Buying someone a gift can be really frustrating if you don’t know the hobbies and tastes of the recipient, this is especially true if the person receiving the gift is a kid or perhaps even a teenager.
The first thing that probably pops into your mind is a toy, but which one? In our opinion, a toy blasterlike the Nerf Eliminator seemed to be a great option. We needed to test it out, though.
What’s Here
Things to consider before buying a toy blaster
Can the user carry a toy blaster for a long time?
Does the child refuse to clean up after them?
Review of the Nerf Eliminator/Micro Blaster
Features & Benefits
Compact design
High firing distance
High-quality construction
Perfect for children of all ages
What other people think
Alternatives
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster
Nerf N-Strike Elite Disruptor
Nerf Doominator
Conclusion
Things to consider before buying a toy blaster
Whether it is that you’re buying a gift for a child or a teenager, selecting the right one can be a nerve wrecking job. How much money are you willing to spend, what should you even get? Would a toy be an acceptable gift?
From our point of view, a Nerf toy blaster seems like the ideal gift that will bring hours and hours of fun. But if the child is a girl, we recommend items like dolls and toy instruments instead. Here are some things that you should keep in mind before buying a toy blaster:
Can the user carry a toy blaster for a long time?
There is a great variety when it comes to toy blasters, there are a lot of different models with each one having a unique design that stands out from each other. But an important part of toy blasters is the size.
If the toy blaster is smaller, then the user won’t be able to shoot a huge number of darts before reloading, but he will be more mobile because of the size difference. For really young kids, we recommend toy blasters that don’t weigh much.
Does the child refuse to clean up after them?
Don’t get us wrong, Nerf toy blasters are one of the most entertaining toys to use, but a gigantic downside about them is that the number of darts are limited and that you have to pick them all up after playing. If your kid doesn’t have a habit of cleaning up after themselves, then we recommend you to choose a different toy.
Review of the Nerf Eliminator/Micro Blaster
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The Nerf Eliminator is a great toy blaster for users who are just starting out with blaster or users who don’t want to spend too much money on their first nerf blaster. Nerf’s Eliminator is one of the smallest toy blasters on the market, aimed at children of all ages who don’t mind using only 3 darts at a time.
There aren’t any accessories included in the packaging, the only items that you get are the blaster and three Elite darts. The earlier versions of the Eliminator could only be bought in packages with other nerf products, its previous name was “Micro Blaster”.
But now various models can be bought separately such as the Nerf N-Strike Elite Triad EX-3 blaster. These small toy blasters are recommended for starters who don’t want to pay too much money and don’t mind having 3 darts.
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Features & Benefits
Although this particular model lacks in the number of features it has, it still delivers a great job with its intended purpose. In the end, even if this model might not be enough for you, you can still use it as a secondary toy blaster by concealing it and placing it in your pocket. Here are some of the most important features of the Nerf Eliminator:
Compact design
The Nerf Eliminator is one of the smallest toy blasters from Nerf, perhaps for an adult hand it may be too large, but it is the ideal size for children. Because of the small form factor, the user can hold it as a secondary weapon which is great if you don’t have any darts left on your main one. But the negative side of this small design is that you are limited to 3 darts in total.
It still remains to be a high-quality product for children of all ages and at least the positive side about this is that you don’t have to spend too much time searching for the darts.
High firing distance
Do you perhaps think that because of the size, it isn’t as powerful as other toy blasters? Then think again, because this blaster can shoot its Elite darts up to 90 feet away, this is the same distance as other bigger models. You can safely fool your opponents to strike first, thinking that you won’t be able to return fire.
Concealing the Nerf eliminator and then firing it later on with confidence is the best tactic you could have. And because it has a small form factor, you can also pull it out more quickly.
High-quality construction
The problem with most toys if not all of them, is how quickly they can break. We do have to admit that children tend to behave carelessly at times and this means that they might break their toys easily, sometimes within weeks after they got it.
But even though the Nerf Eliminator is entirely made out of plastic, that doesn’t mean that it will hold out as much as the other toys on the market. The plastic used in the Nerf Eliminator is really high-grade and safe as well, there are no smaller parts which may create a choking hazard for your child. The only exception for this is the small darts, make sure that you tell your kids to play with caution.
Perfect for children of all ages
Because of how lightweight and small this toy blaster is, it makes it the perfect choice for children of all ages. Every kid can carry it around, which can’t be said for the more extreme models that sometimes weigh more than three pounds.
Since everyone can use it, that means that it will be an ideal gift for most users, perhaps even a great option as an additional gift with another Nerf product. If you want to surprise the child even more, buy additional darts because they will surely need them if they lose the ones that come included with the package.
What other people think
Nerf is a brand that has truly survived the test of time, after all these years it is still popular among children and it is still discussed on various internet forums. Albeit the Eliminator isn’t that popular because of its minimalistic design, the users who got it still liked it because of its compact design
Most people that bought it were mostly using it as an extra blaster besides their main blaster. Other people had a mostly positive opinion of this blaster, but they did dislike the fact that it only comes with 3 darts.
Alternatives
If you liked the compact design but wanted something just with a bit more features, then you can check out the following alternatives:
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster
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If you want a slightly larger Nerf toy blaster that can still be handled with just one hand, then we recommend the strongarm blaster as a great alternative. It can hold 6 darts at a time and they can be shot off at distances up to 90 feet away.
It comes with the blaster, 6 Elite darts, and instructions. This model has doubled the number of darts and it has rotating barrel flips that allow you to reload it faster with ease. There is also a slam fire mode that allows you to fire off all 6 darts immediately.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Disruptor
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If you want a slightly larger Nerf toy blaster that can still be handled with just one hand, then we recommend the strongarm blaster as a great alternative. It can hold 6 darts at a time and they can be shot off at distances up to 90 feet away.
It comes with the blaster, 6 Elite darts, and instructions. This model has doubled the number of darts and it has rotating barrel flips that allow you to reload it faster with ease. There is also a slam fire mode that allows you to fire off all 6 darts immediately.
Nerf Doominator
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Nerf’s Doominator is an entirely different toy blaster when compared to all the models previously listed. It is a lot bigger and it weighs about 1.4 pounds, but because of the larger size, it can hold up to 24 elite darts at once.
size, it can hold up to 24 elite darts at once.You don’t even have to worry about reloading as it is quite easy, there are also four drums that are filled with 6 drums each. An interesting design choice about this model is that the drums spin while you fire off the darts. The only negative side is that the stock makes it uncomfortable to handle, the only solution is to move it to the right or the left.
Conclusion
Even after all these years, Nerf blasters still remain to be one of the most popular toys. Kids still love them which means that you can buy it as a gift without worrying that the person receiving it won’t like it.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster is a great choice for this as it has a minimalistic design that is beginner friendly, it can also be bought alongside with other blaster toys. Concealing this small nerf toy and blasting your enemies when they aren’t watching will be one of the most entertaining things your child will go through.