Category: Bow

Air Storm Firetek Bow Zing Toys – F2A Heads up! (Review)

Zing – Air Storm Firetek Bow
By: Vas The Stampede
Foam From Above
Price: $29.97 – Wal-Mart Exclusive
Range: Up to 145′
Includes: 
Firetek Bow x 1
“Zonic” Blaze Arrows x 3
Available now: Red & Green colors (Red sample provided by Zing Toys)
Ages: 8+
 A design similar to the Z-Tek Air Storm Bow, the Firetek Bow is another entry from Zing Toys into archery and outdoor play. Like the Z-Tek, this bow is a bit smaller than the popular Zcurve bow and may not have as much range. I could hit upwards of 200’+ with the right angle and draw on a Zcurve, the Z-Tek came close but not quite. From some of the first shots I took, it is definitely look
Just like most other Zing arrow products, the arrows hook into the rubber loops at the center of the bow, aim, pull back, and release. There is a ridged rubbery grip at near the back of the arrow that helps with the pull, but sweaty fingers may make getting full power difficult. If you have tried a zing bow before, this shouldn’t be too different.
The big feature here is unlike the Z-Tek bow, the Firetek bow has a button in the grip that turns on lights in the colored portions of the bow arms; similarly the “Zonic” arrows have a switch just under the arrowhead that turns on a light inside the arrow shaft. So these arrows are a bit thicker feeling than past arrows; and the plastic shaft may feel a bit fragile. 
However, the arrow tips are a thick foam again as with most Zing products so the arrows should definitely be able to take a beating. I haven’t performed a stomp test on these arrows though as I don’t know if they will have separate ammo packs available. Therefore, I want to keep my Zonic arrows mostly in good condition.
The effect is pretty neat, and watching your arrow zip through a darkened sky is a different kind of experience. The lights even help see where the arrow loops are in the dark, making night shooting a little easier. The lights on the arrows also obviously made finding my shots in the dark a snap. Dare I say it was easier to find these than green colored Zartz in grass. One other feature is I was able to reach my thumb from the grip to the switch on the arrows as the arrow was hooked in, which was nice if I needed stealth. I don’t know if smaller hands could do the same, but I don’t see it as being impossible. Unlike the z-Tek, this now doesn’t have arrow holders, users are going to have to use pockets or something else to carry around extra rounds.
In a pinch, the Zonic blaze arrows and even the bow could be used as a flashlight, but I wouldn’t recommend counting on either as a replacement flashlight. They illumination is impressive, but definitely not advisable if you have other sources of light available.

I do see some great possibilities for using this particular gimmick, too. Say in a specific scenario you had to fire a signal flare in an evening gametype, or in another you had to hit a target from a distance in low light. In the right gametype this would be a fun accessory to spice things up.
As this is a Zing bow product, the real fun of this product is outside where high power and ranges are better suited to cut loose. I wouldn’t recommend using this in a house or in close quarters – if you can control your draw power well enough then I leave that decision up to the player. This is definitely more for the wide open spaces, though.
So yes, the Firetek Bow has a very familiar feel to it, but the ability to test your aim in low light conditions with only these as your only light source may be enough to pique the interest of the archer in your family. I hope extra arrow packs become available as well, the idea of more than a few “flares” is something I would like to play around with and what game types may come out from that. The price is a bit high, but considering the electronics and the solid construction that isn’t entirely unexpected.

I have said from the start Zing products are a solid buy and while they may not always be perfect for blaster battles they are fun to shoot targets with anyway. I consider them the “dark horse” of the projectile market, chugging along with good products while eyes are on Nerf and Mattel most of the time, Zing continues to put out something fun and tactile with impressive range. If you haven’t tried out their products yet definitely consider this your introduction to their lineup, even if all you want is something to shoot targets.


Hope this helps! I will update this post with some video as well, so make sure to check back later!

Nerf New York Toy Fair – Nerf Rebelle!

