Thursday, June 30, 2011

Nerf Vortex Nitron. Boom baby!


Every now and then we get lucky- really lucky with our intel. We spend a whole lot of time scouring the world for any intel we can get on new blasters... but sometimes.. intel comes to us. Courtesy of a loyal reader who chooses to remain known merely as "Macross" and who says they are "very well connected in the toy world" and "a big fan of Urban Taggers", we have been very lucky to have the opportunity to get our hands on the brand new Nerf Vortex Nitron.. even if it was only for under an hour:) Here's what we can tell you..


As we all know, the Nerf Vortex line is Nerf's new blaster line that shoots long range "XLR" foam/plastic discs instead of darts. The unique shape of the ammo allows for greater distances while maintaining accuracy. The Nitron is the largest of the new Vortex range and is the only one that is motorised- it is battery powered via 6 C cell batteries to run the blaster and 2 AAA's for the scope.

Macross brought along the box for the Vortex Nitron for their show and tell; it was around the same size as a Stampede ECS box and features the new green colour scheme vs the original orange and yellow of the traditional N-Strike line.






Out of the box is the Nitron blaster itself, the electronic scope, two 20 round clips, and 40 rounds of XLR disc ammo. The blaster itself is very tough looking, with a non-detachable front grip and a very solid built in stock that is definitely firm in your arm. It's well made and weighty with batteries.


The XLR ammo is a very light weight and soft yet firm disc that does resemble a mini frisbee. It's quite innovative stuff- the foam is like that found in N-Force weapons, with a very lightweight plastic core.



The clips are "tubular" to accommodate the discs and have a capacity of 20 rounds. They're springloaded, much like the N-Strike clips.





Size comparison compared to a standard N-Strike 6round clip
The scope attachment is electronic and takes two AAA batteries. It has an orange button on the side for toggling it through the various modes to light up the interior. Personally I find it a bit gimmacky and probably not that useful for real aiming, however it DOES look very cool when lit up.



Thru the scope- with the lights off.

the lights progress through the length of the scope




The scope fits on any standard tactical rail and therefore can be mounted on N-Strike blasters as well.


The Nitron has a really menacing look about it- the new Vortex colour schemes do give it that somewhat alien look about it and the size and the orange and grey accents  give it a somewhat industrial look about it. It's also very angled, lots of square lines and chiseled panels make it rather aggressive to face off against a Stampede.. The secondary clip can be stored in the base of the stock, which I find sorta uncomfortable and it gets in the way, but that's what it's there for should you want to:)




As suspected, The Nitron uses a flywheel system to launch the discs. Rather than merely switching it on as with the Barricade RV-10, the Nitron uses a switch that sits under the trigger to power the blaster up. Simply press the button in and your flywheels power up. Take your finger off the button and it powers back down again. It takes a bit of time to get used to this, and to bring the flywheels up to optimal velocity, but it's kinda fun at the same time. As with all flywheels, it's a tad noisy, but you get used to it.


There is also a switch above the trigger which is merely a release for the clips. They feature on the left and the right sides of the Nitron for left and right handed users.

You can see the muzzle is an aggressive angled "tunnel" looking opening that the ammo fires from.




Once you've loaded your clip, it's as easy as powering up the flywheels and firing the trigger. I have to say I was amazed straight away at the distances and accuracy- these discs really go very far from the initial test shots we had. They're also surprisingly straight and accurate, hitting points we were aiming at from quite a distance away. Nerf have definitely answered the call for better distances and accuracy from their fans.


One thing about these blasters though is they do feel more like a "launcher" and less like an actual "gun" per se- there's a slight delay on the firing and the discs do feel like they are "soaring" rather than actually being shot at a target. Admittedly this is more of a mindset, as we tried to quickly simulate the action of a "zombie" coming at us for an HVZ game for instance and still managed to hit the target quite quickly so it still performs as well as a foam dart blaster I guess  (although it would need much more rigorous testing that we unfortunately haven't had the luxury of completing)


From what we've seen, it's a pretty damn impressive piece of kit. Nerf have done some seriously cool things with these Vortex blasters, and I'd be very keen to get one for myself on launch to really get my teeth into it; I'd also be interested to see how the Nitron varies from the non battery powered blasters in the Vortex range.
From what I could see, the wind isn't nearly as much of a factor as you'd think (not any more than with a standard foam dart anyway) so I can attest that the speculation of it flapping all over the shop and losing distances and accuracy ain't true.


