Tag: walmart

Nerf Fest 2018 – Tour visit in Hodgkins, IL

Nerf Fest rolled out of Illinois over the weekend, and last I heard they were near Indiana! I stopped by the Hodgkins, IL stop and went to see what was up.

The staff was friendly, but if you are expecting to see anyone who works for the Nerf offices, they aren’t on this tour. You won’t get a lot of info on upcoming releases or talk shop, the road teams aren’t prepped for that.

They are familiar with the new product (in this case I saw a Hades, the Nerf blaster rack, Evader, battle camo stryfe, split strike, Infinus, Apollo, and Surgefire), have small freebies, including a blaster poster of Nerf releases through the years, darts, a button, and I even got some sunglasses. You can also sign up for Nerf Perks (and there’s a code for more points), see Nerf Dog toys, the Laser Ops pro, some licensed party supplies, and I think a charging station.

All that being said, I have questions.

Where was the press release? Apparently one was made but myself and other fan sites would have loved to learn about this ahead of time to push it. But only the local news apparently was made aware for each stop. I guess it boils down to what the goal of the tour was, brand awareness and demos for People of Walmart as opposed to straight up attendance numbers that could be brought in from fan sources. Missed opportunity to get large crowds and compelling images.

No free blaster giveaways? Even a spinning prizw wheel or raffle would have been nice to give away a Jolt or Triad. You got darts sure, but the thinly-veiled push to buy blasters was a bit awkward. For a free shirt you go into Walmart and buy over $24.88 of Nerf goodies, show  your receipt, and pick your shirt from 8 different syles. Staff remained engaged and took pics, talked to the crowd, they did a fine job. I don’t think they had enough backing, prepping, and supplies.

The fandom is a small population sure, but NerfNation could do better. Ultimately, each stop is only a few hours so they couldn’t have a huge setup but after years of seeing things like this I really wish the fandom would be involved or represented somehow on events like this.

Still, I am glad I went and hope they do this again. As for the $14.88 I spent on a BattleCamo Firestrike…. That’s a rant for a different day.

Nerf Fest Mobile Tour dates through Select Parts of the United States

NerfFest is a thing! 500 Walmarts around America to be Visited by Nerf Mobile Tour. The tour is already underway, but here are the remaining dates and stops.

Just what the title says! Walmart and Nerf are partnering up to bring Nerf Fest at various locations (see the images above.) They don’t hit every state, but maybe you’ll be near one? They’ll bring the new blasters (not sure which ones) to try out, definitely Rival from what I heard. Be ready to see the Prometheus I would guess! There will be some promo items (while supplies last) it sounds like, such as a promo shirt after you spend $25. The stops in Illinois are coming up, I’ll be checking it out I hope!

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ICYMI Monday – Wal Mart Rhino-Fire Exclusive

ICYMI (In case you missed it) Rhino-Fire Available for Preorder at Walmart!
Vas The Stampede

As previously reported the Nerf Elite Rhino-Fire is on its way to the U.S. as a Walmart exclusive. If you happened to miss the news, it is now AVAILABLE for Preorder at Walmart, and ships out NOVEMBER 15, 2014. Click HERE to get to the Walmart site if you are interested at owning this piece of heavy foam artillery.

The price seems to be down from the originally reported $99.99, now priced at $89.97. And knowing how some things work in some areas, these might even show up on some shelves before the street date.

As far as I know, the exclusivity might only pertain to the U.S. I don’t have any solid information about any other countries. Also, yes there are a number of firing videos out there, but I prefer to have the product myself. Also, those are/should be preliminary videos, and may not reflect the performance of the on-shelf toys.

Anyway, who is excited about this blaster? Gizmodo got a look at it for themselves, and now the rest of us have to wait for now. Personally, I’d like to see how 35 round drums perform in the blaster, and I hope the drums make it a little easier to run with than the chains did on a Vulcan.

