| | |  | Nerf N-Strike Exclusive Alpha Trooper CS-18 Dart Blaster | Home » » » Nerf N-Strike Exclusive Alpha Trooper CS-18 Dart Blaster | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 20.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 11.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 4.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 5.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 20.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 11.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 4.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 31 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 31 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 40 found the following review helpful:
 Very good gunAug 27, 2010
By Nerfinator
If you decide to buy this gun,don't buy it from amazon, buy it from target, only $20, unlike amazon.
I rated the Educational value 1* because shooting people with foam isn't the most educational activity
I was able to get ranges equal to/exceeding nerf snipers, not sure exactly how far though.
PROS:
Great range
Great accuracy
18 dart drum
slam fire
CONS:
Only 1 accessory rail, in the right place for a scope
No barrel attachment (but you don't really need one)
The stock attachment piece didn't work for 100% of my nerf stocks, like my recons, but it finally worked with my super soaker shot blast's stock
THE FINAL OPINION:
The cons are minor, and the pros far outweigh the cons, 5*s, and my new favorite gun, until the stampede, that is!
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Solid primary Nerf rifleNov 09, 2010
By Salamanderman
I had a 1st gen recon (which apprently was recalled) and was starting to feel the sting of my buddies newer models. I knew that I had to upgrade but didn't want to shell out fifty bucks for a stampede and be tethered to batteries. The Raider was a serious consideration but the massive drum was a drawback for me (I prefer a smaller profile) so I decided to go with an Alpha Trooper. This is a VERY solid Nerf blaster that feels like a mix between the recon and raider, taking the best from both and all for a great price (at Target). It shoots well and jams are rare if you are careful. Even slamfire shoots smooth after some practice. The 18 (20 really) round drum is a great mag and is SO much smaller than the Raiders drum (despite only holding 15 less darts). I attached the recon stock and a single point "sling" and picked up a few more clips and I am good to go. Next up is a few light mods and a paint job! This is a great blaster and is worth every penney.
EDITED 11-16-2010
I removed the air-restrictor from the AT. It was easy and there are a ton of videos on Youtube demonstrating the process. It easily added 15 feet of range. I have had some issues with my drum. It cycles darts fine while they are in the drum but seems to get hung up when the black dart pusher reaches the vertical clip portion. This is probably due to a weak spring as my raider drum has no problems here. Maybe mine was a lemon but I have to knock a star off. I have found that using it in the raider works better, probably because the side loading raider requires less spring tension to push a dart up. Speaking of, the raider drum is too bulky to effectively use with the under priming Alpha. Stampede 18rd clips are your best bet.
29 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 Fun but with a couple of pitfallsSep 03, 2010
By Brian A. Roush
My son just got this blaster for his birthday, and while it's fun to use, it does have a couple of shortcomings.
General Nerf gun info
If you're new to Nerf guns, be aware that the name of the gun gives you clues as to how it loads, the capacity and the type of darts it uses. This was a new realization for me - not all guns can use all the darts that Nerf makes. In this gun, CS stands for "clip system". This means you load the "clip system" darts into a clip or magazine, then insert that into the gun. The "18" means this gun comes with an 18 dart magazine. Since this uses clip system darts, you cannot use the suction cup, velcro, or whistler darts that many of the other guns use - they won't fit into the clip. Also, you can't use the clip system darts in the other types of guns - they'll fit, but won't shoot very well.
Things I like about it
We really like playing with this gun. You load the darts into the clip, slide it in place, and you're ready. On the front of the gun is the slide. Pulling it back will allow a new dart to enter the chamber. Pushing it forward loads the dart and sets the trigger. If you hold the trigger down, you can keep moving the slide back and forth and darts keep shooting out each time you move the slide forward. This is called "slam" shooting since you can slam your opponent with darts as fast as you can pull the slide back and forth. If a dart won't load, you can turn a dial on the magazine to reset the darts. Also, if a dart get stuck in the chamber, there's a sliding door on top of the gun that you can open to clear it out or see what the problem is.
