Note: This article is sorted under “Hardware Reviews” to keep it with the other tech content but is only an unboxing not a review.
We’ve all heard of loot boxes in video games before. But what about a real life loot box? That’s what we’re looking at today with the Bounty Box 2 from Drop.com. It’s a gamified grab from a selection of curated community favorites. We open it together in this video unboxing and article breakdown. Ready to roll the dice with us?
What makes a real life loot box?
Before you get out the pitchforks, you should know that this isn’t as quite the same thing as a video game loot box. You see, where your average EA game keeps things totally random and hides the odds of what you might get, Drop offers guarantees. Every single box is guaranteed to get items from each tier of rarity. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Drop’s Bounty Box products are similar to other mystery boxes, like Loot Crate except they’re not subscriptions. They’re one-off offerings filled with a selection of products that have already been a hit within their enthusiast communities. As a result, they’re more expensive (Bounty Box 2 retailed for $250) but also have items that are much higher quality, have already been curated and proven popular, and can easily come in with a greater value than the box itself.
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For this drop, the box featured items from the EDC & Blades, Audiophile, and Mech Keys categories. It breaks down further into Uncommon, Common, Rare, and Epic Upgrades items. Every box is guaranteed to get at least two common, two uncommon, and one rare item. You can also be randomly upgraded to receive two rares or one epic item.
Perspective-wise, each rare item begins at $125 in value and goes up from there. The HD6XX’s are $250 all by themselves, reviewed here. Common items are valued up to $50 or so. Uncommons vary more, but hover between $40 to $100 or so (though the Acoustic Research AR-E10 regularly sells for $200-250, though Drop’s pricing is hidden since it’s been sold through). The Epic Upgrades are extremely valuable, with the Massdrop x Empire Ears Zeus Universal IEMs being valued at $1000 and the Oceaneva roughly the same (also sold through but available elsewhere for $949).
The idea here is that you know you’re getting something good. You can see up front what items you could get, so it’s not nearly so random as the nefarious loot boxes invading video games. Instead, you have a bit of randomness that adds to the fun.
One thing to note is that, in the past, Drop has also allowed you to guarantee a single item from the the list; however, that text isn’t on the current page. It’s likely that this is because Bounty Box 2 is no longer available and that option was abandoned as stock became limited, though I can’t say for sure. This option was allowed at the expense of the epic upgrade but was a good way to guarantee you’d get at least one thing you were hoping for.
All in all, it’s clear here that this is a different kind of loot box. It’s expensive, so it won’t be for everyone, but you’re guaranteeing that you’ll get something good that other people already love. Having been a fan of Drop’s service for several years now, I’ve loved their curation efforts, so this is the kind of loot box I find especially exciting.
So… you won’t be surprised to learn that I reached out to see if they’d send one we could unbox together. They were open to letting us share that experience so… let’s do it!
Unboxing the Drop.com Bounty Box 2
Full disclosure, we were sent this box for the purpose of unboxing it together, free of charge. Drop didn’t ask to review the video ahead of time or do anything other than make this video to share the experience. Since it’s random, each box will be different from the last, so please don’t take this is a review. It’s not an assessment, just a cool, fun thing that I wanted to share. If you like it, though, be sure to hit the request button so they bring it back for another run.
What did we get?
Let’s see what we got!
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MASSDROP X FERRUM FORGE FALCON S35VN FOLDING KNIFE ($90 now, $125 at time of unboxing) - RARE
First up is the Massdrop x Ferrum Forge Falcon. It’s designed by a two-man team out of California and produced by We Knives. This is one killer folding knife. I’m not a huge knife guy and even I can tell this thing is great. It features a titanium handle and the fastest, smoothest action I’ve ever seen on a folding knife. The blade metal is durable S35VN, which is very resistant to corrosion and dulling. It also comes with its own case and polishing cloth. You know you have a fancy knife when it comes with a zipper case and polishing cloth.
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CRKT DEVIATION TANTO BLADE – DROP EXCLUSIVE ($40) - UNCOMMON
Next up is my personal favorite and the much more affordable Deviation knife from CRKT. It features a really cool, futuristic design made of stainless steel. It also has a tanto blade, which is good for puncturing. The Drop Exclusive versions come in black and bronze.
I just love this knife. It’s made of a softer metal, and the action isn’t as fast as the Falcon (though it’s still smooth and fast), but those are perfectly fine sacrifices for such a cool looking knife. I love how the blade has both satin and mirror finishes. It’s just cool. I’m buying one for my father-in-law for Christmas and making this one my new unboxing knife.
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MASSDROP X NUFORCE STRIDE BLUETOOTH IEMS ($75 now, $55 at time of unboxing) - UNCOMMON
Who doesn’t love Bluetooth headphones and these ones are really well-priced to boot. The Strides are a collaboration between Drop and NuForce, who is well-loved in the audiophile community. These guys are water and dust resistant thanks to their IPX5 rating and have an 8-hour battery life for long listening sessions. Thanks to the cable, they’re also much better for calls and harder to lose. I also really like that they use aluminum housings for long-term durability.
Drop has also tuned these to emphasize both bass response and detail in the high-end. Vocals are more recessed but still perfectly audible. Relaxed is the word I would use to describe singers with these.
Between build quality and tuning, these are a super good value even at $75. Plus, they some with a nice fabric-wrapped carrying case.
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MASSDROP X AKG K7XX AUDIOPHILE HEADPHONES ($200) - RARE
Number four in our list is the Massdrop X AKG K7XX audiophile headphones. For gaming, these things are absolutely baller. They’re open-back, detailed, and super-comfortable. For competitive matches, they’re hard to beat. For music, they deliver tons of detail with a tight, controlled bass. These have to be one of Drop’s most popular items.
I won’t say too much here because I already reviewed them back in 2017 as part of the “Building the Ultimate Gaming Headset” project. That should tell you all you need to know. Killer headphones.
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TAI-HAO NEW MINI TRIO ABS KEYCAP SET ($25) - COMMON
Finally, we come to the only “Common” item in our unboxing, the Tai-Hao New Mini Trio ABS Double Shot Keycap Set. Tai-Hao is very well-known in the mechanical keyboard world for their affordable keycap sets. This tri-tone set mixes white, green, and yellow for a really unique look. They’re lightly textured to avoid shining and double shot so the legends will never fade. It’s difficult to see in the pictures/video, but these are also a bit thicker than your average stock gaming keycaps, too.
These were sold through at the time of my unboxing but most sets like this are selling for about $25. It’s a great deal at that price.
Is it worth it?
Look, this is an expensive luxury loot box. There’s no way around that. By definition, it’s not going to be for everybody. Still, I always keep an eye on these because you can see what’s available ahead of time. If most of the items look like something I’d enjoy being surprised by, then that’s a good deal in my eyes, especially if I could lock down the item I really wanted.
Tallying up the contents of the box above, the total value of the items included is…*DRUM ROLL* $435! Considering the box cost $250, that’s a pretty good trade-off. If you’re not into the categories or items on offer, though, it’s definitely a better deal to just buy what you want. Since the items included are random, your results could also vary.
For my part, I found this to be a lot of fun. Leading up to the review video, I spent a good three days itching to open the box before I had time to film it. One of the things with adulthood is you often don’t have many opportunities to have the feeling of Christmas morning surprise. If you have the expendable income, the game of “what if” has value by itself. Whether or not this is the best way to achieve that is much too personal and dependent on the box and odds, but it sure made for a good time.
The product described in this article was provided by Drop.com to create content with. Buying any of the products in this article will result in MMORPG.com earning a small commission to help support the site.
