Buzz Bee Air Max Boss Review (10/10)

You would never expect me to be good. You will learn.

I tend to loathe Buzz Bee, at least on the dart blaster side of the spectrum because at least they make pretty good water guns that serve as good stand ins for the new, shitty push pull Super Soakers. Usually the trend with Buzz Bee dart blasters is that they feel and look cheap compared to Nerf blasters and they mostly perform pretty god awful. Granted they tend to be less expensive than Nerf but the letdowns tend to give you more of reason to spend a little extra to get something of good quality. Yeah there we're a few gems like the Big Blast and the Berserker but most of their blasters just plain sucked, but as time went on something seems to have changed. Today's Buzz Bee aims to be a bit more of a serious competitor to Nerf and their new blasters, although a few recycling some of their past ideas, they seem to look a bit more the part. The Air Max Boss is my first Buzz Bee blaster in years, and much to my surprise, it's an absolute beast.

Size compared to a CycloneShock.

So what the hell happened? Well last Buzz Bee blaster I reviewed was the Air Max 10 and it was rather good so maybe a bit of progress has happened in the last few years. The Boss on the other hand is a bit more recent and it's one of Buzz Bee attempts at making a Nerf Mega competitor which eventually starts getting a bit strange but I'll touch on that later. As for it's appearance, it's still the relatively plain, stickered look Buzz Bee is known for but it does away with most of the weird shapes that they utilized for designs in the past. It's build has improved a bit and the plastic feels a little higher grade than what I remember of the old blasters and it actually feels relatively comfortable. The grip is a good size plus the prime feels solid. The magazine eject button sucks a little bit but that's not too huge of an issue. Not compared to this.

How in the f.....

Well it's not really an issue but it's absolutely weird as hell. I've seen Buzz Bee copy stuff before but this is easily the most blatant thing since the CPS infringement. The Centurion mag fits perfectly, and vice versa! Not only that, the darts are the exact same dimensions as Nerf's Megas but the main difference is that they have a low drag suction cup tip on them as opposed to a whistle tip. With that in mind, the Boss can actually fire Nerf Megas from Centurion mags without issue. My Centurion was a little finicky about taking the Boss mag and it's darts for some reason but it's a Centurion, that kind of crap is expected to happen. Also, since the Boss technically is a competitor to the Magnus and the CycloneShock, having actual mags make the Boss infinitely more usable than it's Nerf counterparts. I'm still clueless as to how this has happened and how Buzz Bee hasn't had issues with Hasbro as far as I know but hey, it's cool. I guess since they managed to screw up completely on Mega clip systems with the Centurion, they left the idea to rot. It's a shame but at least someone is keeping it alive.

Internals are somewhat similar to the Magnus but slightly simpler.

As for it's performance, it actually performs very similar to the CycloneShock and the Magnus clocking in at around 60 to 70 feet with decent accuracy using it's stock suction darts. Some reports have it even nearly hitting 100 feet with Nerf Megas but with more unpredictable accuracy. Also, I've put tons of rounds through it already and not a single jam. Granted there's no jam door so in the event it does happen hopefully clearing it isn't difficult. This is hands down one of the most powerful stock blasters I've ever used and it insane to think that Buzz Bee made it. To think the same people who made the oh so awful Tommy 20 turned around and made something so powerful and actually built fairly well is insane. Once you get past the glued on front piece which isn't too hard to get off, the internals are similar to a Magnus but somehow this just works notably better. The spring is pretty beefy and the seals seem to be good. Modding shouldn't be difficult either and since they're so dirt cheap, I might just buy another to experiment on.

The Boss is by far one of the most surprising blaster's I've ever used. It's insanely powerful, practical, and it's cheap. All of which are pretty big qualities to look after when looking for a dart blaster and this is exactly that, no nonsense. Yeah it does look a little dull in true Buzz Bee fashion plus the weird-ish magazine eject and lack of jam door may pose slight issues in the future but those are pretty minor and haven't been a problem for me as of lately. I'll go as far to say that I'd take this thing over a CycloneShock and that's saying something. The boss is worthy of a 10 out of 10, very rare that an off brand blaster gets that rating. Buzz Bee has really turned their act around with this one and it's safe to say I'll no longer be walking directly past them on my way to the Nerf blasters. They have stuff definitely worth checking out now.

The Verdict

Class- Magazine Fed Heavy Pistol

Range- Excellent, around 60-70 feet with fair consistency. Potential to hit 100 with Nerf Megas.

Size- Roughly the same size as Magnus but a little bulkier.

Reliability- May jam but has not been an issue.

Ammo- 3 XL Distance Darts(2013 Mega Darts)

Modding- Great potential, a basic spring swap and AR removal can work wonders for this blaster.
Value- At $10, it's an absolute steal for a performance you get out of this thing.

Is It Better Than?

Magnus- Yes, the Boss trumps the Magnus in every aspect despite the obvious similarities. It's cheaper, just as powerful if not more, and it's clip fed out of the box, something the Magnus requires a bit of mutilation in order be able to do. It's a no brainer.

CycloneShock- Depends, again for the same reasons as the Magnus. Much cheaper, just as powerful if not more, and clip fed. I love the CycloneShock but it's bulkiness and the impracticality of using a revolver over a magazine fed pistol make the Boss a better choice yet again. But if you don't have extra mags, and this may come as a problem to people who don't own a dart shredding Centurion, the CycloneShock is easier to manage on the fly rather than trying to fumble darts down a magazine with a blaster in one hand.