Most people think of Nerf as the maker of toy guns for kids who want to play cops and
robbers.
But there’s a huge community around the world that participates in get togethers that
range from small skirmishes to highly organized (and high pressure) battles and competitions.
Nerf is obviously aware of this and has released blasters (not "toy guns") specifically for
those competitions.
There are actually Nerf blasters that are made just for Nerf battles, some of which
are pretty highly powered.
One of the places that the Nerf faithful organize online is Reddit and so we wanted to find
out which blasters they thought were the best.
Since "best" depends on a ton of variables, the /r/Nerf community on Reddit was extremely
welcoming, kind and awesome and helped us learn a lot about the different blasters out
there.
So, without further ado, let’s look at the most regularly utilized Nerf Blasters by the
Nerf community according to /r/Nerf on Reddit.
Swarmfire While there was some pushback from the Nerf
sub, most were very nice and helpful and one of those people was Reddit user aarondoesnerfstuff.
He provided a list of his favorite blasters but his top ten didn’t quite match up with
ours.
This is what his top ten looked like: "...Hammershot, Stampede, Swarmfire, Swarmfire, Swarmfire,
Swarmfire, Swarmfire, Swarmfire, Swarmfire, Swarmfire, Swarmfire, etc."
So, what's so great about this blaster?
First off, the Swarmfire is a fully automatic blaster (released in 2011) that was part of
the Dart Tag Series (The Dart Tag being a now discontinued sport that Nerf created that
held tournaments from 2009 to 2011).
While I didn't specifically hear why /u/aaron loved the Swarmfire so much, it's not hard
to see why as the blaster is essentially the Tommy Gun of blasters and is named SWARMfire
for a reason.
It's essentially a mobile or miniature turret that holds twenty darts, and thus can shoot
twenty darts in a matter of acouple seconds.
The one drawback is that it's shell (like the other Dart Tag blasters) doesn't have
a tactical rail and thus modding is extremely difficult.
It is pretty bad ass without it's shoulder stock, though, as you can basically wield
a barrage of darts with one hand (or if you're feeling saucy, wield two (if you're not in
a battle, of course) and let your little brother know who's boss, 40 times over).
Another great feature is that you can leave it on and the batteries won't drain (which
is huge) as it only uses battery power while firing, on-top of that it's also the first
blaster to use the larger C battery, which means you won't run out of juice mid-battle.
Alpha Trooper CS-12 The Alpha Trooper CS-12 was the next step
in the evolution of the Alpha Trooper series, and beats out its predecessor mainly because
of the love that the Reddit community gave it.
Reddit users RedneckNerf, kna5041, ThunderKrunk and aarondoesnerfstuff all highly recommend
the Alpha Trooper, and ThunderKrunk even named it as his top blaster on his awesome top 25
list.
And when you look into the CS-12, it's not hard to see why.
The CS-18 is one of the only—if not the only—reverse-plunger powered blasters that
people use in battle and that people who modify blasters even mess with to begin with: there
are actually two official modding kits out there for the CS-18!
That's because it's an amazing blaster that can slam-fire 18 darts, and while the CS-12
"only" has 12 darts, it essentially took all the good things from the CS-18 (like the ability
to slam-fire) while removing the negative aspects of it (like the reverse plunger system).
The CS-12 uses a direct plunger system, which is preferred by battlers and modders alike
as it’s a lot more powerful than the reverse plunger system.
Ironically, the reverse plunger system actually replaced the direct plunger system, even though
the CS-18 and CS-12 did the exact opposite.
Flywheel Nerf's Flywheel is one of the best representations
of the diversity that exists from blaster to blaster and a good representation of some
of the issues that came up on Reddit during the discussion that lead to this piece.
The question posed was essentially which blaster(s) are the "best", which is clearly a super broad/vague
question.
Nerf has such a broad range of blasters and so you really need to specifiy exactly the
type of battle you're talking about when asking questions like "Which Nerf Blaster is Best?"
(by adding or asking "At what?").
The Flywheel is a great example of that as it actually has two spinning mechanisms that
propel darts a lot like a pitching machine or one of those football machines that emulate
punts.
They can be both semi-automatic or fully automatic (thanks to a third spinning wheel).
That means that the Flywheel also is a great representation of the modding community that
exists within the Nerf community, as it is one of the top modded blaster out there (with
the addition of that third wheel), making it incredibly dangerous to go up against in
battle.
So, if you see someone with a Flywheel in battle, it's best to probably run the other
way as it's most likely modded and thus capable of ending your battle.
RapidStrike The RapidStrike is another great representation
of the diversity that exists in the Nerf community but instead of identifying trolls, it's actually
one of the better blasters when it comes to modding.
Modding, or modifying, is something that sets Nerf apart from its competition as some blasters
have what are called rail mounts, which are attachment points on the blaster that allows
the user to alter the shape and function of the blaster.
You can add all sorts of really great stuff, like an extended stock, barrel attachments,
scopes and more.
The RapidStrike is great for modding outside of it's rails as it's a fully automatic battery
powered blaster with a shoulder stock and a huge clip of 18 darts.
According to /u/RedneckNerf, the RapidStrike can hit 175+ FPS (Feet Per Second), which
is amazing as the typical Nerf blaster (out of the box) typically hits anywhere between
50-75 FPS!
