Adventure Force Nexus Pro X Review

The original Nexus Pro is four years old at this point. It helped start the trend of pro-level blasters on store shelves/websites, as opposed to hobby-related sources. In retrospect, several things have surpassed it, but for the time, at least, the score of 10/10 was well deserved.

Four years later, Dart Zone and Walmart have revamped the line! The Nexus Pro X has more power, more accuracy, more accessories, and all for the same price. And based on my extensive testing, it earns that 10/10 score, hands down.

Purple Power!

In addition to the fun new color scheme (purple plastic base with the camo motif painted on top), the Nexus Pro X comes with lots of fun things in the box. The package includes two twelve-round magazines, two barrel attachments, a storage piece for the attachments, a scope attachment and iron sights, stock, darts, and a spare o-ring for the breech.

Interestingly, the new magazines are now in the Talon format, abandoning the old Dart Zone mag design. The blaster, however, still has notches for both, allowing for backwards compatibility. That would have been a real bummer if I couldn’t use the old magazines I’d gathered over the years.

The blaster has two magazine release tabs, depending on how you use your blaster. You can hit the long paddle with your thumb while pulling out the magazine, or engage the shorter one with your main hand to drop the magazine.

The stock is adjustable, and it contains a storage compartment for the spare o-ring. Interestingly, there are also Metric nuts set into the stock for attaching aftermarket sling mounts.

The priming grip is angled, with a ridge at the top meant for the index finger. It fits my hand perfectly, and the strength needed to prime the blaster is reasonable for the performance. However, depending on your hand size or method of holding the grip, it might be uncomfortable. Luckily, you can at least change out the grip for one of your liking, since there’s a Picatinny mount underneath. But as of yet, I’ve seen no need to do so.

Of course, one of the biggest changes is the inclusion of multiple barrel attachments that help with accuracy. Dart Zone has already moved in this direction, given that the original Nexus and Aeon fit aftermarket attachments like Worker SCAR barrels (I’m a bit behind on the terminology, since S, P, B can stand for string, printed, bearing, etc. at the beginning, and SCAR often gets used for injection-molded versions…but I digress). A SCAR barrel was also included with the Dart Zone Pro Mk4 (although it strangely could not be used in conjunction with the giant barrel extension).

For the Nexus Pro X, there is also a BCAR, with plastic bearings used to add spin to the dart. An insert within the BCAR also serves as a slight barrel extension, and the blaster actually sees a slight boost in velocity when using it.

For either attachment, there’s a noticeable improvement in dart placement on target, due to the added spin helping even out any inconsistencies in dart construction or initial trajectory. They may or may not help at extremely higher velocities, but for the performance we’re dealing with, they’re great.

Performance

The Nexus Pro X was great in initial testing – great enough that I was willing to use it in the Maryland Foam Tournament last weekend. Granted, the round I used it in, I got hit by darts before ever getting a shot off (which happens sometimes, when people lob darts at the start)…but I was that confident that I added it as part of the team arsenal.

I ended up averaging 202fps between the Adventure Force half darts and Dart Zone Max half darts – that’s insane for a blaster bought off a shelf! Things varied a bit once barrel attachments got involved; the included SCAR barrel reduced the average fps a few digits, but improved accuracy. The BCAR, meanwhile, actually increased the average fps – the insert it comes with acts as a small barrel extension, and the plastic bearings induce spin without affecting velocity a noticeable amount.

By the way, did I mention there’s slamfire? It’s not always the most useful, but being able to quickly dump 200fps shots can be extremely useful when you need to hit an opponent on the run.

Internals and Modification

The Nexus Pro X is built a bit differently from the original. It features a moving plunger tube, not unlike that of the Adventure Force Pyroraptor, but changed to better accommodate short darts. The priming grip pushes directly on the plunger tube, instead of operating a bolt sled or a breech. The pusher sites directly beneath the plunger tube, and (more importantly) has nothing to due with propulsion. That lets Dart Zone use a “skinny breech” setup, so users can remove magazines even when the breech is closed.

The actual airflow goes through a uniquely shaped element, jogging down from the plunger tube to the barrel. Given the weirdly shaped gasket involved, it makes sense that Dart Zone includes a spare one in case the original is damaged. This short jog in the air path gets the loaded dart as close to the plunger tube as possible, barring some setup like you’d see in the Dart Zone Pro Mk2/Mk2.1 pistols, where the plunger tube is also the pusher.

For those not worried about internals and just wanting to adjust power, the back of the blaster features a cap that comes off after removing a single screw, just like the original. There are ridges inside the shell, and those get in the way of some preexisting spacer options as well as higher fps caps like you’d find from Out of Darts. The lower fps caps, however, still fit just fine. In addition, 9/16″ OD x 3/8″ ID nylon spacers fit perfectly, and are easily found at Home Depot or Lowes. So there are plenty of possibilities for making the Nexus Pro X fire at different velocities. I have on good authority that 300mm Harrier springs, plus the lower Out of Darts tuning caps, can reduce velocities down to 120fps or even 95fps. Granted, the lower you go, the more inconsistent you get…but I’ve seen it work.

In addition, Dart Zone is supposed to be offering upgrade and downgrade springs soon on their website, so you’ll have plenty of options in the future!

Final Opinion

The Nexus Pro X is the upgrade that came out of nowhere, but that refresh of the Adventure Force line is exactly what we needed. Higher FPS, attachments that improve accuracy, slamfire, updated magazine format…the improvements are amazing. Even if you don’t like the priming grip, that can be replaced, and the blaster itself is a new standard for pro blasters on store shelves. This is worth the $50 it costs…and I’m amazed that the price point is still the same as the original Nexus Pro. There’s so much more for the same price, and it’s completely worth it.