Nerf Stryfe Review (8/10)

We are everywhere.

Yeah I know I haven't posted in over a month, sorry about that. Life has been busy, and what better way to start making headway again by reviewing a gun we've already seen way too much of? What holds six shots, takes four AA batteries, and that reddit can never seem to shut up about? If you said Stryfe, you probably looked at the picture already, and that's fine. But really though, apart from the fact that I've already reviewed a bazillion blasters that are basically expensive re-shells of this thing, why do people love it so much? Let's find out shall we?

Size compared to a Cycloneshock.

If it wasn't for the fact that this thing was $10 at Walmart the weekend after Black Friday, I would have probably never bought a Stryfe, ever. I have nothing against flywheels especially if they're implemented into something as massively insane as the Colossal Blitz or Rhino-Fire but for a typical primary or secondary, I personally prefer air power. That being said I wasn't expecting anything too special about the Stryfe. It feels roughly the same as nearly every other Elite blaster out there, and it's similar in form to a Retaliator minus the attachments, not to mention rather light. A better way to put it, it's basically the production version of that magazine fed Barricade mod we've been doing for years. So points for good feel, that's a start.

Modulus? Is that you?

The Stryfe however is really famous for it's top notch versatility. The gun in it's stock form can be run simply as a semi-auto pistol. Once you throw on a stock, a barrel extension, maybe a grip and a high capacity drum, it becomes a completely different blaster. Seriously, you can deck this thing out any way you see fit. It's like Pimp My Blaster, except on a much cheaper price point than that money pit called the Modulus ECS-10. No kidding, you can buy a cheap Stryfe, run it with your existing attachments and and save yourself or your kids from blowing more cash on basically the exact same gun and expensive attachment kits that do jack shit. Not saying you need attachments for this blaster or anything, it's fine as is but its definitely open to personalization.

How boring.

This, I pray to whatever entity is out there is the last time I ever have to look at these internals and do a review over them. You look at the Demolisher, the Modulus, Rapid Red, any semi auto flywheel dart blaster made by Nerf and it's almost guaranteed to be a Stryfe in a silly suit. The deal is though, they are actually good internals and the Stryfe shells darts out at around 45 to 50 feet with solid accuracy as fast as you can pull the trigger, of course the range does drop whilst doing so. Nothing mods can't fix obviously. My beef is not with the Stryfe but with it's bigger offspring. Why the hell would you pay for something $20 to $50 dollars more expensive when at it's heart and soul, its the exact same gun? Oh shell preference I guess, but a decked out Stryfe feels just as good, if not better than any of the bigger rifles. Point is don't buy the bigger semi auto rifles. Stick with this little guy right here.

The Stryfe is good blaster, damn good. It's relatively inexpensive, highly versatile, and performs pretty well. It's no joke that this blaster is favored by many out there. Not counting it's modularity, you can burn through six rounds awfully fast and the constant hum of flywheels just won't feel as  satisfying as the thud of a plunger or an airtank. Me personally, it's not a blaster I plan on using any time soon but personal bias aside I think everyone should own one. It's a great first blaster and a solid addition to any experienced nerfer's arsenal, plus lots of easy mod potential; who doesn't love that? For these reasons I give the Stryfe an 8 out of 10 as it's just straight up solid. Check one out.

The Verdict

Class- Semi-Auto Flywheel Pistol

Range- Great, 45 to 50 feet.

Size- Comparable to a Retaliator or a Stockade; both minus attachments.

Reliability- Can jam like all clip systems.

Ammo- 6 Elite Darts

Modding- Handles voltage mods and motor swaps remarkably well.
Value- At $20, it's reasonably inexpensive for something so versatile.


Is It Better Than?

Stockade- Yes, based on performance they are basically the same, however the Stryfe takes magazines while the Stockade does not which makes the Stryfe infinitely more usable.


Strongarm- Depends, the Stryfe is more usable than the Strongarm in all situations for the same issues as the Stockade but the Strongarm negates the need of batteries since it uses a plunger and it fire significantly faster without any loss in power. Both are very good, it's your call.

Modulus ECS-10- Yes, the Modulus is exactly what I said it was earlier. A more expensive, bulkier Stryfe, with attachments that in all honesty, most of them are pretty much useless. For the price of one Modulus, you can buy two Stryfes and dual wield like a maniac. Save your money.