Hammershot According to SearingPhoenix on Reddit, the
Nerf Hammershot is "arguably the best one-handed springer".
A "springer" means that the Hammershot is spring-loaded.
There's no better feeling than dual-wielding two Hammershots, especially as the ergonomics
of the Hammershot were mentioned a few times by Redditors.
The Hammershot could be called the HairTriggershot as well, as it does have a pretty sensitive
trigger that can result in accidental fires, but at the same time that sensitive trigger
makes it so the wielder can essentially fire as quickly as they can repeatedly pull the
trigger.
What's cool about the Hammershot also is that it was originally was released as a Target
exclusive that focused on being a "Zombie Strike" blaster.
If you're not familiar with the Nerf community's protocol, they have all sorts of different
games when it comes to their get-togethers and one of those games that is really popular
on college campuses especially is Humans vs. Zombies.
Because the rules typically state that you can't use a modified blaster, Hammershot is
a great choice for this game and should keep you safe from them getting your brains.
Longshot The
Longshot was a blaster that came up nine separate times in the thread that was on the sub-Reddit
/r/Nerf.
There are actually two versions of this iconic blaster, the first of which was the Longshot
CS-6, which was released in 2006.
Then there's the Longshot CS-12, which was released in 2015 as part of a Zombie Strike
"Z.E.D.
Squad".
They actually look fairly different, but at least according to the experts on Reddit,
they're "functionally identical".
Beyond that, the blaster that was considered one of the best to use in battle only over
about ten years ago is now basically too far behind in terms of tech and functionality.
Both versions are clip based, with the CS-12 coming with a 12 dart clip.
They both come with a scope (hence the name), as well.
There are some differences, though, most of which are aesthetic (as a matter of fact the
CS-12 didn't include any performance improvement over the CS-6).
Beyond that, the CS-12 did't include a front blaster like the CS-6 did, which is actually
super important when it comes to battle as the front blaster (which is a barrel extension)
can be removed and used as a secondary or close up blaster.
That having been said, the CS-12 is compatible with barrel extensions so it's sort of a moot
point.
The CS-6 was the first clip based blaster, which is probably why it still is regarded
as one of the better blasters out there.
Titan Simply put, the Titan is a beast.
It's a big, air-powered blaster that resembles a rocket launcher but does much more.
In this case the rocket in this launcher is called a “Mega-Missile".
But you can add shotgun attachments or a four-pronged attachment that allows for four Mega-Missiles
to be fired at once!
You can overcome some of the negatives (like the amount of time it takes to pump it) by
removing and replacing the air tank and replacing the cylinder with one from another blaster
and using a small bike pump.
Essentially, if you're looking for a project (or three) and an extremely powerful and flexible
option for your next battle, the Titan is well worth the time and money that you'd put
into it when you're taking out four enemies with one Mega-Missile a piece (or one with
all four, if you're feeling like bruising some ribs).
Stryfe When the question was asked on Reddit which
blaster was their favorite, the one blaster that came up more than any other in this video
was the Nerf Stryfe.
It's not hard to see why the Stryfe was so well received as it came packaged with Elite
Darts, which have major advantages over regular darts.
First, they weigh less and are much more aerodynamically stable which means that the more power a blaster
has, the better these darts perform.
Beyond and because of that, they seem to shoot a lot farther than regular or streamline darts
even with regular close-range blasters, while giving them a boost of up to 75-feet per dart.
Basically, if there's a metric when it comes to darts, they're the better option.
Long Strike If you're a gamer you'll be familiar with
the guy who always snags the sniper-rifle and posts up, waiting to pick off the enemy
one-by-one.
That same concept applies in Nerf battles, and the Nerf sniper rifle is called the Longstrike
(CS-6).
The CS-6 was released in 2010.
A high-powered spring based rifle, it came out of the box with a detachable barrel, a
sight that can flip up during close combat, a six dart clip and streamline darts.
What's great about the barrel is that it has two tactical rails on it which allow for modifications
like grips or lights.
If you want to pretend you're in World War II, you can enter darts one-by-one to increase
the range of the blaster, otherwise, you can also increase the range by removing the barrel
and attacking your enemy close up.
Retaliator Even if your a newbie, it's not hard to understand
that the Nerf Retaliator is the most bad ass of all the blasters.
It's essentially a scatter-shot, especially if you use the tactical rails to add a grip.
Beyond how amazing it'd be to cock your blaster single-handedly like Sara Connor at the end
of Terminator 2, the Retaliator apparently has one of the more amazing ranges of any
blaster out there.
It's been said that it can send the Elite darts over 200 FPS, so imagine getting hit
with that dart when you're only a fraction of a second away.
The initial Retaliator was released as a new and improved version of the 2008 N-Strike
Recon CS-6, with many differences but the same barrel extension.
Because of it's popularity in the Nerf community it was re-released in 2014 as part of the
Elite series, which meant improvements not only in the darts, but also with its internal
mechanics.
It’s no longer being made now, but still a favorite in the community.
We don’t want a Nerf battle with you , so for a chance to win an iPhone X hit that
subscribe button.
Thanks for watching, and we’ll catch you on the sub.
Give our video a share and spread that Nerf love.
Thanks for watching, and we’ll catch you at the next battle.