When it comes down to buying birthday gifts for kids, sometimes you simply have no idea what to buy. Should you buy them a book, toys, or perhaps even a starting kit for a new hobby?
One of the first toys that caught our eyes were Nerf guns, the Nerf Doominator to be specific. It seemed like a gift that would appease any kid and it didn’t cost a fortune either.
What Here
Things to consider before buying a toy blaster
Age group
Size
Review of the Nerf Doominator
Features & Benefits
Three-position handle system
24 dart maximum capacity
Rotating drums
Strong plastic construction
What other people said
Alternatives
Nerf N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster
Nerf Zombie Strike SlingFire Blaster
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster
Conclusion
Things to consider before buying a toy blaster
A Nerf gun seems like a toy that would be ideal and compatible with just any kid as a birthday gift. It would serve as a great gift for your own kids as well as it seems to be something that can bring enjoyment for hours and hours.
Ideally, you should buy the Nerf Doominator and other Nerf products for a boy, as we don’t seem to think that it would be a popular toy among girls. For girls, we would rather recommend a starter kit for a hobby, depending on her age it could even be an instrument like a violin. Here are some things that you should consider before buying a Nerf toy:
Age group
Most Nerf toys are aimed at different age groups, most of their toys are aimed at children ranging from five to ten years old while on the other hand, they also have toys for teens.
The Nerf Eliminator for an example is aimed at kids at the age of eight and above. Because of the dimensions of this toy, the company doesn’t really recommend it for younger kids of smaller stature.
Size
The most important thing about Nerf guns is the size of them, this is mostly because larger guns will have more space for darts. If the Nerf toy gun is big enough, then a lot more darts will fit meaning that the kids will play for longer before they have to pick all the darts up.
Review of the Nerf Doominator
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The Nerf Doominator is a toy gun which can hold a huge number of darts for longer sessions of playing. It has four dart drums that can hold 6 zombie strike darts and while shooting the drums will rotate, you can shoot up to 24 darts before reloading. This toy comes with the dominator blaster, four 6-dart drums, instructions and 24 zombie strike darts.
Compared to other equally popular toy guns like the Nerf Zombie Strike blaster, the Doominator can handle a lot more darts before reloading, up to 24. On the other hand, the Zombie Strike blaster can only have 6 darts at a time.
The Doominator is aimed at children at the age of eight and above, it is a perfect purchase if you want your kid to spend more time playing than collecting the darts and reloading them all the time. The toy is quite big, so if your child is younger and smaller, we recommend you other smaller sized models.
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Features & Benefits
This time around, a different Nerf product has been created with a really interesting design. Aside from looking appealing to most kids, we think that in practical use it will also be better and provide more fun for long periods of time. Here are some of the most important features about this toy gun:
Three-position handle system
The handle on the end of the toy gun often referred to as the stock of the toy, can be changed in three different positions which allow kids to make it more comfortable for them. This way both left-handed and right-handed children can enjoy using this toy.
The default positions of the stock/handle is the bottom, if the kid prefers it, he can move it so that it faces the left or right side. Changing the position is quite easy as it does not require any great deal of force. Even in the middle of the fight, kids will be able to rotate it.
24 dart maximum capacity
Objectively looking, one of the worst aspects of Nerf guns is that they don’t last long while kids play with them because their ammo is limited. But things are changed with this model, children could play for longer periods of time as the Nerf Doominator has a capacity of 24 darts. With this huge number, kids won’t have to pick them up after only 5 minutes of playing.
Another interesting thing about the darts in this model is that this toy gun has a slam-fire mode which allows the user to release a huge number of darts almost instantly. With this, kids can expect a higher fire-rate than usual.
Rotating drums
For this model, four rotating drums are included which in the end support the astonishing number of 24 darts. Each drum rotates while the user is firing and each drum has six darts. Once the user fires off all six darts in a single drum, he just needs to flip to the next one.
With the help of this system, you can play for longer sessions, but this means that the design won’t stay compact and that the entire toy gun will be heavier. But the amount of fun you can have with more darts negates all of that.
Strong plastic construction
Toys are usually made out of plastic and because of that kids can break them far easier than anything else. Because of that, a Nerf toy gun model has been created that can possibly survive longer than other models. This Nerf gun is also made out of plastic, but its quality is higher than the one usually found in plastic toy guns.
This high-quality durable plastic is also used to ensure that it is lightweight enough, the size of it and the number of darts it can handle alone add a significant amount of weight. Even with its complex design and huge size, this blaster only weighs around 1.4 pounds which is quite interesting when you consider that it has 24 darts.
What other people said
We saw that the Nerf Doominator was really popular on internet forums and websites about toys, this is probably because Nerf is a huge brand in the toy market, but we think that the quality of this model plays a role as well.
We noticed that a lot of people complimented the toy on being sturdy, but the thing that almost everyone liked was that it is one of the few models that has 24 darts in total. We did notice that the negative side which everyone disliked was the handle of the toy, most users reported that it was uncomfortable.
Alternatives
If you believe that this model isn’t for you and if you want something else, then you’re in luck because there are other alternatives almost equally good as the Nerf Doominator. Here is a list of some of the best alternatives:
Nerf N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster
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Compared to the Nerf Dominator, the Modulus ECS-10 has a more of a militaristic design since it has a targeting scope, a drop grip, and a dual rail barrel. This blaster can also shoot at a greater distance, it can hit targets up to 90 feet away.
The only downside about this model is that it comes with banana clips which only hold 10 darts. But the form factor of this banana clip makes it easier to change in-between fights. If you want to pay less money for a blaster and don’t mind only ten darts, then this is an ideal alternative for the Doominator.
Nerf Zombie Strike SlingFire Blaster
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The Slingfire Blaster is also a great alternative, it features a more arcade design which is similar to the cartoonish fashion of the Doominator. It is recommended for children of all ages and it is made out of high-quality and durable materials. It comes with 6 dart clips with each one handling up to 6 zombie strike darts.
Some accessories such as the tactical rail are sold separately, but you still get some items included like the clips, darts, and instructions. A negative side of this blaster is that it isn’t designed for long distances.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster
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The Slingfire Blaster is also a great alternative, it features a more arcade design which is similar to the cartoonish fashion of the Doominator. It is recommended for children of all ages and it is made out of high-quality and durable materials. It comes with 6 dart clips with each one handling up to 6 zombie strike darts.
Some accessories such as the tactical rail are sold separately, but you still get some items included like the clips, darts, and instructions. A negative side of this blaster is that it isn’t designed for long distances
Conclusion
If you want a Nerf blaster that can be used for a longer period of time before reloading, then for the price it is really a great deal. With an eye-catching design, 1.4 pounds of total weight and a maximum of 24 darts you can’t find anything similar.
The only question is, will the handle bother the user? Although it can be changed to three different positions, it can still be uncomfortable for some users, but hopefully, it won’t be a big enough deal to ruin the experience.