Nerf News, Reviews, Related Blaster Products
The Dart Zone Pro MK II is piquing the interest across the community. At high 100+ FPS, pistol aesthetics, and promised quality from Dart Zone blasters, this is certainly a compact high powered blaster to think about.
It comes with:
(1) Pro MK-2 Dart Blaster
(18) Short-Length Pro Darts that shoot up to 120 feet
(2) 6-Dart Speed Loaders(1) Speed Loader Holster (holds 2 speed loaders)
(1) Blaster Belt Holster
(1) Muzzle Brake”Available only on Target.com
When I first heard about the Nerf Ultra One I wasn’t sure what to think. 120’ (Rival style ranges? Higher “power” than Elite? What?) but being around blasters for so long I know not to buy 100% into the marketing. And when I saw the Ultra One press copy read that the blasters were for “8+”, that told me how to dial in my expectations. Honestly, Rival is designed for 14+. What would you expect?
The Nerf Ultra One to me doesn’t seem that revolutionary. I reliably hit my target (which you can hear in the video), the Ultra darts don’t seem to have the same wacky flight patterns as Nerf streamline darts, and it achieves better range than Nerf Accustrike.
But it’s a semiauto blaster with a drum you load. Nothing we haven’t seen from Nerf or other brands, and for a first blaster it’s underwhelming. I remember not a lot of people too impressed with the Apollo in the beginning, so the naysayers with Ultra isn’t surprising. Maybe future designs will be more innovative to that end, but that remains to be seen.
The “dart DRM” as it’s been called is discussed in the video. I don’t really like that Nerf went with this kind of mechanic to enforce using Nerf darts only, but outside the fandom I don’t think it matters to consumers. I’ve seen a number of non-hobbyist posts about the Ultra One (not just the sponsored ads) that like the blaster. And more casual consumers don’t have a hoard of ammo that won’t work or the myriad of other complaints about the DRM. Hobbyists, arena/mobile party owners, game groups with a communal supply will be affected. I will hazard a guess that most consumers will be outside those populations, buy the Ultra One and an extra pack of ammo, and call it a day.
I had this very conversation in the toy aisle. A mom and her child were trying to find a Nerf blaster to buy. They looked at the Ultra One and remarked at how it was a new blaster. I informed them that the Ultra One would only work with the darts it comes with, so the mom told her child that they would get it on his birthday, with extra ammo. No remarks about how unfair it was, Hasbro market share, stock quotes, nothing. Just a promise to get it as a gift and a pack of ammo.
In addition, PUT THOSE TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS DOWN. Yes, You too. And you. STOP.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME HASBRO HAS INTRODUCED NEW AMMO.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME HASBRO HAS MADE AMMO THAT FITS ONLY IN CERTAIN BLASTERS.
Back in the 90s, you had micro darts, old school megas, Arrows of Unusual Size, and all sorts of other stuff. Let’s look at some history.
Even before Nerf Ultra, Nerf released streamlines, the original mega darts, rip rockets, whatever the darts were that came with the SM 3000, arrows, Dart Tag Darts (of various incarnations), whistler darts, suction darts, Vortex discs, Mega darts, Elite Streamlines, Accustrikes, Mega Accustrikes, Rival rounds, the list goes on. Every few years they release something new to fire. In the case of Vortex, Mega, and Rival those only fit their specified brands unless otherwise noted. Not just any dart into an n-strike magazine and make it work, and you definitely couldn’t cross other brand ammo in other blasters unless they were front-loading. If Nerf were taking existing ammo off the market, that would be another story. As it stands, the Ultra ammo segment is an addition, not a whole paradigm shift leading to the elimination of everything we already have.
Nerf Rival is also not sold everywhere in the world. I don’t work for Hasbro, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nerf Ultra satisfies demand for a “higher range” blaster in areas where Rival cannot go, such as Australia. Now the range is questionable, but as long as Nerf can make it to other areas with a new segment, that may not matter to most consumers. They’ll just be happy to see the latest Nerf blasters in their stores.
