The Nerf Stampede is an automatic blaster. It’s a lot like the Vulcan in its execution, but there are a few primary differences:

1. The Stampede is way lighter than the Nerf Vulcan is. In fact, the Stampede is surprisingly portable, and can easily be carried and fired with the same hand (kids will have a hard time holding and firing with one hand, but it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone 12 or older).

2. Whereas the Vulcan uses an ammo belt, the Stampede uses the clip system. And seeing as the Stampede is an automatic blaster with a high rate of fire, Nerf has introduced a new 18-dart clip with the launch of the Stampede.

3. The Stampede does not have an automatic pump mode, meaning that batteries are required.

Rate of Fire

In my testing, I found that the Nerf Stampede fires approximately three shots a second. If you don’t want to go full automatic, firing single shots is also very easy to do, as the number of darts fired is determined by the length of time that you suppress the trigger.

Range

I was very pleased with the range. I’d estimate that most shots travel between 25-30 feet, which is really pretty impressive considering that the gun is battery operated.

Accessories

The Stampede comes with two primary accessories: The shield and the tripod. Both accessories are removable, and use the tactical rail — meaning that they can also be used on other guns that feature the tactical rail in the Nerf N-Strike line.

In addition to using the clips that come with the Stampede, you can also use the drum from the Nerf Raider to further increase the dart capacity.

Darts

As with all clip system Nerf guns, the Stampede ECS uses streamline darts.

Use

The Stampede requires 6 D batteries to use. As mentioned above, there is no manual pumping mechanism, so this Nerf gun will not work without batteries.

Also, be aware that the Stampede does make a rather loud ‘pew pew’ sound when it’s fired. While I find the sound pretty unoffensive, parents with children who might play with the Stampede for hours on end may want to make sure that they have a good spot outdoors in case the sound gets on your nerves.

I was not able to find a shut off switch for the sound effects, but ultimately the sound does serve a purpose — it does a great job of masking the mechanical sound of shooting the gun (which would be far more annoying).

Conclusion

The Nerf Stampede ECS is an absolute blast to play with. It couples the rapid automatic action of the Vulcan, but it comes in a much smaller and manageable package. The rate of fire and range are both excellent, and in the end, any Nerf fan should be able to have a lot of fun with the Stampede.

Pick one up when they come out in September.

The Nerf N-Strike Alpha Trooper CS-18 blaster will be released in August of 2010, and it looks like it has a ton of potential to be awesome.

I don’t have all the details yet, but here is what I do know:

• It will be a Target exclusive
• It features an 18 dart drum
• It has rapid fire capability

I’ll post more details as they come.

The first thing I noticed when took the Deploy out of the box is that it comes with a strap. Finally! I don’t know why it took so long to get a strap on a Nerf gun, but it’s definitely a welcome feature.

At this point, I’d planned to play around with transforming the Deploy from gun to flashlight and back again, but I just couldn’t resist — I had to see how far it shoots before I could do anything else. The results of the range test were about as I expected. Shots ranged from 25-30 feet, which is not surprising at all, given that it uses a reverse plunger system like the one  found in the Nerf Recon and Raider.

The Deploy’s clip holds a maximum of six darts. Of course, this clip is interchangeable with other N-Strike clips, including the drum (which looks really ridiculous on the Deploy and feels plain silly).

Unfortunately, the pump action firing method is a bit of a mixed bag. The pump itself slides very smoothly and is easy to use, but the Deploy’s handle feels really flimsy (this is what happens when you make a collapsible handle to accommodate a transforming design).

Though it’s a little flimsy, overall the Deploy feels solid in my hands. It’s light and well constructed, as you would expect from a Nerf product.

As advertised, you can use components from other N-Strike guns on the Deploy.  As I’ve said in the past, most of the components are purely cosmetic in nature, but it’s undeniably cool that you can customize the appearance of your blaster as you see fit.

Now to the flashlight transformation element.

First things first, using the flashlight requires 3 AAA batteries (the same batteries operate the ‘laser’ targeting system). Folding up the Deploy is simple enough — just fold up the handle and slide the shoulder stock forward, and you’ll end up with a device that resembles a briefcase – with a flashlight at the end of it.

Transforming the Deploy back into a blaster again is the best part, as you only have to press a button on the top.

All in all, the Deploy is a solid gun, and I’d heartily recommend it to avid Nerf fans and kids who would get a kick out of the flashlight part. However, if you’re new to Nerf and just want to have some casual wars around the house or office, there are better guns out there.

Below is a picture of the back of the box (found via Adult Fans of Nerf ).

RA7UTWG99BAM

Longstrike Review

First things first: The Longstrike is hands down one of the coolest looking Nerf guns ever made, and Hasbro will undoubtedly sell a million of these based on appearance alone. We all want a true Nerf sniper rifle, and based on appearances, the Longstrike seems to fit the bill.

As stated on the box, the Longstrike is the longest Nerf blaster. Now, make sure you read this sentence carefully, as it can be a little misleading. It doesn’t have the longest range of any Nerf blaster, it’s just the longest (over 3 feet long).  I haven’t measured it exactly, but it only seems to be a couple inches longer than the Longshot.

