If you haven’t heard of them, X-Shot is a brand of Nerf-style foam dart guns that is owned by the Zuru toy company.
They made a name for themselves over the years by producing some fun toy dart blasters. Over the last 5 years or so, X-Shot has grown to be one of the most notable competing Nerf brands.
While there is a lower selection of X-Shot brand Nerf guns, they: have more reasonable prices, don’t look or feel way cheaper, and can perform better than comparable Nerf blasters.
This article covers the 5 best X-Shot blasters and how they stack up to similar Nerf blasters.
What is the Best X-Shot blaster?
The best X-Shot dart blaster out now is the Excel Crusher minigun. It is a great quality blaster that looks awesome, shoots consistently with no jams, and has a reasonable price.
It includes 48 foam darts and a 35-dart chain that can be extended by purchasing additional links. It doesn’t require batteries and can shoot up to 4 darts per second with a range of 90 feet.
If a minigun-style Nerf blaster is not what you are looking for, there are more on our top 5 list that are definitely worth looking at!
Here Are the 5 Best Zuru X-Shot Blasters in 2023
| 1. X-Shot Excel Crusher | Read Review |
| 2. X-Shot Excel Turbo Advance | Read Review |
| 3. X-Shot Chaos Orbit | Read Review |
| 4. X-Shot Excel Regenerator | Read Review |
| 5. X-Shot Excel Xcess | Read Review |
1. X-Shot Excel Crusher
Best X-Shot Dart Blaster
Available in white and red color themes, the Excel Crusher is the biggest of the X-Shot dart blasters released to date. It is one of the most affordable big dart blasters, partly because of its simple spring-powered design that requires no batteries.
The upper white handle is the priming handle, and it can be quickly moved back and forth while holding the trigger down. This will allow you to fire up to 4 darts per second, with dart velocity above the Nerf standard at 80 feet per second.
One barrel in the center is where all the darts are launched from, but there are six barrels that spin while it fires.
There are plenty of X-Shot darts included, 48 to be exact, so you have more than enough to fill the 35-dart chain. To add to the fun, you can get extra links to extend the chain or wear on your shoulders like Rambo.
The chain feeds in from the right side, and must be disconnected to load as the top of the blaster doesn’t open up. For this reason, it is easier to keep it connected in a loop and reload it while still in the gun.
Who Should Buy The Excel Crusher
If you like the look, the Crusher is easily the best Nerf minigun out, especially at its price.
You can look at the lack of full-auto as a pro or con, but batteries make blasters heavier and cost more over time.
For younger kids, there is also a more compact version that performs similarly called the Excel Omega.
Specs:
- Ammo Type: Zuru darts
- Ammo Capacity: 35 darts+
- Velocity: Up to 80 feet per second
- Fire-Rate: 4 darts per second
- Powered: Spring-powered
Reasons to Buy:
- Great color design
- High ammo capacity (Extendable chain)
- Comfortable ergonomics
Reasons to Avoid:
- Not Full Auto
- Can’t remove chain quickly
2. X-Shot Excel Turbo Advance
Highest Ammo Capacity
Featuring a 40-dart drum, the X-Shot Excel Turbo Advanced is a spring-powered pump action powerhouse. There is very little assembly required, you just have to put the drum and snap on the blue plastic guards above it.
This blaster has a double-sized barrel, and you alternate between shooting either the outer or inner row of darts with the switch.
While no attachments are included, the Turbo Shot includes 96 Zuru darts! Once it’s loaded you can fire 20 darts before flipping a switch to fire the next 20.
The drum can be removed quickly if you need to, but it’s just as easy to rotate it and reload it whiles its attached. The white section behind the primer has an easy push button slider on the left side to lock it in place or take it out.
A stock would definitely help this blaster out, but the curved grip handle makes it very comfortable to fire from the hip.
The Turbo Advanced shoots its ammo at up to 75 feet per second; a little above the comparable Nerf average.
Who Should Buy The Excel Turbo Advanced
When looking for a dart blaster with good ammo capacity for a fair price, this one is hard to beat.
It holds a bit more ammo than the Crusher and is less bulky. While it is not as compatible with attachment options, it both holds and includes more than twice the darts as Nerf blasters at the same price.
Specs:
- Ammo Type: Zuru darts
- Ammo Capacity: 40 darts
- Velocity: Up to 75 feet per second
- Fire-Rate: 4 darts per second
- Powered: Spring-powered
Reasons to Buy:
- High dart capacity
- Unique visual design
- Comfortable smooth hip fire
Reasons to Avoid:
- No slam fire
- Not many customization options
3. X-Shot Chaos Orbit
Hardest Shooting X-Shot Blaster
The XShot Chaos Orbit is a foam ball shooting blaster that can be compared to those in the Nerf Rival Series.
This shotgun-style blaster utilizes rear loading internal magazine that holds 14 Chaos balls. To load, you move the orange slider to the back, shove the rounds in, and then move the slider to the front.
With the purchase, a decal sticker pack and 24 ammo rounds are included.
It shoots hard, averaging a bit over 100 feet per second, making it the hardest-shooting X-Shot blaster. The advertised range is also correct at up to 100 feet.
On top of the blaster is a sight that looks cool but doesn’t magnify or really help with the aim. Other notable features include an unjamming access door and trigger safety.
When comparing the quality to the Nerf brand, I would say the plastic is a bit cheaper, but it isn’t enough to hinder performance.
Who Should Buy The Chaos Orbit
Those who want a lower-priced Rival-style ball blaster will definitely want to check out Chaos.