Again, I’m glad that Hasbro sent me a sample and saved me the trouble of buying one. The blaster features aren’t revolutionary and the dart type is interesting for something new, but past the first pack of ammo I am not sold on this line yet. Yeah, you can snap the ammo in half and some of it even got gouged by my Dart Rover but it’s not super brittle and in your pocket it’ll keep shape better than current Nerf darts. My favorite segment from Nerf is still Rival, but that’s a different market from Ultra, ultimately.
I recognize that the blaster is made for 8+ and is intended for younger users, like everything else in this hobby. My biggest complaint is the drum and the trigger working with the new dart recognition mechanism. It’s pretty uncomfortable to slam my finger against the trigger when a dart isn’t correct or loaded properly, which happens a noticeable amount of times. When in the thick of a blaster battle or trying to shoot targets, that jolt against your finger from a missing/jammed dart really sucks.
In the end, I can’t give the Ultra One a high recommendation like the Nerf Perses. It looks cool, but needing C batteries, the annoyance of the Nerf-only dart mechanism, and the overall cost are problematic. There are a lot of other great, more reliable blasters out there worth your money, Nerf or not Nerf brand. I would suggest waiting for the Nerf Ultra One to drop in price as a sale (probably Black Friday) before dropping your money on it. And you may not want an Ultra One for any number of reasons, THAT IS TOTALLY OK.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Totally appreciate your coming by and getting through my rambling. Make sure to check me out on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for continued updates, reviews, and other content! Thanks again to Click Click BAMF as well for putting in some work on the video.
XShot made some major moves this week. From Toy Fair 2019 to today, they finally released their own entry in the 14+, advanced range blaster market with the XShot Chaos line, looking to “disrupt” the current market as they claim to have done with dart blasters.
I don’t know if this line will turn the market on its head, but XShot makes a very compelling case with these blasters. At under $20, that is the sweet spot for many purchases, promising performance on par against other blasters that cost considerably more, and with more budget friendly ammo, parents may not want to drop $40 on a Nerf Hypnos, which is the most current pump-action Nerf Rival blaster at this time. (The Helios and Jupiter are bolt/side knob, the Hades is last year and not readily on shelves from what I’ve seen, and the Artemis is mostly out of circulation on store shelves as well.)
As far as a manual blaster to buy goes, the Orbit and Meteor have very strong factors working in its favor to get bought. XShot is certainly working to get the blasters visible to consumers.
It is a bit of a shame that there are only two blasters in this line right now, but the Orbit and the Meteor are a fine start. The Meteor is a fun pistol to handle and use, and as far as I am concerned a pump action blaster is always the way to go.
Loading the Meteor through the handle offers a very different pattern than other brand pistols, and is a welcome change of pace. The Orbit has some questions for me as far as design goes, but firing from the hip with it works just fine for me.
In the realm of high impact rounds, the XShot Chaos is a strong contender against Nerf and Dart Zone, strictly speaking on performance. Nerf I would say still has the advantage in marketing, but XShot certainly is taking steps to address that. All this talk of XShot as a low price brand, but Dart Zone Blasters has had mostly comparable/if not better items at competitive prices to XShot and Nerf. They are still chugging away making new product, as XShot is doing, and keeping prices on blasters and ammo low. Buzz Bee is remaining strong in their section of the market with dart blasters thankfully, possibly content to let the other companies battle it out and leave the dart market open just a bit.
Kudos to XShot for their accomplishment at making the Chaos line a reality, and for giving budget-minded folks another choice in the market. It’s still incredibly interesting to see what happens next, and I hope you tune in here to get my take on things.
Thanks, XShot for the samples, and Click Click BAMF for the editing work on the video!
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Thanks as well to Wicked Ball Chicago for letting me use your arena! If you are looking to hold a party and live near Lombard, Illinois, check them out!
