New Blasters announced

Nerf have revealed images of two new blasters coming on the horizon in 2015.

First up is the Nerf Rotofury a new addition to the Mega line

This blaster will be slam fire capable with 10 mega darts ready to be fired at your opponents.  The addition of slam fire to the Mega range is exciting as the darts have so far lived up to the distance claims (unlike the Elite range which still under-performs).  the biggest talking point is the lack of stock or apparent ability to attach a stock, but the sling points mean this can be stored on the back ready for long range grenade launcher type attacks.

The second blaster revealed seems to be the reveal of the big announcement from around christmas time.

Thanks to Outback Nerf for the image, this blaster has a bit more mystery surrounding it but seems to go along the theme of grenade launcher, featuring a revolving 24 dart chamber, front grip and knuckle style prime.  More info will be added as it comes apparent.

Changing the Review Process

In an never ending search for the perfect review style I have undergone another change in the way I review a blaster.  This came about when the scores from the accuracy test were driving down the overall score that the blasters were receiving.  While reading through a magazine (Airsoft Insider) from my other hobby Airsoft it struck me that their way of reviewing guns was informative easy to read and most importantly discussed the feel and operation of the gun.  They also use a range graphics for quick identification of key facts, as well as providing a pros and cons list and a final star rating.  I believe that this is a fairer overall way to review the blasters.  So the Rapidstrike is the first blaster to receive the treatment below.  Be keen to hear some feedback as I hunt for the perfect review style.

Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18

The arrival of the Rapidstrike, on the blaster scene created a lot of excitement, here we have a blaster that is compact and easy to hold and still provides the fully automatic fire that the Stampede provided in the past.  The blaster features a range of tactical options and a large 18 dart clear clip making it a formidable option in objective based games. 

PERFORMANCE

General Feel : The Rapidstrike is another example of a well made Nerf blaster, featuring high quality plastics and solid feel in the hand.  The pistol grip is comfortable for an adult hand and features a sling point on its rear.  The acceleration trigger needed to engage the flywheels is well positioned and requires the use of your middle finger to operate it.  

The shoulder stock is collapsable and can be set to the position best suited for the shooter.  The stock has a slight flimsy feel to it when fully extended but does allow for increased control of the blaster.  The front of the blaster is comfortable with a slight indentation for the hand to sit but attaching a front grip is recommended for better performance .

The magazine is a clear 18 dart version excellent for checking current ammo rates, but has the disadvantage of your opponents also being aware what ammo you have left.  The magazine release is in front of the acceleration trigger and is easily released by pushing your middle finger forward and pulling the magazine with your non shooting hand.

The blaster is amazingly well suited to tactical loadouts featuring a rail on the carry handle for scopes and front barrel top and bottom rail for laser sights and front grips as well as side rails for mounting of accessories as you see fit.  The barrel also has the option of adding an extension or a suppressor for that special ops look.

Control Operation: The Rapidstrike is very usable, despite being lighter than its older brother there is still enough weight to make this feel like your carrying a powerful assault blaster.  The firing of the blaster is straight forward and is similar to the Styrfe and Rayven requiring the acceleration trigger to pulled followed by the trigger itself.  The trigger pull is responsive and is meet by the firing of a dart.  One (long) pull on the trigger fires in semi-auto mode and continued pressure results in automatic fire.  The pulling of the acceleration trigger results in the loud whirring noise heard from other blasters which cuts down the stealthiness of this blaster.

Aiming down the sights in stock formation requires the the shooter to look through the carry handle which features a small diameter circle at each end this can then be lined up with the front iron sights.  Addition of a scope needs a slight change in aiming trajectory, as it will be mounted fairly high up on the blasters carry handle.

RANGE/ACCURACY

In short not great in both areas.  Despite featuring claimed Elite ranges of 15m the Rapidstrike maxed out at 12m with a minimum distance of 8m.  It quite consistently hits around the 10-11m mark making this its best engagement distance.  The accuracy of the blaster was inconsistent in both automatic and semi-auto firing.  After sending a total of 36 darts down the range 7 didn't reach the intended target and 12 hit the backing board.  Only two darts hit the target resulting in an overall accuracy rating of 1.5/10.  Although this is low the Rapidstrike is intended more to lay down cover fire and can be counted on to hit a human sized target at close range if required.

