Image: Hasbro
Recently Nerf sent me one of their new dart blasters, a big, rifle-like gun called the N-Strike Raider that packs a really huge dart magazine. The most logical comparison would be between the Raider and last year’s star, the electrically-powered Nerf N-Strike Vulcan. Both represent their respective season’s most awesome Nerf blaster.
The Vulcan impressed because its belt-driven firing mechanism and massive bulk promised to revolutionize office wars. It could rip out 25 rounds in less than ten seconds. But even better, hackers like our very own Anton Olsen modded the guns to fire at a much higher rate, though they sometimes found that jams increased — but vastly quicker ROFs seemed guaranteed. One down side of the Vulcan, it was fairly pricy. Plus, a relatively complicated build caused mechanical failures for some users.
By comparison, the power feature of the Raider is its magnificent 35-dart drum magazine. It has a clear back so you can see how much ammo you have left, and loads just like a real gun — you pop the darts in one at a time and the spring contracts a bit to let the dart in. While the Raider lacks the Vulcan’s powered firing mechanism, you can rip off shots at an impressive rate by holding down the trigger and pumping like crazy, enough to empty the drum in a matter of seconds.
For those who want to customize their Raider, there are a lot of options. You can swap out the standard stock and add a different one, or simply use the blaster without a stock altogether. You can also use 8-dart flip clips instead of the drum, though I can’t imagine why you’d want to. Finally, the Raider has a rail for all the Nerf-standard sights, lights, and ‘laser’ spotters you could hope for.
Best of all? The price. A mere $25 on Amazon will get you the Raider, the drum magazine and a bunch of foam darts! Totally win the office wars with this bad boy.