I think I’m going to break out what I saw at Nerf over a post or few; let’s start with the Nerf Rebelle: Secrets and Spies line.
While I make use of the publicity photos, check out the photos in our own set, found here  – https://plus.google.com/photos/100536445002797324243/albums/5981279248972558625

https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js

Nerf Rebelle Agent Bow
  NERF REBELLE AGENT Bow
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Available: Fall 14)
The NERF REBELLE AGENT BOW is perfect for high-profile missions that require accuracy and skill. Release the string and watch as the first ever Nerf Rebelle foam arrows soar up to 85 feet across the sky making a whistling sound! For added precision, the AGENT BOW features an electronic glowing red dot that provides better aiming accuracy with every shot. The NERF REBELLE AGENT BOW comes with three secret message foam arrows, a separate decoder, and a detachable quiver. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com. 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q9xTE5G7XGk/UwGk6R2obdI/AAAAAAAAA3M/uyrmDBsZ25g/w736-h493-no/DSC_0122.JPG

 

 

NERF REBELLE DIAMONDISTA Blaster
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $9.99/Available: Fall 14k)
Even top spies love to be stylish while on a top secret mission. The NERF REBELLE DIAMONDISTA crossbow is a must-have for spy situations that require elegance with an edge. The crossbow sparkles with studs and glitter to ensure you’re ready for every fashionista mission. Simply load the dart blaster, pull the string back and press the trigger for realistic crossbow action, sending darts up to 75 feet. The NERF REBELLE DIAMONDISTA blaster comes with a separate decoder and three darts, including two “Secret Message” re-writable darts. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

 

 NERF REBELLE MESSENGER Blaster
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $14.99/Available: Fall 14)
The best spy missions need to be carefully executed and planned and the NERF REBELLE MESSENGER blaster allows for stealth action. Send secret messages to your friend that no one else can read! Simply write your message on the dart with the special pen hidden in the blaster handle and then launch your message up to 75 feet! Since the text is only visible through the decoder and a special red lens on the blaster, nobody else will know your next step! This 3-shot blaster includes a recipient double decoder, concealable invisible ink marker, and 5 “Secret Message” darts. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com. 

 

NERF REBELLE RAPID RED Blaster
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Available: Fall 14)
Mission: Spy Showdown. The NERF REBELLE RAPID RED blaster is the must-have accessory for the quickest spy around. This high-capacity motorized blaster features a 12 dart clip for rapid-fire action with darts soaring up to 75 feet! Not only will you have a super quick NERF REEBELLE blaster, but the RAPID RED blaster also features an integrated decoder to quickly access any secret messages sent your way. The NERF REBELLE RAPID RED blaster comes with twelve darts including six “Secret Message” darts and a separate decoder for your friend. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

NERF REBELLE SPYLIGHT Blaster
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Fall 14)
Keep your spy missions going, anytime of day! The NERF REBELLE SPYLIGHT blaster features a detachable flashlight to put the spotlight on your targets or to help you light up the scene as you conduct your mission. Featuring a 6-shot rotating barrel, you will be ready to take fire at any time and sends darts up to 75 feet! This blaster also features a secret compartment in the handle that stores two darts for unplanned last minute shots! The NERF REBELLE SPYLIGHT blaster comes with an integrated decoder in the barrel, separate decoder, and six darts including three “Secret Message” darts. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com. 

 

NERF REBELLE Arrow Refill Pack
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $8.99Available: Fall 14)
Always have extra arrows on hand with the NERF REBELLE Arrow Refill Pack! Each refill pack comes with 3 colorful whistling foam arrows that soar up to 85 feet each. Load your bow (sold separately) and make your mark! Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.
Not actual size of darts; this was part of the display.
NERF REBELLE SECRETS & SPIES Dart Refill Pack
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $7.99Available: Fall 14)
When the mission calls for secrets to be sent and shared, the NERF REBELLE SECRETS & SPIES Dart Refill Pack has everything needed to create secret messages. Each refill pack includes 8 re-writeable darts, a pen, and a message decoder for friends to discover the secret messages. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.
Enjoy! I’ll get together a more detailed breakdown later this week.

Nerf Rebelle Agent Bow, thanks UK Nerf!

Fresh from the London Toy Fair, UK Nerf posted a press release from the London Toy Fair.  Besides the already revealed blasters, there was one more, the Nerf Rebelle Agent Bow!

Ages 8 years & up·         
SRP: $29.99·         
Available: Autumn 2014

The Nerf Rebelle Agent bow is perfect for high-profile missions that require accuracy and skill. Release the string and watch as the first ever Nerf Rebelle foam-dart arrows soar up to 85 feet across the sky making a whistling sound! For added precision, the Agent Bow features an electronic glowing red dot that provides better aiming accuracy with every shot. 

Nerf Mega Thunderbow Info (2014 Release)

Started getting some messages, and heard about this – 

“NERF N-STRIKE MEGA THUNDERBOW
 
NERF N-STRIKE MEGA THUNDERBOW Toy
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $39.99/Available: Fall 14)

Awesome NERF MEGA performance transitions from blaster to bow with the addition of the N-STRIKE MEGA THUNDERBOW toy. The bow’s dynamic arms and traditional pull back system can fire five NERF MEGA whistler darts in a row up to an amazing 100 feet.  Includes 10 MEGA Whistler darts and holds up to five NERF MEGA darts at a time. Available at most major retailers nationwide and HasbroToyshop.com

So there you have it, a 2nd surprise info drop from Nerf (leading up to the UK Toy Fair, and eventually New York.)

