Nerf Deploy CS-6 Review (3/10)

Because they thought this was still a good idea.

School is starting wind down a bit so I'm going to try and ramp things back up around here. Not too long ago I reviewed the Expand-a-Blast, which I crowned the worst dart blaster I've ever tested in years bar none. I did praise it for having some slightly novel ideas, it's just that they were so badly executed that it pretty much ruined the whole blaster. Fast forward several years and apparently Nerf still thought the whole self-expanding blaster idea was still the coolest shit on the planet, and for whatever reason they decided to give it another shot. The product of this was the Deploy CS-6: a laughingstock in an era already defined by mediocrity.

Father and son meet at last. Size compared to the Expand-A-Blast.

The Deploy came out in 2010, a year that was only notable for the Rapid Fire 20 getting re-released and the arguably excellent Stampede. The rest of that lineup was composed of nothing but reverse plunger powered junk and yet this blaster managed to stand out among them all. In it's expanded form, the Deploy isn't a particularly interesting blaster nor is it all that reassuring feeling. The whole thing creaks and squeaks when you pick it up and the mag-well just kind of flops around. The grip is decent and racking the pump feels relatively smooth but that's really all the good I can say about it.

Really the only part about the Deploy that's remotely fun.

Swapping mags with the Deploy is an exercise in not wanting to smash the thing against a wall. Pulling back on the pump engages a lock that allows you to release the magazine. The problem is that this lock also has a slight tendency to just push the pump just forward enough that when you attempt to press the awkwardly located mag-release button, you get nothing in return. The blast also has a slight tendency to chew up darts because they don't feed properly, likely due to the orientation of the mag-well. Kind of amazing that a blaster as simple to use in theory as the Deploy manages to be just enough of a pain in the ass to warrant not wanting to use it. This is the blaster the kid who didn't bring his own guns to the party got to use.

Just flashlight! Nothing to see here! Not at all!

Of course the supposed compensation for this amount of weirdness is that the blaster is designed to fold up. So sure it feels off, it's understandable because they had to make the whole super stealth folding thing work right? This gimmick, I swear is just one of the most silly things about the Deploy. At least it works unlike the Expand-a-Blast but you can also only use the blaster extended. Kind of pointless folding it up then, especially when the thing is about as stealthy as playing Metal Gear but replace Solid Snake with Duke Nukem. I mean really, even the slowest of kids could tell that bright yellow thing you call a "flashlight" has a magazine and a barrel sticking out of it. I know it's all fun and games but c'mon, at least try to make it look inconspicuous. 

Internals stolen from SG Nerf. I don't have the patience to open it myself.

To top it all off, simply put the Deploy is a remarkably mediocre blaster. While it is leagues ahead of it's predecessor, just alone in in that the darts don't fall out of the barrel when you extend it, it still only shoots a yawn inducing 25 to 30 foot average. Accuracy is on a whole other level; it's horrible. Most shots seem to veer to to the extreme left and strangely enough, people seem to report slightly better results if you fire the thing upside down. Open it up and you'll find the dreaded reverse plunger internals of the era with a remarkably weak spring powering it all. It wasn't really worth modding then, and it sure as hell isn't now.

The Deploy CS-6 is just pretty sad blaster in general with hardly any redeeming factors. It's not even comically bad like the Expand-A-Blast, it's just boring levels of malaise all packaged into some one trick pony gimmick. This blaster has become kind of a meme within the NIC and it's easy to see why. There are far worse blasters out there but the Deploy takes the cake by falling for same mistake of trying to base a blaster entirely around a gimmick, 12 years after Nerf did nearly the same thing the first time. The Deploy gets a 3 out of 10, it's at the very least better than the Expand-a-Blast but beyond that, it really is just a dumb hunk of plastic.

The Verdict

Class- Pump Action Rifle

Range- Averages around 25 to 30 feet. How dull.

Reliability- Tends to jam up.

Ammo- 6 Streamline Darts

Modding- Similar to most reverse plunger mag feds but the added complexities make it much less enticing. Just get something newer.
Value- Most examples go for roughly $15 to $30 bucks on eBay. Not even worth the parts.

Is It Better Than?

Expand-a-Blast- Yes, well of course it is. The EaB is far less powerful and massively inconsistent in comparison to the Deploy. Pair that with how the expanding gimmick often causes darts to fall out of the barrel, the EaB is literally one of the worst blasters I've ever used. Mod potential is this thing's only redeeming factor.

Alpha Trooper- No, the original N-Strike Alpha Trooper was one of the best, if not the best of the reverse plunger era springers. It's a simple, yet wildly effective pump action with slam fire that was loved by the NIC for years. There's not much reason to own this version now since the Elite variant was released but the old Alpha Trooper is a far more superior pump action than the Deploy.