Nerf News, Reviews, Related Blaster Products
Apologies, everyone. Sorry about the delay on well… everything! Let’s get right to it. I purchased (not samples like usual) the Nerf Hammershot from the Zombie Strike line, and the Nerf Rebelle Sweet Revenge Mission Kit. Both revolver-styled blasters, but the big question I received was, do they get similar range?
Per usual, here’s the video – I set up the cone at 30′ out, and the main target at 50′.
Nerf Zombiestrike Hammershot
Price: Approx: $15.99
Available: NOW
Includes:5 ZombieStrike bright green darts
Special Feature: Fan fire
Target exclusive (U.S.: might be a different store in other countries.)
Nerf Rebelle Sweet Revenge Kit
Price: Approx. $19.99
Available: NOW
Includes: blaster x 1, 5 Rebelle darts (green), safety glasses, and clip-on holster
Special Feature: Fan fire
No exclusivity
AESTHETICS (how it looks):
Honestly, I think I preferred the Sweet Revenge. They both felt like great grips, but if I had to choose, the sleek and smoother feel of the Sweet Revenge made drawing and handling the blaster a bit nicer. The Zombiestrike faux bandage feels a bit more grabby, if that makes any sense. To be fair, it’s designed with a young girl’s hands in mind and not an adult male. Though the Hammershot might have designs for a larger boy.
The orange on the Zombiestrike worked for me, but that lower orange part under the barrel took away from the streamlined look you could see in the blaster itself, almost unnecessary. The Sweet Revenge went totally along with being sleek, smooth, streamlined, and it made drawing/holstering a breeze for me, after some practice.
Heck, the holster it comes with was surprisingly sturdy and held onto my waist and pockets very nicely. If you have a more “gymnast” play style though, you should be careful, as the holster isn’t tight enough to hold the blaster when inverted. Sadly, the Hammershot doesn’t fit the Sweet Revenge holster either. A Firestrike did, but I do not recommend that as it stretches the holster out considerably.
PERFORMANCE:
I’ve been a fan of the Sweet Revenge and the use of a proper “hammer” mechanism since I first saw the blaster at New York Toy Fair. In addition to the new mechanism, the fan fire is an interesting (though totally inaccurate) feature, and with the already inaccurate nature of Nerf darts, shooting darts in quick succession like that is more bluster than substance. Or great cover fire. One noticeable thing for me is the hammer is definitely easier to manipulate on the Sweet Revenge than the Hammershot, and you can hear it in the video. But, the Sweet Revenge and Hammershot got comparable ranges and if I didn’t dual I would most likely just use the Sweet Revenge based on how much I prefer its handling.
My darts landed anywhere in the 40′-50′ ranges, and 75′ is likely if I angled my shots. I did battle test these at MAW 2 with Adult Fans of Nerf and they were a lot of fun to play with, win or lose. I’m curious to see though how well these fire other types of darts, and will have to revisit that at a future date. While this isn’t a totally semiautomatic blaster like the Snapfire, I think it can certainly come close to one. And the trigger is much easier to pull than the Snapfire’s, no matter which blaster you get. Was the performance and feel worth the money? Yes. Many times yes.
THE TRIMMINGS:
Besides the blaster and holster, Sweet Revenge also comes with eye protection. The glasses are pretty typical of what you can expect, simple frames that don’t fold, but they do the job of protecting one’s eyes. The pink shading of the lenses might be a little disorienting (I certainly felt that way, when I tried them on in the name of science), so maybe use clear or the orange glasses, which I had no problem with.
Overall, I’m very happy that I not only bought one, but both blasters. They’re a lot of fun stock, and the new mechanism is hilariously fun to use. While the accuracy lacks, it just means you would need to get closer 🙂
Questions? Did I miss something? Let me know! I’m a little tired, so I’m sure I missed something.
https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf
https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf
Just some quick photos of what some blasters looked like in the Nerf Blaster sleeve. Check it out!
$19.99 at Target. Some of the stitching is a bit iffy, but see for yourself if you find’em.
