Dart Zone Max Outlaw Review

It’s finally here! The Dart Zone Outlaw is hitting shelves, and I got to play a few rounds of HvHvZ this past weekend with them in hand. It would seem that, while the Dart Zone Pro line doesn’t always meet expectations, the Dart Zone Max line showcases the best parts of competitive foam flinging for the general public. Playing the cowboy while doing it is just icing on the cake.

High Speed, Stiff Prime

The Outlaw is a six-shot revolver, with a metal hammer-prime mechanism. For teenage or adult hands, it’s possible to prime one-handed, though it may be a bit of a stretch for some. It’s also stiff – not as bad as I expected, but it takes a second to do with one hand. I find it easier to fan the hammer with one hand and fire with the other, especially if faster rate of fire is needed.

The cylinder rotates on the prime.

The blaster comes with two cylinders, which can be removed and inserted with relative ease. Fresh darts fit lightly into them (used ones slipping out may vary). While the package doesn’t include any storage for them, pockets work just fine. But Dart Zone did provide an option online of free 3d printed files for a cylinder holster! There’s also a free file set for an Outlaw blaster holster, right and left handed, if you’re the type of person to print and make your own accessories. Good on them!

The cylinders are different from those supplied in the Deuce Pro, due to serving a different purpose. For the Deuce Pro, the cylinders were, essentially, round magazines for feeding darts into a pusher-style breech. The Outlaw, however, uses the cylinder as part of the effective barrel. On the trigger pull, the metal barrel retracts against the cylinder prior to the blaster firing, sealing the system. I like this particular way of doing things, since you can pull out the cylinder at any time (other than firing, of course).

If you only need to replace a few darts, there’s a loading slot on the left side of the blaster. The cylinder will easily rotate by hand.

Performance

In my testing, the Outlaw averaged 124fps with new Dart Zone Max short darts. It’s not as fast as other pro blasters, but it’s perfectly serviceable for a sidearm or a person who cares more for mobility. I also didn’t have any issues with cylinder skipping or misfires. In play, I did have one blaster refuse to fire…but that turned out to be a matter of me accidentally pressing the safety. My bad.

Rate of fire will depend on how you’re using the blaster. Two-handed? Two darts per second is reasonable. One-handed? Maybe one dart per second at best, but that depends largely on hand strength, and it is more likely to throw off your aim.

Gameplay

I couldn’t review the blaster without playing with it…and if I’m going to do that, why not dual-wield?

Internals

The Outlaw uses a metal priming mechanism in order to handle using a strong spring. One lever pushes another linkage, and that in turn retracts the plunger from its resting position. It’s an interesting solution for trying to handle all of that force and still allow one-handed use. This also operates the cylinder rotation.

The trigger is attached to the barrel via a long arm and a small clamp.

At some point in the near future, Dart Zone should be offering a low-power spring, for those wanting to use short darts but with an easier prime (and less range).

Last Thoughts

The Dart Zone Max Outlaw is a great new addition to the product line. It’s stupid fun to use, offers great performance, and is easy to operate. You might not be able to fire off darts as rapidly as other hammer-primed blasters with weaker performance, but trading rate of fire for range doesn’t really detract from the experience. The blaster works great, and it should be in the collection.