Livestream from Toy Fair Updates Covering New Products in the Foam Blaster Space

If you have questions on anything ranging from when will the new Halo blasters from Nerf/Hasbro hit shelves to what to expect out of the new clown blaster theme from Far Out Toys, this is the place to look!

Nerf and "Assault-Style Guns"

EDITOR'S NOTE: You should only hear or read "nerf blaster" or "foam blaster" from Click Click BAMF venues in most cases. Nerf and competitors don't make guns. It's true, you can't really get around grouping these into the "toy guns" category, but as children grow older parents and communities can educated them on the differences. Banning "assault-style" toys will not solve the problems our society faces.

Warriors, you may have already seen the news circling around about this letter that a New York consumer watchdog group, Empire State Consumer Project, Inc., sent to Hasbro at the beginning of the month. The authors ask the Hasbro board of directors to "remove assault-style toy weapons from [their] product offering."

You can see the entire letter for yourself at the end of this article. Within the first paragraph of the letter, the two authors call the products appearing in a tv spot "extreme Nerf machine guns" and later deem them "emblems of mass destruction". I am impressed that these folks have undercut their own credibility so quickly. It usually takes these kinds of groups at least a couple of paragraphs to stretch their hyperbole to insane levels. The letter cites blasters from a recent Christmas commercial, none of which are automatic or represent any weapons of mass destruction.

As several others in the community have also said, I thought it was a The Onion article or similar when I first saw some of the coverage on this. There are people with a bone to pick on either side of the debate here and there are varying levels of coverage. I encourage you to read the letter for yourself, because it's better to be informed before you form an opinion (see below).

Speaking of a bone to pick, I have my own. I will say that I appreciate some groups who take issue with some of the styles Nerf has picked for their blasters. Don't get me wrong, I love me some nerf and other blasters. However, somewhere along the way, some of these blaster got a lot closer to the real thing.

Some of the Fortnite blasters have taken things over the edge. You can do you best to tell me how they are based off of a game, but several of the current Nerf Fortnite blaster get too close to the real thing for kids. We've lost a degree of separation. Is it earth-shattering? No! Am I all anti-Hasbro over it? No! But I do think it could get them into trouble down the road. Also, I feel that they have eroded a bit of the argument against the anti-gun activists. Not these anti-gun activists, mind you. However, there are people with reasoned arguments out there you could have a real conversation with.

Regardless, we aren't bothered enough to stop covering blasters or the fun we have with them. So next time someone says, "it's blaster not gun", remember why we keep some separation. This is why we don't paint blasters black and it's why many people don't like going full MILSIM in the community.

Just my two cents...

They'll likely never read this, but I want to reply and I want to focus on one question these two raise in their letter:

"How does promoting play with huge automatic weapons create joy, creativity and connection around the world, and across generations, and make the world a better place for children?"

Answers:

1. There are no automatic weapons in the spot you refer to in your letter. It's hard to take you seriously when you cite evidence inaccurately.
2. If we fix your errors and reframe the question to begin "How does promoting play with Nerf blasters ...", now we can get somewhere. The first answer is simple. Ask the question without the Nerf blasters part. Now answer it. There is your answer.
3. Please feel free to peruse the many offerings of nerf groups, arenas, friendly neighborhood games and creative content available for kids of all ages across the fine invention called the internet. The evidence for creativity and connection, intergenerational play and better communities is evident.  

Empire State Consumer Project by News 8 WROC on Scribd

Mall of America Nerf Arena Grand Opening Announced

The newest Nerf Arena in the Midwest is now officially set to open at the end of this month. Tactical Urban Combat just solidified a Grand Opening date of December 28th and are offering free nerf gameplay from 10am to 3pm. Nerf and laser tag combat in the Mall of America is about to be a reality.

We've been tracking some awesome developments from the already successful business in Minnesota. Tactical Urban Combat has been running a nerf-only location at Eden Prairie Center in a suburb of Minneapolis since October of 2017.  They have their own scenarios like a custom version of capture the flag and their own concoction in a game-style they call Sabotage.

