Buzz Bee Air Warriors Agitator Review

Buzz Bee has made a habit of producing inexpensive clip-fed blasters. This includes longer formats like the Agitator (or its Walmart equivalent, the Adventure Force Frantic Fury – the same thing in a slightly different shell). The Agitator makes some nice improvements over the previous Thermal Hunter and Interceptor, making for a solid stock loaner at the very least.

Pump Action Blasting

The main draw of the Agitator, of course, is the primary-like setup, like you’d see in an Alpha Trooper or similar blaster. Prime with the pump grip, fire with your dominant hand. It does, of course, come with a few extras for enhancing kids’ play – the screw-in barrel can be removed and mounted like a scope. Admittedly, though, a large chunk of readers won’t actually care about that.

The Agitator also features an extendable stock. In its most compact setting, it’s useless and can get in the way of your hand; this is mainly just for storage. There are two settings beyond that, with comfort depending on the size of the user. The stock flexes a bit, but is otherwise quite sturdy and will take a significant amount of force without collapsing.

The grip is somewhat of an improvement on previous blasters – it’s long enough to fit most people’s fingers around without them hanging off. I do wish it was thicker, but it is sufficient, and doesn’t pinch your hand anywhere.

The plastic isn’t quite as nice as Nerf uses, with lots of creaking, but the many contours and moldings help to give the blaster more strength. I do like the cartoony “machine” motif it uses, a fun departure from the plain shells and “fiesta” looks of previous blasters. In terms of usability, I do wish the pump grip was larger, or had more contours for grip. The many bumps in the plastic are sufficient, but those with larger hands will be wishing for a better option.

As per usual, magazines are inserted far forward of the main grip, with a button sticking down for their release. The blaster comes with two of the new “jungle mags” that can clip together, making reloading even faster.

Performance

The Agitator makes for a sold platform out of the box, firing its long distance darts at around 84fps average (standard darts still hit 80fps). The pump action is smooth, and it’s easy to fire two darts per second. There is no slam-fire on the blaster.

I didn’t have any issues with jams while using the Agitator.

Internals

The Agitator maintains the same internals from the Thermal Hunter and Interceptor, including the plastic priming arm on one side of the shell. This does limit modification potential due to excessive force making that arm flex. There is a screw with a wide head that secures the arm in place, however. Whether this helps to alleviate any bending concerns remains to be seen.

Final Thoughts

The Buzz Bee Agitator is a solid evolution for their pump-action blasters. It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but when it comes to performance on a budget, it fits the bill. After all, $20 is $20.