WARP UP

The Rapidstrike is a premium blaster with a premium price tag and overall it meets the requirements of most Nerfers.  The multitude of tactical options and the ability to fire the blaster automatically are big pluses.  Despite not being a great performer the design and ease of use of this blaster make it a must have in your Nerf Armoury.

BoomCo. Farshot

The Farshot is a single fire pistol from the Mattels range of BoomCo blasters, the new kids on the block

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Usability

Its been awhile since Nerf have had any real competition in the blasters market and Mattel, Hasbros biggest competitor has arrived on the scene with their BoomCo range of blasters.  The biggest calling card being the smart stick darts that will stick to the packaged targets.  The first point of interest with this blaster is the darts, which are quite unique.  The darts are made of a hollow plastic (kind of like a straw) with a sticky tip that allows it stick the BoomCo target.  And boy do these stick! But unfortunately only to the official targets and not anything else.  They perform fairly well and are easy to use.

The Farshot itself is a very easy blaster to use.  You load one dart into the barrel pull back the slide and fire.  The trigger is reponsive and dart flys with a good amount of velocity.  Reloading is as simple as pushing another dart into the barrel and repeating the above process.

The biggest issue with the Farshot is its size,  the makers have developed this for kids which is fine but it becomes hard to operate for AFON (adult fans of Nerf).

 The pistol grip only takes up about 2/3 of my palm and just feels small.  When I purchased this after reading reviews from other bloggers I was blown away by just how small it is.  This small size also means that priming the blaster can be difficult as often on the first grasp your hand grips the entire top rather than just the slide itself.

The Farshot also features a pop out blaster shield which is covered in the super sticky target material allowing the user to catch opponents darts in the heat of battle.  The shield needs to manually pulled out and isn't a quick process and to be honest doesn't really add much and is more of a hindrance than a help.

Usability Score 6/10

Styling

I am undecided about the styling of the Farshot, the makers have gone for a cool "I'm a skateboarder who enjoys blasters" look.  The packaging is covered in edgy, graffiti like graphics and the blasters features bright reds and blues.  The blaster looks best with the shields down as it provides and an extra cover over the blasters body and has a cool looking target graphic.

The grip is also able to be used for dart storage and features a cool spiderweb type of feature that when the darts are loaded into it adds to the overall look of the blaster.

The addition of a top tactical rail is a neat addition but as of yet there are no BoomCo attachments available in New Zealand to try out on the blaster.

Styling Score 3/5

Performance Distance

Now this is where the Farshot greatly surprised me.  The Smart stick darts which are propelled with good velocity due to their design and simple plunger design of the Farshot blaster lead to an average distance fired of 14.3m (46.9 ft).  This makes it the 9th furthest firing blaster well ahead of the Nitefinder and Strongarm.  It had a maximum distance of 20m (65 ft) which was staggering and a minimum distance of 11m (36 ft).

Performance Distance Score 8/10

Performance Accuracy

The Farshot is an accurate blaster with all 3 darts hitting the intended target.  All darts were within the target rings and the overall score is the highest so far.

Performance Accuracy Score 3.5/10

The Farshot is a good blaster that adds some innovation into the blaster market, the overall size of the blaster is a big negative but its performance statistics are worth looking further at this blaster.

Overall I give this blaster a score of 20.5/35

Zecong Toys Photon Storm Review

The Photon storm is my first non Nerf review making it unique and unique is the best word to describe this semi-auto flywheel blaster.

Usability

The Photon Storm is an interesting beast hailing from the Far East China and only available through Chinese discount stores or sites like AliExpress.  It is a semi-auto flywheel blaster with an on/off switch similar to the Stockade and Barricade, but this similarity is probably where it ends.  The blaster instantly doesn't have the feel of a Nerf blaster using cheaper materials and resulting in a lightweight feel.  Outback Nerf refers to the trigger pivoting around an axle and this takes some getting used and also leads to frequent trigger jams.  Firing requires only a gentle pull of the trigger and aggressive or excitable trigger pulls lead to the trigger being stuck in the firing position, needing the shooter to wedge it out with their fingers.  This can become a bit tiresome, but if you get the pull right the blaster feels very responsive.
The trigger is the first piece of difference to the Nerf counterparts, it has a different feel.