Now, I know you're all dying to ask all sorts of questions, but here are a few answers straight off the cuff..

1) I'm no modder, I didn't dare ask to open the thing up, and I have no clue if you could modify it to shoot darts. I know to some darts are the be all end all of ammo, but I'm actually pretty impressed with these XLR discs to be honest. I'm sure when they're released, the likes of SG Nerf and Nerf Mods + Reviews will work out ways to do some ridiculous things with it; voltage increases, someone will create a new ammo, Brian from Johnson Arms will paint it to look absolutely intimidating..

2) No idea where it came from, no I didn't break into a secret Nerf factory and steal it, as far as availability in wherever you are is concerned- 10th September, 2011:) No idea on actual costs; depends where you are. We've made posts on our blog from various sellers pre order prices.

3) We only had a very short time with it; if we're lucky we might get another go at it but we really didn't have time to do really detailed tests on genuine distances. I can attest it goes further than an air restrictor removed Longshot.



For now, our initial response is the Nitron is AWESOME and we recommend it. This Vortex line looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun.. can't wait for September!

SO there you have it folks. What better way to celebrate our first birthday than to do it in true Urban Taggers style:)

39 comments:

  1. :O You guys rock!!!

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  2. And everyone kept on criticizing this blasters for so many things and now that you have been able to get your hands on one, we can start saying: DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER. I can't wait to get one of the vortex blasters. I might not get the nitron but I will get the vigilon. Thanks for great information that we all have been waiting for.

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  3. Here is a question, unlike the stampede, increasing the voltage should increase the power of the fly wheels, how would you increase the fire rate? what makes it full auto not semi? since you didn't take it apart, i want to know what you guess, does it have a motor that pushes the disks in?

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  4. I wonder how the non-battery version will fire vs this one. Be nice to have similar distances.

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  5. Leave it to Urban Taggers to have the latest Nerf News. I'm glad I rely on you guys to have the edge on all the latest announcements! Thanks for a GREAT review! Can't wait to check out Vortex myself!

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  6. @ comment 4, I agree, I hope all the others get similar ranges, I would expect them to, after nerf wanted to get high range blasters in the vortex and only to get great ranges from the nitron would be silly

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  7. Is the speed of the disk similar to that of a dart? If it's easier to dodge I will probably stick with N-Strike, if not then it looks like I might be adding to the armory.

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  8. @harpuia, This is Semi-auto, not full-auto

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  9. HOW MANY FEET?!?!?!?

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  10. And so begins the questioning, as opposed to the flaming.

    :O
    You're really lucky to get that opportunity. I'm quite sure many people (e.g. spastics on the Nerf FB page) would kill (so to speak) for this opportunity.

    Now onto the Nitron itself. I still don't like the way it looks. The scope's awesome, but I just don't like the shape and design. The stock, to me looks far too large. What do you think of the stock?
    Also, is there a big size difference between the 18 clips and these 20 mags?

    Nitron + 14500 4.2v batteries = WIN

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  11. Oh? it is semi auto, i thought I heard that it was full auto, well semi would make more sense and I was hoping it would be semi so that is good.

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  12. Yeah, no need to open it up, just voltage-mod it. Flywheel blasters increase range with increased flywheel spin speeds. Did you test the full-auto feature? If so what was the firing rate? Also how does it feel to get hit by the discs compared to a dart... more/less painful and more/less noticeable?

    I was pumped for this blaster before; there's nothing here that makes me any less so. Way to go getting to test it!

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  13. Boildown: There is no full auto feature from what I could see; the accelerator button powers the Nitron's flywheels up and you need to keep it pressed to then fire a round- so yup it's semi.