I’ll admit, I’m going to hold back judgment though given this Air Zone Extreme Power Bow blaster from some time ago – 


I’m sure Nerf’s taken the design and jazzed it up (especially shooting Elite Mega darts and all) but until the blaster’s in my hands there’s just not much I can comment on.  I’m intrigued to check it out though,  

I don’t think I see a trigger or a tactical rail on the blaster… so… “dynamic arms… traditional pullback…” interesting. 

 

Ah well, enough speculatin’.  We’ll just have to see!
 
 

Zing Toys – Huntress, Zombie Slayerz, Sky Ripperz, Zomp Rocketz, and more!

Overview of Zing Toys
Vas The Stampede

Zing Toys – Reviewing and taking a closer look at the Zing zCurve Huntress Bow, the Zombie Slayerz Bow, Air Storm Z-Tek Bow, Legends Longbow, Zoom (Zomp) Rocketz, and Sky Ripperz.  Thank you to Zing for all the samples!

This is probably going to be a HUGE post, so how about some pictures?

zCurve bow: Zombie Slayerz, Huntress, Air Storm, and the original green.

Zoom (zomp) rocket

Zartz of various types.

Zing Sky Ripperz

HUNTRESS & ZOMBIE SLAYERZ (zCURVE BOW VARIANTS)



Zing Huntress

STATS:
Price: $24.99
Includes: zCurve Bow, 3 Zartz (the arrows; 2 long range and 1 suction cup type)
Range: 100+

The Huntress and Zombie Slayerz are new skins for the old zCurve, and that’s that.  Still the same great bow, but but with a new look.  Regrettably, no included arrow holder like they used to years ago.

Next, the zTek bow/Legends Longbow

The zTek bow is a bit smaller and doesn’t feel as powerful as the zCurve, but the ammo holders and overall feel of its own merit work pretty well.  I t doesn’t feel like the bow has the same pull as the zCurve, but it is still pretty powerful and feels very sturdy and durable, what I’ve come to expect from Zing.

STATS:

Price: Approximately $29.99 (estimate, prices were all over the place online)
Includes: zTek Bow, 3 Zartz (the arrows; 2 long range and 1 suction cup type, compatible with zCurve Bow and variants)
Range: 100+

Interestingly, the zTek and Legends Longbow have the same feel.  They also both have ammo holders in the same spots on either bow, the same enclosure for the rubber bands (the zCurve bands are exposed), and all fire the same ammo.  The Legends Longbow seems to be a variant on the zTek bow.  Either way, the ammo holders on the bow arms are nice to have.

Also, this part gets missed with the Zing bows I think – while you have the ability to pull back as far as you can (to hit upwards of 200+’ with zCurve bows) some caution must be recognized in the operation of the zing bows.  Recommended directions state to NOT pull the bow all the way back, even for target practice.  But people will want to anyway, and shoot at each other/targets with full strength.  Use caution and be responsible.

 Next, there are the Zomp (Zoom) Rocketz – Zimple enough.


STATS:
Price:  Approx. 19.99
Contains:
1 Launcher (some assembly required)
3 Zoom (Zomp) Rockets – I have versions that use either name, so that’s why I’m using both.

Air bladder connected via hose to a tube where a rocket is slid on and then propelled via air when the bladder is stomped on.  They say 200’+ is possible, but I had a hard time getting to even 170′.  I would like to try having 30or 40 of them, and seeing what happens when everyone stomps at once. Being able to have different angles to aim the rocket is a neat little feature, and some kids would especially get a kick out of this, I think.  Nerf game wise, this might make for a good objective with the right rules set.

SKY RIPPERZ 


And one of my favorites from the Zing line, the Sky Ripperz.  Possibly upwards of 200′ with these, and so simple yet so powerful.  A handle with a rubber loop is all that’s used in launching these, and hooking the rocket onto the tubing. 

In the end, the Zing Toys may seem a bit pricey initially, but definitely well worth it for the quality construction and time you’ll spend perfecting your technique and your aim (hopefully outdoors when possible!)  Also, with the Hunger Games “Catching Fire” in theaters, wouldn’t you want to tap into your inner Katniss?  In Nerf games we count these as large ammo rounds to eliminate/break shields, so implementation is what you make of it.  I personally am a big fan of Zing’s products and whether I would use these on the field or not, target practice is always fun.  In the end, the choice is yours but whatever color your bow, may the odds be ever in your favor.