Unfortunately, the range on the Longstrike is a bit disappointing, especially seeing as it’s modeled after a sniper rifle. Instead of using a direct plunger system like the Longshot, Hasbro has opted to use a reverse plunger system like that found on the Deploy and Raider. Most shots will fall in the 30-35 feet range without the barrel attachment, which isn’t bad, but isn’t great either. Using the barrel attachment seems to have a pretty negative impact on the range.

For those unfamiliar with the internals of Nerf guns, the effect of a reverse plunger system is that the plunger can’t achieve the speed that it can with a direct plunger system. As a result, the plunger doesn’t create as much force, and the darts don’t travel as far as they could with a direct plunger system.

Thankfully, you can see some pretty significant improvements with only a couple basic modifications. Removing the air restrictor will add about 10 feet on average, and replacing the spring will add even more. You’re not going to hit Longshot ranges no matter what you do, but rest assured that you can make some significant improvements with little more than a screwdriver, xacto knife, and hot glue.

To a lot of people, what I just said will be complete gobbledy-gook, and that’s fine. So if you aren’t into modding your Nerf guns, none of this may matter to you, and you may prefer the Longstrike over the Longshot. Afterall, the out of the box ranges don’t vary by a huge amount, and the Longstrike is much lighter and less bulky than the Longshot. It ultimately comes down to a matter of preference.

The Longstrike does feel very sturdy, and it gives the impression that it is a very well made blaster.

Features

As with other recent N-Strike guns, the Longstrike is compatible with the interchangeable parts found in other N-Strike guns.

One cool feature is that the Longstrike can hold 2 additional clips in the shoulder stock (you’ll have to buy these separately), and having two clips at the ready can cut down significantly on reload times while you’re in the heat of battle.

Conclusion

The Longstrike is one of the best looking Nerf guns ever made, but it isn’t one of the best performing. Though some simple modifications can increase the range, it still seems a little silly to create a Nerf gun that resembles a sniper rifle but only shoots a little farther than an out of the box Nite Finder.

Here’s the box:

Here are the Longstrike’s accessories (courtesy of SG Nerf):

And finally, here is a picture of the Longstrike’s internals. I haven’t taken mine apart yet, so I couldn’t take my own picture — photo credit goes to Mod Works.

The Nerf Recon CS-6 is a pretty cool Nerf gun in that it comes with five parts that you can snap on and off to customize the look and feel of your gun. The parts are mostly cosmetic, but they’re cool just the same, and can be used on other N-Strike guns including the Raider, Longshot, and Longstrike. With some practice, you can actually become pretty accurate with the flip-up sight.

The Recon uses the clip system, which I happen to love. Reloading with a backup clip is much faster and efficient than having to put in 6 individual darts in the heat of battle.

If you read a review of the Recon on sites like Amazon, you’ll probably read about a ton of jamming problems that it has. However, in my experience, almost every jam can be attributed to user error.

If you cock the Recon with a nice steady rhythm, you shouldn’t have any jamming issues at all. It’s when you get in a hurry that you’ll run into jamming problems, so just keep the motion steady and you should be fine. However, it is worth noting that if you’re buying this Nerf gun for a kid who can’t really control the rhythm as well as an adult can, they may get frustrated with jamming.

To use the Recon CS-6 to it’s fullest capabilities, you’ll have to use some batteries to activate the silly little laser sight (expect decent accuracy from no more than 15 feet). However, the gun has some bigger problems than the rather worthless nature of the sight.

In modding communities, the Recon has a bit of a bad name for using a reverse plunger system like the Deploy and Raider. The reverse plunger system limits the gun’s range when compared with a direct plunger system like the Longshot.

As a little tip, pointing the hole of the dart down in the clip can have a pretty significant impact on the range.

The Nerf Longshot is one of the best Nerf guns on the market, though it does take a little work to make it reach its potential.

Out of the box, the Nerf Longshot only shoots about 35 feet — about the same as other (smaller) guns in the N-Strike line. You might be a little disappointed at first, because you would generally expect that a Nerf gun with a scope and the word “longshot” in its name would have a ridiculously awesome range. But fear not! There is hope.

The Longshot is one of the easiest Nerf guns to modify, and a couple simple changes to the internals can make an incredible difference in its performance.

Internally, there are very few small parts and there isn’t any glue holding things down, so you can pop open the shell and make your changes very quickly. You can easily more than double the range by simply replacing the spring and removing the air restrictors, at which point you’ll have a seriously awesome Nerf sniper rifle on your hands.

I only have one real complaint about the Nerf Longshot, and it’s pretty minor: the pistol attachment is close to worthless. It gets terrible range and accuracy, and when mounted, it decreases the range of your shots and can lead to accuracy problems. I recommend that you just take it off, give it to your little brother (if he’s armed it’s ok to shoot him), and be done with it.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about whether the Longshot or the Longstrike is a better gun. Ultimately, the answer depends on whether or not you intend to modify it.

If you do like to modify your Nerf guns, the Longshot will give you the most bang  for your buck. The reverse plunger system found in the Longstrike (as well as the Recon and Raider) greatly limits the range that you can squeeze out of the gun, and no matter what you do, it will never shoot as far as the Longshot.

However, if you don’t like to mod your Nerf guns, both guns will give you similar performance out of the box, and you should make your selection based on which one appeals more to your playing style.

Here’s the official Longshot commercial from Nerf: