Review: Nerf N-Strike Clear Series

Invisible! Ok not quite..

Nerf's "clear the way for 9-9-10" campaign has involved releasing some of the current N-Strike blasters (The Recon CS-6. Raider CS-35, Nite Finder EX-3, Maverick REV-6 and Deploy CS-6)  range in translucent clear shells.  These are allegedly limited edition versions which may or may not be discontinued soon, but for now they're hugely popular and allowed for Nerf to get another bite of the blaster apple- people (including myself) were willing to go out and purchase another version of the same blaster:) Were there any differences to these five blasters other than looking different?

Maverick comparison

The answer is- well not really:)  Essentially they all use the same internals as their original yellow N-Strike counterparts, although on the rumor mill, there have been pluses and minuses. Word has it people find the clear series blasters more powerful, while there has been talk that the clear series are not as durable as the traditional yellow blasters. From my personal experiences, it's much the muchness; they feel the same, the attachments are interchangable, so really, there's nothing really to report other than if you like variety and clear plastic, pick one up:)

Clear Nitefinder

Unusually, the clear  Deploy and the Recon CS-6 do not come with clear clips (ie like those that come with the tactical vest), I guess it was a design decision (though you'll notice in my main pic I did load the Recon with a clear clip)

Deploy comparisons

The Raider CS-35 does however come with a clear drum- here loaded with the "exclusive" red darts from Target US.

Couldn't take the pic with the drums loaded, or the Raider tips over:P

And finally, I've already posted this pic in a previous post on Recons, but here it is:

Clear Recon against the Red Recon.

Personally, I actually found the clear series weren't as well made- my Deploy's light has an issue with the "on/off" switch-it's very stiff and once you turn it on, it was next to impossible to turn off without the use of a swiss army knife. After working it back and forth a few times it's ok now. In contrast, the adjustable switch on the Recon's red light is a lot looser than on my other Recons and you can barely feel the "teeth" hold it in place.

Still, from a collectors point of view, they're nice to have, and the best part about them is their accessories all therefore match and coordinate nicely. A clear Raider stock on a clear Recon looks fantastic:) If you're thinking of buying another of the same gun, it might be nice to add some variety to your collection and go the clear.

So far, I've only seen clear Mavericks and Raiders in Australia selling for $21.95 and $59.95 respectively, Deploys are still not released here yet in any colour.