Tuesday, August 13, 2013

NERF review: Speedswarm

The first dart gun review of the summer and the first dart gun review in a while: the NERF Speedswarm!

Retail price (USD): ≈$19.99
It can be found at all major retailers.

The Speedwarm is essentially a miniaturized Swarmfire in handgun form. It has fully- and semi-automatic modes and features two sling/bandolier/dogtag attachment points. It requires six "AA" batteries to work (We've found that Duracell batteries are the most reliable). The Speedswarm is also a great dart blaster to dual-wield.

Range: 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 10.7 metres), when held flat, up to 45 feet (13.7 metres). Average. (7/10)
Accuracy: Astounding. Accuracy is far above average. (10/10)
Reliability: No jamming, however, there is a small "warmup" period before darts can be fired, which lasts about half a second. (9.5/10)
Rate: Approximately two darts per second. The warmup period makes it a bit lackluster compared to rates of other semi-autos or autos such as the Stampede ECS, but for its size, it's decent. (8/10)
Capacity: 10 "Tagger" micro-whistler darts. (9/10)

Final score: B 

The Speedswarm is especially lightweight and a good addition to any NERFer's arsenal. However, its rate of fire is underwhelming, especially for something called the "Speedswarm." It is incredibly accurate and has a great range, especially when reliable batteries are used.

More reviews coming this week!