with both mechanical and fixed blade broadheads. Yes, there are other great vanes out there, but I have my Elite E35 and Enkore shooting lights out with these vanes and do not see changing to another anytime soon.

 

This is why I say always Blazers, there's a lot of great vanes there's just always a big BUT that follows.
Tac vanes work great BUT you have to use a primer pen
AAE great BUT you have to use a primer pen and their glue
Heat vanes are quieter BUT they don't stabilize fixed blades without going 4 fletch
Blazers great vanes, cheap, readily available at pretty much any sporting goods store, stabilize all kinds of broadheads,very durable, can fletch with little prep, and you could probably use Elmer's school glue and they would stick good, what's the downside, they're a little noisy.
I'll stick with the Blazers

 

This is why I say always Blazers, there's a lot of great vanes there's just always a big BUT that follows.
Tac vanes work great BUT you have to use a primer pen
AAE great BUT you have to use a primer pen and their glue
Heat vanes are quieter BUT they don't stabilize fixed blades without going 4 fletch
Blazers great vanes, cheap, readily available at pretty much any sporting goods store, stabilize all kinds of broadheads,very durable, can fletch with little prep, and you could probably use Elmer's school glue and they would stick good, what's the downside, they're a little noisy.
I'll stick with the Blazers

blazers are great, BUT they are noisy. You can add a but to everything. The prep of the AAEis literally an extra 10 seconds.

 

I've always used blazers. Just bought some bully vanes to try. Same profile as blazers with a stiffer material.

 

I have read a report that the Bully Vanes were noticeably quieter than the Blazers. Have you noticed any difference in noise?

 

Anyone use the TAC adhesive and pen?

 

Yes...waste of money (same as the TAC vanes themselves)

 

I shoot a mathews v3. I have shot all the vanes you described.

If doing a arizona true helical i would pick either the aae stealth or tac vanes. You want more vane length to the real effect and blazers are not going to cut it.

I myself used tac drivers 2.75 last year and wont switch back.

1. I use an aae primer len and gorrila glue blue super glue. Stick 100% great on wraps.
2. I recommend wraps for either aae or tac vane.
3. I use the arizona left helical on tac vanes and they hold thst shape perfect. Their memory is true memory. I messed some up they were all bent to **** and flat. I put a hair dryer to then and in 5 minutes they were perfect again.
4. Best arrow flight ive ever had, granted i never did the arizona true helical on aae, but i bet they would be similar. I had myself shooting a magnus stinger fixed broadheads at 60 yards hitting with my field points with nl broadhead tuning. I was truely amazed.
5. Even my father in law was shooting broadheads with his field points after i switched him tobthat fletch with his old mismatched gold tip hunter pros, which has never happened.

tldr. TAC or AEE are great, blazer is too short to truely get good spin like the longer drivers or max strealth from the arizona true helical setup.

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I've tried a number of vanes, including AAE Max Stealth. I've always come back to 3 helical Blazers, fletched with AZ EZ-Fletch Mini or Mini Max. For whatever reason, all AAEs end up getting wrinkled, when fletched helical, if they ever bury fletchings-deep in a target. It doesn't really affect flight, but I just don't like that.

I've never had any cable clearance problems with Blazers on any of my bows, with cock vane straight up. I don't have your bow though, so IDK.

 

I had terrible luck getting Tac and Max Stealth vanes to stick worth a crap. I'm trying the AAE Hybrids next.

Always had good experiences with Q2i vanes. Try the 3" Griff-X or the 2" Rapt-X if you like the Blazer profile.

 

I shot Q2i for the last couple seasons and wanted to try AAE and went with the hybrid 26 and they stick just as good as a blazer


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i just switched from blazers to aae max stealth, both using arizona ez fletch (be aware that only the mini and minimax give the aggressive helical and only minimax can do aae max stealth length)

you have to buy the special pen, wipes, and glue from aae to get the max stealth to stick, i put them on arrow wraps

the difference in height between blazers and aae max stealth is very little, and only the small very tip of the blazers attains it

in comparison, the taller area of the max stealth is large and the overall surface area is much more than blazers

i found that the max stealth seemed to have slightly better fixed blade broadhead flight and visually seemed to spin the arrow better, and were also quieter

i'll only be shooting arrows with blazers for 3d and practice from here on out

 

I would say the bully’s don’t need them, but I also think they don’t stick as well as the regular blazers without them. Not bad, but blazers have always been the easiest vane I know of to get to stick.

 

I have been shooting the AAE max stealth for 2 seasons on Black Eagle Spartans with Tooth of the Arrow 4 blade fixed heads. No issues at all. They are durable...shot multiple animals with the same arrow, and have no problem stabilizing my 4 blade broadhead.

 

Watching and reading enough reviews and personal anecdote on things like vanes leads me to think that performance is largely personal preference/bias and also perhaps the way an individual or individual bow is shooting.
I've primarily used blazers in the past. The last two years I've used Q2i 3" 3 Fletch and have been pretty impressed with arrow flight, broadhead grouping, low noise and durability. That's starting with as good of a tune as I can of course. No extra prep required and they stick well with just about any glued I've tried.

 

Not listed here but I tried many different fletch combinations this last year. The one I ended up finding the quietest was the last one I expected. The Easton Diamond 280 vane. It's a very unique material and isn't the stiffest but it is noticeably quieter. Very durable, has little to no memory and adheres EXTREMELY well.

 

Oh the irony - back on the TAC vanes.
Last night I watched an episode of Bowlife where Levi was hunting whitetail in NE. The first buck he shoots in the episode he gets a pass through at about 10 yards. They do a close-up of the arrow stuck in the ground where you can see blood in the snow right at impact. What you don't notice unless you look carefully (I thought I noticed this but had to rewind and freeze on the shot to confirm) is that one of the vanes was ripped off. LOL!

Now, I'm a big fan of Levi but that doesn't mean I'm a quiver sniffer and think every product he pushes is good. As many know, he was involved in the introduction of TAC vanes and I'm pretty sure he has an equity interest in the company. He pushes the vanes and was shooting Drivers which are ok for hunting purposes when you are only shoot Shwackers like he does (another of his sponsors - so he doesn't shoot fixed heads). But when the top sponsor of the company and backers of the company can't even get his vanes to adhere any better than that you know there are issues. I've shot blazers through many deer and don't recall a single instance where all 3 fletches weren't still attached.

 

You get your hands on the Q2ii fusion vanes?