Hi, I'm Luke.
Today on Out of Darts, we are checking out the Dart Zone Pro Mark-2.1:
the successor to another really popular blaster.
I'm excited to check this one out.
Let’s get going!
We're coming off of EndWar and the Foam Pro Tour.
We did sponsor EndWar.
You'll find us on the bandana somewhere -- here there we go,
but we, unfortunately, didn't make it this year because I was at a family reunion.
We'll have a separate video for that where we played with 20 Worker Nightingales.
Super fun, I had a lot of a good time with my cousins.
But when I got back from that trip, I found a package from Dart Zone here.
They sent me both the Mark-2.1 and the Mark-1.2
Let's talk about those names for a second.
Come on now with the “mark” and the versions.
It's getting a little crazy here.
But that being said, we've got a new blaster to check out.
This blaster is an Amazon exclusive.
It is a top prime sidearm blaster.
However, I use that with quotation marks because it is a fairly chunky good-sized blaster.
For size comparison, here is the Mark-II:
The predecessor (or at least the spiritual predecessor).
With the muzzle installed, it’s somewhat similar.
I think we've got nearly an inch more in the back
as well as maybe a little bit shorter in the front.
So, it's like the grip is a little bit farther forward.
However, the Mark-II had the ability to remove that front muzzle,
which really did decrease the overall profile.
So, it's worth noting that right off the bat, these…
While this is a successor -- they're calling it the 2.1…
If I had been in charge of this, I probably would have called this a different blaster.
First of all, it's mag through grip rather than an internal mag,
which makes it completely different in function.
It's also so much larger that it feels very different.
I don't know that I could run around with this on my hip necessarily,
and I feel the same way I would with this one.
Just for a quick size comparison, we're going to compare it to a few other blasters we have here.
First, I showed you the Mark-II, which is obviously quite a bit smaller.
I think another great comparison is actually the Aeon Pro because, amazingly (and we'll
get to the performance in a minute), this hits harder than the Aeon Pro right out of the box.
So that is pretty spectacular, but here you can see a size comparison.
It's obviously much smaller than an Aeon Pro,
so I think that's a good thing and a good frame of reference to keep in mind.
This could replace this, and it's much smaller.
Here we've got a Gecko which is a community-made blaster this gives you a feel there.
Another one to compare to would be the Fire Rat; we just got these on the website.
The Fire Rat is obviously a little bit more ergonomic.
We don't have quite as much sticking out back here and the front muzzle isn't as big.
Now, while we're looking at these two blasters,
obviously, there are some issues with the profile of this blaster.
So, I would use this with caution where you're taking it.
However, we only offer this in orange for that reason.
The Dart Zone Pro 2.1 is really a Powerhouse upgraded version of the 2.0
We get a longer Barrel, so because of that,
they've been able to cram more performance out of it.
And because of the longer barrel and a slightly longer plunger tube –
At least, we believe this is a longer plunger tube.
We've got more space back here, so I'm pretty certain it's got to be longer.
If it's not, then it's simply due to barrel length, but we're getting up to
160 FPS out of this blaster, which is remarkable for what it’s marketed as.
Now, these were used in the Dart Zone Pro Tour,
along with the other Dart Zone Pro blasters, and it is very snappy.
The top feels great, there's a bit of rubberized TPU on the back of the slide,
and ergonomically it feels pretty decent.
Compared to something like the Fire Rat, it is not nearly as comfortable
because we're not getting that nice contour on the back of the grip,
and that does feel quite a bit different when you're actually holding .it
Now part of the reason that this seems so chunky is due to the magazines.
These magazines are a brand-new magazine size and form factor.
They've got these dual lips up front, which make them
actually one of the more unique magazines I’ve ever seen.
It seems that many manufacturers are going to these feed lips like this
because it enables cleaner Dart feeding and guiding into the chamber because your
core can actually push through that magazine without damaging or colliding with the magazine.
The blaster includes a number of accessories,
some of which I find really useful and interesting and others less so.
As I mentioned in my 1.2 video,
I don't find this eye protection to be all that comfortable for my adult face.
I don't think I could play with this; it would bother me too much, but I think for some kids
and younger kids, especially eye protection is absolutely required for a blaster like this.
Next, we get a drop-leg holster, which is just fine.
It is relatively cheaply made, it's pretty thin plastic, but as an add-on, it seems totally fine.
I don't personally love drop leg for the most part.
I would rather have it up on my hip just for how I like to run around.
But, given the size of this blaster, if this was on my hip,
I think you would collide with your other gear and with your torso quite a bit.
So, I think a drop leg is probably a good option for the size of this blaster.
Also included are three of the new magazines and a holster to hold two of the magazines.