Check out the Grand Opening announcement below (from their facebook feed). We also get a look at the laser tag system they'll be using.

I love CEO Dustin Shallenberger's energy. Also the Grunt Style shirts are sick. If you haven't watched some of his facebook videos and live updates on the Tactical Urban Combat page, I would highly recommend catching up. He's shown passion every step of the way, often doing his transports and builds far into the early mornings to get this opening on the road.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can get a team up to Minnesota in time for the Grand Opening. In fact I'm writing this from Florida between work trip duties. I'm really stoked to check out the new digs soon, though!!

No, Nerf ULTRA isn't "just a cash grab".

EDIT; Important note: a big thanks to Foam From Above for providing the sample for me to use in Colorado!!

View this post on Instagram

I'm using the #nerf #ultra one and there's nothing you sissies can do about it! Thanks to @foamfromabove for the hookup at CU HVZ! #hvz

A post shared by Click Click BAMF (@clickclickbamf) on Nov 22, 2019 at 10:58pm PST

Yes, that's right. I ran the new Nerf Ultra One in an HvZ lock-in scenario and I couldn't have been more pleased for the first time out. The ultra darts hit nice and hard and the distance was super-consistent, just not 120-feet consistent. Please realize that the claims made on the box are generally pulled from the most "favorable" conditions. This has been true since before N-Strike was even a thing. Don't buy the rhetoric from those that would have you believe there is something new or nefarious about the marketing tactics.

A friend should be hooking me up with some secondary footage soon and I hope to bring you a little video of the HvZ experience we had. Before then, I had some thoughts on the reaction to the Nerf Ultra One and some of the misplaced vitriol running around online.

Warriors, don't be misled. Ultra is not the evil thing that some Youtubers and loudmouths in the nerf "community" would have you think. Nerf has been and will continue to be putting out new lines of blasters and attempt to move the market in their favor. This means trying new things, building in new proprietary tech, ammo and accessories, as well as marketing the most extreme claims they can on performance.

Also, Hasbro will pass on some costs for development in their initial designs. It's always a question of what price the market will bear. Yes, the ultra on should cost the same amount at a Rapidstrike did. Hmmm, The Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike MSRP was $39.99 a few years ago. Let's start there, adjust for inflation and a trade war, then add in costs for proprietary development. Seems like that gets us to at least; FIFTY BUCKS!?

Loads of opinions are out there, but a lot of them are really just echoes. You might expect a "thought leaders" or influencers in the community to take more responsibility and do actual testing before panning any product, but such is our day and age. My advice to any nerfer is to get your hands on this before making a decision.  Maybe go in with friends or buddies to grab one or find an arena that might grab one for their stock.

Game On!

New Nerf Group in Des Moines!

This past weekend, I was excited to finally get out and play some nerf with others again.

Nerf DMI is a group that plays in Des Moines. They've been working on getting monthly or bi-monthly games going with some growing success. It's been put on by this cool dude in the picture to the left.

Check out the video below. It's just one round of fun where I pulled out a Dart Zone Powerball ball blaster from Prime Toys. I swear that thing can still keep up. Biggest problem I ran into was finding the bright orange ammo in the grass. You wouldn't think it would be the issue that it was! I only occasionally met a jam and that was easily remedied with their jam release. In a different round I ended up kind of baiting a player because I was jammed, but cleared so easily that I hit him with both rounds that came out after I fixed it. What do you think I should run in the next war?

OFFICIAL Touring Nerf Arena Warfare?

Some great news for any warriors that have been following Nerf's foray into formalized arena combat. They are making their US debut this December (2019) to kick off a 2020 tour across the US and Canada. Tickets go on sale on October 28th! The LA Event starts December 7th with future dates still to be announced. Check out the link at the end of this article for more!

Now, this isn't to be confused with the Nerf Xperience Arena that was launched in Singapore earlier this month and is said to be coming to the US in late 2020. That's apparently a whole different thing. Those will be permanent "Family Entertainment Centers".