BASIC STATS:
Looking at the Nerf Rival Perses. I dug it. $99 is a hefty tag, but sometimes it’s worth it. And just because the Prometheus is the same price currently, you get a much more mobile blaster that’s easier to move with, aim, and did I mention maneuver? The convenient release on the battery is a super nice piece of design, even though it’s a shame the old Nerf battery packs do not work with it. Thanks for reading this far, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube for more videos!
Thanks, Nerf for the sample, and Click Click BAMF for the editing work on the video!
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Woo! Thanks for the samples, Nerf! Watch the video! They sent a box full of Nerf swag, including a sweet windbreaker and of course, samples. Included among them are the Nerf Elite Titan CS-50 and Nerf Rival Perses!
Some of the samples in the box!
Price: $29.99
Available: Now apparently!
Does it accommodate Mega darts? POORLY
Sample Provided? NOPE. I bought this!
Reviewed the Nerf Dart Rover, a new accessory from Jazwares under the Nerf license.
Overall, not a terrible price for the product, but only good on smaller scale occasions. I wouldn’t recommend for meetups or arena owners to use this for dart sweeps and cleanup. I also don’t see this doing very well outside in parks so I didn’t record any data from out there.
Ultimately, it is built for kids (not surprising anyone) and will work on small cleanups. Don’t expect this to revolutionize your dart sweeps for larger games, but if you want to try it to at least pick up ammo for yourself, I suppose that’s an option? I would not suggest using it outside either, considering extra debris that can get caught up in the mechanism.
It was an easy assembly and didn’t require any tools, which is a huge plus for parents and kids. The rubber tires ensure you can drive over the darts and do your best to pick them up. The design of the dart sweeping “teeth” may poke holes in your ammo, especially when it comes to mega darts. For Rival rounds it seemed to really work the best, but as I mention in the video ammo sometimes jumps from the outlet and away from the collector bag.
It’ll be helpful to someone, I would recommend this as a gift in the future or at least wait until sales happen to buy for yourself.
Below is a press release! If you’re in New Mexico, maybe take a look at this event? I know about Battle Zone primarily from Instagram, but they have been operating for some time and this is the first I’ve heard of an event in New Mexico. Best wishes to Battle Zone and success on this event!
PUEBLO, July 5, 2019 – Battle Zone will host the Las Cruces Nerf Battle Royale on Friday,
July 12th, 2019 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. This event which will be held at Young Park in Las Cruces, NM will feature 100 players ages 5+ in four hours of action-packed Nerf battles.
Event is open to public.
During the event, players will engage in games of team versus team competitions including missions such as Team Elimination, Capture the Flag and Protect the VIP. Battle Zone will provide all equipment for the games, but players are welcome to bring their own favorite dart blaster for the games.
Admission is $10 per player and includes 4-hours of game play and rental of all equipment for the games to include safety eyewear, team jersey, dart blaster and foam dart ammunition. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.bznerf.com/events. The game will have a maximum of 100 players.
“The Las Cruces Nerf Battle Royale will be the largest public Nerf battle in New Mexico
history and is expected to draw a large crowd to watch these fun and exciting games”, said Duane Gurulé, founder of Battle Zone.
Battle Zone was founded in 2015 and is Colorado’s only mobile Nerf dart tag entertainment company. For more information about Battle Zone, visit www.bznerf.com or www.facebook.com/bznerf.
EXCLUSIVE reveal coming this week to foamfromabove! Dart Zone has a new look arriving exclusively to Target! I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s coming 🙂
HUGE thanks to Nerf for the sweet summer gear!
Hard to say what my favorite piece of swag was from this, maybe the cooler? Tune into foamfromabove on Instagram to see what/when I use this sweet gear!
That Fortnite TS, though! It’s a pretty neat blaster, and it gives me ideas.
Title says it all! Thanks, Nerf for the Terrascout! Unboxing now, review to come!
But why does it have slingpoints? For towing? XD
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UPDATE: Photo album is now live:
https://goo.gl/photos/k6h9wbTyKJLHZ45X9
