Victory RIP XV Arrow Review: Speed, FOC, Weight & Who It’s Best For

Victory RIP XV: The Quick Answer

If you're trying to build a light, fast 5mm arrow and you want as much flexibility as possible with front-end weight, the Victory RIP XV is one of the better shafts to look at.

The biggest reason is its very low GPI.

That low shaft weight gives you more room to add insert weight, broadhead weight, or both while still keeping the finished arrow light enough to preserve speed and trajectory.

Where I think the RIP XV makes the most sense is for shooters with shorter draw lengths, lower draw weights, Total Archery Challenge and 3D shooters, or anybody specifically trying to build a fast hunting arrow without giving up the ability to move weight forward.

What Makes the Victory RIP XV Different?

The RIP XV is a .204 small-diameter, or 5mm-class, carbon hunting shaft built around speed and long-range performance.

Victory offers it in 250, 300, 350, 400 and 500 spines, and the shaft is digitally spine aligned from the factory. Victory also weight matches shafts within a dozen, which helps keep builds more consistent from arrow to arrow.

But the thing that really separates the RIP XV isn't the coating, the straightness tolerance, or even the diameter.

It's the GPI.

There are plenty of good 5mm arrows. What makes the XV useful is how little of your finished-arrow weight budget the shaft itself consumes.

RIP XV GPI: Why This Arrow Can Be So Fast

GPI means grains per inch, and it's one of the most important numbers to look at when you're trying to build a lightweight arrow.

The current RIP XV shaft weights are:

Those are very low numbers for a 5mm hunting shaft.

And that's where this arrow becomes really useful.

If somebody has a shorter draw length or lower poundage, they don't have the same amount of energy to work with as somebody shooting a 30-inch draw at 80 pounds. Starting with a low-GPI shaft lets us keep finished weight under control without completely giving up front weight.

The same thing applies if you're shooting TAC or 3D and you need enough trajectory and sight travel to reach extreme distances.

A heavier arrow might work perfectly at normal hunting ranges, but if you're trying to dial to 100, 120, or farther, trajectory starts becoming part of the build decision.

The .204 Diameter and Wind Performance

The RIP XV uses a .204 small-diameter shaft, which puts it in the 5mm category.

A smaller shaft exposes less surface area to crosswind than a larger-diameter arrow, which can be an advantage as shooting distance increases.

But I wouldn't buy this arrow just because it's 5mm. There are a lot of 5mm hunting shafts now.

What matters with the RIP XV is the combination of that reduced diameter and the low GPI.

You're getting a shaft that keeps the wind profile down while also helping preserve speed and trajectory.

If you want a deeper breakdown of diameter itself, read our 4mm vs 5mm vs 6.5mm arrow comparison.

RIP XV Components and FOC

This is where the low-GPI shaft really gives you some freedom.

The RIP XV comes standard with a 21-grain aluminum SHOK insert and an 8-grain .204 nock.

Victory also offers heavier front component options, including 50-grain aluminum and heavier stainless-steel SHOK options, along with additional back weights for fine-tuning the build.

What I want to make clear is that the RIP XV isn't automatically a high-FOC arrow.

The low GPI gives you room to create FOC.

Those are two different things.

If your shaft itself is very light, you can move more of the total arrow weight forward with an insert and broadhead without blowing past your finished-weight target.

And remember, whenever you start adding a lot of weight up front, you also need to consider spine because additional point weight dynamically weakens the arrow.

If you're unsure about that part of the build, read our guide to choosing the right arrow for your bow.

Victory's ICE Nano Ceramic Coating

The RIP XV also uses Victory's ICE Nano Ceramic coating.

The biggest thing you'll notice in real use is target removal. Victory arrows with the ceramic coating are generally easier to pull from dense targets than an unfinished carbon shaft.

Victory also positions the coating as a way to reduce friction during penetration.

What I would not do is give the coating credit for the arrow's trajectory or wind performance. The low GPI, finished arrow weight, shaft diameter, speed, vane setup, and time of flight are much bigger parts of that conversation.