As for this touring experience, a release from the PR folks says there will be a huge stage inside a 50,000 square foot pop-up. "Surrounding the stage will be three themed arenas: Urban Playground, Strange Cargo, and Blast Man Standing, where visitors team up and compete in various challenges powered by various NERF-centric equipment."

Yet another reboot...? and working with a friend!

What's up, Warriors?!

Long time, no talk. I hope this little note finds you well. I've missed you!

I don't know if you've caught up yet, but we've been able to flex the creative editing muscle a little bit with our friends at Foam From Above!
Check out the latest and greatest videos from Vas the Stampede over there. This badass-looking golden X-Shot Chaos line is the latest, but we've had a chance to work together on the last several.

More to come with obligatory explanations about our absence and so on. Let's say for now, F2A kept me going on the hobby during a dark age. I'm very excited for now to just be lining up to play in games all over the midwest and maybe back West a little bit too! Let us know what you think of the new edits!

Click Click BAMF (left) and Foam From Above (right) just chillin'.

In other news, Coop might be doing a thing soon too! (No, not that coop. Calm down.)
Alright warriors, until we meet again; Game On!

~CJ

Nanofire in the Wild

The wifey found the two colors of Nanofire out in the wild at ALDI here in Iowa just after Easter.

The Nerf N-Strike Nanofire is a new release this year. They've got it in blue and green. There are two holes on the top for horizontal ammo storage.

The official description: 

This compact Nerf blaster lets kids take it almost anywhere to start blasting almost anytime! Load 1 dart into the barrel, pull down the priming handle, and pull the trigger to fire. Reload and fire again! Storage for 2 darts on the handle. Comes with 3 Elite darts. Available in 2 colors: blue and red (each sold separately).

Yeah, you read that right. It says the two colors are blue and red. So the question is, will we see a red one, too?

Many will just write these off as Jolt repacking, and that's not totally untrue. To be exact, this is a repackage of an older repackage of the Jolt. The blaster was called the Dart Tag Stinger that came out in 2013. The biggest draw I see is that you're getting good, usable blasters for family wars or single-shot-only games for 4 bucks if you get them at ALDI.

If you're not lucky enough to have an ALDI nearby, they're going for 10.99 on Amazon.com at this writing. Better yet,  go to www.hasbrotoyshop.com and get it for the MSRP of $4.99.

Sorry for the short blurb. Today, we're heading out for an anniversary game at Carnegie Stout Public Library in Dubuque, Iowa. We'll be recording a review on the road, finalizing interviews for our new series we've been promising and playing in two hours of non-stop Nerf action among the stacks in an actual Carnegie library!

I love this job! ~CJ

The Nerf Neophyte

Hmm. Maybe this on never technically posted. Welcome Corbin Millard to the Click Click BAMF team. Corbin is just getting into Nerf for the first time as a "kiddult". He told me that he was really tempted by the ammo and the sleekness of the new blaster designs. So here we unboxed and reviewed the Nerf Rival Hera.

We talked about terminology in the video a little bit. As you may know, we say things like rounds, dart and ammo instead of bullets. We also refer to the toys overall as blasters. While these are reminiscent of guns, they are toys. We want to separate them for those who need to know the differences!

You can check out the Hera and the Hera Battle Gear Bundle through our affiliate links here.

TOY FAIR REPORT: Even More New Blasters Announced

This post will update with images and thoughts throughout the week.

Now for a couple of Nerf things we didn't really hear about during the Toy Fair 2018 coverage and a few things we just have more on.

The one I didn't hear a peep on or see anything on for sure was the Nerf Doomlands Holdout. The pic comes from our friends at Nerf and the description comes from their Hasbro Product Page.

NERF DOOMLANDS HOLDOUTIn a post-apocalyptic future, the Earth is left a barren, lawless wasteland. Out of the ashes, a lone hero emerges to bring justice to a doomed land. This is the world of Doomlands! Scope out some action with the Holdout blaster, which has a removable targeting scope that slides onto a tactical rail. Load a dart into this single-shot blaster, pull back the handle, and pull the trigger to fire. Includes 2 Elite darts that can be stored on the scope.• Includes 2 blasters and 2 darts.• Single-shot blaster• Detachable scope• Includes 2 Elite Doomlands darts• Transparent area reveals inner firing mechanism• Ages 8 and up

New Click Click BAMF T-Shirts for Nerf and Foam Warfare Fans!

