Nerf: 70fps foam death fun for everyone!

Well, it's actually kind of complicated. You need to know if you want:

- Single action springer blasters or flywheel blasters- Single action means you cock it once and shoot. Flywheel are battery operated, they have two triggers. One revs the motor, the other launches the dart through the spinning wheels so it's more of a semiautomatic. There are just a couple (I think like two) fully automatic ones available. Single action tends to be more reliable in general, you will get more misfires/jams with flywheel. Single action requires no batteries, flywheel does.

- Magazine feed, cylinder feed or "other"- Magazine feed lets you load up to 18 darts if you get the big clip, most of the guns in this bracket come with a measly six round magazine. There are also 12 round clips (including a banana) and barrel magazines as well but I think those are not sold separately. Cylinder feed is like a revolver. They are more reliable, less prone to jamming but will misfire occasionally.

- Elite or Mega- Elite are the small darts, Mega are the big ones. There are also the guns that shoot the balls- they are pretty awesome but more expensive.

- Zombie Strike, Rebelle, Doomlands, Alien Strike, etc.- Some have themes which may be of a particular appeal.

- Modularity- Some guns like the Modulus let you add on parts. Others like the Retaliator can switch out stocks, barrels, rail gear with others.

- Gimmicks- bows, crossbows, chainsaws, mirrors, double clips, etc. All kinds of stuff in this category.

I would recommend without a doubt the Strongarm (around $12) as the single best blaster in the range. It is a six round, single action cylinder model that shoots with just about 100% reliability and it's both powerful and accurate. This model has been around for like 10 years and for good reason. Easy to load, easy to play with.

I'm also really fond of the Zombie Strike Hammershot ($12)- it's a five round cylinder but it has a hammer-cocking mechanism (Strongarm has a slide). It's unwieldy for small hands, but adults can easily pull it back with the thumb. It's a good looking pistol and it is pretty much acknowledged as "Daddy's sidearm" here.

For flywheels, the Stryfe ($18 or so) is hard to beat, it's another that has been around for a while and its chassis is used in other blasters such as the Rebelle Rapid Red.. It's simple and you can mod it out with barrels, stocks, etc. as you see fit. The only downside is that it comes with that stupid six round clip, so buy more. If you stick a 12 round banana in it, it looks pretty much just like a 40k Bolt Pistol.

I usually use the Demolisher 2-in-1 for my main. It's a bigger, more adult-sized blaster that has a removable stock and a banana. But it also fires these big, silly-looking grenades out of an underslung launcher. It's just a pump thing, and hitting something is sort of a "roll two natural 20s in a row" thing. But it's fun, and when my kids lay siege to the playset in their Powerwheels, we have a rule that if one of their rides gets hit, they have to jump out and turn it on its side as wreckage/cover. It happens once in about every 20 shots. It's a great-looking blaster, its 40k analogue is the Combi-Bolter.

I really like the Slingfire ($20), a Zombie Strike sawed-off shotgun. It has a unique cocking mechanism, like an old fashioned Western rifle. But it is SUPER touchy, if you don't go through the full motion on it, it jams hard because the gears get out of alignment. You can put any of the clips on this one, which is nice, and the cocking action is super fun.

The bows are all terrible, but they are fun to play with. If you hit something, you got lucky. We have a couple of them, the kids get a little frustrated with them.

Here is the #1 protip though. Do not buy Nerf darts. Go on Amazon and look for the Chinese sellers that will sell you a block of 500 for like $20. The cost savings is IMMENSE, and to be honest the "bootleg" darts have performed better overall. The Nerf darts tend to blow out their tip after a while, the Chinese knockoffs do not. The only thing to be aware of is that these darts always seem to have a harder tip. It's not like getting hit with them hurts, really, but it is a little more of a sting that kids might react to negatively. Or positively.

