The Hollow-Point Dart

It's been a fast-held industry standard to shy away from comparing foam dart guns to actual firearms. Though companies such as NERF edge excitingly close to replica possibilities at times, they never call their toys "guns". It's always blasters.

The Hollow-Point dart shell, and clip.

We decided to pick up the Air Zone Shoot 'N Shatter system at Toys'R'Us in our ever-continuing quest to find effective targeting systems to test our blasters on. The Shoot 'N Shatter includes an electronic target set and a Shell Shock X-6 blaster with the darts, shells and a clip. Imagine our surprise, excitement and awe when we discovered what we can only call the Air Zone Hollow-Point Dart! When we un-boxed it, we weren't expecting what looked like a bullet and cartridge. We thought we had found the coolest dart ever to add to the arsenal we use for range tests. The down side is that these darts will barely fire out of anything other than their native blaster. Rest assured these darts will make appearances on our Youtube channel where possible.

The Hollow-Point tip.

The Air Zone Shoot 'N Shatter System.

The Shell Shock X-6 was previously available by itself, but I hadn't seen or heard enough of it to be interested. Chatter on the web suggests it was available back in 2009. The ranges are nothing to write home about, but the ejecting action along with the more realistic bullet casing are a plus for foam movie enthusiasts. We really like the feel of the blaster in our hands as well. It retails for around twenty dollars, now that it includes the Shoot 'N Shatter target system. It seems a little steep for the items that you get in the box, but electronics always give them an excuse.

The un-boxing of the Shoot N Shatter.

Though we aren't a mod-promoting channel or blog; Due to its poor range performance, the Shell Shock may be one of the most forward candidates for modification. The look and feel of the blaster is great and should have more power to come with it. The Nerf or Nothing Blogspot notes that NERF streamline darts will fire when the post is removed from the shells and the dart is cut down. Yet I'd like to see something heavier, like a whistler dart, be able to fire from the Shell Shock.

In all, the focus probably rests on the darts themselves. They are unique and provide a more realistic look. However, they could become the fodder of the news media next time someone chooses to blame toy guns for violence and such. I know I still want them. What about you? ~ Chris Jacobs

Integrated Clip Systems -Dart Tag Only.

by Chris Jacobs

Just last week, foam warriors saw NERF's new Dart Tag line of blasters trickle into stores. After getting our hands on the new toys, we realized that there are a couple of big things that set apart this new series of blasters.

NERF Speedload 6. (Image from nerf.com)

The new tech found in the integrated clip is a great concept in and of itself. The inclusion of a self-contained clip that allows you to load multiple darts which are essentially ready to shoot is a step forward in the eyes of many NERF enthusiasts. This new approach eliminates two issues for the average user. For one, you no longer have to carry around extra clips to load which can be cumbersome and difficult to keep track of. Second, you get the convenience of not having to load a dart every time you fire your blaster. This is already a benefit to other clip system blasters, but many didn't consider that an advantage because of the loathed streamline darts.

On another hand, not having clips to remove can be seen as a down side. Having preloaded clips that you can quickly replace is seemingly a quicker way to reload than manually replacing darts in the integrated clip during a battle.  During the often short rounds of Dart Tag, this may be a non-issue. It'll be an interesting trade-0ff to observe whether versatile ammo in the integrated clip or a ready supply in the older clip systems win in longer term foam applications such as long-term battles or 'Humans versus Zombies'.

Mod to carry ammo. (Image by beerhandconners2, Youtube.)

Based on our own review of the NERF Dart Tag Speedload 6, the new integrated clip blasters should stay in the Dart Tag arena. They don't come with blaster accessories, tactical rails or even the eye gear that they recommend wearing at all times. They also don't come with any semi-convenient way to hold extra ammo. It seemed that NERF was on the right track last year when they released the ammo rail with the Barrel Break blaster. While we don't advocate mods, someone posted the idea to glue and velcro an ammo rail to the Quick 16 to allow for extra storage. Not a bad idea, but yet again spending more money just to get an adequate supply.

Overall, the line of Dart Tag Blasters look like they'll perform just as they are marketed to do. We can see how they'd likely operate well within the Dart Tag arenas that were seen in last year's Championships. Though, without serious modifications, they seem like they'll operate at a disadvantage in the rest of the realms a foam warrior would take them into.