I saw an Aussie importer with Venom Pros in stock and on discount, and I couldn't resist the temptation. A flywheeler pistol that has competitive performance out-of-box and is fed by magazines through the handle? I was intrigued.
I'm something like a year late to this, but given it doesn't normally retail in Australia anyway, I didn't think I'd ever get one in the first place.
Box
Venom Pro Blaster
The Venom Pro blaster is a fairly bulky pistol-sized package, though if you're familiar with foam-flinging pistols, it's nothing too crazy. Notably, it is quite short length-wise but fairly tall. The overall shell and plastic quality feels excellent, seems to be quite solid with no noticeable creaking or flexing.
The front view shows that the barrel and muzzle is situated quite low in the main body, with a somewhat conspicuous hatch above it (but more on that in a moment). The rear is rather more boring.
The included battery pack fits in with plenty of room to spare. If you are so inclined, you could fit a larger, aftermarket pack in there instead.
With the battery pack mounted where it is, I find the weight balance to be a bit awkward. The centre of mass is well above and forward of the handle, though it is still a fairly light blaster so it is a minor complaint.
The top of the blaster is adorned with a Picatinny rail. It also includes a tiny slidable iron sight piece, which is so low-profile that I almost didn't register its presence until reading the instructions.
Unlike some other members of the Pro line, I've found the Venom Pro's handle to be slightly uncomfortable. I find it a little boxy and lacking in contouring.
The reason for this is of course that the Venom Pro receives magazines through the handle, much like real-life handguns. As a result, the handle design is constrained by the dimensions and design of its magazines.
There is a safety just above the handle. This safety blocks both main buttons from being pressed, preventing the blaster from activating. Unlike most other Pro blasters, I am unable to actuate the safety comfortably with my right hand, as my thumb just isn't long enough.
The Venom Pro's mag release is on the left side, just underneath the trigger. With my natural grip and not-large hands, I found it difficult to reach without shifting grip.
I tried two main techniques, one curling my hand around the back of the handle to reach the button with my thumb, and the other curling around the front to reach the button with my middle finger. Between these two, I found the thumb option to be both much easier to shift grip to and from, as well as more reliable for dropping mags out. If the release is depressed properly, the magazine should fall out from just gravity. In the event it is a little stubborn, a quick flick should send it flying...
After some practice, I found thumb mag dropping to be quite easy, and subsequently changing magazines to be very smooth (and satisfying!).
Since the magazine runs through the handle, the Venom Pro has no space for a more familiar rev trigger. Instead, the back plate of the handle is the rev pad. Again, this was something that was a bit awkward at first, but became more natural after some use. The best technique for activating this one is effectively to squeeze the handle, depressing it with your "first web space" (space between thumb and forefinger).
Note that the trigger cannot be pulled if the rev pad is not depressed first.
Wielding the Venom Pro left-handed can be somewhat awkward at first, since the button layout seems clearly design for right-handed use. It is manageable with a bit of grip shifting though; I was able to use the mag release by lifting up my middle finger, albeit with more effort than when using it right-handed. Funnily enough, my left hand has a much easier time with the safety switch, since my left forefinger can easily reach it.
Battery Pack and Charger
The instruction sheet for the Venom Pro mentions both overheat protection and overdischarge protection on the circuitboard, both of which are very nice given the potential dangers of Lithium cells.
In terms of battery life, based on its rating and my past experience with LiPos, I would be surprised if it lasted more than a day of heavy use.
The Venom Pro also includes a small charging cable, USB to balance lead.
This charging cable has some basic indicators. It will light up red when plugged into a power source, flash green when charging the battery, and emit solid green when fully charged. The instruction sheet suggests a maximum charging time of 2 hours.
Hobby-grade LiPo battery packs are probably much more capable than the included pack, and likewise for a hobby grade battery charger. That said, that DZ even included the battery pack and charger in a retail blaster in the first place is very much appreciated.
The Venom Pro includes two 12-dart magazines. To fit inside the handle, these mags are very sleek and slightly angled.
Magazines
Being largely out of the scene, especially for the half-length dart stuff, I don't know if there is any cross-compatibility between the Venom Pro, its mags, and any other half-length dart stuff. Regardless, DZ sells them separately (at least if you're in the US), so there are options for stocking up.
The Venom Pro includes 24 of these "Bamboo" darts. I'm sure other content creators have done analyses as to the properties of these darts.
Finally for performance. As a member of the Pro line, the Venom Pro has very high standards to live up to. How does it fare in a package only a little larger than a typical pistol?
Power: 7/7
Bamboo Darts
Venom Pro Performance
Muzzle velocity is very solid. As seen in my Chrono sheet, with a near-max-charge battery pack, full revs, and brand new darts, I was seeing around 125-130fps. I can definitely see it reaching the claimed 130feet/40m ranges when fired at a high angle.
With the included battery pack, revving the flywheels from rest up to full speed takes about half a second. On par with hobby-grade blasters, and far superior to blasters that rely on typical household batteries.
Accuracy is also very good. I was seeing very consistent trajectories in my small home, easily enough to reliably hit a human sized target at 10m and probably further.
As for Fire Rate, well the Venom Pro gave me an excuse to record a new video for the first time in years. With a near-max-charge battery, I was seeing approx 6.3 darts per second. With a full charge and more powerful battery, 7 darts per second seems achievable.
Game Utility
With all-round great performance in a fairly small package, the Venom Pro is a very versatile blaster. In higher power formats, it can serve as an effective, somewhat bulky close-quarters secondary/sidearm particularly to complement a slower firing, long ranged blaster.
In both higher power and lower power formats, it could also be used as a compact primary blaster, well suited for fast-moving and mobile playstyles.
Value and Summary
I purchased my Venom Pro on discount from OzToyStore, one of the only places in Australia that imports these sorts of products. Even on discount, it cost me a very substantial 140AUD. That said, I believe its retail price is a much more reasonable 50-55USD, to which I will be rating it to.
For the retail price, the Venom Pro is a very good deal. It is a highly capable blaster that is essentially complete out-of-box, with performance at the upper echelon of all off-the-shelf blasters. It is quite feasible to grab one from a store, buy some extra darts and mags, charge up the battery pack, and jump right into full-fledged higher end foamy combat.
The quirks of the Venom Pro's layout and ergonomics can take some time to get used to, and even more so than other blasters, I would strongly recommend practicing with it. It does not handle like most typical foam flinging blasters (at least the ones I am used to), so relying on muscle memory from other blasters is not so helpful.
If you're after a relatively compact flywheeler and/or mag-fed blaster, the Venom Pro is a great option to go for, and one of very few of this style that is available on store shelves (at least if you're in North America).
Accuracy: 5/5
Rate of Fire: 4.5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.8/5 - an outstanding blaster, with my only complaints being around ergonomics, which is largely unavoidable.
Internals and Mod Potential
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| Image credit to Outofdarts |
Given its relatively small size, the Venom Pro has a lot of internals crammed into a pretty tight space. That said, there are a lot of things you can adjust, such as replacing the motors if you are so inclined. I've heard that shifting the rev button to the trigger and making it a two-stage trigger is a common option, for those not comfortable with the rev pad arrangement.
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