Out of Darts Proton Pack Review!

Few things in the hobby space, especially when it comes to Rival, are as iconic as the Proton Pack. More than five years ago, Out of Darts made the first one, with several revisions (and other iconic interpretations) since then.

Now, at last, they’re available for purchase from outofdarts.com! And if Rival is in any way useful to you (and you have the ammo for it), it’s some of the best money you’ll ever spend!

Continue reading

Nerf Super Soaker XP50-AP Review

Some things fly under the radar. Thanks to the pandemic of the past year, much has been lost in terms of advertising new products, showing off samples at Toy Fairs, etc. That includes soakers, most of which are manual anyway. In the case of last year’s soakers, that issue was compounded by a recall of the XP20 and XP30 over stickers containing lead – never good optics.

This year, Hasbro quietly rereleased the line with the -AP (Air Pressure) tag at the end, and also added another rerelease to the line: the reimagined Super Soaker 50 from 2009! How’s it perform? Quite well, actually. Enough to to be the best thing in their line…after 12+ years.

Continue reading

Nerf Hyper, Dart Zone Flywheel Blaster Patents!

Last night before bed, I decided to peruse the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new information…and I fell down a rabbit hole. Hasbro’s patent for the Hyper line just went live, with lots of fun information inside.

Not only that, but with some help (from u/Abquintic and others off the subreddit and various Discords), we found that two Dart Zone patents we’d initially looked past were in fact new! One is an updated Cornerfire filing, while the other is, essentially, a flywheel Villainator. Let’s jump in!

Continue reading

Adventure Force Triton Quick Review

NOTE: Thanks Buzz Bee for sending a free sample my way!

The Adventure Force Triton is one of many Steady-Stream style blasters made by Buzz Bee Toys. If you’ll recall, last year gave us its big brother, the Poseidon. The Triton may be smaller, but for $10 it has the same punch and is much easier to wield in soaker wars.

Continue reading

Adventure Force Hydro Arsenal Two Pack Review

Author’s note: a big thanks to Buzz Bee Toys (the manufacturer) for sending out a free sample! I will do my best to evaluate it on its merits!

The great thing about blaster packs is that they encourage kids (and the young at heart) to play with each other. That applies to water blasters as well as foam flinging toys! In the case of the Hydro Arsenal Two Pack, you have decent performance and comfortable grips, and some attachments for the added play value. Is it a standout? No, but that’s hard to do in the water blaster category, quite frankly. But is it a solid choice for your collection? Yes, especially if you and a friend are just starting.

Continue reading

Nerf Chief TikTok Officer? How to Apply!

Admittedly, as far as social media marketing goes, this one’s a genius move due to the coverage on the internet. Nerf is looking to hire someone for $10k a month for, essentially, the summer job of making content for the Nerf TikTok handle. Assuming you’re good both with social media and a blaster, it’s worth taking a look at the requirements:

  • 18 and older
  • Making 10-12 approved posts a month for the Nerf handle (assume a lot more work going into making posts and editing before you get 10-12 approved)
  • Weekly meetings with the marketing team
  • All working remotely

Admittedly, my forte is definitely more towards using the blasters than doing social media. But I’d be willing to take a swipe at this, especially if it means being able to use and promote new blasters – doing wars on the weekends is kinda my thing.

However, there IS the slight issue of having never used TikTok…(oops)…

In any case, if you’re up to the challenge, follow the link above and think about applying!