String

A string (also known as an elastic or bungee) is a component found in many bow/slingshot/crossbow style blasters. It is a cord that propels a dart or arrow during firing.

Details
Strings are most often found on blasters with bow-action priming mechanisms. While strings are technically found on faux bow blasters, such as the Crossfire Bow and Heartbreaker Bow, they are not string-powered as they often use other means of propelling a projectile, such as the use of a plunger. Removal of the string on said blasters will not interfere with their functionality.

True string-powered blasters, on the other hand, require the string to operate, as it is the component that propels the projectile. Most string-powered blasters have bow arms and fire darts or arrows. Compared to plunger system blasters, most string-powered blasters are often less mechanically complicated, although some string-powered blasters feature very complex, often less-reliable feeding mechanisms. Unlike plunger system blasters, dry firing string-powered blasters is not grossly detrimental to their longevity; firing a string-powered blaster with ammunition does the same amount of wear to the blaster as dry-firing does. Despite this, Hasbro often chooses to add various mechanical locks to string-powered blasters that do not allow most string-powered blasters to dry fire anyway.

String-powered blasters come in two varieties: slingshot/bow style, and crossbow style.

Slingshot/bow
Slingshot or bow-style blasters are string-powered blasters that do not feature a trigger, relying on the user to pull back the string manually and release it to fire a dart. As a result, power may vary depending on how far back the string is pulled. These blasters include the Agent Bow, Arrow Revolution Bow, and SlingStrike. Often, these blasters use arrow such as Rebelle arrows or 24" arrows, but dart-firing blasters of this category, usually slingshots, exist as well. Slingshot-action blasters may require pulling on a tab to prime the string for firing, while bow-action blasters may require pulling on the string itself.

Crossbow
Crossbow-style blasters are string-powered blasters that feature a trigger. The user can prime the string via priming mechanism to store its energy. The firing trigger can then be pulled to fire a dart instantaneously. Crossbow style blasters are more versatile in their feeding mechanisms, with blasters ranging from single shot blasters to cylinder or clip system methods of feeding. Crossbow-style blasters include the CrossBolt, Codebreaker Crossbow, and the Dreadbolt. Technically, depending on the design, crossbow-style blasters can be converted into bow/slingshot style blasters by holding down the trigger, pulling back the string, and releasing the string to fire a projectile. However, this is neither practical nor always possible due to feeding complexities.

Modification
Strings can be tightened to increase tension or replaced with a more powerful one to increase the blaster's power. However, this will of course make priming more difficult. These modifications are relatively simple to perform, since they usually done externally and do not require extensive disassembly of the blaster (although this is not always the case).

Since bow arms are not completely necessary on string-powered blasters, they can be removed via modification, provided that the string is still attached to the blaster in some other way. This modification allows the blaster to retain its string-powered functionality, with the added benefit of the blaster now being more compact.