Nerf Ultra Speed Review (Bought & Tested)

Design & Ergonomics: 7.5/10

The overall ergonomic and color design is solid. The gun looks amazing and feels amazing, so I have no complaints about that.

Both grips are comfortable, and the compact short stock feels good against the shoulder.

Let’s talk about the required 6 C-Type batteries. Installation of the batteries is easy enough with the tray located on the left side of the gun. However, for the price, I feel they should have included a rechargeable battery.

You will have to buy $15-$20 worth of batteries every time they need to be replaced. This blaster requires a lot of them compared to the typical battery powered Nerf guns.

Designing the magazines to not be compatible with others in the Ultra Series is a bummer. The only way to get other mags right now is to buy multiple guns.

Ammo and Loading: 8.5/10

The Ultra Speed includes two 12-dart magazines and 24 of the top-tier Nerf AccuStrike darts. These darts are high-quality and some of the most accurate ammo that Nerf makes.

Its included clips are easy to load with graphics showing the correct way to insert them. Loading is relatively fast, and the mags are not flimsy or cheap feeling.

If you look closely at the AccuStrike darts, they look and feel like a tougher version of packing styrofoam. The rubber tip on the end feels similar to an elite dart, but there is bit more space for air cushion in there.

Firing and Rate of Fire: 8/10

To fire the Nerf Ultra Speed, you first use the rev trigger to get the motor up to speed. One thing to note is that the rev-up speed takes a few seconds. If you pull the firing trigger too fast, it won’t shoot as hard.

According to my tests, this blaster outperformed the advertised seven darts per second firing speed on fresh batteries. I got up to 8 darts per second, but the tests aren’t perfect as the mags only hold 12 darts.

The dart velocity reduces a good amount in full-auto mode after about four darts shot.

Single firing this blaster isn’t the easiest thing to do but will help with performance. However, the best way to fire the Ultra Speed is to burst fire. Instead of holding down the firing trigger, just tap it for half a second to fling a few darts at a time.

The unfortunate part of the high fire rate is that you will spend more time finding your darts than shooting. Eye protection is also a good idea with this one, mostly because the dart fire way too fast to try and dodge.

Accuracy and Consistency: 7.5/10

Within 25 ft, you should have no problem hitting someone in a Nerf battle. Within 15 ft, full-auto spray and pray actually works. I think 35 ft is the max that you will be able to hit a moving target.

The Speed fires the more accurate Nerf Ultra ammo but the ammo still isn’t the best for consistency.

To get the most consistent accuracy, you need to let the blaster fully rev and burst fire this gun.

FPS and Range: 8.5/10

90-95 Feet per second dart velocity puts the Ultra Speed on par with other Ultra blasters. However, this speed is well above the average Nerf gun speed. It produces a solid sting within 25-30 feet that lets your friends know you are not messing around

The Ultra speed shoots an average of 50 feet when fired at a normal angle. With a pretty good angle up in the air, this gun can make it about 75 feet. These range tests were done while single firing the gun.

You will achieve much less range and velocity if you fire full-auto.

Reliability and Durability 8/10

During the testing of this gun, I didn’t have any jams or mechanical malfunctions. It is more reliable when the batteries are fresh, which is typical for automatic blasters.

It stinks that the rev-motor doesn’t fully keep up with fully automatic fire. However, as long as you burst fire, it is fairly reliable.

As for durability, I don’t have any concerns about specific parts breaking. Nothing feels super cheap on it. A common concern is dropping the mags on a hard surface. Thankfully these ones have a hard rubber on the bottom to help absorb some shock.

Aside from excessive dropping or other abnormal abuse, I don’t have any major durability concerns.

Fun and Value: 8/10

I have no doubt that everyone that fires the Ultra Speed will have fun with it. The motor is one of the loudest I’ve heard and will definitely strike fear into the hearts of your foes. It definitely checks all the boxes of an intimidating and exciting blaster.

However, the price tag is slightly on the higher end, initially retailing for around 72 US dollars. If it had that rechargeable battery, as I mentioned, I wouldn’t complain about the price.