What's up, Warriors!? I'll tell you what's up; new t-shirt designs!

We got approved for our Amazon Merch account over the weekend and started submitting the work. You've got to be careful with the way their shop works though. You can't say things like Youtube and Nerf in the description because they (Amazon) view it as a copyright infringement. That's unfortunate for people searching for things like "Nerf" on Amazon, because they won't find our designs as easily as you.

R U Nerfous? - $25.00
It's a word. Well, at least it's a word now. Check out the listing for the new dictionary definition we put on the back.

It's just kind of a different way to celebrate your Nerf fandom.

Official Fan Shirt - $35.00
This one costs a little more, for a couple of reasons.
As you know, we've been working hard on a pilot for our new reality series, "Nerfing in Unconventional Place (Working Title)".  Your purchase of this shirt will allow us to expand the budget on this and other projects!
In addition to supporting the brand, you'll also get special access to any events that Click Click BAMF puts on this year. Your ticket will automatically be upgraded to VIP if you wear the shirt!

"What's up, Warriors?" -$19.99
Well, the name says it all. You know we start almost every video with that phrase. Not everybody has expendable income, so we wanted to make a less expensive shirt to rock your fandom right away!

TOY FAIR: Brand Name Chronographs Enter the Market

Well, warriors. Just after we released our review of a new option for nerf chronographs, two of our favorite companies came back at us with their own brand-name chrony merchandise.

Nerf came out with a chronograph and ammo counter combined. You can see it in the foreground of this pic from Foam From Above. He was all over the showroom early on at the Toy Fair in New York this past weekend.

It looks like their product attaches as a barrel accessory with all the compatible streamline/elite firing blasters. Plus, there is a tac rail on the underside. The release is pasted at the bottom of this post. Check out Foam From Above's first-hand write-ups for more on this new release. I am pretty excited about the price-point.

An Affordable Nerf Chronograph?

Since a couple of years after we began the channel, we've been wanting to buy a chronograph to test our fps on the nerf blaster we have. I wasn't really interested in spending too much on it considering all the other costs we have.

A second criterion I didn't mention in the video was size. While the size of some of the chronographs allows for the measurement of larger ammunition, You need to consider more space when setting them up. You will need more space to transport. You also will need a little more setup time when using them in the field.

I recently did a search and found a couple of airsoft chronographs that looked like they'd possibly fit the bill. Acetech was nice enough to send us some to review. Check it out:

Something else I didn't get to in the video was the quick fulfillment. Sometime folks worry about ordering from overseas because shipping can be quite a harrowing ordeal and/or very costly. Well Acetech has their products distributed to fulfillment centers in the US, so I only waiting a few days for the package to arrive after they decided to send it. So there's no concern on that end of things!

As mentioned in the video, there does seem to be some inconsistency due to things like big ammo through an airsoft chronograph. There's also a chance to hit the sides of the chamber due to the size of the rounds versus the size of the testing chamber.

If you're considering getting an Acetech Chronograph. You can check them out through my affiliate links here; AC5000 and AC6000.

New Channel Trailer Out!!

I hope all our warriors are getting the chance to check out the new channel trailer.

I worked on it going into the weekend. It shows off some of the cool gameplay we've taken part in and also points out how we've gone across the US to show off some of the Nerf news and arenas. Please make sure you subscribe and hit the notification bell on youtube to get all the updates from us!

LATEST Blasters Announced

Well Warriors. We've got quite the smorgasbord to choose from when it comes to Nerf blasters in the Fall 2018 lineup. Here are two of the latest blasters to be announced when video of my thoughts on the issues:

Please look out for Foam From Above's posts from Toy Fair 2018. He's got the first appointment for Hasbro and NERF and I'll be really excited to see what he tries out with some of these blasters.

