At Toy Fair 2016, there were more new blasters introduced than just about any year prior. Hasbro, in particular, had a field day with new Nerf blasters of all shapes and sizes that they were eager to show-off. But for all of the excitement and spectacle, it was the Buzz Bee booth that contained perhaps the biggest surprise of the show. Not only was it a shock that Buzz Bee was there at all this year (thank you, parent company Alex Brands), they demonstrated prototypes of several models I never saw coming. One of these new models was the Air Warriors Ultra-Tek Destiny, and it was good. Really good. In fact, even in prototype form, it was one of my favorite blasters of the entire show. Now they’ve sent me one of the first Destiny models off the production line to actually test out, so let’s get to it!
For better or worse (mostly better), the Ultra-Tek Destiny is essentially a Nerf-compatible version of the BOOMco Rapid Madness, but built to a price-point that leaves a few rough edges–both figurative and literal. For many, this is enough. The dream of a Nerf version of the Rapid Madness is really all that matters, and at a base level, the Destiny succeeds. In fact, although I don’t produce too many blaster reviews myself anymore (focusing instead on industry relations and news), trying out the Destiny at Toy Fair was enough to convince me that I had to review it. And I don’t regret that decision.
Design and Ergonomics
I reached out to my contacts at Buzz Bee concerning this new party pattern after realizing ALL of the Buzz Bee fall blaster samples I’d been sent show the same texture (and after blaster fans on Reddit expressed identical concerns regarding this new, more juvenile look). I was fortunate enough to have been given access to the Buzz Bee Vice President of Product Development, and he expressed the same concerns regarding the texture. Whether due to our immediate, negative feedback, or due to an internal misunderstanding, I’m now told this pattern will very shortly be replaced by a new, “carbon fiber” look that should bump-up the aesthetic appeal a bit. Look for it in stores soon.
While we’re on the topic of design, it’s no secret that I’ve been critical of Buzz Bee’s aesthetic refinement (or lack thereof) for some time now, and it’s fair to say the Destiny shows no great improvement in that regard–the forms are still unrefined, the textures are poor (or lacking completely), there are stickers instead of paint, and the plastics feel down-market–including a fair amount of flexing and creaking while in use. Fortunately, Buzz Bee’s Vice President of Product Development has been hearing us in these regards, too, and said, “we take your comments very seriously.” To that end, I’ve been informed the company is working on improving their blaster colors and designs thanks to new resources that have been made available through Alex Brands relationship. I think I can speak collectively for the blaster community in saying: “we can’t wait!”
Use and Performance
The Ultra-Tek Destiny is an air-powered blaster that requires roughly 18-20 pumps for maximum pressurization. Much more than that, and an internal pressure release valve goes to work–you’ll hear it kick-in at about 21-22 pumps. There’s no manual pressure release apart from the trigger, which becomes readily apparent when an entire 20-dart clip is fired, the blaster is set off to the side, and it decides to fire another shot or two completely
And shoot at a high rate-of-fire, it does! In fact, the Destiny fires through a full, 20-dart clip so quickly, it’s hard to accurately time just how quickly shots are fired. But after several failed attempts (my inability to stop the stopwatch quickly enough), I was able to pin down the Destiny at launching all 20 darts in no more than 1.5 seconds–that’s just over 13 darts per second! And yes, I’m well aware that modded, full-auto blasters are capable of far more speed than this, but we’re talking completely stock, off-the-shelf performance in a world where most blasters only get 1-2 darts per second. Frankly, this is an astonishing figure that is in excess of what the Rapid Madness is capable of achieving, and is probably somewhat conservative given my slow-draw timing abilities. I would not, in fact, be surprised if 15 darts per second or more was possible.