    Firing rate- you can fire off as many rounds as you can pull the trigger, but there is a slight delay with each pull as you're essentially pushing a disc thru the flywheels, so it's not as quick as a Slam fire blaster for instance.

    Noone I've shot so far has winced or found the experience painful, so it'd be similar to being shot by a dart with as much 'feedback'. I admit i didn't get the chance to turn it on myself:P

    P13c30fch33s3: the stock is quite long and really doesn't fit comfortably in the arms of a small person. it's blocky and very solid though, so as far as stocks go, it does it's job.

    It LOOKS slower than a dart blaster, but dodging them.. I dunno, it might be a mindset more than anything else that it looks slow rather than actually being so.

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  14. NERFTOUR3 in Malaysia is scheduled for August 7th. NERF 4v4 competition.

    www.nerfmalaysia.com

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  15. What's that Pocket? You want to donate me that scope? Oh why you shouldn't have!

    Happy 1st Birthday for UT mate!

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  16. sooo... what are the extraordinary distances???

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  17. The stock is gigantic enough to the point that it's kind of ugly looking on the Nitron. It would be nice if they could shorten it just a little bit. But function's more important than appearance...

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  18. I almost think the stock should have been made to hold the reserve mag horizontally, if you look at the length of the stock, I think it could be done, it would mean the mag in the back wouldn't stick out so much.

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  19. I have to wonder what Nerf's definition of full auto is considering those words are printed all over the box. Still its a minor complaint, I'd probably actually prefer semi-auto, it wastes less ammo and leads to better aimed shots.

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  20. Stock, it shoots farther than modded longshots? I think I'm in love...

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  21. Ahmm Anonymous, it says Nitron shoots further than an air restrictor removed Longshot. You do know AR-removed Longshot probably only shoots like 35-40 feet right? Most modded Longshots have stronger spring or even brass breech, e.g. mine shoots 80 feet in flat angle. I wonder if Nitron can best my modded Longshot?

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  22. I probably won't get the Nitron, I'm looking forward towards the Praxis, but as a whole, the Vortex series looks awesome.

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  23. @Harpuia, 4 posts prior to me

    If the spare mag were mounted horizontally in the stock, where would the batteries go? 6 D Cell batteries take up a lot of room ya'know.

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  24. You guys are the best and i check your website almost everyday for updates!You guys rock

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  25. I couldn't see it in any of the photos, but is there a belt loop/clip on the magazines? Traditional Nerf magazines fit well into a pocket, or a drop leg hoster, but these are, well, a *little* different ;) I think a belt/pocket clip would make them much more convenient to carry.

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  26. YES! YES! YES! YES! This made my day go from absolute blarg-ness to absolute epicosity. Sweet catch!

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  27. There is absolutely no reason to mod this to fire darts when you could get the Powerstrike 48 or Barricade. Both already shoot darts. I would think people would keep the discs and up the voltage.

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  28. The blaster is semi-auto. But in one of the box pictures (the one of the back, the sixth one from the top), it says "full-auto"... ? Bad advertising, or an unnoticed feature? It certainly would be pleasing if it could do both...

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  29. Minor question but how secure are the clips with the disks? do you think it can handle running around and being shaken around

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  30. Sorry folks, I've just got word that the Nitron IS fully auto- you'll still need to keep the accelerator switch pressed to fire, but if you keep the trigger pulled, it'll keep launching more discs. Ahh hell.. I'll just post about it:P

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  31. First off i like them
    electric is so-so but this is still really cool
    one mod that might could help:
    unless that indent in the discs is necessary to the cambering of the ammo you could put one or multiple metal washers in there to give it more weight and stability
    i'm no scientist but that might work

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  32. foam discs are kinda lame

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  33. and what makes foam darts less lame, lol

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  34. They just comfermed that is's full auto!

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  35. So the scope doesn't really do much?
    CrazyCon

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  36. hi dos it have air restrictors a don't think it dose

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  37. theyre available on Taobao i think bit it might be a scam

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