The Nerf N-Strike Barricade RV-10 has been among our favorite, go-to blasters of the past few years. It came out in 2010 and was one of the original flywheel-based blasters. Featuring a thumb-mounted switch that turned-on an internally mounted, battery-powered flywheel, it allowed the user to fire semi-automatic rounds as quickly as they could pull the trigger. We liked the original so much, two of our team members used it as their primary weapon of choice. Our expectations, then, were fairly high for the Barricade’s inevitable Elite-branded upgrade: the Stockade.
Name confusion notwithstanding, the Barricade and Stockade share a number of similarities, both good and bad. For starters—and just like its Blockade forbear—the Stockade was not initially released in the United States (the Blockade was first released in Australia, then the United States). And when it did come to the states last fall, it could only be found in Wal-Mart (and later online, where we found ours). But aside from its staggered release and availability, the two blasters are also visually identical in size, shape and molds. The Elite color scheme is the only appreciable aesthetic difference. They likewise share the same manual-load 10-round barrel, the same overly-large muzzle, the same top-mounted jam door, and unfortunately, the same thumb-mounted flywheel switch. Importantly, however, the Stockade includes a detachable shoulder stock that holds a full 10 rounds—the exact number needed for a complete reload. Whether this was intentional or not, it’s brilliant, and the look of the Stockade with the new shoulder stock makes it a great-looking, compact blaster.
…the Stockade includes a detachable shoulder stock that holds a full 10 rounds—the exact number needed for a complete reload.
General performance notwithstanding, our particular Stockade had one aspect that diminished it’s overall enjoyability, particularly versus it’s cousin, the Stryfe. Our Stockade had a rather nasty, somewhat off-balance sounding flywheel that vibrated the entire blaster, particularly the ammo chamber. It didn’t seem to inhibit performance that we could tell, but it was rather off-putting, and makes us wonder if there are perhaps more quality-control issues with flywheel-based blasters than with standard types.
Still, we like the Stockade’s tough, compact look, and we absolutely love the shoulder stock. We also like being able to load a single dart or two on the fly (versus have to load-up an ammo clip). It’s a mean-looking blaster that we’re happy to have in our arsenal. It’s a pity, then, that the flywheel has the shakes, the flywheel trigger is still inconveniently located, and the overall performance isn’t any better. Otherwise, it’s a really fun blaster that should have come stateside a lot sooner.