Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 11:06 pm
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Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 11:06 pm
Whether you are looking to satisfy a taste of nostalgia, or looking for a new toy for your children, Nerf is a great place to turn. Nerf guns have been around for nearly thirty years, and have been among some of the most anticipated gifts any young boy or girl could want for their birthday or Christmas.
Since their introduction in 1992, Nerf guns have come in many sizes and styles. From single shot, pump action blasters to 100 plus round magazines with automatic firing capabilities, Nerf guns have come a long way over the last three decades.
One of the interesting things about Nerf guns is the variety of darts which they have released. Each person might have their preference from the different types that are offered, it is rarely debated that the suction cup darts are the most accurate of the options.
Although this is the case, fewer Nerf guns are sold with these darts and you might be wondering if you can even buy them anymore.
The good news is that Hasbro, Nerf’s parent company, does still offer suction cup darts. Their popularity has dwindled significantly over the years though as they really only stick to hard and flat surfaces.
This limits their use for kids, as you don’t need to have suction cup darts when trying to hit your friend.
Though most Nerf guns won’t be sold with them, you can find additional darts of many types in stores and online.
Along with suction cup darts, you can also find standard foam tipped darts, waffle tipped darts, AccuStrike style darts, and if you look really hard you can even find Velcro tipped darts.
Whatever style you are looking for, most standard Nerf guns will be able to use them.
There are some Nerf guns that require specific types of ammunition. These guns will use either large ammunition, a ball type ammunition, or a specific type of dart. If you have a Nerf gun that uses one of these special types of ammo, be sure not to try using the standard darts, as you won’t be able to fire the darts as expected.
Is Nerf Ultra Better?
When Nerf guns first arrived on the scene in the early 1990’s, they quickly dominated a market which they essentially created. For years, plastic guns that shot foam darts were commonly referred to as “Nerf guns.” It didn’t matter if they were official Nerf guns, or some other knock-off, no-name brand, everyone called them “Nerf guns.”
As the years progressed, Hasbro’s competition in the dart shooting product has grown, and at times the competition was pretty good. In order to maintain their status as top dog, the designers at Nerf had to continue to develop better products.
Nerf has put out a few new product lines in the last few years. In 2017 they took a step away from their traditional darts with the “Rival” series. Then in 2019, Nerf Ultra was released. These new Nerf guns used a brand new proprietary dart that has propelled Nerf guns further than ever before.
These new Ultra darts are designed and marketed to go further, faster and be more accurate than any previous dart. The down side? All those standard Nerf darts you have collected throughout the years aren’t going to work in these new guns.
The new Ultra darts use a closed cell foam, are a different size, and have molded fins that help the darts to launch from the guns as far as 120 feet.
These new darts were likely released in response to the growing number of third-party products that have hit the market over the years, many of which are priced significantly lower than Hasbro sells their Nerf branded darts for.
This new design is proprietary, and although it might be copied at some point, right now they are only available from the makers of Nerf Ultra guns.
Why are Nerf Darts So Expensive?
Once you have a Nerf gun, you will quickly realize a few things. First, they are a blast to play with. Second, the darts can travel pretty far. And third, you will need more darts.
Whether you are playing outside or inside, the likelihood of you losing a few Nerf darts is extremely high. Not only that, most guns only come with a few darts included.
This means you are going to have to pick them up before you can reload. This is not ideal when trying to win your Nerf gun war.
In order to address this small problem, you can always buy some extra ammo. There are packages of Nerf darts of various sizes from small packs of 10 to jumbo bulk packages of over 100.
When shopping for Nerf darts, you are likely to wonder one thing, why are they so expensive?
The simple design and inexpensive material used to make Nerf darts would make one assume that they are going to be fairly cheap to pick up in store or online. This is not usually the case, however, and the reasons vary.
The main reason that Nerf darts are expensive is that demand for them is still pretty high. Although there are many competitors out there, Nerf guns and darts are still the most popular, because of this Hasbro can charge a little higher price.
One of the reasons this is the case is the amount of money spent on marketing. The higher cost of Nerf darts helps them pay for the commercials, ads, and product placement to maintain Nerfs domination of the toy gun market.
Though some believe that any off-brand dart is good enough, there are a lot of Nerf gun enthusiasts that are going to stay true to their favorite brand.
They are loyal to the blue and orange, and that isn’t likely to change any time soon.
In addition to the brand loyalty, Nerf has released a new line of guns and darts that are not currently available from competitors. So if you want the highest performing Nerf gun, you will have to pay for the new, higher quality darts only available from Nerf.
Conclusion
Nerf guns are a great toy for kids and adults. They can provide hours of war style fun, and can also encourage a lot of activity.
If you aren’t dipping, diving, and dodging darts, then you are likely getting hit by them.
These classic toys have been in a constant state of development, so don’t expect to show up with your vintage Nerf Sharpshooter and reign down darts if your buddy happens to have one of the newer, motorized models.
You might just be running for your pretend life for a few hours.
Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 11:06 pm
