Nerf News, Reviews, Related Blaster Products
Test-firing video from New York Toy Fair featuring the Nerf Rebelle Arrow Revolution blaster – as seen at about.com with the ToyQueen.
The arrow loading mech seemed a little clunky, so here’s hoping it’s refined by release. As for the draw on the bow, it’s still designed with 8+ in mind (more on the 8 than the “+”) but fans of the Rebelle bows so far might enjoy the new reloading cylinder, as well as an additional use for any arrows they already own. Coming this Fall 2015!
Thanks to Mr. K at AFON for the tip, potted the Nerf Rebelle Secrets & Spies lineup (with the exception of the Rapid Red) at Toys R Us!
Picked up the Agent Bow ($24.99) and the Diamondista ($9.99) for now, aim to pick up the others later.
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?
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| zCurve bow: Zombie Slayerz, Huntress, Air Storm, and the original green. |
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| Zoom (zomp) rocket |
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| Zartz of various types. |
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| 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.
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
Not really a proper review video, but I was wearing a GoPro on my chest and here’s another perspective of firing the Nerf Alpha Girl Blaster that comes with the Mission Kit in the Rebelle line –
Of all the Rebelle stuff, I am pretty sure this is my favorite.
The traditional Nerf side of things:
Nerf Rebelle!
Just some advance pics of a review I’ll be working on soon enough. Latest air drop from the fine folks at Zing Toys, makers of the ZCurve Bow And Arrow, Hunter Crossbow, and others sent along a sample of their latest offering in the Air Storm line, the Z-Tek Crossbow. Don’t have time to do a full range test, but it’s a definite improvement over the ZX Hunter Crossbow (which was pretty solid itself).
For now, some pics. You folks like pics, right?
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| Z-Tek Crossbow! Flip-out bow arms, but the body is EXTENDABLE for a longer stretch! |
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| Before opening |
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| Released! And comes with a target, too. Note: NOT extended as in the above photo. |
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:
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| The original, Zcurve bow. On the left is the new “Air Storm” version. Approx $19.99 |
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| The small arms, Pop Rocketz – $4.99 and Zing Shot – $9.99 |
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| ZX Hunter Crossbow! (my fave, cause I love crossbows) – $19.99 |
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| 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:
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| From Zing Toys testing |
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| From Zing Toys testing |
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| From Zing Toys testing |
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| From Zing Toys testing |
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| 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!
Foam From Above 
