Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-33092097-20190908212742/@comment-27306930-20190910024605

That's the first sign it's getting old. I have a couple old Magstrikes that only fired 8 or 9 darts. Never the 10th. I had to disable the overpressure valve to get them to fire all 10 darts.

I'm 99.9% sure the air bladder is made of density closed-cell neoprene. It's super tough, nearly inert, and resists degrading.

But the neoprene sleeves that Hasbro uses are not "military grade". They appear to have a lot of physical flaws and minor imperfections. If left primed for long periods of time, the bladder develops stress lines, bulges, and thin spots, especially where it comes in contact with the internal bulkheads in the shell.

So it's not really about age, as much as it's about physical wear & tear. All I can say is the Rapid Fire 20 is getting old. (Probably older than many of you Nerfers 😉) The air bladders don't last forever. They physically degrade a little every time you fire the blaster. And therefore they have a limited lifetime.

But as I said before, I don't really know the subtle pros & cons of any of those blasters. So you do you, MMan !