Solid deal. $39.99 on Amazon and $49.99 at TRU.

4.0 stars on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Nerf-32218-Vortex-Nitron/dp/B004SKX8M0

These are very fun. For those that don't know, the Vortex system is an entirely new way of launching pieces of foam. The discs fly very smooth and are accurate, like frisbees. They also ricochet off walls and corners, making for awesome trick shots.

As far as performance goes, the Nitron isn't really that great. It requires batteries to fire and the fire-rate is very slow (about 1 disc fired per second). It's also pretty heavy due to the 6-C batteries-- so I don't recommend it for a child under 10.

The good thing about the Nitron is that it comes with a pretty cool electronic "scope". (The scope does not have any magnification, but it looks cool and lights up green)

Another good thing is that it comes with a 20-disc clip. These are not sold separately so the only way to get them is by buying the Nitron itself.

The nitron is also compatible with both the 6-disc clip and 40-disc drum. (as well as a slot in the back of the gun that can hold an additional back-up clip) -- NOTE: The 40-disc drum will NOT fit in the back-up clip slot--



All in all, Blaster is ehh.. but attachments are great!

This is one of those that BEGS for a bit of modification. As stated, the multiple C batteries weight a ton.

Except that 6xC Cell batteries = 9 Volts. 9.6v Rechargable RC Car Power Packs weigh considerably less. If you have a bit of time and a soldering iron you can 'convert' it pretty easily to use a rechargable pack which in the log run will save your sanity at least. ;)

This somehow feels unnervingly different from the Nerf of my youth.

I remember the old ball launchers and the basic sticky dart launchers, and if you were really getting serious, the big 'ol bow that shot the big arrows.

Now it's all Picatinny rails (as seen here) and bipod-stabilized, belt-fed machine guns whose ammo fits perfectly in, and feeds perfectly from, standard US Army ammo cans.

I mean, I have no doubt this is a hoot to play with. But somehow, it just feels less... pretend, I guess.

@devexity:
What a fantastically detailed and well informed review!

Thank you

Product page:
http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=bd25512e-5056-900b-1008-950b564551a0:en_US

with manual
http://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/dad2af6f1c4311ddbd0b0800200c9a66/D624BC445056900B1027AA6743834F2E.pdf

review

review

unbox/firing

range test


bye

Given recent current events, I think selling any sort of toy gun is in very poor taste.

But then, I've been anti-toy-gun for many years anyways. In any event, I'll definitely pass.

marista99 wrote:Given recent current events, I think selling any sort of toy gun is in very poor taste.

Give me a break. Its a toy. And yah know I'd rather have someone take their aggressive tendencies out with a foam disk then a real gun. Our culture has turned into a bunch of P.C. pansies. I like to think I'm a relativity sensitive person, however there IS such a thing as going to blasted far. And when you can't sell a fun toy who's only goal is to play a game and not KILL someone. Guess what? We've gone to far. A real gun is designed to kill. This is designed to play target practice. And if you think kids can't tell the difference. I'd suggest your kids aren't all that bright.

Look. We all know what happened last month was messed up. And you know there is plenty of debate for gun control, both pros and cons. But Nerf Control? Too soon? REALLY?!

kellic wrote:Give me a break. Its a toy. And yah know I'd rather have someone take their aggressive tendencies out with a foam disk then a real gun. Our culture has turned into a bunch of P.C. pansies. I like to think I'm a relativity sensitive person, however there IS such a thing as going to blasted far. And when you can't sell a fun toy who's only goal is to play a game and not KILL someone. Guess what? We've gone to far. A real gun is designed to kill. This is designed to play target practice. And if you think kids can't tell the difference. I'd suggest your kids aren't all that bright.

Look. We all know what happened last month was messed up. And you know there is plenty of debate for gun control, both pros and cons. But Nerf Control? Too soon? REALLY?!

Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

marista99 wrote:Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

I see both sides--I'm a mom of a 10yo boy (who would LOVE this....but since we have already planned for his bday this month it's taking a lot of willpower to pass on this). The shootings, while not in my state, were horrifying.

I used to have a "no toy gun" rule myself--even though I was raised with toy guns (still have my Lone Ranger cap gun somewhere) and grew up with adult family members who owned guns.

And it was with some hesitation that I allowed my father to teach my kids to shoot (I also have a 17yo daughter). They ONLY target shoot--my kids know that shooting ANYTHING live is not okay with me. But my father felt they should know how to handle a gun safely (or in my son's sake--if he saw one, to NOT touch it and get an adult).

However I do not fault woot for selling a kid's toy that shoots foam discs. Were it a Red Ryder BB Gun...ok I would cringe a bit myself (even though that is one of the guns my son is learning to shoot).

I should mention that in all the generations of my family who have guns, there has never been a shooting incident of another person.

That's not to say I'm a fan of the NRA--I'm not. And while I do agree there is only one other reason to have a gun (other than target practice)--and that is to kill--I hardly think mass murderers started out by playing with Nerf guns.

Now,now kids...are you really going to bog down Woot's comment page with Gun Control Rhetoric ?!?!
BOZ

marista99 wrote:Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

being anti-gun crazie is pretty bad IMO. I am proud to say that in my 29 years on this planet (with 20 years of pistol/shotgun/rifle/assault weapon experience that I have never "gone off the deep end".

I am not alone either. In fact, none of my guns have become animated objects that up and move on their own and go on a killing spree by themselves either. It's pretty amazing... because I own a lot of guns.

Food for thought.

I haven't used this blaster specifically, but I have used other Vortex blasters, and I am impressed with the range and stability of the projectiles.

Per range, you're going to have roughly the same (incredibly) erratic shot grouping common to nerf guns, but the extended range of these things really spreads out the end result.

The discs fly appreciably slower than the darts, but are frankly more fun because of it. So unless you're involved in some kind of nerf war with a legitimate prize, I think they're superior to darts.

In the past, however, I've been less than enthusiastic about any automatic nerf weapon. They tend to not hold up well, or fire kinda crappy, or jam. Jamming increases as the batteries lose their charge. My other automatics had a manual pump, so it wasn't so bad, but this one doesn't appear to, at least from the pictures. [edit: that front handle is probably the manual pump. looks like it could snap off if you're a little rough on it, but is probably fine]

Also, the discs are green, obviously. Grass is also frequently green. If you take really good care of your lawn, you're not terribly likely to see these ever again.

Really temped to get this. Santa brought us a Vortex Praxis ($40). Reading about the Nitron here makes me think this is a better deal.
Our Praxis has a 40 round drum but running around looking for 40 disk every few mins is not very fun. The pump action of the Praxis is ok but feels cheap, so does the stock and the laser dot stays on when the kids are finnished eating batteries. The laser itself is cool but useless as the disk shoot acurate but way off to the right like in the video above.
Still a fun toy and very good price here.

My son and I have one and he is 6 years old and it is a blast for both dad and boy. We setup targets to knock and it does shoot a long ways considering. As far as weight goes with the batteries my son hasn't had an issue. The only minor down side is the discs are green so if you play outside expect to not immediately find all discs as they tend to blend in with the grass a bit.

Very tempted on this, but we have a pretty heavy investment in the dart system including the Stampede ECS-16 and Vulcan EBF-25.

Not touching the gun issue, but this thing is a Frisbee launcher, so...

Also, Airsoft is the new BB-gun.

marista99 wrote:Given recent current events, I think selling any sort of toy gun is in very poor taste.

But then, I've been anti-toy-gun for many years anyways. In any event, I'll definitely pass.

