Marshmallow Double Barrel Blaster Review

Author’s note: the folks at Zing were kind enough to send two blasters and ammo my way, for free, for review. Thanks!

It took me a while to determine how exactly to review this Marshmallow blaster. Coming from the Nerf side of things, I’m used to generally consistent blaster operation. One pump results in only so many darts being fired, etc. So when you get a blaster that can, depending on user input, possibly fire 1-5 things at once, it makes it hard to judge.

Eventually, I just accepted that was a sweet and silly toy, meant for kids and parents to chase each other with…and just had fun with it!

New Thing, Same as the Old Thing

Marshmallow blasters have been around for quite a while. This past year, however, Zing acquired the line of toys from Marshmallow Fun Company. Since then, they’ve started with a basic rebranding and recoloring of current popular models (as seen at Toy Fair). The translucent red, white, and blue motif is particularly nice looking, and it’s still the same, solid plastic as before.

Blaster operation is fairly simple: pop out the two magazines, load with mini marshmallows, and reinsert. After that, just pull back on the handle, then push forward quickly to spit out one or more sweet treats from a barrel. The firing barrel switches on each firing cycle. If you’re familiar with the world of Nerf mods, it’s essentially a large manual plunger with two RSCBs on top.

With this format, the only real internal thing of interest was seeing how the barrels switched. At the front of the plunger tube, a spring loaded plate with o-rings gets moved back and forth, opening the airway to one of the magazines. There’s an audible click as it moves; more than likely, there’s a mechanism similar to that of a retractable pen within – a ratchet of sorts moves the plastic piece one way, then releases it, allowing the spring to push it the other direction.

Using the Blaster

Huh, look at that weirdo!

Well, among other things, it’s fun to add a little corn starch along with those treats for the video effects!

As you can see, it’s very common to shoot multiple marshmallows at once – all that air trying to come out just results in a fun shotgun spread. Granted, it’s not a consistent shotgun – the speed at which you push the handle makes the rate of fire and range quite variable. But if you’re trying for range, you can definitely exceed the advertised 40ft. As you can imagine, it seemed pointless to attempt fps readings.

Thankfully, you can hold up to 40 mini marshmallows when full, so even if you’re pumping hard and getting a large spread, you can get several good shots in before even worrying about reloading.

I do not recommend eating the ammo after using it. I do, however, recommend snacking on some of it while loading, though!

Final Opinion

I won’t lie, marshmallow blasters are a class all their own, that don’t usually see action alongside dart blasters. And it will come down to personal taste (heh). But if you’re in need of fun sugar shooters with a fun spread and capacity, the Double Barrel Blaster is a great option. Plus the ammo is edible (and biodegradable).

I already liked the line, but seeing kids at the park, masks on for protection, at a birthday party with other Marshmallow Shooters was convincing enough. Seems like a fun use of time for the young, and young at heart!