I have been trying to find a dart that can be used out of all stock and lightly modded blaster that is safe for kids to use.
While I have a brass breeched LS and a singled Titan the stock Blasters still get the most use around our house, much to the wife’s displeasure.
I have had some good success with blue foam snap cap darts (unweighted)but I wanted a dart that my 8 yr. old could use in wars with his friends without having to worry about kids going home with marks I need to explain.
So I thought I would order a packet of Fer-de-lance dart from Black Tactical. They are a hollow foam dart with a tip which looks like 10mm thick craft foam on the tip. There is a nut glued inside for weight. I don’t have a camera handy but there is a good review on SGnerf with pictures which you can find here FerDeLance Dart Review
Like mentioned in the SGnerf review I found a few of the dart heads were a little offset the dart but it did not seem to affect the performance dramatically but I did cut the worst of them with a razor blade and reglue them so they looked a little nicer. I did this to about 6 from the packet of 30.
Impact Test I shot myself in the forearm at 1 foot with the FDL darts and the sting was minimal and no mark could be seen after ten seconds. The same test with a snap cap dart left a red mark for about an hour. The next test was to sneak up behind the wife and kids and try a few shots. The wife’s complaints were significantly less and my 5 year old laughed instead of shunning me for the rest of the day like when I hit her in the knuckle with a stinger.
Range Test
When conducting the Range Test I noticed that while the range was less than most of the snap cap darts the grouping on the ground was much tighter with the FDL darts so I decided to record the spread of darts rather than the average range. All Blasters were fired from rib height.
Scout (stock)
FDL - 25-26 feet (1ft variation) all darts landed less than 1 foot from tape
Streamline - won't fire from stock scout
Snap cap - 28-34 feet (6ft variation) all darts landed between 2 feet and 4 feet from tape
Maverick (AR Removed)
FDL - 27-32 feet (5ft variation)
Streamline - 20-39 feet (19ft variation)
Snap cap - 37-46 feet (9ft variation)
Alpha Trooper (stock)
FDL - 22-28 feet (6ft variation)
Streamline - 10-26 feet (16ft variation)
Snap cap - 10-30 feet (20ft variation 3 of 6 landed close to 30 ft. mark)
Long Shot (BB & BTV2 spring)
FDL - 52-54 feet (2ft variation)
Heavy Siltip - 60-75 feet (15ft variation) remember blaster was fired flat from rib height
Summary
These darts seem to be very accurate and consistent with a nice safe tip for kids and indoor wars. The shaft of the dart seems to be very consistent in size and does not deform easily. The ranges in the AT seem to be influenced by how much the dart deforms as it is pushed against the dart stop as the bolt is closed. I have noticed that the blue foam appears to be slightly larger and can sometimes get a little tight in the breech.
At about 30cents a dart they are a little more expensive than some other options but the best option I have found for a nice accurate and safe dart that can be fired from all blasters
While I have a brass breeched LS and a singled Titan the stock Blasters still get the most use around our house, much to the wife’s displeasure.
I have had some good success with blue foam snap cap darts (unweighted)but I wanted a dart that my 8 yr. old could use in wars with his friends without having to worry about kids going home with marks I need to explain.
So I thought I would order a packet of Fer-de-lance dart from Black Tactical. They are a hollow foam dart with a tip which looks like 10mm thick craft foam on the tip. There is a nut glued inside for weight. I don’t have a camera handy but there is a good review on SGnerf with pictures which you can find here FerDeLance Dart Review
Like mentioned in the SGnerf review I found a few of the dart heads were a little offset the dart but it did not seem to affect the performance dramatically but I did cut the worst of them with a razor blade and reglue them so they looked a little nicer. I did this to about 6 from the packet of 30.
Impact Test I shot myself in the forearm at 1 foot with the FDL darts and the sting was minimal and no mark could be seen after ten seconds. The same test with a snap cap dart left a red mark for about an hour. The next test was to sneak up behind the wife and kids and try a few shots. The wife’s complaints were significantly less and my 5 year old laughed instead of shunning me for the rest of the day like when I hit her in the knuckle with a stinger.
Range Test
When conducting the Range Test I noticed that while the range was less than most of the snap cap darts the grouping on the ground was much tighter with the FDL darts so I decided to record the spread of darts rather than the average range. All Blasters were fired from rib height.
Scout (stock)
FDL - 25-26 feet (1ft variation) all darts landed less than 1 foot from tape
Streamline - won't fire from stock scout
Snap cap - 28-34 feet (6ft variation) all darts landed between 2 feet and 4 feet from tape
Maverick (AR Removed)
FDL - 27-32 feet (5ft variation)
Streamline - 20-39 feet (19ft variation)
Snap cap - 37-46 feet (9ft variation)
Alpha Trooper (stock)
FDL - 22-28 feet (6ft variation)
Streamline - 10-26 feet (16ft variation)
Snap cap - 10-30 feet (20ft variation 3 of 6 landed close to 30 ft. mark)
Long Shot (BB & BTV2 spring)
FDL - 52-54 feet (2ft variation)
Heavy Siltip - 60-75 feet (15ft variation) remember blaster was fired flat from rib height
Summary
These darts seem to be very accurate and consistent with a nice safe tip for kids and indoor wars. The shaft of the dart seems to be very consistent in size and does not deform easily. The ranges in the AT seem to be influenced by how much the dart deforms as it is pushed against the dart stop as the bolt is closed. I have noticed that the blue foam appears to be slightly larger and can sometimes get a little tight in the breech.
At about 30cents a dart they are a little more expensive than some other options but the best option I have found for a nice accurate and safe dart that can be fired from all blasters
Last edited by RePete on Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:53 pm; edited 1 time in total