N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 product reviews

Come on admit it what male (young or adult) doesn't enjoy running around with guns shooting them at people, safe in the knowledge that no one is going to get seriously hurt (well not by the guns or the "bullets" anyway).

Nerfing is great fun for all the family young and old (and also not just for the boys) and this wee gem is great for those Nerf wars where it's an all out free for all and you need as much ammo as possible. Well this little beauty holds a huge 35 rounds of the soft foam slimline Nerf Darts, which will give you a huge advantage against your kids who are generally smaller and faster that you are .

Unfortunately as has been mentioned before when you do run out of ammo you are pretty much a sitting duck as you run around trying to pickup all your spent darts and trying to reload the magazine on the run is not easy at all, however, as with most Nerf games half the fun is the time spent trying to locate all your darts once everyone has exhausted all their ammo.

This is another great product from Nerf, and it is their best so far I believe.

Having played with many a Nerf product, including a wide range of their foam dart launchers, I have to say that this proudly steps up and stands in first place as the most kick-ass gun to date. Sure, it doesn't take batteries, launch darts at a great rate of fire and and shoot them half way across a rugby field... but for me, this one is simply more fun!

The rate of fire is adjustable, thanks to the way in which it loads, cocks and fires rounds with the pump-action handle. You can either pump it then pull the trigger for single fire mode, or you can hold the trigger down and just slam the action repeatedly for rapid fire. HOWEVER, big thing to note... on some units the slide can stick if you pump it too fast, due to friction... so take care not to go too overboard. I found a thin spray of cooking oil did wonders for a free-running slide and some rapid fire action!

My biggest -woot- was the magazine. 35 rounds of foam dart delight in a cool self-feeding drum. AND IT FITS OTHER GUNS TOO! (Such as the adaptable N-Strike Recon CS-6. Sure, it can take a bit of time to load, and it would be great to see some Mission Packs with these drums and darts as add-ons so that you could just drop one drum and slap in another mid-battle without getting pummeled while you rush around gathering up fallen darts... but that's also part of the fun of Nerf'ing with the kids.

This gun is big enough to give the 'awesome big gun' feel, yet still being light enough for the younger warriors amongst the team to carry with ease, and with part interchangable with other Nerf N-Strike range, there is no end of fun. Add to that the inclusion of the now-prolific Tactical Rail system allowing you to clip on a number of extra toys and tools, and you have some awesome play-warfare potential.

Overall, this is by far the best thing to arrive in NZ from Nerf in 2009... I have the pistol, I have the machine gun, I now have the rifle... but I feel like I need something else.