Reader Response Draft 1

The official product listing by Out of Darts (n.d.) showcases the many features that are in the Momentum dart blaster. While its function is to simply launch foam darts at a target, the blaster can have its performance easily altered for the different game types present in the hobby, being able to adjust the muzzle velocity and the rate of fire. A video review shows that the Momentum has 2 pairs of flywheels and motors, and a solenoid all custom made for Momentum, running off an electronic speed controller (ESC) and an RP2040 control board that is responsible for the many firing modes. The review also mentions that the blaster is powered by a rechargeable 14.8 volt Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery that is fitted in the pistol grip, and uses “Talon” magazines to load the foam darts (Goodman, 2022). The Momentum is a major step up from the Nerf blasters that populated the hobby a decade ago, in particular the first flywheel blaster, the Nerf Stryfe from 2013 (Nerf Wiki, n.d.), in terms of the improved designs in flywheel geometry and dart pusher system.

One of these improvements would be the development of the flywheel geometry in the Momentum. Upon closer inspection of the Stryfe’s internals, the flywheels are flat like a cylinder, as seen in a disassembly video by Laurino (2021), while the flywheels in the Momentum are concave, as seen in a video by Goodman (2022). This concavity helps to apply a uniform force on all sides of the dart, reducing the deformation of the dart, leading to a more stable flight trajectory and better accuracy when launching foam darts to tag an opponent (torukmakto4, 2017). As such, the Stryfe’s flat flywheel system takes a toll on the dart’s flight trajectory as it deforms the dart, performing inadequately when it comes to accurate long-distance shots.

A significant feature that the Momentum has would be the presence of the custom solenoid pusher. A solenoid pusher is like a piston, with its purpose being to push darts into the flywheels for the dart to be launched. Airzone (2019) suggests that a solenoid pusher is preferred as it is more consistent in rapidly pushing darts, has lesser moving parts hence being more reliable, and offers the tactile feel of recoil, similar to an actual firearm. Looking back at the Stryfe’s internals in the video by Laurino (2021), the pusher is a simple mechanism that is limited to a single dart fired for every trigger pull, while the Momentum’s solenoid pusher can be programmed and switched between multiple modes, and is capable of helping the Momentum achieve the quick 30 darts per second fire rate. Hence, the versatility of the solenoid pusher gives the Momentum an edge, while the Stryfe’s fire rate is limited by its user.

The Momentum’s multitude of features and technological development can only be obtained at a steep cost. While the custom parts and many years of development make it a very efficient dart blaster, it comes at a high cost of USD 650 on the Out of Darts store listing (n.d.), and the lack of part availability for repairing. Out of Darts is the sole supplier of the Momentum’s parts, and the very nature of the custom parts result in high costs if one were to repair it. Meanwhile, the Stryfe’s simplicity makes it extremely easy to repair, and given that it has been in circulation for almost a decade, there are companies and community members producing aftermarket parts at a low cost, making it easy to repair and even upgrade the Stryfe, with some community members like NerfGeek416 (2017) being able to match the performance of their modified Stryfes to that of the Momentum. A search on Carousell – a Singapore-based second-hand marketplace – shows that acquiring a Stryfe is cheaper and easier than the Momentum, despite the Stryfe being a discontinued model. This makes the Momentum a highly specialised dart blaster, designed for the heavily invested, while the Stryfe becomes a low barrier of entry into the hobby of flinging foam darts, with its upgradability keeping it current till date.

In conclusion, the Momentum’s high-tech design makes it one of the most sought after blasters on the market due to its proprietary designs in flywheels and pusher mechanisms, and is a testament to how the Nerf hobby has developed into a niche of its own.

References

Airzone. (2019, July 30) Solenoids or Gearbox pushers? Blasters by Airzone https://blastersbyairzone.com/2019/07/30/solenoids-or-gearbox-pushers/

Goodman, L. [OUT OF DARTS]. (2022, July 2) REVIEW: Eli Wu’s Momentum (Brushless Beast) [Video] YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZfGjV7Z_Fk

Laurino, C. [Captain Xavier]. (2021, January 12) Monday Mod Tips – Stryfe – Reassembly Guide [Video] YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WypUncaoHOM

NerfGeek416. (2017, October 26) Eclipse: 200+ FPS flywheeler. NerfHaven http://nerfhaven.com/forums/topic/28019-eclipse-200-fps-flywheeler/

Nerf Wiki. (n.d.). Stryfe (N-strike elite). https://nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Stryfe_(N-Strike_Elite)

Out of Darts. (n.d.) Momentum Dual-stage Brushless Blaster by Eli Wu (PRE-ORDER) https://outofdarts.com/products/momentum-blaster-kit-by-eli-wu

torukmakto4. (2017, June 18). Project HY-con: A flywheel geometry development effort [part 1 of who the hell knows]. The Dart Zone http://torukmakto4.blogspot.com/2017/06/project-hy-con-flywheel-geometry.html