Nerf CrossBolt Review (9/10)

The string actually does something for a change.

I was on the way home from the bowling alley when I got a wild hair to stop at the Toys R Us down the street to see if they had anything new. Going down the aisles, the endcaps had absolutely nothing and when I got to the main Nerf aisle there was the usual stuff. However a quick glance at the top shelf next to a few Rhino-Fires were three CrossBolts, probably the most sought after blaster of 2015. Ok the price tag of $37.99 was pretty brutal but I could care less, I snatched one up on the spot and well, here it is.

Size compared to a Crossbow and a Crossfire Bow.

The CrossBolt is basically what happen if you inject a Diamondista with preposterous amounts of testosterone and the result is a bullpup, magazine fed blaster that is as quiet as a mouse but hits like a freight train. The blaster is lightweight and the grip is very comfortable. The bullpup design allows the blaster to be much shorter without any sacrifice in performance and there is hardly any dead space as a result. The mag release spot is a little odd and it has the potential to drop mags out if you accidentally press into it when shouldering it. Despite this, in general, comfortwise, it's a winner.

Both jam doors open, showing the loading mechanism.

The blaster hits with pretty nice power. While the darts don't fly as fast as they do with plunger operated blasters for whatever reason but the range is quite excellent. Obviously the 90 foot range claim is ridiculous but it hits around 65 to 75 feet with fairly good accuracy. That and the fact that it's fairly quiet and the rate of fire is great makes this the ultimate stealth blaster of this size, let alone a very solid primary.

Internals are quite complex to say the least.

Yeah I figured this was going to be the result of opening this. The internals of this blaster are a mindfuckingly complex series of mechanical parts but like most Elite blasters, it all lifts out in one piece. Unless you absolutely must de-lock this thing, there's no reason to open it for mods as everything you need involves the elastic string; easily accessible from the outside of the blaster.

I absolutely love the CrossBolt, its a very unique sort of blaster and it performs remarkably well for a relatively new firing system. It hits with good power, is quite comfortable, and not to mention it's rather silent. Modding it is easy as it requires no internal work and the results are typically pleasing. Over it's a very versatile piece of kit and it deserves a solid 9 out of 10 in my book. Definitely pick one up if you see it.

The Verdict

Class- Clip Fed Crossbow

Range- Excellent, about 65-75 feet.

Size- Slightly bigger than a Rayven but with bow arms.

Reliability- No major issues, potential jams as with all clip systems.

Ammo- 12 Elite Darts.

Modding- Retensioning the elastic and it is possible to remove the bow arms altogether.
Value- At $25, it gives the bigger Retaliator a run for it's money.

Is It Better Than?

Diamondista- Yes, think of the CrossBolt as a Diamondista on roids. It has far greater ammo capacity and performs just as good. While the Diamondista is bit quieter because it does not use as much mechanical parts and is cheaper. The CrossBolt is a more effective blaster.

Crossfire Bow- Yes, the Crossfire is solid blaster but it lacks ammo capacity compared to the CrossBolt and it has limited mod potential due to the Smart AR system. Not all that surprising for what is essentially a watered down Roughcut. For a blaster of this sort the CrossBolt is better all around.

Retaliator- Depends, both blasters perform similarly and have the same ammo capacities. It depends on user preference, good ol' direct plunger power or the new elastic power. I personally prefer the CrossBolt due to it's bullpup configuration but you may be different.