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| From Nerf Blaster sleeve |
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| From Nerf Blaster sleeve |
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| WHOA! TOO CLOSE! |
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| Better! |
STATS:
ANALYSIS:
Let’s take a quick look at where we’ve been. Nerf Stampede video from the VERY FIRST release party, so many years ago.
Yikes. Nice to see the quality has (kind of?) improved since then.
The Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18 (as seen in the video at the beginning) is a vast improvement over the Nerf N-Strike Stampede from about 3 years ago. The Stampede had a direct plunger, but it was big, bulky, hit only 30-40′ maybe, and it was a bit back heavy if you were a younger kid (6 D batteries!) and a bit slow on the rate of fire. Personally, I found that I’d lead a target using half a magazine (9 shots, and the blaster was stock) before getting a hit.
The Rapidstrike doesn’t have that problem. It hits Elite ranges, is smaller, lighter, and fires faster. Even though the Rapidstrike uses flywheels, I can pinpoint a bit better with this and waste less ammo. Streamlines being streamlines, I don’t expect super accuracy out of them (even Elite ones) so that’s not a concern for me. But the groupings seem pretty decent all the same, even with full auto. I found the trigger pull responsive, and no lag like there was waiting for the Stampede to prime and fire. It’s a fraction maybe faster, but Nerf tag is a game of inches and seconds in Rate of Fire. Every little bit helps. Swapping out mags was smooth, and I recommend 18 round straight mags.
That being said about magazines, here’s the thing – I ran into some issues with reliability. It got some actual gameplay (hi Des Plaines! More on that in another blog post) I used primarily 18 round straight magazines (like the clear one it came with and 3 others. 2 worked (includes the clear) and the others did not. Further testing is required to see how far the rabbit hole goes about this, so expect a response video to my initial firing test. I’ll also update this blog post. Need to test drums, and different generations of the 6 round mags too.
Also, adjusting my grip, I hit the mag release once unintentionally. When things are moving fast, that might be an issue for some people and they will lose the magazine. Typically the magwell has been strong enough to not drop the mag on me, but it did once so far. Depending on your mag, it might drop. Depending on your mag, it might jam. In this instance, the location of the release is cool, but the classic orientation on the sides might have made more sense.
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| Mag release is right behind the magwell. You might hit it trying to avoid revving the accelerator trigger. |
Does that justify a $39.99 purchase? Considering the fun I’ve had using this (when it works) and that stores have a return policy, maybe. It really is a ton of fun as a blaster and having something full auto is a welcome function I’ve missed with the Elite line so far. Slam Fire just isn’t quite the same. Hopefully my videos are a bit helpful in making a decision, but ultimately it rests on you as a player to see if this is your style.
Aesthetically, this blaster made me think of the carbine from “Aliens” and the adjustable stock made it either comfortable or usable for closer quarters. Also… the accelerator trigger means dual wieldings 🙂 And that makes all sorts of things awesome:) Happy hunting!
Questions? Comments? Did I miss something? Need more info? Shoot me a message!
Sorry about the spam! Turned up zbombz and a range “pak” at a Target off Willow Rd in Glenview, IL. Happy Nerf Hunting!
Found these at a Toys RUs on Golf road near Morton Grove, IL. No other Nerf Rebelle yet.
Imagine if you will, a time back in February.
I saw this:
Recorded this:
Tried again during this: (start at 0:33)
and FINALLY, recorded these:
So after a long journey that started at New York Toy Fair 2013 to July 2013 I finally saw a full production Nerf Vortex Revonix 360.
STATISTICS:
Nerf Vortex Revonix 360
And there you go. The Nerf Vortex Revonix 360. So what of it?
Well, I like it. I was a big fan of the Nerf Vortex Pyragon when it came out, mainly because of the level of firepower it packed. Sure, the reliance on magazines is a sticking point for me in protracted Nerf games, but the slam fire was smooth, it looked good, and felt comfortable with a Nerf Super Soaker Lightning Storm stock. And the Revonix? Worth the cost. A big blaster (almost reminiscent of a grenade launcher, honestly) good range, and comfy to use, especially with a stock.
