Adventure Force Spinshot Review

Buzz Bee Toys. They aren’t the largest blaster manufacturer out there. But they have a habit of trying new things, whether those things are gimmicks or brand new/weird ways of doing things. Some attempts, like the Air Warriors Tornado, aren’t the most successful. Others, like the Compound Bow, are a pleasant and entertaining surprise.

The Adventure Force Spinshot falls in the latter category. It’s not a blaster fit for combat – using hard plastic ammo precludes that possibility. But it’s fun to use, has a unique mechanism in this age of blasters, and gets great distances to boot.

If you’re looking for a competitive blaster, this isn’t it. If you want somethings that’s simply fun to shoot, though, the Spinshot fits the bill perfectly.

One Ring to Rule Them All?

As you can guess, the Spinshot is NOT a regular blaster. Instead of darts or balls, it fires plastic rings with small propellers inside. These weigh around 5.2g each, and are easily felt when they hit you. Granted, it’s a unique combination of factors causing this – spinning really fast, extra weight, and a small amount of the projectile actually making contact with the target. So the potential for odd hits to hurt is there. Then again, I’ve taken darts to the ears and lips that felt far worse. In any case, hard plastic will likely make the Spinshot a no-go at organized blaster battles.

Also, ammo being stepped on would be a bad idea, given the lack of replacements. Just a thought.

All that being said…the blaster is really cool! The eight included rings are pushed onto a rod within the blaster, with a spring-loaded pusher behind them. Once all the rings are loaded, you can fire the blaster. Ideally, the last ring you load sits between the two sloped catch pieces. Otherwise, the pump handle will need cycled once.

Blaster operation is simple. Pulling back on the pump handle does two things. It lowers the forward catch, and it spins the piece at the end of the loading rod. Once the ring at the front spins fast enough, it will fly out the barrel and forward toward its destination.

After all that, pushing the pump handle forward realigns the front piece to its default position. It also lowers the rear catch, allowing one ring to move forward and preparing it for the next launch.

The pump grip is spacious and textured, and the main grip is quite large. Whoever is doing grips at Buzz Bee Toys now needs to continue. What you’ve doing for the Adventure Force brand needs to happen with the rest of the line. The best grips fit hands of all sizes. After all, blasters appeal to all ages!

Performance

I don’t have chronograph data, due to the unique ammo and the tools on hand. I suppose I could set my GoPro 10 to the fastest frame rate possible, physically measure a background, then fire the projectiles on screen to get a number. Needless to say, the forward speed is relatively slow. The key to these projectiles is extremely high rotational speeds; that pulls them forward, and the ring shape keeps things stable. And the faster you pump the handle, the more rotation and range you’ll get.

Range claims, however, are easy to check. While range is dependent on how quickly you pump the handle, you can exceed the 135′ box claims. In casual testing, I had ammo land anywhere from 110′ to 145′. The rings are easily blown off course by wind, but that’s just the nature of the ammo.

In terms of rate of fire: it’s not really relevant, but one disc per second is easy to pull off.

Internals

The Spinshot is an interesting beast on the inside. The pump handle (and associated plastic rod) interacts with multiple things at once. At the front, the handle position determines which catch is being depressed (and whether you’re firing ammo or advancing it). It also, though an orange plastic connection, pulls an alignment mechanism away from the central rod, allowing it to spin freely.

Towards the rear, a series of gears converts your rearward motion into a high rpm spin for that central rod. The initial gear “floats” in the shell, engaging all the gears on the priming motion and disengaging when you push the handle forward.

Final Thoughts

I absolutely love that Buzz Bee tries new things. The Adventure Force Spinshot is, on some level, reminiscent of both the Koosh Vortex blasters and the pull string helicopter toys I used when I was a wee child. But as an actual blaster mechanism? This thing is pretty new.

I don’t think I’d ever use it at a war. But for random shooting around the house, or targets in the backyard? The Spinshot is perfect. And for $20 at Walmart, it’s a pretty good deal.