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Thursday, November 4, 2010

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

28 comments:

  1. hehe, nerf soooo needs to make a nerf bayonet attachment, come on pocket you know you want one ;)

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  2. They need to make two different types of bayonets one for the barrel attachment and one for rail attachment

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  3. Hmm... I'll probably just get the Warlock or Marauder, since I play Zombies a lot and would rather not get so close to them...

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  4. They could also make Nerf throwing stars or even warhammers (sort of like a spear/axe) that can clip onto the side of special attachments for easy and quick access. That way people could carry as many melee weapons as needed for when their gun jams / runs out of ammo!

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  5. I second the vote on war-hammers. Either a giant sledge hammer that would make Thor drool with envy or a spear/ax combo like the halberd. I like the hatchet, would be cool to toss them but your parents might get PO'ed about it.

    So want to see these plus the Vantage hit the US soon.

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  6. Don't scoff too much at the "volumetric weight," as it's not necessarily the shipper's fault. I sent two boxes from Tennesse to California the other day, both weighing 7 lbs. UPS reclassified their weight as 53 lbs. and 38 lbs. based on their "dimensional weight" (ie, volumetric).

    I just ate the extra shipping because I didn't think ahead far enough to figure in the boxes' dimensions, but man, do they ding you for everything now.

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  7. OK a bayonett would look tuff but throwing stars? That is a little much. Just buy some plastic ones and edge them with foam and hot glue. They would have weight AND won't make anyone lose an eye. I really like the idea of a bayonett barrel extension, but they only fit 5 blasters. And a tactical rail attachment might be too weak and would probably fall off when you stab someone.

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  8. Dave: ahh I wasn't blaming the shipper, more the postal service for introducing volumetric weight in the first place. For all intended purposes, it would cost 30 dollars to send an empty cardboard box from the States to here:(

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  9. They should have these things clip onto tact rail attachments or even clip together to form double-klaws (and then clip onto the rails)!!

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  10. this will not block marauder long swords. I tried to introduce nerf wars to my anger management neighborer. He brought this and beat the **** out of all my friends and almost broke a raider. The marauder hurts a lot...

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  11. Someone might want to get a tazer…

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  12. this is beast I want 1 r they out yet

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  13. I prefer my homemade morningstar myself.

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  14. any info on the "vantage" sword pictured on the back of the packaging? thanks for the awesome photo quality man.

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  15. I'd like to see one of these in person but I can't locate a retailer that has them. Even the Nerf website doesn't have information. Can you give me a hint about where to look for these hatchets? Thanks, CJ

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  16. anyone notice the bigger looking axe thingymabober on the back of the pack? Also it would be awlsome it they camo out with a nerf staff that was 2 foot marauder and 3 foot staff with a nice little knife on the end for the finishing touchs. I get kinda annoyed when my fencer friend comes over and kills me with the maruader. That would level the playing field.MWA HA HA! ] :)

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  17. Ive Already Gotten My Marauder Long Sword, Personally, I Prefer It More Than Other N-Force Weaponry. Though Ive Moved Onto The N-Strike And Have Participated In Tournaments, The Stonewall Shield Does Come In Handy, Lol Believe Me. But I Dont See Much Into The Hatchets Unless You Plan To Believe In Your Aim And Nail Someone..

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  18. I finally got my hands on one of these!! Can't wait to use it. (It's shipping)

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  19. These are also available at Walmart.

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  20. hey wen me n my frend saw the hatchet on the nerf wiki at skool we completely freaked out coz it looks like the tomahawk from blak ops. but after readin this review it looks a bit worse than before. anyway, anyone no how much $14.99 is in pounds?

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  21. i realy think the idea of exspanding the nerf n-force colection would be awsome. and to the guy who asked about the "vantage sword" i think its like the thunder/lighning fury sword combined with the lenght and materials of the murauders.
    but the bainete would be awsome along with the staff, but what i realy want is tridents spears and throwing knives. that would be epic but still the adition of the hatches is cool and all you need is afew marbles to wate them

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  22. wtf dude? where are you from? we started that effing ironman mask painting last year! someone is an un-original, idea stealing mo fo...

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  23. the hathet does were down easily, after a day mine had creases all over the blade and some paint on the handle wears off

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  24. bayonets are not a good idea... I was recently playing airsoft with a guy who was thinking about attaching a rubber M1 style knife to a gun. Another player caught the gist of the conversation and told us they were not allowed. When we asked him why, he simply replied : "you cant control the force you put into it". this meaning the entire weight of the gun is added to the force of you thrusting it into someone. in the case of the stampede, you could quite possibly do some damage. and no, you cant just pull the force of the gun backwards after stabbing them because of forward momentum.
    what we need now are combat knives about half the size of the stonewall shortsword, with some weight to throw!!!

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  25. Im thinking.... Tomahawk? And I second the no bayonette thing, u just cant controll the force.

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  26. You can cut the blades open and stuff them w/a large chunk of silicone, then hot glue the blades shut. I did that for mine; it gives them ridiculous spin and range, and they don't hurt any more than if you were to take a regular one and hit someone with it.

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  27. I feel like this is just an improved version of the Stonewall dagger (I don't own it. Yet). A small, compact close range weapon.

    A bayonet would be awesome, but only if they were safe. Besides, they could double as normal swords.

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