Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Nerf N-Strike Elite grey trigger confusion: solved!

20m grey triggers? Pic courtesy of S.O.F.T
On launch, the Nerf N-Strike Elite line in Australia (and other places worldwide with equally strict safety measures) were released with grey triggers and de-tuned performances, meaning the packaging would reflect "15m" labels as its maximum distance.  This of course was weaker than the "75ft" or "20m" ranges that its orange trigger counterparts in the US/UK were boasting.

Recently however, eagle-eye fans have noticed some of the Australian released grey trigger blasters are actually boasting "20m" labels on the packaging, making us wonder if something has changed?? Well I got the official word from Hasbro on this, and it sort of clarifies why this has occurred albeit raising new questions.. official word after the jump:)
Original 15m label grey trigger..
Orange Trigger 20m label...

"There has been no change to legislation or Nerf product. 

"The reason for the change to packaging was back in mid 2012 product packaging needed to be designed and printed before the blasters were actually produced.  

"At the time of printing we did not have testing distance reports on the entire ISO version Elite range but knew that 15 metres was a safe claim to launch with and that the blasters would outperform 15 metres. 

 "After the printing had commenced, we received all the distance results and it showed a distance of up to 20 metres could be achieved. 

 We have changed the packing claim to 20 metres for future production runs though it may take a few months to clear through the old 15 metre packaging first."

So there you have it. The interesting thing IS though, is anyone who's imported an orange trigger blaster (say Firestrike or Strong Arm) from overseas will attest to it being more powerful than the grey trigger domestic models due to the difference in spring. Yet now, both are still boasting "20m".

Or maybe it's ALL in our heads! What do you think? Can you feel the difference or are we just wanting to believe?:D

13 comments:

  1. may i ask about if the rapid strike is available for buying? plz get back to me, thanks!

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  2. I bet you NERF MEGA will not get a Australian release. we will just get a recolored elite line in red or some thing dumb

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    1. Yep, you're probably right. It would require above ISO power just to get one of those babies out of the barrel!

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  3. Definitely noticed the power difference of my US orange trigger Retaliator to the Grey trigger Aus versions. Perhaps someone needs to test the springs properly but it does not matter to me because I would be upgrading the spring regardless.

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  4. Meh... both are weak.

    I would really like to get my hands on some of this gray trigger ISO gear and test, dissect and analyze it, though - particularly the flywheels. That seems to be a big myth, just how different it is from American full power and WHY that is. If only it wasn't so impractical for a Yank like me...

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  5. I noticed that Kmart aus was selling elite guns in packaging with artwork with the orange trigger but still claiming the 15m. I haven't bought any to see if the gun itself is the grey or orange trigger version.

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    1. they're either too lazy to change the packaging or have had some confusion between stickers. but i'll let you think of your own theory

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  6. well why don't we just smuggle in American 75ft Nerf blasters like drugs. I mean sooner or later once fans realise what their missing out on they'll probably campaign to get the full strength blasters in Australia. Or maybe we should campaign ourselves now

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  7. Unless Google's conversion is wrong, I don't understand why people think the 20 meter versions are the same as the US versions. 20 meters is only 65 feet, not 75 feet like the US blasters.

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  8. Another thing to note is that the grey-triggered Firestrikes are missing a white stripe right at the front, just thought I'd point that out

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  9. Does anybody know what the stryfe has had done to it to be detuned, I know the AT and The retaliator all have weaker springs, but what about the flywheel blasters. is there anyone that can link me through to somewhere that expains it in detail?

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  10. resistor between battery and motor will determine motor speed

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  11. Some boxes that state 20m also have 22m written in small print (22m is approximately closer to 75ft than printing 23m which would be over by a bit and probably upset many Americans).

    However, consumer protection in the EU and particularly in the UK are much tougher than the U.S. and if people complained that the shots from their blasters were not hitting 75ft then Hasbro would have to refund. That's an expensive exercise. Putting 20m is a safer bet as Hasbro are unwilling to state that the maximum distance is obtained by an angled shot. A level shot from a Firestrike is just about able to hit 20m if fired by medium height person (try it) but not all the time. It will go further if angled but this has not been put in writing by Hasbro and would devalue the perception of the blaster's power if it was.

    I have a 20m Strongarm that exceeds this distance quite consistently, and goes beyond that when angled. It's no different than the stock 75ft Strongarms that have been featured in many YouTube range tests.

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