Product:

Nerf Mega XL Double Crusher

Manufacturer:

Hasbro

Avg. Price:

$30

Range:

55fps average

Rate of Fire:

One dart per second

Summary:

A fun introduction to Mega XL, even if the Boomdozer is a bit more useful!

Nerf Mega XL Double Crusher Review

Mega XL is fast becoming my favorite line of the year. The Boomdozer is amazing, and the Double Crusher is pretty nice, as well. Two shots, one after the other, with slamfire thrown in just because? Storage in the stock? Giant darts? It’s just plain fun, and that’s what makes this hobby so great.

The Middle Child

Of the three Mega XL blasters now on shelves, the Double Crusher is the middle option, with price and capacity higher than the Big Rig, but lower than the Boomdozer. It takes the form of a shotgun, complete with a stock, large pump grip, and angled main grip. The stock is a separate piece that snaps into place once the blaster is out of the box, and it has storage for two darts. Four Mega XL darts are included in the box.

As you can see, the dart holders very lightly grip the darts. I don’t expect the clips to damage the darts in any way if you happen to leave them in between wars.

The Boomdozer has two barrels, one on top of the other. It uses Hasbro’s “smart AR” system to fire darts out, like we’ve seen in so many blaster before. If the dart is loaded in the top, the air will fire it out. Once the dart is gone, the internal valve closes off that barrel, and opens a path to the next one.

Naturally, the use of such a system means that darts from barrels farther down the line fire more slowly; the air has a longer path to get there. However, when you only have two barrels, the drop isn’t too drastic. Especially with a wide plunger and strong spring.

Speaking of springs, you have to pull back the pump grip along the entire track to prime the blaster! It’s quite a long way. Of course, with the (not advertised, but still present) slam-fire mechanism, you can just keep racking the pump to fire off darts. All two of them, anyway. If you missed the first time, you can try again to make sure!

The blaster is comfortable to hold and use (though opinions will certainly vary for blasters with angled main grips). It also features the same oversized logo, bursting through the white plastic. Because nothing shouts Mega XL like making everything larger!

Performance

The smart AR does drop velocities slightly for the second barrel. Even so, all shots together averaged 55fps. When the darts are a bit over six grams each, that’s nothing to complain about.

If you’re fast, you can fire off both shots in one second, thanks to slam-fire. Unlike the Boomdozer, there’s not a large cylinder to rotate and make sure is aligned, so you don’t have to be quite as deliberate. Just pump as quickly as possible while holding down the trigger.

The Insides

As always, I have to open things up to see how they work! The priming pump moves a rack internally. A geared sled (the large, white piece around the plunger) trades all that distance for more force over a smaller distance, pulling the plunger back and compressing the spring. The slamfire mechanism disconnects the trigger and catch while priming; once the pump is all the way forward again, the connecting bit of plastic is moved into alignment.

Normally I don’t see mods for smart AR blasters to fire other ammo, due to difficulties in trying to adapt the mechanism. But at least one person has made it happen!

Final Thoughts

The Double Crusher is a fun blaster to use, whether plinking targets or opponents. Giant, whistling darts are now in style, and you can fire off two in quick succession with easy reloading. I love the Boomdozer more, but this is a close second!

Product Rating

Range

9/5

Rate of Fire

10/5

Build Quality

10/5

User Friendly

9/5

Price / Value

10/5

Total

9.6/10