Review: Nerf N-Force Klaw Hatchet

Nerf N-Force Klaw Hatchet.

It's hot! It's new! It's..a..hatchet! For the inner Iroquois in you, Nerf have released their new N-Force Klaw Hatchet. I picked up a pair of these today from an etailer in the US, and have spent the past hour or so flapping around like a chicken, dual wielding these puppies against the pigeons outside.

Sooo.. how good is the Klaw? (not just against pigeons)

Nerf N-Force Klaw Hatchet. At least it LOOKS tough

The Nerf Klaw Hatchet is the latest melee weapon under the N-Force banner (I tell ya, if they're running out of ideas, nunchuks is the way to go!) and other than the somewhat pathetic Stonewall Shield "sword", is probably the smallest. The first thing I noticed about the N-Force Klaw Hatchet before I even opened the box is how incredibly light they were. I ordered two, and the guy at the post office joked that I just ordered a cardboard box; it weighs next to nothing. 

Klaw Hatchets in packaging

 The build quality of the Klaw Hatchet is better than the original Thunder and Shadow Fury N-Force swords, but not quite as good as the Warlock axe or Battlemaster mace. The whole Hatchet is made of the same type of foam; it's lighter than the blades used in the Warlock and Battlemaster, but firmer than that of the swords. It all looks like it's made out of the one piece with a a firm rod in between; there are no visible seams or glue marks. 

Serrated edges for..err..fish?:)

The head is a light grey and dark grey with orange painted accents. The Klaw Hatchet has two "blades" the main blade which is hooked, presumably to link onto your opponents' weapons to pull them away, and a "serrated" edge on the other side, assumably so you can block on both sides of the head. The foam however does squash up and leave wrinkles after heavy use; again it's not as tough as the Warlock which is a shame.

Klaw Hatchet handle- nothing spesh

I was hoping for a nice gripped handle after seeing what Nerf did with the axe and mace, but the Klaw is nothing special; it's just soft and offers no real functional grip which I found disappointing. I probably would have also liked to have seen a hole in the end of the handle that you could feed a carbine or clip through to attach to your belt, but that's just from an aesthetic roleplay point of view. (My obsession with nunchuks would have me attach the two hatchets together via a chain..)

Twin Klaw Hatchets. Aww so cute. Ok not really.

The Klaw Hatchet IS quite short and made to be a single hand wielding melee weapon; for me it screams "dual wield" which is why I bought two. This works well because the Klaw feels like it belongs in a pair, and for me in a weird way, it also seems to feel like it should be thrown:) The sad thing is although they're quite compact, it's not easy to "throw" them as the lack of weight means they don't work that well as a throwing weapon, and they end up flapping around in the air the moment they leave your hand (which isn't exactly the desired effect..) With an hour of practice and lots of abuse from the gf, I managed to get it to spin nicely in the air but I wouldn't say it was a success per se..(dem zombies in the video games make it look so easy!)

The Klaw's "hooking" action. 

In "battle" the hooking motion of the Klaw is quite effective and u can latch on to your opponent's sword/axe/cricket bat quite easily- the only thing is because the hatchets are so light and weak feeling in the hand, you don't really feel like you have the force required to pull their sword out of their hand without the klaw blade buckling.

In the end we just gave up and went for mad crazy head shots. As with all N-Force- a blow with the hatchet will not cause any pain, though do avoid the face:P

Hooked onto a Battlemaster Mace.

I admit I was a little disappointed with the Klaw Hatchet- I was hoping for it to be better quality, or of a decent weight, but instead they just feel LIKE..two pieces of foam. Aesthetically they look awesome, and they take a beating but again I wonder how long they'll last with repeated battling. I like them for the cool factor; when they do spin they're great fun to hurl at the back of someone's back/head, but otherwise, they're a lil underwhelming.

Size comparisons: against the Battlemaster Mace

Yet to be released in Australia as with all of the N-Force range, but online they were quite a reasonable 12-15 dollars US. Shipping was a little steep given the lack of weight (I love this "volumetric weight crap") so it's not a "go out and get it at all costs!" buy, but if you do manage to get your hands on a hatchet or two for cheap, by all means, do it:)

Size against a Maverick REV-6

Dual wielding. Hwwwwwwaaaahhh