Product:

Zax

Manufacturer:

Zing Toys

Avg. Price:

$10

Range:

As far as you can throw it

Rate of Fire:

One axe every second (better have a bunch of them)

Summary:

A fun take on axe throwing, and pretty safe for foam flinging melee, as well.

Zing Toys Zax Review

After a smashing appearance at Toy Fair, the Zing take on axe throwing is finally appearing in stores! Nothing about the product has changed since Toy Fair – and that’s a good thing, because these are quite fun to use, even if it takes a bit of practice to get right.

If it’s any indication, I bought four of them at Target (also available at Zing’s online store).

Lightly Toss for Best Results

Click for a short .gif

The Zax is a large foam axe with three foam suction cups on the head. It’s incredibly light and soft, and easy to toss. Find a flat surface, toss the axe, and it will generally stick to it. Of course, it takes a bit of practice to get the technique down. I made the initial mistake at Toy Fair of just chucking it at the target. Of course, being an entirely foam toy, the axe bounced back. A light toss and a flick of the wrist is all you need.

Of course, if you’re trying to pull off some silly distance throwing or trick shots, you may need a bit more force. Generally speaking, though, less is more.

The axes are best used indoors or, if outdoors, on a calm day. Being light, they’re easily thrown off course by wind. Barring such difficulties, it’s easy to stick these to windows or car panels. Of course, you should probably own the car you’re using as a target.

But What About My Nerf Wars?

Truth be told, these are probably a bit too heavy to be chucking at your friends at the local Nerf war. It doesn’t mean you can’t ask, though. It would, however, be quite funny if you threw it at someone with a shield and got it to stick.

It is, however, perfectly safe to use for the usual melee role – since the entire thing is foam, it’s pretty safe.

Last Thoughts

The Zax is a unique toy that works pretty well. $10 gets a foam axe that sticks to most smooth surfaces, provided you don’t just throw it as hard as possible. And it’s safe for kids of any age to use – which you obviously can’t say about a real axe. So if the kids find the concept of axe throwing interesting, this is worth a try.