Siren Gnarl Review
October 13, 2024Earlier this year, NSI International announced a new line of pro-level blasters, under the Siren name. They launched a website with preorders, and also sent samples out to influencers throughout the hobby. After somewhat of a delay in actually fulfilling preorders/delaying the Siren Blink, they began bombarding social media with advertisements featuring those influencers, fulfilling said preorders, and selling the blasters through Target and other storefronts. This presented a unique situation, with ads and social media influencers showing off the blasters…and hobbyists who bought said blasters posting about the many issues they encountered.
There’s plenty to criticize in NSI’s approach to market here – enough to warrant its own post. But for the moment, we’re doing the actual blaster reviews!
The Gnarl is a small, magazine-fed pistol with advertised 150′ ranges. It can objectively meet those claims…but choices in blaster design make it an uncomfortable exercise in doing so.
Dart Zone Max Stryker 2.0 Review
October 7, 2024This is a late review! Life happens, and blaster purchases tend to hit the wayside when you quit your job and spend months looking for a new one. So until I bought a Stryker 2.0 the day of a Nerf war at the end of September, I had only a vague idea of what I’d experience, based on both Youtube blurbs and comments from friends.
Now? I’m seeing that there’s a legitimately hard decision to make between the Stryker 2.0 and the Adventure Force Nexus Pro X. $50 for a primary that hits 200fps, and both of them are amazing? This one really comes down to personal preference.
Dart Zone Nitroshot Darts: The Most Accurate Ever? An Analysis
October 1, 2024Earlier in September, Dart Zone was kind enough to send me a 200 pack of full-length Nitroshot darts to review. As an added bonus for comparison, they even forwarded a pack of the new Adventure Force Meteor darts for comparison. Which is nice, but I’d already heard some anecdotes about the accuracy of Meteor darts.
Instead of doing a simple comparison, I ended up buying all the current full-length darts (we’re excluding N-Series, for obvious reasons) and doing a full comparison. It’s not quite the tenth anniversary of the Blaster Labs Inaugural Blaster Dart Comparison, but it’s pretty close.
So, are the Nitroshot darts the most accurate? And, just as important, are they the most compatible? Let’s find out.
Nerf LMTD x Destiny Ace of Spades Announced!
September 9, 2024The newest Nerf LMTD blaster, it turns out…still uses Elite darts? I guess those aren’t quite dead yet. Just almost!
Enthusiasts knew there was a second Nerf x Destiny blaster coming, after the Gjallerhorn, but for a “limited” blaster, $50 actually isn’t bad. Functionally, the blaster is a six-shot, semi-auto revolver that runs on 4 AA batteries. Critically, it comes with two swappable drums, which means reloading will be easy, AND I’m sure there will be 3d printed replacement clips modeled and used in the future.
Check out the listing, and preorder if you like; in-game players who’ve earned the Legend title in the latest expansion have the first chance to preorder (Sept. 9-24), with the rest available to the general public after.
Adventure Force Maxim Pro Review
September 4, 2024It seems strange that, in all the years since Dart Zone began making Pro blasters, they haven’t had a “regular” semi-auto blaster available. There have been blasters with semiauto modes, yes (looking at the DZP Mk3 and the Dart Zone Max Omnia), but not what hobbyists would consider a normal semi-auto entry. Even so, given that everyone from Xshot to Nerf is finally jumping on the “Pro” train, now’s as good a time as ever for the Maxim Pro to arrive.
In the technical sense, the Maxim Pro isn’t anything special. It has one job: be the next step up from the Adventure Force Spectrum. And it does that well, all while sporting a cool shell and coming with features that make it appeal to regular consumers and hobbyists alike.
Dart Zone Max Venom Pro Review
August 30, 2024It’s been a hot minute since many of this summer’s blasters hit shelves – until recently, I hadn’t been able to buy the blasters so that I could properly try them in foam combat for review. Thankfully, that’s finally changed!
The Dart Zone Max Venom Pro is a stupidly fun blaster to use, and even more so when you have one in each hand. When $50 gets you a full-auto pistol with two magazines and a rechargeable battery, it’s already near-impossible to beat the value. The blaster working as advertised is just icing on the cake.
The Gel Ball IP Battle: Back from the Dead?
July 30, 2024This was not something I expected to see on my Gel Ball litigation bingo card. Last we checked, Prime Time Toys had essentially lost their arguments in a United States Patent and Trademark Office investigation, and we were at the tail end of reviewing minor elements of the final decision. While the post-trial decisions and motions were going forth, Prime Time Toys filed for an Inter Partes Review of the patents in question. They were initially denied by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but earlier this month, they were successful in getting a Director’s Review on the matter. This overrode the board’s decision, and we’re going to have more hearings!
Admittedly, some things are still confusing for me after several readthroughs. So let’s cover the process first.
