Dart Zone Max Volcanic Pro Review

With Dart Zone’s mass announcement/release of blasters behind us, it’s time to use some of these blasters in combat and judge them. First up is the Volcanic Pro.

It’s pricey (and web exclusive) at $55, but after going through both my hands and those of several other players at a war, I’d say it’s the most exciting addition to the fall lineup. It simply goes harder than other main-brand blasters of its size, and I hope a physical store carries them soon.

Breaking Down the Box

The Volcanic Pro comes with the blaster, two 12-dart angled magazines, 24 Nitroshot darts, safety glasses, and instructions. There are also a few crucial attachments.

Dart Zone, if you remember from the Deuce Pro and the Mk4, has the patent for blasters with true barrel extensions (as opposed to the aesthetic attachments we usually see). The same thing applies here, although there’s a slight difference – in this case the extended barrel is also a BCAR, an attachment that uses roller bearings to spin the dart slightly. The attachment lug, however, is still the same. This BCAR could go on the Deuce Pro, and it would go on the Mk4 if not for the green housing.

The BCAR attachment is optional for use – if you don’t want to use it, it mounts under front of the blaster, where there’s a Picatinny rail connector. And yes, that connector comes off! I’m fairly convinced people will be mounting alternate ammo blasters to that spot in the near future.

Picatinny rail also goes down the top front of the blaster and barrel attachment, with an iron sight mounting there. A single attachment loop sits under the priming slide.

Using the blaster is straightforward. Insert mag into grip, pump the slide back and forth, pull the trigger to fire. The safety is easy to manipulate, and (at least for me) the magazine gravity drops when I press the release button.  The prime is a bit tough, but ultimately on par with something like a Nerf Rival Kronos. And between the flat surface on the back, where the rear iron sights sit, ant the ridges on the slide, gripping and pulling isn’t a big issue.

Performance and Gameplay

Gameplay was where the Volcanic Pro shined; between my round using it and other rounds of it being borrowed, it was outstanding.

It’s not necessary, but slam fire is built in if you really need to spam shots. At most, you’re hitting two and a half darts per second for rate of fire. In terms of velocity, however, the Volcanic Pro is hitting above the box claims. Usually, with 150′ range claims, you expect around 150fps. With Nitroshot darts, I was averaging 181fps! That was only slightly reduced with the BCAR, but with accuracy improved even more. Those numbers are reduced with other dart types of similar weight, but are still in the 160s.

The key thing, though, was once you got used to using it, you could essentially just point at your target and hit it. We all made a few insanely precise shots this past Saturday trying to shoot past the tree trunks we were using as cover.

Internals and Modification

Modifying the Volcanic Pro is a bit more involved than other blasters, due to its setup. It uses a large, backwards-facing plunger tube, with a turnaround feeding air behind the loaded dart. So to swap out the spring, you have to take the screws out, release one clip at the top of the shell, and take the entire thing apart. \

Dart Zone does have alternate springs and an alternate barrel available online for $10, and depending on your gameplay, the pack might be worth it. Installing the high power spring and barrel results in an insanely tough prime, but Nitroshot darts were averaging 208fps, while other darts were ~180fps. Meanwhile, using the regular barrel, the low power spring, and the BCAR got Nitroshots down to 125fps averages, and Worker darts to 117fps average. If you use specific darts, this might be an amazingly sturdy Humans v Zombies choice…but that also depends on the weather of the day. More than once I’ve had blasters I thought were safe chronograph hot because it was hot and humid outside compared to the living room I was testing in beforehand.

Assuming these numbers hold, I’ll definitely be using the Volcanic Pro at an upcoming HvZ game.

Last Thoughts

The Volcanic Pro seems a bit more expensive than it needs to be – whether that’s an issue of tariffs or of production scale is still up for debate (Dart Zone direct selling can’t compare to the order sizes of Target or Walmart). But even with that caveat, it’s an insanely good blaster, and I’m happy I purchased one. This one will be a permanent part of the arsenal, and when a sale happens, I’m grabbing another one.