Doomlands Blaster Comparisons

The Doomlands 2169 Blaster Lineup made it's debut in August of 2015 as a Target Exclusive in the United States.  It introduced two cyber-western themed blasters: the Vagabond and the Lawbringer.  They are both the same style/color, both are about the same size, and both use pre-existing internal layouts from previous Nerf blasters.  With the similarities mounting, I had a tough time trying to decide which one to get.  Truth be told, I'm still having trouble deciding even after taking a hard look at each.

Here's a review on both of them in a side-by-side comparison.  Included are links to each blaster's individual review.  Check out the battle of the Doomlands Debut Blasters!  It's Vagabond vs Lawbringer!!

And, if you're not into video reviews, here's my written comparison notes.

So there's a $7 difference in price between these two blasters... so right off the bat, the Lawbringer ($34.99) can almost look like a bargain (or the Vagabond at $27.99 is overpriced) because it comes with double the darts and can hold a total of 24 darts if you count the storage in the stock.  However, this review went further than numbers.

The Vagabond, while smaller, has better range and performance.  It is slightly easier to load in 6 darts than the 12 in the Lawbringer's rotating barrel.  However, it is not the most comfortable blaster to wield, especially in long-duration games.  The angle of the grip is fine but the design of the grip itself is the culprit.  There are raised bumps and grooves that aren't ergonomic and the seam between the clear plastic and gray plastic around the trigger guard.  The pump grip is fine, and reloading is easy thanks to the raised ridges around the barrels to flip through and reload.  The reload is easier too, thanks to the design of the side-barrel opening that makes the Vagabond look so mean!

The Lawbringer is much more practical in terms of ammo, comfort, and ease-of-use.  It's one-handed operation with those much-loved HammerShot internals means you have a hand free to reload darts into it's 12-dart barrel capacity.  The grip is considerably more comfortable than the Vagabond, too.  While the shoulder stock isn't long enough for most users (almost as short as the Retaliator) it does hold an additional 12 darts.  Between the comfort and capacity, you can last awhile in a game over the Vagabond... but it lacks a decent punch.  I was surprised to find that the smaller and cheaper Vagabond can out-shoot the Lawbringer.

Objectively speaking, I do also like how the Vagabond looks better than the Lawbringer.  Between it's killer looks and better out-of-the-box range, the Vagabond is a more satisfying buy in my books.  However, the Lawbringer is only $7 more and it's a more solid blaster all-around.  In a long-duration battle, the extra ammo and comfort of use will get the technical win, but I still LOVE how the Vagabond looks and that punch that it has.