You're back in dangerous territory, dear reader; for the
reckless fools at The Test Pit have once again been (unwisely) kitted out with
the latest in high-velocity dart shooting side arms. The cat has no chance.
Ever grateful to Nerf, we lock and load one of their newest blasters from the
Zombie Strike range, the Sidestrike.
Bigger than the Jolt, but certainly a lot more compact than the Mega Magnus, the Sidestrike is just that; a side pistol designed to be your first choice back-up blaster. In fact Nerf are so sure that you will want this with you at all times as you charge into foam-dart hell, that they have even provided you with a holster. Cheers Nerf.
In the hand the Sidestrike feels great. It is solid, clearly
robust, and even fits into full-grown man hands comfortably. It is a single-shot
blaster, meaning you will have to reload after every dart you fire. The spring
is cranked back by a top-side slider with just a couple of inches of pull, and
the darts are loaded into the front of the short barrel; so short in fact that
the loaded dart protrudes about half of an inch when inserted. Take aim down
the very good sights... and fire!
And prepare to be impressed. We certainly were, as the range
and accuracy of the Nerf Sidestrike is something to behold. In distance tests
along The Test Pit's firing range (the drive) we managed to average about 60
feet. For a pistol that is very good, especially for one that is being marketed
as a back-up blaster.
Accuracy was also quite good, with most of the darts fired
following the line of the sights for at least half of the range they travelled.
Again, very impressive considering the Nerf Sidestrike does not have a guiding
barrel.
Also impressive is the fact that you get six of the green Elite
darts with the Sidestrike, which once more is pretty good for a Nerf pistol.
All six darts can be neatly sowed away and taken with you into battle thanks to
the included holster which features room for four darts, with the other two
being inserted into the Sidestrike's storage bays on the front of the blaster.
Because of this, reloading the pistol is made extremely simple - just what you
want.
So it really is top marks all round for the Nerf Zombie
Strike Sidestrike, and we would go so far as to say that this plucky little
blaster is one of our favourite Nerf guns so far. Seriously, it is more than
just a back-up, being small and light and yet packing enough punch to keep you
enemies worried. All that, and at a great price.
£11.99
Available from www.argos.co.uk
