Foam dart blasters are a fun toy to use for people of all ages. However, when it comes to finding the right blaster for you and your family, you may not be aware of the options available
Nearly every parent has heard of the Nerf blaster brand and with so many blasters to choose from, one might not see a need to look for other blaster brands. However, what many do not realize is that outside of the Nerf brand there are many comparable blasters they can find.
Read more about all the Nerf blasters to choose from here: How many Nerf guns are there? (Hint: much more than you think!).
Brands of blasters other than Nerf include X-Shot, Best Choice Products, PokonBoy, BoomCo, and many more!
The BoomCo brand is a part of the larger company Mattel. The brand makes blasters that are most comparable to Nerf guns and should be considered when buying blaster toys either for your children or for yourself.
Find other alternatives to Nerf here: 5 Awesome Alternatives to Nerf Guns! .
Before you purchase your new foam dart blaster, you should consider several different things to determine which is the best blaster to buy. Keep reading to find out which brand makes the better blaster!
Nerf
Nerf is possibly the most well known brand of foam dart blasters. The company released its first blaster in 1989 and still continues to release more every year. Previously owned by Parker Bros, Nerf was purchased by the Hasbro company in 1991.
There are hundreds of different Nerf blasters for you to choose from. However, one thing the Nerf brand is well known for is variety and getting people up and active. If you are looking for a way to get your child up off the couch a Nerf blaster is the perfect method. All you need to do is find the right blaster for them.
No two Nerf blasters are made the same. If you are looking for a variety of blasters to put in your arsenal than Nerf is the company of blasters for you to choose.
While variety is one factor to look for in a blaster brand, so is power. With so many different Nerf blasters they each are capable of firing over a variety of distances. The blasters capable of firing over the furthest distance are those in the Nerf MEGA and the Elite XD Series.
While power is important, the accuracy of the blaster you choose is just as, if not more, important. Learn more about the most accurate Nerf guns here: Which Nerf gun is the most accurate? (Hint: not the one that you think it is!).
The Nerf company does not only sell blasters, but it includes accessories and attachments. These attachments are designed to build upon your Nerf blaster using tactical rails.
Find some attachments for your Nerf blaster to improve the performance of your Nerf blasters: The Best Attachments for Your Nerf Blaster: Upgrade Your Gear with These Mods!
If you are looking for something different from the premade attachments to improve your Nerf blaster, then perhaps a custom modification would be the right choice for you.
Modifying Nerf blasters is an excellent way to take your Nerf hobby to the next level. There are many different modifications that vary depending upon the blaster. Looking through a few different mod options before breaking open your blaster will allow you to find the modification that will yield the best results. Read here about which blaster to start learning how to modify here: Which Nerf Gun Is Best for Modifications?.
If your child absolutely loves Nerf guns and you are looking to find the perfect gifts to get them more immersed in the Nerf world, we have the perfect list for you. Click here to find 8 Nerf Gun Gift Ideas Your Kid Will Love!
Boomco
The first BoomCo blaster was released in 2014 under the larger company Mattel. Three years later in 2017, Mattel and all of its smaller sub brands, were purchased by the toy tycoon Hasbro.
As was mentioned earlier, Nerf joined the Hasbro in 1991. This means that the two brands, Nerf and BoomCo, became distant cousins of sorts. While the two companies are now technically related, there are still evident differences between Nerf and BoomCo blasters.
Like most other dart blasters, BoomCo blasters are able to launch darts over great distances. The majority of BoomCo blasters are advertised to launch darts up to 70 feet! Although actual firing ranges will vary for each blaster, an average distance of 90 feet is incredible for a spring operated foam dart blaster.
Some BoomCo blasters even feature attachment rails that resemble those on Nerf guns. These attachment points allow you to improve the blaster’s performance with modifications such as sights, flashlights, and even occasionally another blaster!
As well as attachment points, BoomCo blasters feature many shield accessories that utilize Smart Stick technology. While you may not know what Smart Stick Technology is, it is in fact what sets the BoomCo blaster brand apart from the other cookie cutter dart blaster companies.
All of the darts used by BoomCo blaster are equipped with Smart Stick tips. While most other foam darts just bounce off their target, BoomCo darts are designed to stick to BoomCo targets, shields, and armor. This means that if your blaster is equipped with a BoomCo shield, you can easily collect darts while in battle. Simply receive fire from your opponents on your shield, rip the darts off, and reload!
Along with having Smart Stick tech, BoomCo darts are smaller and denser than other foam dart blasters. These features make BoomCo darts more aerodynamic and therefore more accurate than darts even sold by Nerf.
Because BoomCo darts are so much different than other blaster brands’ darts, they are not likely to fit inside other brands’ blasters. Find out more about dart compatibility here: Are Nerf Darts Universal? Learn the truth in this post.
