Toy Review: NERF N-Strike Spectre Rev-5

Toys R Us had the Barrel Break IX-2 and Target had the Alpha Trooper CS-18. And now Wal-Mart has its exclusive NERF N-Strike toy blaster in the form of the Spectre Rev-5. It was a long wait, but now I finally have the chance to see if this was worth it for the next NERF war planned.

The $20 price tag was a bit of sticker shock. After all, the general retail store already has a Nerf revolver in the form of the classic Maverick Rev-6 that costs about $10 or a Nerf pistol/rifle in the Recon CS-6 at $20 with many accessories to customize the blaster. The Spectre Rev-5 is a hybrid of those two blasters with the revolving nature of the Maverick Rev-6 and the customizable potential of the Recon CS-6. The Spectre Rev-5 is a slightly longer and slimmer version of the Maverick Rev-6 decorated in the N-Strike yellow, orange, and gray. The cost of such slimness is a smaller revolving cylinder that only holds five darts instead of six. In a NERF war, ammo capacity is important since one does not want to reload in the middle of a firefight. As a revolver, the Spectre Rev-5 can fire any Nerf dart. It comes with five Sonic Micro/Whistler darts, but it is reassuring that I can also use my plentiful supply of Clip System darts that came with my high-capacity Nerf blasters on the fly. Sonic Micros fly the furthest and it is nice to see Nerf slowly favor those darts over the suction cup ones since I rarely have the need to have darts stick to any windows.

While the Maverick Rev-6 could not fit barrel extensions or stocks, the Spectre Rev-5 gets the ability to do both from the Recon CS-6. The Spectre Rev-5 includes a faux silencer barrel extension and a foldable stock. Like all barrel extensions, the silencer is a cosmetic improvement that does sag a bit when attached to the Spectre Rev-5. But the vent holes and the general design of the Spectre Rev-5 do look good together and can even pull off a Steampunk look when decorated or modded a bit. The folding stock stays secure when deployed or folded thanks to a simple push/pull mechanism. It is slightly less flimsy than the stock of the Recon CS-6 but can still bend if not carefully used. Again, I prefer to simply use the retractable stock of the Raider CS-35. And like most N-Strike blasters, there is one tactical rail on top of the Spectre Rev-5 for sights or scopes.

The snappiness of using the Spectre Rev-5 is where the blaster shines. A quick press of a button opens the cylinder to load the darts. There is a satisfying click when cycling through the chambers and snapping it back in place. Cocking the slide of the blaster-putting iron sights on top of that slide was a nice touch-pumps the piston and rotates the cylinder simultaneously. This contrasts the Maverick Rev-6 where cocking the blaster only pumps the cylinder and pulling the trigger will rotate the cylinder before firing. The result is a crisper trigger pull for the Spectre Rev-5 and less wear on the blaster. Unfettered with accessories the Spectre Rev-5 is sleek and satisfying. Now if only the stock were sturdier, I would feel better with the price.