My Real-World Victory RIP XV Build

This is where I think the RIP XV starts to make a lot more sense because you can actually see what the low GPI lets us do.

The important part of this example isn't that everybody should copy those exact numbers.

It's that I was able to put 175 grains up front and still keep the entire arrow right around 400 grains.

That's the RIP XV's advantage.

If I started with a significantly heavier shaft, adding that same front-end weight would push the finished arrow much higher, cost me speed, increase arrow drop, and reduce the amount of sight travel I had available at longer distances.

For a hunting and TAC-style hybrid setup, that's a real consideration.

Speed and Trajectory: Where the RIP XV Shines

If you're considering the RIP XV, this is probably the reason you're looking at it in the first place.

The lower your finished arrow weight, the easier it generally is to preserve speed from a given bow setup.

More speed means less arrow drop over a given distance, tighter pin gaps, and more usable sight travel when you're dialing farther.

That's valuable at Total Archery Challenge, 3D events, western hunting, or anywhere you're regularly shooting beyond normal whitetail distances.

But there is a point where chasing speed goes too far.

I don't want the lightest arrow I can physically build. I still want enough mass, correct spine, good broadhead flight, and a component system I trust for the application.

The RIP XV is a tool that lets you move toward the lighter end of the spectrum without giving up as much flexibility with the front of the arrow.

How Durable Is the Victory RIP XV?

This is where I want to be really clear because I think the RIP XV sometimes gets described as if it's a lightweight arrow with no trade-offs.

That's not been our experience.

The RIP XV is a very low-GPI shaft, and compared with some of Victory's heavier 5mm options, there is less material there.

In the shop, we've found the XV to be less durable and a little more brittle than something like the Victory HLR or especially the RIP TKO.

That doesn't mean it's a bad hunting arrow.

It means durability is part of the trade-off you're making to get the weight down.

We break this same idea down in our Hybrid Arrow Build guide.

Elite vs Gamer vs Sport Straightness

Victory currently offers the RIP XV in three straightness grades:

• Elite / V1: ±.001"
• Gamer / V3: ±.003"
• Sport / V6: ±.006"

If you're somebody who wants the tightest manufacturing tolerance possible, the Elite is the obvious choice.

But I wouldn't confuse straightness tolerance with automatically shooting better.

Correct spine, tune, component alignment, vane setup, broadhead flight, and shooter consistency still matter.

Who Should Shoot the Victory RIP XV?

The RIP XV Makes a Lot of Sense If...

• You have a shorter draw length or lower draw weight and need to control finished arrow weight.
• You shoot Total Archery Challenge or 3D and need more trajectory and sight travel.
• You hunt in open country and regularly shoot longer distances.
• You want to move more weight forward without building an excessively heavy arrow.
• You prioritize speed and flat trajectory over maximum shaft durability.

I Would Look at Something Else If...

• Maximum durability is your number-one priority.
• You already have plenty of draw length and poundage and don't need to chase lower GPI.
• You're intentionally building a heavier hunting arrow where trajectory isn't much of a concern.
• You expect your arrows to take a lot of hard target and field abuse.

In those cases, I'd probably start looking at something like the Victory HLR or Victory RIP TKO.

Bottom Line

The Victory RIP XV is a really good arrow when you're using it for what it was built to do.

Its biggest advantage is not that it's somehow better than every other 5mm shaft. It's that the low GPI gives you options.

You can keep finished weight down, preserve speed, flatten trajectory, gain sight travel, and still have room to add meaningful weight to the front of the arrow.

The trade-off is durability. If maximum toughness is the priority, I would move toward the HLR or RIP TKO instead.

For shorter draw lengths, lower poundage, long-range shooting, TAC, 3D, or a lightweight hunting build, the RIP XV still fills a very useful spot in the lineup.

Like everything else with arrows, don't choose it because of one number. Get the spine right, decide what you need the arrow to do, and then build the total system around that.