BUT, it takes a little getting to know. First thing, as Adult Fans of Nerf likes to say, the thing is a blaster you can reload on the run, like the Dart Tag blasters that have integrated mags (Quick 16, Speedload 6 come to mind). And the reload takes some practice at first but if you can manage it, you’ve got something good here. I always appreciate a loadout where I am boiled down to a player with a pouch full of ammo and a blaster by my side (anyone see what I did there?) One must be familiar with the feel of their blaster to keep loading while running around, while also keeping your eyes on the field. It’s good to know where the magwell is by feel, and turrets, and so on. Those brief seconds you spend looking down could get you tagged. I was able to work it out with the Dart Tag blasters, I’ll have to do the same here with a little more field time. Initially, it feels easy to fumble discs or slow down to search for the loading points (especially since the mag drum freely spins around) but just keep at it if you want this to be a primary for you.
As one of the videos above shows, the Nerf Vortex Revonix 360 loads through a divot on the left or right side of the blaster, and pumping the handle primes the blaster to fire. Holding the trigger down while pumping the handle activates Slam Fire. Needless to say, that’s basic nerf knowledge, I think. But eventually you too will go “click click bamf!” when you light up your opponents. Maybe. Ultimately, the slam fire on the Pyragon felt just a bit smoother than the slam fire mode on the Revonix but I think part of that is the new mechanism (this loads discs vertically and pushes discs into position, the Pyragon discs were already horizontal and didn’t need any additional adjustment from the drum mag or the firing mechanism.) However, that is practically splitting hairs. Both blasters send out a bunch of ammo REALLY FAST, and a cloud of discs can be a scary sight during a game. Maybe even scarier than a cloud of darts.
Should the blaster get jammed, there’s a disc release and the jam door (both pictured) I believe Mr. K at AFON pointed out this is the first/only Vortex blaster to have one(?):
As for the range, I was hitting 50′ – 70′ with discs. Not unexpected, considering that is the deal with Vortex line, hitting high distances. The only caveat here is the accuracy (as with most things Nerf and maybe especially Vortex) may lack a bit. The videos above show how hard it is to hit a reliably accurate point the farther you are from the target, and that’s even more noticeable with the frisbee styled vortex ammo. Not to say I haven’t had success with this blaster, but it adds a little bit more of a challenge. However, that is also a Vortex blaster’s strength to some degree, the unpredictability when trying to avoid a hit. A duck or sidestep that would normally get you out of the way ends up sending you into the path of a disc.
That craziness is part of the reason I really like the Vortex line.
The paintjob is striking, for sure. While the Vortex line has a new deco for 2013, all flame-styled in a way.
And it works for me. I honestly very rarely go “WHOA” on a blaster’s paintjob but this does look cool all the same. The main body is very vibrant with the white and orange accents, and the grey just works with it in my opinion.
So for $39.99, is it worth the purchase? If you prefer having the full 40 shots from a Pyragon, and prefer to not reload one at a time (even on the run) then you might not get a lot out of this blaster. I find the reloading mechanism unique enough that when I am on the field and hurriedly running around collecting my ammo to reload, (if the round is still going) it is MUCH faster to just load a turret than load a mag, and slam it in. Granted, you can carry smaller mags if you’re using a Pyragon but then that’s still additional weight you have in your loadout as opposed to just a pouch/pocket full of discs. So, player, know thyself. The performance was on par with the Pyragon though not as smooth on slam fire, and reloading without additional magazines is nice. This being Vortex discs you might have accuracy questions, but the ammo output just might compensate (Spray & Pray, my friends.)
If you like your Vortex blasters those are probably the best selling points about it. Hopefully, I’ve been helpful in making a decision. If you have questions, feel free to shoot them my way, and good game!
Pics are worth a thousand words. This is the same Target in Rosemont, IL I been checking
. No zbombz or machetes yet.
Thanks for the tip, LittleDave55, checked Wal Marts near me and here we go. I know there are a bunch if reviews out there already, so what’s one more? Eventually, that is.
Foam From Above 
