The adventure is over in NYC. Having the vortex blasters in-hand definitely solidified my feelings about them. Don’t be afraid of change, people! The range and capabilities of these blasters just might surprise you. Worth a try? For sure. Expect my final take on these when I manage to get them myself.
In the meantime- Praxis is my fave. Nitron is good. Vigilon is a higher range maverick. Proton is a surprisingly good sidearm. There are little touches in the design that really make it feel cool even though it is a pistol.
Ok, so I’ve managed to put a few discs through the Vigilon and now for some quick thoughts:
– Range/ammo flight path: Surprising! Like anything of this medium (foam) the accuracy dips the higher distance they travel. I had a bit of a breeze behind me and you the discs kind of glide up and down with the wind current. If you throw frisbees ever you know what I’m talking about. The discs never floated to the ground from what I could tell, though. They would slice left or right to the ground. Interesting though, I can only really comment once I get them to a stock game. I imagine aiming’ll be interesting using this.
– The blaster: The Vigilon is pretty comfy. I’d liken the size of it to a Recon, but it’s a bit wider obviously for the discs. The internal magazine opens up at the touch of a switch (positioned on both sides of the blaster)by the grip; so it’s easy to reach with the thumb. I wouldn’t expect to holster this… but there is a loop for a carabiner or something at the bottom of the handle. Tac-rail on top, and a wide muzzle for the disc makes for an almost cartoony-sized blaster but it pulls it off. Should a disc jam in the muzzle, there’s a release switch on the right. Didn’t have a jammed disc yet so haven’t had to use it yet.
No need to worry about the disc falling out if you face it downward after priming; the disc stayed put while running around after it was ready to fire.
The Vigilon is a little short on capacty (5 shots at a time) but the reload mechanism is pretty slick. It’s handy to just have to grab five discs, stack them, and put them in the internal clip at one time than reload each individual chamber or one after the other (as with the Specter, Maverick, or Speedload-6).
Overall:
Price is $15.99 and considering the alternatives out there is not too much considering the range you’re also getting. While I’m hesitant about the discs, I’ll definitely be able to say more as I have more time with it. Worth a look for a midrange blaster to try out this new ammo type, for sure. It’s easy to carry and doesn’t require extra clips to carry around (like the nitron and praxis) so if you like to pack only a blaster and ammo, this’ll be the choice for you.
Test firing the Nerf Vortex Vigilon LXR disc shooter! Right off, it looks like it’ll work for lefties and righties (except that the door only opens on the left side of the blaster). I’ll have a more in-depth look and better firing test soon. It comes with 5 discs, user guide, and the blaster.
Interesting note, you can prime and run the Vigilon without the disc falling out.
Foam From Above 