Product Demo/Review: Foam Strike Pocket Shots – Monkey Business Sports!

Monkey Business Sports was awesome enough to send over some of their Foam Strike line, in this case Pocket Shots, their take on the slingshot. 

Monkey Business Sport Pocket Shot - what it includes!

Thanks for the package, Monkey Business Sports!

Stats:
Pocket Shot –
MSRP: $6.00
Includes:  Pocket Shot x 1, Ball ammo x 3
Range: Just under 30′

VIDEO:

Ammo comparison
Pocket Shot ammo (center) vs. Nerf ballistic balls

Size comparison vs a Nerf Eliminator

In order to load it, you wedge a ball between the uprights of the Pocket Shot, pull back the “hammer” and release, striking the ball forward. 

As you can see, it took some adjusting to get the shot to go straight but it flew well once I had the mechanics dialed in.  The table was set up around 30′ away, and the ball dropped a little short so there’s your range there.

The Pocket Shot strikes me as a blaster that truly can get played indoors or out.  The ammo flies softly enough that I don’t think it could knock over a vase or anything breakable.  It is also small enough to pocket, even if you are carrying additional ammo which is a good characteristic for a sidearm.  The only shortcoming is that unless you are carrying additional ammo, you’re stuck with 3 shots before you have to retrieve.

The action of pulling back the bungee cord (as all Foam Strike shooters use; compared to the rubber tubing Zing Toys uses) is a very satisfying and tactile sensation, so while this won’t set any range records it is still a bit of fun to play with.  Definitely leave a group of them on a table at a party and see what happens:)

The shape makes these shooters very low profile and unassuming, as opposed to some typical gun shapes that might scare administrators or parents.  Coupled with the softness of the ammo and the low velocity rate, if my nephew were still 5 years old, I’d feel safe letting him play with this under supervision (he’s 10 now).  The Pocket Shot is pretty quick to load and a convenient sidearm if you’re in the market for one.  At the very least, having a slew of them around and random shootouts with friends is a great way to even trigger interest in the hobby at large.  Pretty good offering from Foam Strike with this mini shooter, and after seeing their own bow and arrow hit 200’+, I look forward to seeing more from Monkey Business Sports, for sure.


Action Figures!


Entertainment Earth Exclusive Star Wars Action Fig

Nerf Firevision – have a "look" (YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH)

Back at New York Toy Fair, I Nerf Firevision gear, and it was pretty awesome.  While not intended for play in ABSOLUTE darkness (yeah…. sure…. no one’ll try that…) being able to see the the various equipment (football, basketball, etc.) brightly illuminated up to 100′ is pretty neat.

Now while sports are the forte of this line, I had to wonder what kind of applications these lights and reflective surfaces had for other purposes.  And if there’s something we love to do here at the House of Foam, it’s repurpose items for all kinds of stuff.  (Not mod though, can’t do that.  Hi Nerf!)


Quick rundown – (prices are approximate)

Hyperball set with either red or green frames – $9.99
Nerfoop set with either red or green frames – $14.99
Nerf football set with red or green frames – $19.99
Red or green frames sold separately – $5.99

And now, the video!  We would use an objective-based game where zombies (we only had 3 red pairs of frames available, so the starting zombies got those) had to find the hyper ball after it was hidden by the humans.  Game ended once the zombies got the “brain”.  Humans just had to survive with the brain as long as they could.

Let’s go to the tape!

Personally, I’m a big fan about how vibrant the light is (the green illuminates a bit more visibly than the red) and it just shows up on camera so well.  Definitely see what all the hoopla is about with Firevision, maybe you’ll find a game that works for it too 🙂