New to the BoomCo brand? Not sure which BoomCo blaster to start off your collection with? Find out all you need to know about purchasing BoomCo here: Boomco Buyer’s Guide: the Best Boomco Blasters Available!.
The Better Brand
Both BoomCo and Nerf have pros and cons that make them more desirable in different situations.
Nerf is a well known brand and therefore comes with an accepted standard of quality. This standard of quality includes both consistent durability and performance. Because of this when you purchase a Nerf blaster, you know that the product you will be receiving is actually capable of doing what it is advertised to do.
Another pro to purchasing a Nerf blaster is that as mentioned above, there is quite a variety of Nerf guns and products to choose from. This makes the brand more versatile and able to suit a large amount of consumers with different needs.
If you are looking for a blaster guaranteed to perform well and work in a vast array of scenarios, then the Nerf brand will be the better choice for you.
Once you have your Nerf blasters, gather a group of friends and get ready to play! Not sure what other games besides a death match to play? Click here to find 10 Awesome Nerf Blaster Games to Play with the Whole Crew!.
While not as well known as the Nerf brand, BoomCo is still a reliable blaster company.
Perhaps a con to the BoomCo brand is a lack of variety in blasters. Most blasters are capable of similar performance and are all hand gun style blasters. However, while you could see this as a con limiting the use of the blasters to some it could potentially be a pro for others.
If you are like me and struggle to make decisions, less variety and a fewer selection of choices tends to make that decision easier.
Another factor to consider about BoomCo is the dart type. Having a dart that stick to shields and target is an incredible feature. BoomCo darts more compact design allows the darts to fly easier through the air accurately towards its target. The only downside is that these darts are not compatible with other brands of dart.
The biggest selling point of BoomCo is the price tag. Compared to similar Nerf blasters, BoomCo blasters are sold at a lower price.
Overall, BoomCo is a great brand to choose blasters from if you are looking to try something different than the standard foam dart shooter or are intrigued by the unique Smart Stick Technology darts.
People Also Ask:
What happened to BoomCo?
BoomCo is still a relatively new company. With its first blaster being released in 2014, the BoomCo blaster brand seemed to disappear only a few short years later.
Mattel announced two years after the blaster’s first release that the brand was not being discontinued for retail. This gave BoomCo lovers hope that their beloved blasters would continue to be sold and new ones released. In fact, in this same announcement Mattel stated that the brand was moving towards producing more Batman and Halo themed products.
However, only a year later these plans did not seem to be the reality of the situation. The brand seemed to have disappeared by 2018.
Luckily for those still loyal to the BoomCo brand, a limited number of blasters can still be purchased either on Amazon or directly from Mattel.
What does Nerf stand for?
Depending on what crowd you are in, they may have a different understanding of the phrase Nerf. People with varying definitions include the gaming community, off-road racers, and toy companies.
No matter what group you are in, there is at least one factor in common for each of the varying definitions, soft foam.
As an acronym, Nerf stands for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam. This “miracle foam” and the popular products made from it are what gave the company Nerf its name. The foam is a solid, spongy product made with the intent to make traditionally outdoor games safe for indoor spaces. However, the company did not stop at only making indoor sports gear.
For those in the toy industy, or even just for consumers, the word Nerf most likely refers to foam dart blasters. Although the company sells many other products, the company is most known for these home safe blaster toys.
Find out more about the toy tycoon Nerf on Nerf Wiki here!
Off-road racers also using the term Nerf understand it slightly differently from the toy companies.
On the front of racing trucks, there are metal bars. Due to the dangerous conditions of some off-road races the drivers needed to protect themselves in the event that they collide with these metal bars. The bars were wrapped in foam and over time adopted the name “Nerf Bars.”
Learn more about this usage of Nerf in 15 Things You Didn’t Know About NERF.
The third community that uses the phrase Nerf in a way different than the acronym is among gamers.
The meaning of the word Nerf, while having its own unique meaning to this group, in fact stems from the original meaning of the acronym.
As the toy company Nerf grew, it became known for creating “weak” toys. The internet took the phrase and started using it no longer as a noun but as a verb with the meaning: to make weak or soft.
In each of these scenarios, the phrase Nerf refers to a product that is both soft and safe.
Conclusion
Ultimately there are not very many extreme differences between the BoomCo and Nerf brands. Both are powerful foam dart blasters that are suitable for users of all age groups and background.
The greatest difference between BoomCo and Nerf blasters are the types of darts used. While Nerf has many different types of darts to choose from, their shape and design is easily replicated by other blaster brands. However, BoomCo’s Smart Stick Technology darts are unique to only the BoomCo brand.
The minute differences between the two brands do not necessarily set one type of blaster above the other brand. Consider the differences between the brands to determine which blaster brand is better for you.
Learn More
If you are interested, here is a link to everything Nerf on Amazon.