Given the recent knee jerk in DC I think this is an excellent way to bring a young person into the importance of the 2nd amendment and rights that some would abolish! If the left sobbing hearts didn't find excuses to keep people out of jail, get those in, out and would demand current laws be enforced rather than ignored, much more would be accomplished as opposed to more government restrictions and intrusions on innocent, free, Americans.

Do some research yourself rather than listen to all the hype. You have a computer, it is EASY to find the facts. Check out the cities, counties, and states that have the largest crime rates. Then check out where the gun restrictions are the most stringent. Then check out where the right to carry and bare arms is the least infringed upon and likewise, check the crime rates in those areas. Guess What You Are Going To Find? I really don't want you to take my word for anything so take the time to go find out the real facts for yourself.

marista99 wrote:Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

Come on. I can remember having a lot of toy guns when I was a kid. I had a sling shot too. Maybe we should outlaw pebbles. I also did the whole one pump BB gun thing with my friends. (chasing each other around the woods and shooting each other with a bb gun that you were supposed to only pump once, although a second pump sometimes got thrown in for good measure.) Guess what I am 42 and have never gone on a gun rampage. Every one of these shootings are not caused by parents giving their kids a toy gun. They are caused by parents who coddled and spoiled their kids. Moms whose kids could never do anything wrong. Moms who protected their kids too much instead of letting them learn life for themself.

marista99 wrote:Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

Please tell where you teach so I can ensure that you do not indoctrinate my children with nonsense. No wonder we have the worst educational system in the world.

Thinking about pulling the trigger on this one. The last toy I had that used (2) C batteries (though decidedly an adult toy) had just the perfect amount of power needed to complete the, um...task. With 6 C batteries in this bad boy, I can imagine those little foam discs could travel quite well. We have 8 cats in the house (please don't judge! It wasn't planned that way, but we're committed to them once we had 'em) and I suspect this blaster would be an EPIC cat toy.

ROGETRAY wrote:Heya folks, let's keep the gun talk discussion down and return to talking about today's sale, please.

Agreed.

After watching the video, it sounds way too loud to buy for my nephews. I know they would love it but for my mother's sake when she babysits them, I have to pass.

charliecarroll wrote:Given the recent knee jerk in DC I think this is an excellent way to bring a young person into the importance of the 2nd amendment and rights that some would abolish! If the left sobbing hearts didn't find excuses to keep people out of jail, get those in, out and would demand current laws be enforced rather than ignored, much more would be accomplished as opposed to more government restrictions and intrusions on innocent, free, Americans.

Do some research yourself rather than listen to all the hype. You have a computer, it is EASY to find the facts. Check out the cities, counties, and states that have the largest crime rates. Then check out where the gun restrictions are the most stringent. Then check out where the right to carry and bare arms is the least infringed upon and likewise, check the crime rates in those areas. Guess What You Are Going To Find? I really don't want you to take my word for anything so take the time to go find out the real facts for yourself.

The 2nd Amendment assures States rights to arm militias, nothing more.

I'm a reasonable American and a moderate but this BS NRA propaganda needs to stop. Access to guns=more gun deaths. Pretty simple equation. The proof and REAL data comes from countries like Canada and Australia, not Washington D.C. where any one who wants a gun can simply cross over to Virginia and buy one.

Bottom line: Make it just a little more difficult to acquire a gun in this country and you'll have MUCH less gun violence.

marista99 wrote:Yeah, really. But I'm a mom and an elementary school teacher. And I'm ok with being a "PC pansy"...I'll take that over gun-crazed maniac any day.

And I'm a dad AND an elementary school teacher. I grew playing with NERF guns with my neighbors, and last I checked none of us have committed homicide, last alone mass murder. Oh, and if it was summertime... water guns came out too.

Our parents taught us right from wrong, and were wise enough to let us boys AND girls just have fun. No one grew up a gun-crazed maniac because of a toy.

In short: buying a NERF gun isn't in bad taste. Failing your duty as a parent, not raising your child to know the difference between play and murder... now that is in bad taste.