FULL PICTURE GALLERY IS HERE:

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

Nerf Rebelle, the promo video!

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

Thanks for putting this out there, Nerf Canterbury! (https://www.facebook.com/NerfCanterbury) they posted this promo video for Nerf Rebelle, and the girls have as much of a game face as the boys do! (Though admittedly, a little surprised at the lack of acrobatics that N-Strike Elite tends to have, I know for a fact there are a large number of girl parkour practitioners out there, Luci Romberg for instance).

In any event, to further contrast the Rebelle line, (although maybe Vortex doesn’t fall in this comparison) the girls are running through a wooded area, not the factory setting N-Strike Elite gets to use.  Draw what comparisons you will *coughHungerGamescough* but here’s the video with a hint of things to come.  All the same you have a break down of the upcoming line, the standard slo-mo shots and the continued promise of similar power.  Naturally, we’ll only really know for sure once these hit shelves.

In-Depth with the Nerf Rebelle line (thanks Toy Spy! New York Toy Fair 2013)

Fantastic video from the The Toy Spy walking the wall at New York Toy Fair, learning about the new Nerf Rebelle line coming later on from Nerf.

The Heartbreaker Bow, Nerf Alpha Girl Mission Kit, Crossbow, Pink Crush, and Sneak-Attackers are all on the way,  so keep your eyes open, ladies!  Nerf’s been doing the research for 2 years with 1200 girls (per the video) and this is what they developed.

Zing Toys on tap – looking at the Air Storm versions! (Zcurve, ZX Hunter Crossbow, Pop Rocketz, Zing Shot)

Heads up!  So once upon a time, I shot some test videos of Zing Toys’s Zcurve Bow, and ZX Hunter Crossbow.  They were pretty cool!  I’ve always been a fan of the original Nerf Bow N Arrow, and even the Big Bad Bow and seeing these things piqued my interest.  In addition, thanks to some fine people at Zing Toys, I was able to get some samples of the rest of the line.  They’ve rebranded Zcurve under the name “Air Storm” with a new color scheme, but same simple awesome functionality.  Let’s have a look:

The original, Zcurve bow.  On the left is the new “Air Storm” version. Approx $19.99

The small arms, Pop Rocketz – $4.99 and Zing Shot – $9.99

ZX Hunter Crossbow! (my fave, cause I love crossbows) – $19.99

Zip Bak Bow

The toys are each banded with a different type of surgical tubing, except for the pop rockets which is a squeezable bladder that launches the rocket when compressed.  Would I count it as large ammo?  Hell yes.  Would I count it as a melee weapon?  Hell yes.  There you go, Call of Duty fans… you have a ballistic knife.  Sort of.

I like the bright orange, and you can kind of see the transparent look of the plastic.  It’s pretty neat, and a bit more interesting than the camo/red blaster lineup they ran after the bright green sets.  Very spacey, but if you got these already you’d be buying the same shooters, just in a new color.  Is that wrong?  Not when the toys are this great.

Enough jibber jabber, I shot some video:

From Zing Toys testing

From Zing Toys testing
From Zing Toys testing
From Zing Toys testing
From Zing Toys testing

Biggest surprise out of the bunch?  The Pop Rocketz.  Did not think those little things would have that kind of power (50′!), but damn they do.  Angled, the Zcurve has hit upwards of 200′, and the smaller Crossbow and Zip Bak are really comfy and perform respectably.    Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the Zcurve toys lost any power, they still feel/shoot the same with these new color jobs. 

Definitely give these a try where ever you can find them.  Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us… but don’t look in the blaster aisle!  These were in the same spots you can find Backyard Outdoor Safari, hula hoops, and other toys like that.  My guess is since these are more outdoorsy type toys.  You get three rounds of ammo with each of these, but it’s nice to note that the Zip Bak and Zcurve both shoot the same arrows (called “Zarts”), while the Zing Shot comes with 3 balls, the Pop Rocketz has 3 rockets, and the ZX Hunter has three small suction cup zarts.

Hope this was helpful!  With the “Hunger Games” out now, it looks like there are a whole bunch of new people looking to take up archery.  If you aren’t ready to jump to a proper bow and arrow set, these should definitely be on your radar.  – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpUcTC5ev74 – look at how she moves with a bow!  Holy crap!

Take it easy!