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?

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

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!

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

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

SplitStrike Officially Confirmed for Fall 2015

Our contacts at Nerf will officially note that the blaster leaked in these images is called the SplitStrike. It's set up to be a Walmart exclusive and to be sold starting August 1 of this year. The suggested retail price is supposed to be $19.99 which is a bit steep-sounding for what it can do.

They didn't call it an Elite blaster, but the writing is on the wall . . . of the blaster if you look closely in a shot.

They don't have any official images yet, but are working on getting us some beauty shots and a little more info.

NY Attorney General and Amazon Stifle AirForce Blowguns?

Updated June 6th:

Warriors, I just got a heads up on something sad. The NY Attorney General's crusade against toy guns has possbily killed a product of one of the companies we have proudly covered in the past. Air Force Blowguns is still selling on their own website here: http://airforceblowguns.com/.

According to the company, they were rocking 70 orders per day exclusively through Amazon up to December of last year. They were really rocking it and just about to make the next order to the factory when Amazon pulled the plug on their online sales. No explanation was given for days and then they finally cited a letter.

You see, in December 2014, the Attorney General's office of the state of New York sent cease and desist letters to major retailers they accused of selling realistic looking toy guns. Amazon's response was to arbitrarily pull certain toy guns and blasters off of their digital shelves.

Owners Zac & Becky Poulter say of Amazon: "They have some attorneys looking into the NY statute, but I don’t think it’s a real high priority for them. Just easier to pull us down. We realize we sell a really “politically incorrect” product…"

So, Amazon's excuse is that they apparently can't get their software to simply prevent sales to New York state. That sounds lame. I have contacted them to see if they have a clarification or response to this. So far, there has been no response to my contact.

I'm not sure how you can justify keeping this up on the site:

YK Night Hawk M16+

when you won't sell this:

Air Force Blowgun

Regardless, AirForce Blowguns is selling what they have left on their own website at airforceblowguns.com.

In their own words: "We’ve considered other options, but have decided to just sell through what is left.  When they’re gone, they’re gone for good," said the Poulters.

They are still running a special though, so maybe there is hope for a rebound!

"We’re also running a Father’s Day special - Get a free 50 pack of darts for every two guns purchased by June 20th. (If you’re trying to get them for Father’s day though, you need to allow a week for shipping.)"

~Chris

Rotofury on Store Shelves?

Reddit has it boys and girls. User, _Emotionless, posted a find from a store in Hong Kong in the Nerf subreddit.

_Emotionless found it listed at 298 Hong Kong dollars which translates to $38.44 in US dollars. That's not bad considering the MSRP below.

The Rotofury is something we've been hearing about officially since January. NERF sent our the press release with these details back then.

***NERF MEGA RotoFury Blaster***Image and Information Under Embargo until 1/19/15

(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $34.99/Available: Fall 2015)

Supersize your NERF battles and dominate the field with the highest capacity MEGA blaster ever! The MEGA RotoFury blaster gives you the option of firing one MEGA Whistler Dart at a time, or slam firing a steady stream of ten darts in a row. Hear the darts whistle as they fly through the air and hit targets up to 90 feet away.  Includes 10 MEGA Whistler Darts. Available at most major retailers nationwide and HasbroToyShop.com.

Good images of the blaster have been coming out since Vas from Foam From Above was blasting out images from his annual visit to the Toy Fair! I am excited to see which other blasters from the fair will come out soon. Look over at F2A for images of the other cool blasters such as the Thunderblast which I am totally excited for!!

I want to get hands on this blaster. The assumed mechanics in this one remind me a lot of what I expected the NERF Vortex Revonix to be. Pump-action blasters please me when they are fed by a magazine. Generally the ammo feed works out pretty well in that case. I haven't had as much luck with the turret/barrel situation on pump-action. Really want to try it out, though! ~Chris

The Tag Zone

Been working on a fun edit this past week about another indoor Nerf arena; The Tag Zone. This place has all sorts of coolness with their themed fields and military-styled depot. The owner sat down with us for a few minutes back in June and I finally got this episode done for you to enjoy:

In the video, he talks about how all they use right now are modified Big Bad Bows and Nite Finders because it makes things simpler. These days the Blazin' Bow and the Firestrike or Sidestrike are close equivalents. What are your go-to "easy" blasters when you want something simple and "deadly" (old or new)?

