Review of Alpha Trooper CS 18

The Alpha  Trooper CS 18 is by far one of the most popular of all the N-strike blasters.  Available only from Target stores, it became very popular due to the high-capacity 18 dart barrel-style clip and slam fire capability for a very reasonable price.  Eventually Nerf released the 18 dart clip on its own, but for a while this was the least expensive way to pick up some high-capacity clips for your favorite blaster.  Once again, you can see that some after-market decor made it into the blasters featured here.  Once you try one of these blasters in the heat of battle, you'll find that you want to hold onto it for as long as you can!

Battle Zone 2.0

We will soon be moving battle zone blog to a new site we have been developing for the last month! we will let you know when this happens. For now, stay tuned to battle zone for your blaster news and battle postings!

Review: Longstrike CS-6

The Longstrike CS-6 is to date the longest Nerf blaster in history.  The barrel sets this Nerf blaster at over 3 feet long, and although this is a little unweildy, this guy shoots really well for a single shot bolt-action rifle blaster. 

The reason this blaster, while just a bolt-action clip system blaster keeps up pretty well with others it goes up against.  Those with the old Longshot blaster will see that after each shot there is a reset time for the spring after you fire until you can re-cock the bolt.  This is not really an issue, until you fire the Longstrike!  With no reset time for the bolt-action, I at times have had up to three darts in the air at a time headed to my opponent on the other side of the arena!  This ability to more rapidly fire has put me at odds against the  Stampede Ecs, and the rate of fire between us was almost identical!  Though with the single clip that comes with it, you can run that through pretty quick!  The Longstrike also has a great stock that can store two more extra clips so the reload time is reduced.  The price for this one is about $33 (depends on the store), which is on the higher end. 

While this looks like a sniper type blaster, the extension on the end tends to lower the range of the darts.  the accuracy improvement is negligible, but it does have quite the intimidation factor. 

Also, those familiar with the Longstrike will notice the sweet paint job.  I did this by hand one night while watching Pirates of the Caribbean.  on the one side you can see the fruits of that movie, and on the other side is a Jedi insignia from Star Wars.  the stuff around the jam-clearing door is just for fun.  Here are some close ups:)

I had a lot of fun that night, as you will see from other future reviews, I have always had a blast making these ones.

Review: Raider CS-35

The Nerf Raider CS-35 is the first of many Nerf blasters that featured the 'slam-fire' system, meaning that by holding down the trigger at all times, you can then pump the action grip back and forth and it will automatically load and shoot 1 dart per pump.  This is extremely valuable when attacking an enemy at a run, or when being attacked by the enemy while you are bunkered down. 

As you can see, the Raider CS-35 also includes a removeable stock, and the highest capacity nerf clip ever, holding up to 35 darts at a time.  With the slam-fire feature, this blaster is one of the most sought after blaster for big-time Nerfers.  There are two of these in the Battle Zone arsenal, and it is always one of the first ones out of the armory at the begining of each Battle.  However, the one drawback of this gun is the reloading of the 35 dart clip.  The gun only comes with one drum (except for a few exceptions that were sold with an extra drum for a promotion), and so unless you have some clips to spare, you better watch for the darts to run out.  The back of the drum is clear so that you can see how much more ammo you have, but in the end, most people would run out of darts in this one about three quarters through a Battle.

All in all, the Raider is one of the best blasters that Nerf has ever developed, as long as you keep your ammo levels in check, and have a couple of Flip-Clips as backup, you will dominate your competition with this Blaster.  Retails around $35 (depends on the store), though I usually just wait for a sale:)

Review: Maverick Rev-6

The classic Maverick.  The first time I owned one of these was on my mission to Tempe Arizona where my comp and I bought a couple of them just to play around in the apartment.  Since then, I have been into these awesome six-shooter revolvers and used them in at least one round of each Nerf Battle.

The simple and small design combined with the 6 dart capacity made the Maverick Rev-6 one of the most popular and one of the most re-designed and updated blasters in nerf history.  I know of at least 4 different versions of this blaster as they have come out over the years.  there is the original blue and yellow, the yellow and black (shown), the whiteout series, and the gear up orange and black.  Although this blaster's versatility has allowed it to stay on the shelves for over 5 years, the continued upgrading and renovation of other nerf blasters have made this model begin to be old news, replaced in collectors arsenal by the Recon CS-6, Longshot CS-6, or in some cases the Target stores specialty: Alpha Trooper CS-18. 

This gun is great for missions where you need a lightweight gun for a lot of running, or for larger conflicts to sneak around and take out your opponents with stealth.  Although the temptation is to dual wield two of these puppies, the cocking mechanism can be cumbersome in a fast-paced firefight, and reloading can be difficult with two.  I almost recommend that with the other amazing blasters on the market, you use this mainly as a backup in a big Battle, but if you have enough people for some stealth situations and cover fire, these work amazingly to sneak up and take out opponents.  At about $10 per Maverick (depending on the store), it's a great high-performance starter blaster for any beginning Nerfer.

Updates for Nerf Vortex line!

Announcement: At the next Nerf Battle which will be either September 13, or september 17, the all-new Nerf Vortex will be making its first appearance in the Battle Zone!  Stay tuned as we will have pictures of the all new blasters as soon as they come in!  We will post a review of the gun as well as the range information that has been so anticipated about these new blasters!  Also, before the Nerf Vortex line is brought into the Battle Zone, we will have the rest of our inventory listed with pictures and reviews up and running!  Lots to look forward to, Battle on!

P.S. here is a sneak peek:)

Nerf Battle: September 2011

Well, we were going to do the nerf battle August 30, but the stake needed help with the float, so now we are going to push back the nerf battle to sometime in september.  The advantage to this is that nerf rolls out their new Vortex line of blasters that shoot discs, and we could have a couple in our armory if the war is after the 10th of sept when they come out.  we are also going to have a complete archive of nerf guns that are available at each Nerf Battle. the exact date will be posted by 8/31/11 weather permitting.