Nerf Ultra Officially Announced!

The fun things I get to post while on break at work!

After some speculation coming with their video about “The One”, Nerf is officially announcing the Nerf Ultra line, starting with the Ultra One blaster. Shoots farther than before, but comes with a new kind of dart. More from the press release after the jump!

Press Release Info

NERF ULTRA ONE BLASTER

(HASBRO/Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $49.99/Available: Fall 2019)

NERF is changing the game with NERF ULTRA blasters and darts! NERF ULTRA blasters have advanced design and performance to deliver extreme distance, accuracy, and speed. They include ground-breaking NERF ULTRA darts — the farthest flying NERF darts EVER, featuring lightweight foam material, an innovative flight tip and Aerofin Technology. Take your game to the next level with NERF ULTRA blasters and darts! NERF ULTRA blasters work only with NERF ULTRA darts. The NERF ULTRA ONE motorized blaster has a high-capacity 25-dart dart drum and comes with 25 NERF ULTRA darts. Fire more than 2 dozen darts with the high-performance advantages of this NERF ULTRA blaster. Send darts flying through the air up to 120 feet (36 meters). There’s on-board dart storage for quick reloading. You have the skills and the expertise as a NERF battler, now you have the blaster and darts for game-changing superiority! Includes: blaster, drum, 25 darts, and instructions. Requires 4 C alkaline batteries. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.

My Thoughts

The Ultra one looks like a fun blaster to use, at least, and assuming the claims about distance and accuracy are true, could be a fun blaster to actually use. A new dart type that appears incompatible with other Nerf blasters is, of course, a concern, as will be the darts’ durability (how resilient are they to getting stepped on during battle, etc). In any case, questions will all be answered soon! After all, Nerf already pulled off introducing Megas and Rival, and still makes Vortex and other odds and ends.

EDIT: Seems there’s a decent amount of online hate for the blaster. I’ll try my best to hold judgement until I can actually use one, but there are valid concerns, including whether this blaster and ammo do anything special that other store-bought blasters can’t. The refill packs work out to $0.50 a dart, after all. And as the Wall Street Journal even notes, it’s not hard to find good ammo (that’s compatible with existing blasters) for way cheaper. Perhaps this really is pushing the limits of how much performance you can get out of a dart blaster for a given amount of ammo energy? Hopefully I’ll know more whenever mine shows up (silly me, actually preordering something for review purposes).