The Nerf Pro Gelfire line has many unique entries. Among them is the Dual Wield Pack, a $30 set that comes with two trigger-primed blasters, operable with one hand. They hit surprisingly hard, and while their design results in hopper size and feeding issues, they’re still quite fun to fire. If anything, they’re a fun way to introduce kids to gel ball blasting. Or to keep in a large pocket for emergencies!
Getting a Workout
The entire blaster is operated by the motion of the trigger. On the initial pull, you’re both priming the blaster and retracting the breech to let a ball fall in place. 80% of the way through the motion (note: not an actual measurement, just an estimate to give you a rough idea), one catch is released. This lets the breech snap back into place, loading the barrel and sealing it off. Then, at the very end of the trigger pull, the plunger catch releases, firing the gel ball.
The hopper design is understandably slim to fit the blaster profile. But the hopper is also the main flaw in this blaster. It’s quite shallow, holding only 100 rounds, and while operating the blaster will agitate it, you still see more misfires as the front of the hopper empties.
There’s also the issue of loading the blaster – the lid swings open along the length, leaving a large area for balls to bounce around and out. So even if you’re careful, you’re going to lose some ammo on the ground.
Performance and Internals
The actual mechanism inside is quite compact, with the plunger tube, breech, and other associated parts all contained in a plastic coffin. Given the state of things (priming by trigger, small plunger, etc.), I doubt people really want to be opening this up to replace the spring.
Final Thoughts
The Dual Wield Pack is quite fun to use (according to my wife after shooting me), and easy to operate. There are issues with the long, thin hopper and it’s awkwardly large, swing-open loading door. But even then, $30 for two blasters (less when on sale) that you can use to imitate your favorite movie character is hard to say no to. Sometimes you don’t need to be competitive. You just need to be fun!