As some of you may know Carbon recently started selling SNAPs. I first had the face to see one last summer when Carbon came up to Minnesota. The SNAP was quite formidable, and worked incredibly well for Carbon all day. So when SNAPs went on sale I thought I would get one, not only for using it, but also to having something on hand to base my future homemades off of. I first had the chance to use it at the Minnesota Spring Break Nerf War, temperatures were a little cold, causing a less than perfect fit between my darts and barrels, but other than that testing conditions were perfect.
Performance:
Range
During MNSBW, Ryan and I were just goofing of firing some crazy angled shots (read: not war practical). He was using a Big Blast, and I was using the SNAP. Bother were firing quite far, but to my surprise, the SNAP was only a little bit behind. The SNAP is capable of hitting someone at about 80’ out, so that would put the maximum range out over 100’. I was using a 12” PETG barrel nested in some PVC it seemed to fit the SNAP perfectly. The SNAP has more than enough range, with a reasonable plunger pull, making it, at least range-wise, a worthy primary.
Consistency
Incredibly consistent. Any lack in consistency was from cold weather affecting the dart-barrel relationship. Even then it still performed very well.
Rate of Fire
Reloading ROF- It gets the same rate of fire as any blaster with a ½” PVC coupler. I was only using a single barrel (since my staggered barrel set up broke), but with a staggered barrel set up it would be a bit faster.
Priming- the spring is a bit strong, and the key ring starts to hurt after awhile, but it’s not too bad. It’s easier to prime than my Big Bad Bow with a spring replacement. One of the best things about the SNAP is that you can change almost everything with little to no effect of performance. You could very easily add a CPVC t fitting, or something else, to make priming more comfortable.
Total Performance Rating: 4 out of 5
Comfort:
The SNAP is very comfortable. There are two issues I found. The key ring on the charging handle was one problem. It is not much of a problem, and it is easily replaceable, it just gets a little sore after a day of use. The other issue is even less of a problem than the key ring. I found the trigger to be a little sharp on some corners so I just added a little craft foam on the trigger and it cleared up that problem immediately, you could also just sand down the edges of the angle iron.
Total Comfort Rating: 3 out of 5
Reliability/Durability:
The SNAP is very durable. It feels very solid and nothing feels weak or like it could break. The only durability problem I foresee is a need to replace the catch-face eventually, but I’m am not sure how long it will last before I need to replace it.
Legality:
Performance-wise I see no need to ban the SNAP, but there is the common rule on the coast of no homemades on the coasts, so it remains to be seen whether the SNAP would be legal in a “major” war.
Potential:
The SNAP has tons of potential. It can be entirely held together with screws making everything replaceable and upgradeable, if needed. The only thing it can’t do is hold integrations, although I’m sure even that is possible if I, or Carbon, thought about it a little harder. Performance is something else that can’t really be upgraded, but it puts out plenty of power as is.
Total Potential Rating: 3.5 out of 5
The SNAP has one of the best combination of price, performance, and ease to obtain is a war worthy primary, the only thing that comes close is a Big Blast. If you’ve got the resources, make one, or actually just buy one
(That’s the wink emoticon right?)Look for a X-Bow vs. +Bow vs. SNAP review sometime this summer.