The blaster arrives packaged with 20 darts (10 streamline, 10 suction) and a 12 dart clip.  The clip has quite straight boxy lines and retains its military style look.  As with all clip blasters loading is straight forward, but without having the access to extra mags fast reloads are impossible and when this bad boy is empty it requires a manual reloading of the darts.  The blaster has no Nerf style locks so mag removal can occur at anytime, the blaster will even turn on without a clip (which by the way seems about as loud as a 747 during landing).  The mag release button is conveniently placed and can be operated with ease, the blaster will also accept Nerf darts so this is a bonus.

The stock is a little flimsy and not removable but still sits comfortably when in firing position.  The blaster feels well balanced despite having the batteries in the rear.

The front rails can be a little uncomfortable to hold after extended use and many Nerfers, Outback Nerf included add a front grip to remedy this.

Usability Score 5/10 (the trigger issue is to big to overlook)

Styling

Now this is where the Photon Storm gets some serious kudos, this is as close to a dart firing M4 variant we have in the blaster world and this thing doesn't disappoint.  It features a top tactical rail with a slightly tacky but no less cool ACOG sight straight out of the box.  It features a front iron sight and flash hider as well as some very cool RIS (Rail interface system) on the front barrel that will accept accessories that would fit a picatinny rail (but not Nerf accessories).  As a fan of the M4 (I have a few Airsoft versions) and a person who enjoys military cosplay the styling suits me to the earth.

Styling Score 5/5

Performance Distance

The Photon Storm is an average performer which I was disappointed about as I would have loved it to have go and show!  The trigger issue is a big part of this, if it gets jammed you can guarantee the next dart out will basically just fall out of the barrel.  Despite this the Photon Storm still sits at 17th of 38 blasters eclipsing most of the N-Strike range (unmodded of course) and even some Elite blasters.  It has an average distance of 11.5m (37 ft) and a minimum of 7m (22 ft) and a maximum of 14m (45 ft).

Performance Distance Score 6/10
Performance Accuracy

Well this blaster is about as inconsistent as it gets.  The first dart fired down the range only just missed the bullseye on an A4 sheet of paper, then the next 3 missed everything!  Followed by a consistent in or around the board.  Overall it ended up being very impressive and scoring highest on the accuracy charts so far.

Performance Accuracy Score 2.75/10

I really like this blaster but purely from an aesthetic perspective the glaring issues with performance and usability make this hard to recommend for the seasoned Nerfer, but for display purposes it definitely has the looks.

Overall I score this blaster 18.75/35

Nerf Elite Strongarm

The Strongarm is the evolution of the Maverick from the N-Strike range, featuring the rotating barrel reminiscent of an old six shooter from Westerns and cop movies.  It is a direct plunger single shot blaster.

Usability

Much like its older brother the Strongarm is a solid feeling blaster.  The blaster is primed by pulling back the priming handle backwards and engaging the trigger.  The trigger is responsive and fires with good accuracy.  The biggest change to the Strongarm is its ability to slam fire, this is achieved by holding the trigger and repeatedly pumping the priming handle resulting in a barrage of close range fire and elevating  the blaster from secondary to possible primary weapon (Marunas 2013).  It also features a priming spike which can be hooked into the slide allowing for the possibility of dual weilding the blaster.

Another important change to the usability of the blaster is the changing of the tactical rail from the priming handle to the top of the blaster.  This was always a concern with the Maverick as it cut down usability when a scope was added.

Once fired the cylinder rotates to load the next dart into the chamber, this is a change from the Maverick which rotated as the dart was fired leading to drop in accuracy.  Despite this there is still some issues with the cylinder alignment leading to misfires and a distance drop.

Reloading is straight forward and the cylinder pops right out at the touch of a button revealing the whole cylinder rather than a portion of it.  As with many non-clip blasters a bandolier is paramount to allow for maximum ammo capability.

The grip is comfortable and is well suited to an adult hand and the textured priming slide lends itself well to two handed shooting with your strong hand on the grip and weak hand pumping the slide.

The Strongarm is a simple and effective side arm that retains and builds on the iconic styling of the Maverick.

Usability Score 7/10

Styling

The six shooter styling is a love or hate look, although not a great representation of a military style weapon this blaster looks great.  The colour scheme of the Elite blasters suits it well and the big silver priming slide makes this blaster stand out from others in the range.  The above mentioned shift of the tactical rail makes for greater accessorising although is probabaly best suited to being left stock and using the iron sights for aiming.  The Strongarm is great as a secondary and can be either holstered or clipped to complete a loadout.