So, the cool points:
-18 dart clip holds plenty of darts without being overly large like the 30+ systems
-Rapid fire "slam" mode lets you shoot them really quickly
-Not too big for younger kids
-Good range/distance
Disappointments
As for things I don't like, I don't feel that the clip system darts are as accurate as others. Most of them take a wild turn after about 15-20 feet. The gun will jam on occasion, so you have to stop and clear it out. This, combined with the amount of time to load and reload the gun creates a fair amount of down time once you're out of darts.
Loading/Reloading
I also find that reloading takes a lot of time, so even though you don't have to load each dart into the barrel, you have to take a couple minutes to load your magazine. This can be a problem if you're low on ammo, because while you can see if any darts are in the round part of the magazine, once you're down to 6 or 8, you have no visible way of seeing how many you have left because they've move up into the clip. Therefore, you're usually shooting and wondering if the gun jammed or if you're out of darts. With 18, it's harder to keep track of how many you've shot.
Be aware of how to load/reload the gun properly. You have to pull the slide back and leave it in this position. Then there's a second orange slide just forward of the trigger that will release the clip. Keep the large slide in the rear position when putting the clip back into the gun. This is all in the instructions, and also labelled on the gun itself with some crude graphics. It's not hard, just not all that intuitive if you've never used one before. Additionally, in order to open the jam-clearing door, the slide must be all the way back to do so.
There is storage in the handle of the gun for a single dart, but it's not of much use - I was hoping it would shoot a dart from it, so that if you put your gun up to "surrender" you could shoot one last shot, but alas, it doesn't.
So the negatives:
-long time to reload
-no visible way to determine when you're low on darts
-darts aren't very accurate, and you can only use "clip system" darts
Conclusion
All in all, it's a good gun - priced in the middle of the range with some cool features right out of the box. Some kids might get frustrated when it jams, or if they can't figure out how to release/insert the clip properly. The large capacity means you can play longer, and with an extra clip, it could be really fun. The rapid fire action is cool, and since it holds 18 darts, you can use it without running out too quickly.
Rating
I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. Overall, the features and price are right, I would just like to have some visual indicator when low or the ability to load a single dart. I feel it jams a bit too often, and isn't as accurate as other gun/dart systems. It combines features of some of the larger guns without being too expensive or too big for younger kids in the 6+ range. Even my 2.5 year old can hold and shoot it, though he can't pull the slide back on his own. My 7 and 9 year olds can use it easily.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Everything's great, except the dartsJan 12, 2011
By R. McDowall
Most of the reviews so far are fair. Definitely take note that this (as of Jan '11) is still selling for $19.99 at Target - don't buy this from the reseller here.
This is my go-to Nerf gun for the following reasons:
- 18 round drum magazine just keeps going and going
- takes clips from any CS gun
- slam fire is fun to use and conveys "shock and awe" nicely, at least as far as my 5 year old is concerned
- shotgun-style pump is easy to use, even for small kids. The Maverick's and the Recon's slide are harder to operate.
- this gun looks cool and handles well
There's only one real drawback here, and this is probably only relevant for people who take their Nerf battles seriously: it only fires the Streamline darts. These darts look like they're going to outperform the velcro Dart Tag ones, but they don't. At 20' range you can empty the whole 18 round drum at someone and only hit them half the time. The darts go all over the place. Your strategy with the Trooper is therefore to move fast, get in close, and hose the guy down until you hit him. Oh and carry extra clips.
It's true that you can modify the gun and/or darts in order to get more accuracy but I'm not keen on firing hot glue tipped or weighted darts at my kids, and I for sure don't want them firing them at their friends.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great gunApr 25, 2011
This gun rocks. Its easy to cock and it shoots very far. If you hold down the trigger and cock at the same time it will shoot faster. It never gets jammed unlike the vulcan. If you get this you will love it. It actually holds 19 darts instead of 18. It uses the same darts as the deploy, recon, raider, longstrike, longshot, and stampede. I highly recommend this gun.
See all 31 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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