The muzzle point up front is very similar to the rest of Dart Zones.
So, on that note, at least with a little ring of tape,
all of our existing barrels and Scar barrels can fit in here.
They seem to be a little bit looser than some of the others, but our little rocket
adapter fits in here, and then you can fire a variety of different ammo types out the front.
Keep in mind this will only work with the small barrels (anything
that doesn't shoot a triple Mega or a mega XL).
You could really make the look more cartoony.
It's so big!
These are scars, so you can actually improve your accuracy,
and it also might be a good way to get you down to the right FPS.
But it is worth noting that the fit is a little bit looser here,
so you're definitely looking at taking a single Loop of electrical tape to
get that fit nice and snug and to make sure that you can remove it.
As I said, ergonomically, the grip isn't as comfortable as some of the
other competitors in the space, but it is a very different blaster overall.
And given the performance level, it's really second to none.
I don't think there's another blaster that you could call in this size realm or form
factor that matches this for performance, and I think that's really where this shines.
If you want a top hard-hitting sidearm or even a small primary, this is your blaster.
The only downside I can really see at the moment, other than some of the minor ergonomic things, are
that the magazines are only six round magazines, though we found you can put seven inside.
With seven-round magazines,
you're gonna have to carry a lot of these to really get out there and play.
I would love to see some full lengths out of these,
but that does bring me to the other part of the magazines:
They are obviously proprietary, so you can't take any of your existing,
say, angled Talons (like this guy here) and put them in;
they’re just simply too large to fit or don't fit this exact geometry.
I do wonder if it would be possible to put a Nightingale magazine in here, but now that
I'm looking at how this works, there's no way you could possibly do that because the entire plunger
tube itself actually moves forward through these feed lips and seats directly with the barrel.
I think that's one of the ways they're making this so efficient.
There's a really good air seal; there’s no extra air space,
there's no Gap, and nowhere for the air to leak out.
Now when I do plug this up with my finger, the air seal is decent, but it's not holding anything.
However, if it's anything like any of their other products,
I don't think fixing the air seal is going to make it any better.
I was barely able to eke out five more FPS out of this blaster,
which is remarkable considering I put a better spring in it,
I lubed it up, I tried better O-rings, and really they've just maxed out these.
So, I have no doubt that the performance out of the box on
this is already just maxed out and ready to go.
We will be working on a low-power spring for this because at 160 FPS, it's automatically
eliminated from a lot of 150 or 130 FPS games,
or HvZ, and I think a lot of people are going to want to play with this.
The retail price on this is a $100
That's $20 more than the Mark-II.
Now you do get a few more accessories with that,
and you do get the three magazines, so I do think it's worth the value.
However, personally, for me, I don't find the accessories to be as compelling.
One thing I will note is when you are trying to fire this fast,
you will find that it locks on you.
You have to make sure you’re cycling
the slide really completely, but that's just a small learning curve thing.
Ultimately, I think this is a massive Improvement on the Mark-II.
I have really enjoyed the Mark-II; it's been my go-to add-on blaster,
as like a second-on-my-hip blaster at most games, and I think as long as you're okay
with the much larger size and the form factor, it's definitely an improvement.
Having the magazines instead of just the five-round internal one…
It makes such a big difference when you're playing because you can actually get more usage out of it.
These mags are drop fed and
assisted by the feed lips because if you actually put it upside down, you can make it pop up,
which is a nice little feature, so it seems like they will pretty reliably eject.
My one complaint with the mag release, however, is my thumb is just five millimeters too short.
I thought I had big hands(!)
I literally…
It's work to get there, and it's just due to the size of the grip.
So, if I'm in firing position, and I'm, and I'm going to be firing and firing.
(I shouldn't dry fire it)
I can't -- I have to choke up and go around the blaster to get that
out or potentially hit it with my off hand and swap that way.
But either way, I do wish that mag release just came around a
little bit further because it is pretty difficult.
I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you've seen this in person:
Can you hit the mag release without adjusting your hands?
Certainly, I know Drac can, but if anything about Drac,
his fingers are like six inches longer than mine, so he's gonna be able to do it.
Ultimately, I'm going to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.
I think it's a really solid offering.
Dart Zone is clearly committed to just making more and more hobby-grade blasters,
and I love seeing more options because the more we have as far as options in the Hobby and
different blasters, I think it's better for the hobby overall, and it pushes everybody forward.
We'll probably have a few more mod parts for this in the future.
I want to see if I can make a mag release that doesn't get in the way and doesn't break off.
(It might be a little bit challenging, but we'll see),
and then definitely looking at a low-power spring because it just hits hard.
Thank you so much for watching, and until next time, I'm out of darts.