Toy Review: NERF N-Strike Firefly Rev-8

On an impulse I picked up yet another Nerf N-Strike blaster. Given my already sufficient arsenal of foam dart firing blasters and only satisfied with a few for general use, the only reason I picked up the Nerf N-Strike Firefly Rev-8 was because it was on sale. At the regular retail price of $20 I would not even give it a second look.

The Nerf N-Strike Firefly Rev-8 resembles the FN P90 personal defense weapon where the handle is in the front portion of the blaster near the barrel. This gives the user more stability when iron sight aiming and resting the blaster against the sholder It is a Nerf revolver type, which allows users to load the foam darts into the cylinder of the blaster instead of the newer clip system. The revolver series tend to be less likely to jam and easier to fix if they do jam. The cylinder holds 8 individual foam darts and are quick to load since the cylinder is not locked in. A quick pull of the orange slide pumps the air piston and a firm pull of the trigger cycles through a chamber to fire the dart. Extra darts store on the sides of the handle and a tactical rail accommodates sighting accessories. It feels sturdy out of the many Nerf blasters.

The Firefly Rev-8 lives up to its name by incorporating a light-up gimmick. With batteries installed and the switch activated, each pull of the trigger will let out a burst of light. Combined with the special glow in the dark suction cup darts, the whole effect adds neon green tracer fire during night games. But tracer fire points both ways, which may make the blaster more harmful than beneficial. These glow in the dark darts require included stickers wrapped around them-a rather tedious and unrewarding experience that does not feel worth it. As a revolver type, the Firefly Rev-8 also takes all the other Nerf darts including Sonic Micro and Clip System. The Clip System darts are sometimes troublesome to load and they will simply slip off the storage rack. I often just use whatever darts I find and save batteries by not bothering with the light feature.

The extra two round capacity and the sturdiness definitely make the Firefly Rev-8 a decent workhorse for a NERF War. The light feature will be a double edged sword when doing night wars. But it is up to personal taste whether to use revolvers or clips.