Freerunner V2 by Chance Review

As I noted in my Excalibur review, it’s refreshing that I finally have the time (and game attendance) to make and review community-designed blasters again. This time, for the HvZ experience, I ordered a Freerunner V2 hardware kit from Out of Darts and printed the files at home. I excitedly printed all the parts…and then they sat there until the day before a game.

Lucky for me, assembly was easy, and my game experience was nothing short of amazing. If you’re looking for an easy, reliable flywheel blaster, the Freerunner V2 is worth a look (as are the related blasters designed by Chance).

Easy Breezy Beautiful Assembly Required

Printing was easy – Chance included a build guide illustrating all the print orientations, assembly illustrations, and notes you need. I should highlight that reading is needed; I just followed the illustrations at first, including wiring the switch, and skipped the sentence highlighting the need to make sure it’s the NO tab. I was very confused when the blaster turned on as I plugged in a battery. Oops!

The Freerunner uses a dual-stage trigger. The single switch mounts at the back of the trigger assembly, and gets pressed at the start of the trigger motion. The rest of the motion swings a lever connected to the dart pusher. Since the blaster uses micro flywheels (in this case, Nightingale flywheels), the spin-up time is minimal, and you don’t need to worry about shots being slow just from pulling the trigger too quickly.

Another neat feature is how the motors are attached to the rest of the circuit. I’ve seen people use XT60 connectors and the like to connect motors before in blasters, so they can be swapped out later. Here, to also keep the profile slim, the positive and negative run down each side, and they’re soldered to bullet connectors at the front. It helps with the issue of tight space – just make sure you’re using the recommended length of wire in the instructions.

Other Tidbits

The grip is large but comfortable, with good contours and enough room to hold a 1100mAh 3S battery. You can use a thumbscrew for it…but I like just using the same hex key for everything, so the M3 screw it normally uses is fine with me. Also blends in better.

In terms of magazine compatibility, it’s a short-dart blaster designed for Talons. All of the magazines I have on hand work – the newer Dart Zone/Adventure Force magazines have a tight fit, but nothing that impacts feeding. Just something to be aware of if you’re the type of person who want magazines to fall freely when you hit the magazine release.

Performance and Gameplay

Here’s where the fun begins!

I rarely use dual-stage triggers, so initially it was something to get used to. Even then, the blaster is literally point and shoot, and quite accurate at close range. Especially important in a game mode where ammo is limited, so every shot counts.

I was averaging 102fps with a mix of Worker and Dart Zone darts, and if I wanted to, four darts per second isn’t out of the question. With the fast spin-up times of small wheels, the shots will be consistently that fast on semi-auto. Just make sure you have the magazines to feed it.

Last Thoughts

The build experience was fun (as always), but I’m impressed with how the Freerunner V2 handles and performs. It’s probably going to become my go-to blaster for Humans v Zombies games, if that tells you anything.

Whether you’re building one or just buying one assembled…give it a Chance?

The creator can shoot me later over that pun.