AIT x 40MAX Lailaps Review

Editor’s note: I got sent a free blaster to review from 40MAX themselves. Thanks, guys!
The blaster can be ordered from Out of Darts in the US, or from 40MAX for wider distribution.

Several brushless dart pistols have reached the market recently, like the Lightning and the Diana. Another company just ended their Kickstarter for a new blaster, the ATROX, and has regular ones on sale afterwards. It’s a niche part of the dart blaster market that’s relatively expensive, but super fun to use in Nerf wars.

Back in July, 40MAX themselves were kind enough to send me their new Lailaps dart blaster for review. I got to use it in both Humans v Zombies and a local PvP event. And, to address community concerns, the manufacturer updated the firmware to allow full control of blaster settings (all new blasters ship with this firmware). Overall, the blaster is a 10/10 at this point, and is something you can use in multiple game settings – though perhaps in public, you might need to grab a body kit.

Getting the Blaster…and Getting Supplies

40MAX contacted me in July about sending a blaster, with the base blaster package (plus two extended magazines and a spare battery) arriving later in the month. Given the…more realistic silhouette of the blaster compared to things bought on store shelves, I opted to print a body kit to allow use of the blaster in more settings.

To that end, I grabbed some orange and neon yellow filament, and ordered a hardware kit from Out of Darts, along with more magazines. While I don’t personally use the tactical rails, the body kit looks great on the blaster, and it let me use the blaster more comfortably on a college campus for Humans v Zombies.

Blaster Features!

The Lailaps features a dual-stage trigger, select-fire, a rear-facing screen, and a menu select button. Normal operation involves just the trigger and select-fire switch, where you can hold the first trigger stage to idle the flywheels, and do a full pull to fire. The settings on the menu are operated with the menu button and (in that mode) the trigger. My unit arrived at the tail end of the previous firmware’s life, so settings were limited; current Lailaps blasters have far more control options to allow panic shots, aggressively high power settings, and more.

Even with the limited settings, I was more than happy with my level of control. I kept the last fire setting at a burst, instead of full-auto, because I don’t go through ammo that fast.

The magazines, meanwhile, are great to use. They’re powered by constant force springs, and feed darts reliably in the Lailaps as well as many other angled magazine blasters from Dart Zone, etc. You do have to make sure to load darts into the magazine from the front, and with modern 36mm shorts darts (older 38mm darts can cause issues), but slightly shorter darts are a trend in the hobby as a whole, not just this blaster.

The blaster uses a custom 3S battery, and comes with a USB-powered charging unit.

More Gameplay and Performance

The Lailaps, under the original firmware settings, had around 200ms delay between the trigger pull and the dart firing. For casual PvP and Humans v Zombies, that wasn’t a terrible issue, provided you were in positions where your awareness wasn’t compromised. To be fair, though, outside of select game types, needing a hair trigger can be resolved by not putting yourself in bad situations.

The fps settings (then and now) can be tweaked from 80fps all the way up to 150fps, depending on your dart, dust buildup, and other factors. Rate of fire, meanwhile, reaches 12 darts per second. Which is absurd, quite frankly, but it’s cool that it’s possible.

The End of the Experience (Or Is It?)

As I mentioned earlier, my unit was on the tail end of the blasters shipped with the old firmware. I ordered a firmware upgrade kit, because why not? And I followed the included video for how to do the process.

It turns out the Lailaps isn’t exactly friendly to open up for an average user. Removing a pin with a hammer and pin punch wasn’t too difficult, but prying the actual slide off the grip of the blaster is far more difficult than necessary, as if the blaster wasn’t meant for this to happen regularly. I eventually got the firmware upgraded, but that opening up process broke several wires tying the battery contacts and menu button to the rest of the blaster. So my Lailaps is out of commission for the time being until I figure out my next steps.

To be clear, if you’re getting a new blaster, you shouldn’t have any of these issues. But if you were an early adopter, be super careful opening the blaster.

Final Opinion

The Lailaps is so much fun to use, has options ranging from Redcowl’s body kit to a Universal Holster, and is reliable in combat. Newer users have even more customization options in the firmware to make the blaster match their preferences. Finally, the magazines that go with it can be used with lots of other blasters in your collection, and aren’t solely a custom accessory.

Brushless tech might be expensive, but it’ll last with care. The Lailaps is an amazing option if you’re exploring this niche section of the hobby.