Xshot Insanity Mad Mega Barrel Review

The Xshot Insanity series is a great refresh for Zuru’s blaster lineup, and the Mad Mega Barrel is no exception. It’s comfortable, easy to use, and features an insane-looking (but easy to handle) 72-dart clip. Add in the ammo storage, slam-fire, and the ability to connect to other blasters, and it’s a great time for users young and old.

Some Assembly Required

The Mad Mega Barrel doesn’t come with the ring assembled; that would be a silly waste of packaging. Instead, you’ll have to open the box and snap all six sections together. It’s not very hard, and the ring stays together even with running around and the occasional hit against the wall or ground.

The package also comes with two circular dart holders, a rectangular dart holder, and a rail clip for connecting other blasters. Appropriately, the blaster has Picatinny rails all over for mounting these ammo holders.

There’s a latch at the front of the blaster, which opens up to allow insertion of the ammo ring. Once closed, the ring is secure; there will be a bit of wiggle, but that’s almost to be expected, given how far the ring sticks out. Even then, the ring has yet to skip cylinders or pop out of place within the system, so the rotation mechanism is clearly built to handle the unusual amount of torque it might see during gameplay.

The main handle is large, if plain, and easy to use. The stock is adequate for an adult, but sized great for children. In any case, given the easy prime, it’s not like you need the perfect stock resting on your shoulder to handle the force.

The pump grip, as it turns out, is massive, with plenty of ridges and ways to grip it, depending on preference or hand size.

Performance and Gameplay

The Mad Mega Barrel averaged 82fps in my testing, using the included Air Pocket darts. Other darts performed similarly. Rate of fire, meanwhile, meets the “insane” designation. With slam-fire, I can hit five darts per second! Given the capacity, not being able to do this would have been a disappointment!

Gameplay with the blaster is a ton of fun. It shoot straight and works as intended, even if the large size means the occasional navigation issue. Even then. since the blaster is “bigger around”, as opposed to long, you can generally aim and maneuver just fine. It’s simply a matter of remembering you have a giant ring!

Also, the blaster fluoresces under UV light. Thanks, laser tag arena!

Internals

The inside of the Mad Mega Barrel is largely what you’d expect from a slam-fire Xshot blaster. There is a main catch, which holds the plunger rod back when you operate the blaster normally. There’s also a secondary catch in the priming mechanism, which releases the plunger once you pull back far enough. That way. If you’re holding down the trigger, you can fire off darts quickly.

Final Thoughts

The Xshot Insanity line, so far, has been insanely fun to use. The Mad Mega Barrel works far better than a blaster fed by a giant ring should work. Compliments to the engineers!

If you’re looking for a unique blaster that holds a ton of ammo, this is well worth the $30.