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 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
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.