2024 seemed to be a hit-or-miss year. There weren't as many compelling blaster releases as last year, and a few of those releases had their fair share of problems. Still, there are enough blasters worth highlighting that I decided to make a list of my personal favorites.

I’m not a complete expert, and I haven’t played with every blaster released this year. However, the blasters I have given the top spots have proved very popular, and you can’t go wrong picking them.
 

Honorable Mentions: Good, But Not Great

First, some honorable mentions. These blasters were also popular, especially considering their price. But some of their problems are too big to ignore, keeping them from claiming the top spots. 

Zius Bk1s

There has been much hype over the BK1s (and earlier the BK2s) as one of the easiest Automatic Electronic Blasters (AEBs) you can buy. For a reasonable $160, it performs up to 200 FPS with swappable springs and barrels and has selectable fire modes.

BucketKat wielding their customized Zius BK1s; Richard C, photographer of Nerf Club at William & Mary

However, it cannot take talon mags without significant shell modifications and is prone to errors and jams. Few people in this hobby are open to spending more money on proprietary magazines for one blaster; fewer still are willing to put up with some of the hiccups still present in these early AEBs, but we’re so close to AEBs becoming really good that the BK1s deserves an honorable mention.

 

Dart Zone Venom Pro

The Dart Zone Venom Pro has pretty much completely replaced the Worker Nightingale as my flywheeler sidearm of choice. For $50 (and occasionally on sale for $30), you get a full-auto, mag-in-grip, mini-flywheeler pistol, two nightingale-compatible mags, and a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.

But, what holds it back are recent reports of the switches burning out, mag and ammo limitations, and the questionable backstrap rev trigger. It's a fun blaster, but it doesn’t compete with other releases.

 

Siren Blasters Blink

The Siren Blink is probably the most interesting blaster that we got this year. It’s a full-auto flywheel blaster coming in at $100, but it has one feature that no other store-bought blaster has: adjustability. There are two dials near the Blink’s short stock: One controls the dart velocity, and the other controls the rate of fire. In fact, the designer from Banned Blasters modified his design of their Stryfe cage for the Blink, and with the power dial, the Blink can perform from 135 FPS up to 190 FPS.

However, while the Blink performs well, it lacks in the aesthetics and ergonomics department. Many people I’ve talked to say the Blink is ugly in design, and the grip and stock are too cramped to shoulder comfortably.

NSI’s Siren Blasters only just stepped in the ring this year, and time will tell whether we see any more releases from them in 2025. Until then, I will always commend a new company for taking risks on more innovative choices.

 

2024’s Budget Powerhouses

Dart Zone came swinging into 2024, with many of their releases being a home run among hobbyists. But, out of all this year’s blaster releases, the Nexus Pro X (NPX) and the Maxim Pro stand out as the frontrunners. Each of them are fundamentally simple pro-level blasters, and they do pretty much everything right. Not only do they perform exceptionally well, but at less than $50 each, their prices are also extremely competitive.

Both the Nexus Pro X and the Maxim also have some modding potential: The NPX benefits from stronger springs and longer barrels, allowing it to hit above 230 FPS. Likewise, the Maxim Pro was practically built to be modded, with a near-Stryfe geometry flywheel cage and the screw bosses to drop in Stryfe full-auto kits. And if you want to go all out, Out of Darts’ has a modification that lets the Maxim Pro use a Neutron solenoid pusher for an extra snappy trigger response and feedback. Maybe spending that much money on budget blasters is overkill, but the options are available whenever you want to push the envelope.

For the price that Dart Zone is charging for these blasters, the value is crazy. Since their release, I have seen them used heavily in my group, and they hold up well, even against community-made blasters. The NPX and the Maxim Pro can be bought from Walmart in the US, making them super accessible, and at 140-200 FPS, they’re perfect for new players. Are there better blasters out there? Of course. But few can give you this much power for their price.

 

My Top Community Pick: SBL2

Above everything else, I think the year's best release was the much-anticipated Gavin Fuzzy SBL2. The original “Spamf But Long was a super popular 3D-printed springer blaster, but when Gavin built three the night before the fourth Qualifier at FPT 2022, he never wanted to do it again. After many months of redesigning, beta-testing, and play-testing, the SBL2 became available to the public earlier this year.

There are fewer 3D-printed parts than most blasters, making assembly more manageable. The SBL2 is more compact than the first SBL and uses take-down pins to split in half for travel and easier spring swaps. The hardware kit includes five springs you can swap to perform anywhere from 130 FPS to 235 FPS. There is also the SBL2 EX with a longer plunger tube, allowing for up to 295 FPS in performance. This blaster has been very popular for lots of competitive players, but it may not be enticing to casual players as a premium blaster comes with a premium price.

At $235 SGD or roughly $175 USD, this blaster is not cheap, but it makes sense when all the structure and functional bits are made of rock-solid metal parts. The prime is remarkably crisp, and it even has a 20mm SLS-printed metal Picatinny-Back stock attachment. You can get printed parts along with the hardware kit or print themselves by purchasing a hardware kit. Since the blaster is 3D-printed, owners get the option to make their blaster their own.

“Something I'd always talk about when explaining what I do to non-Nerfers is about the element of user customization. Objectively, the Nexus Pro X will shoot just as hard, but many community members pick the SBL2 because of its customizability. Players can match the blaster to their identity, typically with color schemes, but also through the vast ecosystem of remixes of the SBL2 source files that are available.” - Gavin Fuzzy

The SBL2 is a great blaster compared to the other high-power springs. It's compact, power efficient, and built to run into the ground. Maybe I’m a little biased, having received one myself. But out of all the blasters released this year, SBL2 has had an outstanding reception. It lives up to its legacy, performs well, and has tons of support from the community, thus making the SBL2 my top community pick for 2024. - OnlyFoamDarts