I really enjoyed talking with Johnny Basco. He's got so much motivation and won't let anything slow him down. Between his military service and his genuine excitement, he brings a unique thing to the table in Seattle. I personally recommend giving the Tag Zone a go with your friends if you get the chance.

On another note:
You know, I wish they still made the NERF flags regularly available too. They've come in handy in our own games and folks like those at Tag Zone put them to good use too. You don't really need a branded flag, but they are nice for their settings and sounds.







~Chris

The ECS-12 Cam Blaster and others

So Warriors,

In case you missed it on Youtube, we recently got a care package in the mail from our friends over at Nerf. We got a chance to un-box the ECS-12 Cam blaster and also found the Demolisher and the MEGA Thunderbow in the box.

All of these are in testing now and they'll get comprehensive reviews soon! Which one do you want to pick up the most?

~Chris

New Nerf on the Way . . But not quite yet.

So, warriors. There is a fine line when it comes to news and how we share it.

You may be familiar with some Nerf-specific leaks that have come out from China over the years -especially recent years. We try to bring you interesting information as we are able. But we also try not to support physical theft or the theft of intellectual property. Most of those leaks are actually theft. If it looks like fish, smells like a fish and swims like a fish . . . it's probably a fish. 

While we can't ignore news. We will ignore the specific image leak from the Far East that includes the Modulus and other proposed 2015 releases for a little longer while we await some more official news. It's the internet, so the image is out there for you to find and some other blogs and fans are noticing some pretty cool things.

The Modulus sounds like something that was hinted at during our hangout with the NERF leadership earlier this year. They did indicate that they were looking at something big in the vein of accessorizing. I'm also very excited about where some of the MEGA line is going.

More to come! ~Chris

AirForce Blowgun - Blow by Blow Review

Got the chance to get another review up! This time is the AirForce BlowGun from the company with the same name.

I just got done talking with the creators of the BlowGun and they've got some good news. They're checking out new samples from the factory right now that account for left-handed users. In addition, they tell me that a new design on the tube will get rid of the small jamming problem from using too much pressure to pull in a dart.

We should also talk more about the Range category. Becky from AirForce BlowGuns had some good responses to our review that I want to bring up. We should really acknowledge that the Range results will vary based on the individual operator (they include that on the box as well). We tested out the blaster with what I would consider an average force of breath. But the beauty of the blowgun design is that you can vary your breath to change the distance you are firing the darts. I am looking forward to trying this blasters in an upcoming, full-on battle to give it the best workout possible.

Maybe at some point we can add a chronometer and pressure or force measurement to the testing for a more thorough review too.

I'm looking forward to continuing to cover the AirForce BlowGuns. I think things will just keep getting better! ~Chris

Rhino Fire, Part 2

Good news, warriors. NERF got back to us with the official release concerning the Rhino Fire we reported on earlier today. Some good things and possibly worrisome notes in the mix.

NEW NERF Rhino Fire Charges onto the Scene

Check it out, Warriors! Looks like the big bad blaster for the season may have already leaked out! Check out what showed up on the Spanish Amazon site. The box art calls it the Rhino Fire while the site calls it the Rhino Strike.

Now, it doesn't show in stock yet, but that's only a matter of time. At first glance, this looks like the new answer to the Vulcan/Havok of old. With the large bipod and high dual output, this looks to be the new "turret" weapon for the market.

Just from looking at the artwork, you can see that this will be drum-fed (likely flywheel-fired). It looks like the back has a similar trigger system to the Vulcan. There looks to be a tactical rail -at least on the right front and the top.

Sighting Report - NERF Rebelle Secrets and Spies

The products that we've been awaiting from the Rebelle Secrets and Spies line have hit the shelves! No sign of the Rapid Red, but everything else seems to be there -at least at the Toys R Us in Colorado Springs.

Of the most interest may be the Agent Bow. It's NERF's first real foray into the world of actual bow-fired arrows. Sure, they've had things with the word "bow" in the name. However, this one seems to be the first direct competition to the Zing bows from NERF.