Like Rival, the Chaos series shoots much harder than a standard Nerf gun, so it may not be as suitable for younger kids.
The closest Nerf blasters that you can compare it with are the Nerf Rival Atlas and the newer Nerf Rival Forerunner.
While they are all pretty close in performance, the Chaos is the cheapest.
The Nerf Rival Atlas is twice as much, and the Forerunner is roughly $10 a bit better accuracy.
Specs:
- Ammo Type: Chaos Rounds
- Ammo Capacity: 14 balls
- Velocity: Over 100 feet per second
- Range: Up to 100 ft
- Powered: Spring-powered
Reasons to Buy:
- Lower priced than similar Rival blasters
- Easy to load internal magazine
- Great ammo velocity
Reasons to Avoid:
- Doesn’t have slam-fire
- Unusable rail on top
4. X-Shot Excel Regenerator
Most Customizable
The X-Shot Excel Regenerator is probably the best choice for kids because it has so many ways it can be customized.
You can drastically change the way it looks with different combos of the included: stock, grip, bipod, two scopes, and two barrels.
The Regenerator comes with 48 darts, which is more than double what the two clips will hold. With the help of the additional dart storage attachments, you can store another 10 on the blaster itself for easy access.
Besides the high number of combinations in which this gun can be assembled, it also has a unique ammo clip system.
It sports horizontal feeding 10-dart clips that allow you to reload them without having to take them out. However, you can also quickly reload by just shoving the next clip in and pushing out the other.
This blaster shoots about the average or a bit harder at up to 73 feet per second.
Who Should Buy The Excel Regenerator
If you are looking for an enjoyable blaster that can be used in a lot of different ways, the Regenerator is highly recommended.
The Regenerator is most comparable to the Nerf Modulus ECS-10. You will find the Regenerator at about $10 or so less, but Nerf attachments are definitely better quality.
Their ammo capacity is the same but you can get a lot crazier with the extra ammo clips and variations on the X-Shot version.
As usual with all their guns, X-Shot provides way more darts to also make it more appealing.
Specs:
- Ammo Type: Zuru darts
- Ammo Capacity: 10 darts
- Velocity: Up to 73 feet per second
- Powered: Spring-powered
Reasons to Buy:
- Very customizable
- Includes a ton of darts
- Great visual design
- Unique ammo clip system
Reasons to Avoid:
- Attachments are a bit lower quality than Nerf
5. X-Shot Excel Xcess
Best X-Shot Pistol
Our choice for the best X-Shot pistol is the Excel Xcess, a dual-cylinder rotating revolver that shoots up to 80 feet per second.After popping off six shots the lower trigger rotates the 6 dart cylinders for quick access to another round of shooting.
The Xcess is a budget 12-dart blaster that competes with the best Nerf revolvers out there.
This spring-powered gun is primed at the top rear, and can be fired pretty quickly, but does not have slam fire.
It also includes 16 darts, so you get a few more than what it can hold. With most dart blasters performing about the same it is always nice to be able to fire a bit longer.
Who Should Buy The Excel Xcess
Looking for a different type of budget blaster that can fire 12 darts before reloading, the Xcess is a fun option.
I like this one a lot because it is very similar in design to the FlipFury, which is one of my favorite Zombie Strike Nerf blasters.
The difference is that while the Xcess doesn’t have a cool Zombie design or slam fire, it shoots harder, is nearly half the price, and includes more darts.
If you are looking for a more unique color design, this blaster has been redesigned into the form of the X-Shot Skins Dread. It looks very similar but has multiple upgraded paint job designs to choose from at the same low price.
Specs:
- Ammo Type: Zuru darts
- Ammo Capacity: 12 darts
- Velocity: Up to 80 feet per second
- Powered: Spring-powered
Reasons to Buy:
- High ammo capacity
- Double-rotating drum design
- Low cost
Reasons to Avoid:
- No slam fire
Zuru X-Shot vs. Nerf
Nerf has been king for a long time, so how well do X-Shot blasters actually compare?
While the overall quality of Nerf guns may be better overall, there are many great options from X-Shot worth checking out.
Is X-Shot better than Nerf?
Nerf has a much wider selection of blasters compared to X-Shot as they also have been around for much longer. However, X-Shot has some comparable blasters that perform better, and are significantly lower priced.
There are a few noticeable differences when it comes to quality. One minor thing is that most X-shot blasters have stickers instead of painted or molded decals, which can wear over time.
Nerf also has a quality edge when it comes to customization and attachments. However, the reduced prices of the Zuru X-Shot brand can more makeup for most quality differences.
X-Shot Ammo Vs. Nerf Ammo
X-Shot by Zuru currently has guns with foam ammo types comparable to Nerf’s standard Elite dart and Nerf Rival rounds. These ammo types are not perfectly compatible as they are not exactly the same.
The X-Shot dart is about equal when it comes to the quality of the Nerf Elite dart. However, X-Shot darts are lighter and fly a little further on average.
They are both the bare minimum in the performance category but get the job done.
There are many knock-off brands of the Nerf Rival rounds, but the name brand has the best consistent manufacturing quality. However, the Chaos rounds perform well and have no major issues in X-Shot blasters.
X-Shot guns can fire the equivalent Nerf darts and balls, but with lower quality performance.
Final Thoughts
X-Shot is undoubtedly a top-tier brand to check out if you want a fun dart blaster at a better price than Nerf.
It will be exciting to see the route they go when it comes down to designing new blasters for the future.
To see all the X-Shot foam dart guns, check out their store on Amazon.
Happy Nerfing!