As for the rest of the 2018 Fall lineup, I split the video into a second part and you can find the rest of it here:

I definitely want to get in on that Infinus action, but I am unsure about the rest for me personally. I'm still thinking about the Nemesis when it comes to Rival power and mag/hopper size!

Let me know what you think about the latest announcement. Please also consider subscribing to the Youtube channel. We've preserved partner status so far, but I would love to solidify that going into our new series this Spring!

Thanks for all you do,
CJ

Click Click BAMF Rises Again!

Hey Warriors!

That new video is up that I promised. It's kind of long for a straight talking piece, so there are timecodes in the description for where I talk about what.

As you see, we just had to talk a little bit about the Youtube Partnership complaints. We appreciate all the support that fans are showing the community. It's just time to realize that Google isn't going to hand out prizes for existing. That's over and it's okay!

Looking ahead:
I don't know if you've seen the new press releases for the latest two Nerf announcements, but they're not bad! Foam From Above posted them and I haven't been thinking about the Infinus' dart loading system. I want to see this "motorized Quick-Load Technology; as kids feed darts into the blaster, the darts are automatically loaded into the 30-dart removable drum." My main worry is the potential for movable parts to get broken by human error or normal use. But I just have to check it out as soon as we can!

Oh, and that reality project we mentioned? More is definitely coming. I might be able to get a teaser trailer up by the end of February depending on what we shoot when. Feel free to comment or drop us a line over e-mail. Contact links above! ~CJ

Please Stand By . . .

**test signal**
Systems restarting. Please do not adjust your monitors . . . .

But seriously, guys. We are really looking at jumping back in to the Nerf scene in a different way. Let's just say gameplay is and always will be the best part of the hobby. Looking to bring you some video that isn't just someone's GoPro footage of a war they went to or overdone beauty shots from a glidecam.

Expect a new Youtube video sometime this week about several things. Why CCB went dormant. Youtube Partnership and why folks should quit whining. More importantly; info will soon be coming about plans for a new pilot we're hoping to debut on the Click Click BAMF Youtube Channel some time this Spring.

In the mean time, check out Foam From Above gearing up for the Toy Fair 2018! As always, I am super-stoked to see what he finds out.

Thanks for your continued support over these last two years. It means more than you could ever know.

~CJ

Behind the Zombie Strike Crosscut

So, warriors, the N-Strike Elite Dual-Strike was not the only Spring 2016 release we got the heads up about. You may have see the first peek at the Nerf Zombie Strike Crosscut on our youtube channel from a couple days ago. It's a single-shot blaster (two-barreled) that incorporated a rubber-foam blade that actually spins. The blaster will help us ring in the new year at $14.99.

The video is below again in case you are curious.

Nerf N-Strike Elite Dual-Strike Revealed!

Oh, warriors! Meet one of the newest blasters revealed from Nerf. It's the NERF N-Strike Elite Dual-Strike. Heck. YES. 

You can see here that the product is ready for merchandising and yes, it will be released for the Spring 2016 season. What that translates to is that you will possibly see them on shelves ahead of Christmas 2015 as some stores work to get their product out early. BTW, it's set for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

NERF HQ Visit Tomorrow!

Warriors! We are on the eve of a really cool thing. Right now, I am on the way to Rhode Island to visit with the Nerf HQ team and several community contributors.

It's one of the few times that Nerf has brought in just fans off the street to view their facilities and we get to be a part of it! Granted, we aren't quite just "off the street". Several bloggers, youtubers and forum contributors were specially invited by the team to meet up at HQ to see and discuss the up and coming directions that Nerf is headed in.

There is a pesky little NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that stops us from leaking some stuff, but the PR team tells us that there will be plenty of tidbits that we will be released to share.

You may have seen some of the discussion in from our recent hangout with the Nerf HQ team the brought of some SUPER interesting possibilities for what we might see at tomorrow. Are there any burning questions that you are hoping to get the answer too?

Hit us up! ~Chris