Styling score 3/5

Performance Distance


The Strongarm features many changes to the Maverick in Elite style bling, a change to direct plunger from reverse plunger and use of Elite darts was advertised as providing a large change in performance.  Unfortunately in my testing this wasn't the case.  The Strongarm fired an averaged distance 8.5m (28 ft) with a maximum distance of 11m (36ft) and a minimum of 4m (13 ft).  This placed the blaster at 32nd of 38 blasters tested five places below its older brother.

Performance Distance Score 3/10

Performance AccuracyFor its lack of distance the Strongarm makes up for it with good accuracy.  Of the six darts sent down the range the Strongarm hit the target 3 times and the backing board 3 times.  With one shot being very close to centre target.

Performance Accuracy Score 2.5/10

The Strongarm is a solid secondary weapon and has developed alot in usability from its older brother the Maverick.  But its poor performance stats make it hard to recommend as a go to blaster, although it does lend itself well to modification with a little help from OMW.

Overall I score this blaster 15.5/35

Nerf N-Strike Roughcut Review

The Roughcut is shotgun styled blaster from the Multishot madness range of blasters.  It has the ability to fire two darts and once and is slam fire capable.

Usability

The Rough Cut is a very comfortable blaster and is very easy to operate, it is a barrel loading multi-shot blaster that uses a direct plunger system. The blaster is operated through pumping the priming slide backwards and then forwards resulting in two darts being fired at once.  The blaster is slam fire capable by holding the trigger and repeatedly pumping the priming slide.  The blaster is also capable of firing a single dart with a half trigger pull which is helpful when trying to conserve your ammo.  The Roughcut has a AR system that means it will fire barrels at different times depending on which has a dart in it and will always fire two from a full trigger pull even if they aren't lined up.

The handle of this blaster is super comfortable and the large trigger means half and full trigger pulls can be done with ease.  The front iron sight allows for better aiming, but often will be unused as the blaster seems so much cooler fired at arms length.  The priming handle is just a touch small for an adult hand and can become quite uncomfortable when using the blaster to slam fire.

The addition of sling points is handy as this weapon will most likely be used as a secondary and stored on the back, adding a sling can make it quick to bring into action.

The Roughcut is easy to load but much like other barrel loaders this isn't as quick of a process as a mag change would be.  The darts do need to be forced into the barrel somewhat for best performance.

The blaster is very reliable and in my ownership has never jammed or had a significant misfire.

Usability Score 8/10 

Styling

The Roughcut is styled in the Elite colour scheme and overall looks absolutely awesome.  The slanted pistol grip handle and intimidating front barrel configuration make this an aggressive looking blaster.  And the pump action firing makes you feel like your in an old school game of 'Doom'.  This blaster is just plain fun as it is and despite having a tactical doesn't really lend itself to accessorising as it unbalances the blaster.

The Roughcut is best used as a close range secondary weapon and I would generally loadout with this stored loaded in the back of a vest with the handle at the top ready for a quick draw and fire.  The spray of the darts is effective over a large diameter.  The Roughcut needs to be carried with a loaded bandolier kit and ammo dump pouch for those in the field pickups.  I believe it is best matched with a semi or full auto blaster such as the Rayven or Rapidstrike for clearing an area or room on entry.

Styling Score 4/5

Performance Distance

I wasn't expecting much in the distance stakes from this blaster, but was pleasantly surprised.  The blaster sits at 16th out of 38 blasters tested (new tests have been undertaken as of this post).  It fires an average distance 12.7m (41.66 ft) with a minimum of 10m (32.8 ft) and a maximum of 16m (52.5 ft).

Performance Distance Score 6/10

Performance Accuracy

Accuracy was never going to be the strong point of the Roughcut.  The sparying nature of a real shotgun and the multishot madness feature of this blaster mean pin point accuracy is unreachable.  But as a close range room clearer aiming at solid mass it more than does the job.  From its 8 shots it hit the target 3 times, hit the board 3 times and missed twice.

Performance Accuracy 1.5/10

The Roughcut is a fun and very usable blaster that can save Nerfers from a sticky situation.  It currently retails in New Zealand for $44.99 ($34.98 USD).

Overall I give this blaster a score of 19.5/35