Have a great week! I’ve got a few more posts to put up this week as well, so stay tuned 🙂

– Stampede

Air Storm Firetek Bow Zing Toys – F2A Heads up! (Review)

Zing – Air Storm Firetek Bow
By: Vas The Stampede
Foam From Above
Price: $29.97 – Wal-Mart Exclusive
Range: Up to 145′
Includes: 
Firetek Bow x 1
“Zonic” Blaze Arrows x 3
Available now: Red & Green colors (Red sample provided by Zing Toys)
Ages: 8+
 A design similar to the Z-Tek Air Storm Bow, the Firetek Bow is another entry from Zing Toys into archery and outdoor play. Like the Z-Tek, this bow is a bit smaller than the popular Zcurve bow and may not have as much range. I could hit upwards of 200’+ with the right angle and draw on a Zcurve, the Z-Tek came close but not quite. From some of the first shots I took, it is definitely look
Just like most other Zing arrow products, the arrows hook into the rubber loops at the center of the bow, aim, pull back, and release. There is a ridged rubbery grip at near the back of the arrow that helps with the pull, but sweaty fingers may make getting full power difficult. If you have tried a zing bow before, this shouldn’t be too different.
The big feature here is unlike the Z-Tek bow, the Firetek bow has a button in the grip that turns on lights in the colored portions of the bow arms; similarly the “Zonic” arrows have a switch just under the arrowhead that turns on a light inside the arrow shaft. So these arrows are a bit thicker feeling than past arrows; and the plastic shaft may feel a bit fragile. 
However, the arrow tips are a thick foam again as with most Zing products so the arrows should definitely be able to take a beating. I haven’t performed a stomp test on these arrows though as I don’t know if they will have separate ammo packs available. Therefore, I want to keep my Zonic arrows mostly in good condition.
The effect is pretty neat, and watching your arrow zip through a darkened sky is a different kind of experience. The lights even help see where the arrow loops are in the dark, making night shooting a little easier. The lights on the arrows also obviously made finding my shots in the dark a snap. Dare I say it was easier to find these than green colored Zartz in grass. One other feature is I was able to reach my thumb from the grip to the switch on the arrows as the arrow was hooked in, which was nice if I needed stealth. I don’t know if smaller hands could do the same, but I don’t see it as being impossible. Unlike the z-Tek, this now doesn’t have arrow holders, users are going to have to use pockets or something else to carry around extra rounds.
In a pinch, the Zonic blaze arrows and even the bow could be used as a flashlight, but I wouldn’t recommend counting on either as a replacement flashlight. They illumination is impressive, but definitely not advisable if you have other sources of light available.

I do see some great possibilities for using this particular gimmick, too. Say in a specific scenario you had to fire a signal flare in an evening gametype, or in another you had to hit a target from a distance in low light. In the right gametype this would be a fun accessory to spice things up.
As this is a Zing bow product, the real fun of this product is outside where high power and ranges are better suited to cut loose. I wouldn’t recommend using this in a house or in close quarters – if you can control your draw power well enough then I leave that decision up to the player. This is definitely more for the wide open spaces, though.
So yes, the Firetek Bow has a very familiar feel to it, but the ability to test your aim in low light conditions with only these as your only light source may be enough to pique the interest of the archer in your family. I hope extra arrow packs become available as well, the idea of more than a few “flares” is something I would like to play around with and what game types may come out from that. The price is a bit high, but considering the electronics and the solid construction that isn’t entirely unexpected.

I have said from the start Zing products are a solid buy and while they may not always be perfect for blaster battles they are fun to shoot targets with anyway. I consider them the “dark horse” of the projectile market, chugging along with good products while eyes are on Nerf and Mattel most of the time, Zing continues to put out something fun and tactile with impressive range. If you haven’t tried out their products yet definitely consider this your introduction to their lineup, even if all you want is something to shoot targets.


Hope this helps! I will update this post with some video as well, so make sure to check back later!

Nerf Vortex Nitron value pack – WalMart exclusive!

Found for $38.99 (as opposed to the regular $44), Nerf Vortex Nitron value pack.  What is the value?  An extra 20 round disc magazine and 20 more vortex discs to put in it!  The Vortex Nitron was not my fave blaster of the line (The Praxis took that honor) but I dug the automatic capability, good for anybody who likes to lay down that much foam. 

If you were on the fence about the Nitron, this pack is worth a look in both pricing and the extra clip.  Far as I can tell, the only separate disc mags available are the ten round magazines, and an extra 20 might just be the difference between a miss and a tag.  Choose wisely, chummer.

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