Speaking of my lack of timing precision, the Destiny likewise lacks precision in how many darts it will fire with a single trigger press. On average, I was only capable of shooting in 2-4 dart bursts. I don’t believe I was ever able to shoot a single dart at a time, though I’m told by other reviewers it may be possible. On the plus side, the Destiny is fully capable of firing darts from other brands–I tested both Nerf Elites and X-Shot Excel darts, and did not have any issues with either. What’s odd, however, is that I DID occasionally have jamming problems with the stock, Buzz Bee darts. Buzz Bee is no longer using the denser, darker charcoal-colored darts for some reason, which is a shame. Their newer darts are lighter, with more flexible bodies. They tend to fly farther than the older Buzz Bee darts, but are just as wayward as Nerf darts now, and seem to be more easily jammed. For what it’s worth, I didn’t experience any jamming issues with competitor’s darts.
- Stock (Buzz Bee) darts: High of 65 FPS, Low of 33 FPS
- Nerf Elite darts: High of 72 FPS, Low of 46 FPS
- X-Shot Excel darts: High of 76 FPS, Low of 67 FPS
From this data (collected over repeated tests), I would conclude the following: 1) the Destiny is wildly inconsistent in dart propulsion–likely due to the changing pressure of the air tank in use, 2) the Destiny is capable of respectable FPS numbers (higher than the Rapid Madness), 3) the lowest performing darts are the ones that come in the box, 4) if you want the best, most consistent velocity, X-Shot Excel darts would appear to be your best
Lastly, when it comes to actually using the Destiny, it’s a little more fiddly than the BOOMco Rapid Madness. In particular, that “harmonica”-style clip doesn’t work with the blaster in a very precise manner, resulting in loading that often allows the blaster to miss the first shot or two (in too far), or not fire anything at all (not in far enough). There aren’t any observable detents or other markers to indicate when the clip has been properly seated. Even a small mark on the clip itself to indicate when it’s in far enough (or too far) would be helpful.
Value and Fun
Sometimes I wish our numerical review system allowed for independent weighting of certain categories. This is one of those times. The Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Destiny is not a perfect, Nerf-compatible version of the BOOMco Rapid Madness. It’s rather ungainly, it’s built with plastics that are creaky and hard, it uses darts that aren’t terribly accurate and that sometimes jam, the harmonica clip is fiddly to seat properly, it can only fire in 2-4 dart bursts, and it can be prone to autonomous firing if air pressure is left unreleased. Wow, that’s a lot of annoyances. But… BUT! It’s so much fun to use it’s ridiculous. In fact, the Destiny is just so damn fun it deserves its own paragraph…
So let’s talk about how much fun the Buzz Bee Ultra-Tek Destiny is to use. For starters, hand-pumping is so old-school these days you can’t help but love it. Sure, it’s not super practical in the middle of a fire-fight, but whatever. Take your LiPo’d, re-motored Stryfe with duct-taped 18s if you want to be competitive, and grab a Destiny if you just want to have fun. The visceral thrill of hearing 20 (twenty!) darts being propelled at roughly 70 FPS in only a second-and-a-half simply does not get old. Nor does the feel of air-powered recoil. Nor does the ability to use just about any dart in just about any condition. Nor does seeing the look on the faces of everyone around you when the beast is unleashed. While it may not be terribly easy on the eyes, the Destiny is simply a riot to use!
No, the Destiny is not the flawless, Nerf clone of the Rapid Madness we had hoped. It struggles with a lot of design and refinement things that I wish it hadn’t. Yet, those things can still be overlooked pretty easily due to the fact that the Destiny will simply out-perform just about any other stock blaster on the market when it comes to rate-of-fire, including the fabled Rapid Madness. AND it will do it with any type of Nerf-compatible dart you can find at a price nearly anyone can afford, all while putting a smile on the face of anyone who uses it. That, by itself, is a dream come true.
Pros:
- It’s a cheaper Rapid Madness that can shoot Nerf darts!
- A stock ROF that’s even faster than the Rapid Madness
- Fully cross-compatible with other dart brands
- Air-powered and awesome-sounding!
- Capable of solid FPS numbers
Cons:
- Issue with pressurization may lead to autonomous firing
- Initial run has goofy “fiesta” detailing
- Can only fire in 2-4 shot bursts
- Hard, creaky plastics abound
- Some dart jamming