Overall, I'd actually say that the single action guns are kind of more fun to play with. But if they have magazines, you've GOT to get the higher capacity ones and I would recommend multiples for each player because you will reduce the downtime when everyone has to pick up darts and reload.

I think magazine feed is gimmicky and not good for casual around the house family slaughterfests.

You need the open face loading to stay in the game while reloading darts found on the floor.

This is why the strong arm is the best. Buy each person one, and everyone is on an even playing field with solid foam blasters.

The rough cut is better by a slight inch for me since it the pump action is under the barrel and can fire one or two shots at a time with an 8 round capacity.

Mega darts are awesome, and if you choose to go that route, the cycloneshock is the last word. Its the mega dart version of the strong arm. 'Nuff said.

Always buy darts bulk from amazon or eBay. The darts I linked to earlier in the thread from dollar general are really good and economical.

I haven't tried the Rough Cut, but I've heard it's really good. Doesn't it do slam fire too? That's another factor to consider...

That is exactly right that the magazine feed is actually kind of a handicap. It's great when you are topped up. It is not great when you have three empty magazines and 36+ darts in the field.

I really want the older Mega blaster that is like a giant-ass bolt action recoilless rifle. It's hugely impractical, but it's awesome that it has a real bolt mechanism and it shoots those giant darts.

IT's probably not good for Christmas shopping, but Goodwill is THE BEST place to buy these. Out of the 15 or so Nerf blasters we have, I think we've only bought four at a retail store. There is almost always one or more at the Goodwills near us. Sometimes they are completely wrecked, sometimes they are in pretty much perfect condition. I've also lucked out and found things like a Retaliator that extra parts on it and some out of production models like the goofy Firefly.

Anything good in the Rebelle line?

Guardian crossbow (its a nice version of a strongarm actually, with a non essential bow arms) and the sweet revenge ( a slick looking version of the hammerstrike)

Given new paint jobs, these would be great.

I bought both of these for one of the spawn, and they are quite nice.

Four of use need to be armed. Two adults, 9 year old boy and 6 year old girl.

It seems like Strongarms are the best bet, but for the sake of variety are there strongarm equivalents in the various lines?

Seems like the Guardian crossbow is what I want for my daughter.

What is the Strongarm-like firearm in the post-apoc/zombie/alien lines?

I really like the Triad EX-3, which is kind of like a baby strongarm. Very reliable and accurate, and only $5-7.

The kid spent weeks' worth of allowance on the zombie strike crossfire bow. It's unwieldy for a 6-year-old, but it was hard to talk him out of it. I'm interested in that hammershot.

I'll have to look into these knock-off darts.

Is the Rebelle Stralight Blaster as good as the Guardian Crossbow? equivalent to the strongarm but with a 'laser' scope?

The Rebelle Rapid Red is great but I don't think they make it anymore. I bought two at a close out type store. Both were totally DOA. I wrote Nerf and complained, they sent me a working one.

We've got a Rebelle pistol that just has two shots and a pullback plunger, it's actually GREAT. It hits hard and accurate. Great holdout blaster.

We had the Fair Fortune (clearance at Target- $5.98) but it was TERRIBLE. It's a pirate crossbow pistol with a slide on top for pulling back the string. It's also a revolver. It fired like once in three shots. Which is why it was on clearance. And why it got returned.

We have three Rebelle bows. The best is one of the older ones that fires arrow-like projectiles and has an actual working string. The four-shot one is super iffy. The older single shot one is pretty decent.

Zombie Strike's Hammershot is the closest thing to a Strongarm. BUT it doesn't slam fire (where you hold down the trigger and just keep cocking it as fast as possible to fire). There is another, I can't remember the name, it is like a DOUBLE cylinder revolver where you have to switch the cylinders. It looks fun. Kind of like a big nail gun. It's too big to be a sidearm though.

River wants the Brainsaw for Christmas, it's a chainsaw/blaster combo. I'm trying to avoid him seeing the Nerf battle bike or whatever it is.