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.