Heres the other initial release from the Curve Shot line, aka the next generation of Knockout. It is easier to use than the predecessor and offers plenty of ammunition storage. It is also five dollars less and lighter than its predecessor. It still makes a decent low-end ball blaster.
Knockout 2.0
The comparisons are hard to deny. The blasters look very similar, with the exception of the barrel extension and extended ammo storage. The handle houses the plunger, which feeds into a pop open breech. After you have loaded a round, close the breech and pulled the trigger to fire.
However, the Flex is improved in operation. One, the plunger handle can be pulled down; you don’t need to push it up before firing. In addition, priming the blaster now automatically opens the breech, instead of being different motions.
The Flex, like the Sideswipe has a rotating hop up tab at the blaster’s front. The Flex, unlike the Sideswipe is small enough that you can easily hold it in your hand to fire either left or right. That being said, if you find trying to fire sideways awkward (not to mention upside down), the mechanism has its appeal.
The handle is comfortable and large. There’s enough room to hold all your fingers.
Performance
My Flex averaged 91fps, compared to the 90fps range claims. More importantly, thanks to the reduced number of steps, you can get a shot off every two seconds!
As for curving the shots, it does work, albeit with a gentle curve. As with the Sideswipe, I see the down setting as being the most useful, as it allows landing shots behind cover.
Internals
The layout of the internals are similar to the Knockout, but with some changes.
The plastic levers and other doodads have been redesigned to make it easier to use. It is also much easier to remove the plunger tube. Unfortunately, the plunger tube has a large gap in the side. The reasoning, of course, is to accelerate the plunger head quickly before it compresses the air at the end of the tube. For those of us who might want to convert this into, say, a mag-fed dart blaster, though, it may not be as effective.
Last Thoughts
The Flex is a great evolution of the Knockout. Although it is not necessary to add a rotating hop up tab to a small pistol this works. Does the ease of use and ammo storage outweigh the extra ? You decide.