It claims 85 feet for the Range. That's shy of the 100 foot MEGA distances. I wonder how they will fair with this completely new-to-Nerf projectile! BTW, you'll drop 30-bucks plus tax on it.

Strangely, it is not on ToysRUs.com or the Rebelle website. Well . . . none of the new Secrets and Spies blasters have popped up on the official website.

The Spylight does look like a Strongarm with a flashlight attachment as expected. I left this one on the shelf, but I can see the appeal for some. I think I may stick with the Firestike if I want a light and the Hammershot if I want a revolver.

It lists at $19.99 - so you're spending another 7 bucks over the Strongarm for the flashlight and the Messenger darts.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the Diamondista. It's modeled after a crossbow like blasters across the NERF branding.

At $9.99, this is the most basic blaster in price and size in the Secrets and Spies releases. The original description NERF sent describes this as a blaster for missions that require elegance.

We did grab one of these too, so some more info will be on the way.

I don't know what happened to my picture of the Messenger blaster, but you can see it to the left in this shot of the Knock Out Gallery. All of the Secrets and Spies blasters come with the tech to "decode" messages from this one. It's S14.99 for this one. Obviously, you seem to be paying for the new "secret messaging" tech here.

As for the Knock Out Gallery, it's a basic target-shooting blaster. Meet the Jolt, Rebelle version. When I was in store, they had a deal running where you could buy the Knock Out Gallery and get a 12-pack refill of Rebelle darts for free.  Turns out they are running a promotion online where you can get the free 12-pack with ANY Rebelle blaster that costs $9.99 or more. Note that its the regular dart refill pack and not the Secrets and Spies version.

Target was running a similar deal today in Colorado Springs where you could get a free 12-pack of elite darts with any qualifying N-Strike, MEGA or Vortex purchase.

Zed Squad

Warriors! By now you may have heard about the new "Zed Squad" blasters that NERF is putting out.  In the past week, Target has listed the new products and apparently they will get the new stuff as exclusive through at least this year.

Warriors have been asking for a new Longshot for years and hearing rumors of the Zombie Strike Longshot for weeks. Now it's listed at Target! As you'll see in a blog later today, the design team tells us that the ranges really will not have changed much for the blaster, but it will be using the Zombie Strike/Elite darts. Plus, accessories aren't completely dead with the return and repaint of the Longshot scope!

Brand New - AirForce BlowGuns

Warriors, have you heard of AirForce Blowguns? I started watching these guys develop a few months back after an article that popped up in a search. The article was out of the Daily Herald in Utah and was titled Family works together to create fun foam gun for all ages.

The writer gives a lot of the background of the family and the start of their endeavors. But, of course, you're going to want to get a lot more on the operation of the gun and how it works. Well, we'll get that covered!

Check out the unboxing and be assured that a review is in the works:

BOOMco Part 2

Well warriors, there was a lot of initial excitement with Mattel's new line of blasters. BOOMco just started getting more widespread coverage in the community. Then UK Nerf got us a reality check. These are not another entry into the the foam warriors' arena like we first thought.

I'm still interested in trying these new blasters out, but they aren't foam launchers. They launch what essentially comes down to straws with sticky tips on the end. Also, as expected, the sticky tips are the kind that can become dirty somewhat easily when they hit the ground. Apparently these darts will only stick to BOOMco targets so you're more sure of when you score a hit -if the darts are mucked up with crud from the floor etc.

The other sad part is the size that UK Nerf discovered when researching the Farshot. It is far smaller than it looks in the graphics from the Argos website. I was hoping for a full-sized sidearm.

One of the cool things confirmed though, are the side panels that sit alongside a couple of the blasters. They are made of the same material as the Smart Stick targets so you can catch the darts fired at you to fire back. It's a cool, yet strange tech. I mean, many wars will count blaster hits as regular hits or at least ask that you treat your blaster as non-functional for the rest of the round. I'm looking forward to seeing how this would work out for a war. I guess you could treat it as a shield.

Pictures of even more BOOMco blaster concepts are out there now. It looks like Mattel is ready to bring these blasters out in force. I am looking forward to when we can bring you a comprehensive review on this line.

What do you think warriors -are you willing to try out any blaster from the new Mattel BOOMco line?