There are many paths that can be taken in a review of the new Nerf Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12, which is essentially a re-color of the original Longshot CS-6 introduced under the N-Strike label in 2006. That near-legendary CS-6 version featured the first use of both a direct plunger system and the now ubiquitous Nerf clip system, and is generally considered to be the predecessor of the Elite line as a whole. So the appearance of a new-for-2014 Longshot with a Zombie Strike aesthetic was a very exciting development for the Nerf Internet Community, particularly among those fond of modding, since the original CS-6 version was significantly (and rather easily) improved with some changes to the internals. But rather than review the new Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12 based on its historical context or modding potential, we’re going to review it based purely on how it performs today, as a stock blaster released in 2014. After all, that’s exactly what most consumers will do when they see it on retail shelves right next to Demolishers, Thunderbows, and Slingfires… admittedly tough competition for a blaster that is essentially 8 years old.
But before we get into how the new Longshot CS-12 performs, let’s review how it differs from the original Longshot CS-6. Most obviously, we have the new Zombie Strike color scheme, which is a bit more garish in-person than it originally appeared in photos. In addition, the collapsible bi-pod is absent (as noted by the leftover mounting “stubs”), as is the original version’s front-mounted blaster/barrel extension. On the plus side, we get a larger, 12-dart clip versus the original 6 dart clip. And this time around, the Longshot is a Target exclusive in the United States (as many Zombie Strike products are, initially). And although we had originally assumed the internals would be upgraded to “Elite” performance levels like other Zombie Strike blasters, this notion was dispelled during our Google Hangouts session with Nerf execs, when we were advised the only performance difference would come from the use of Elite darts versus the original streamlines. But we’ll have more on that, in a moment.
Design and Ergonomics
Ergonomically, there’s nothing new here versus the original Longshot, so you’ll either like that or you won’t. We didn’t have any huge complaints, and we actually liked the shorter overall dimensions without the barrel extension, though the collapsing function of the shoulder stock is somewhat pointless, since its range is limited (and we didn’t find it comfortable in the shorter position, anyway). The clip release is still only on one side, which some might find less than ideal. And the faux scope is complete garbage, with plastic optics that are so distorted, you might as well be looking through the bottom of a canning jar. Otherwise, though, it’s a reasonably well-balanced piece that’s easy enough to hold and use. And it’s built with the same quality plastics as all Nerf products, even if those plastics twist and creak under use a bit more than some modern designs.
Use and Performance
It was hard to get a true accuracy judgement because of the inconsistency of the ranges, but we’ll just say it was no better and possibly a little worse than typical Elite-firing blasters. And that’s likely because the velocity of the darts coming out of the barrel was a rather weak 45 feet-per-second (on average). We hit a max speed of 51 feet-per-second, and a low of 43 feet-per-second. This isn’t crazy for an N-Strike product, but it’s clearly not up to the newer Elite speeds. So when you combine these low velocities with the fact that one out of every few darts comes out in a suicidal death spiral, it’s hard to call that “accurate.”
Sad to say, but the above shortcomings are basically the “good” points about this blaster’s performance. Because where the Longshot CS-12 is bad, it’s really bad. In an attempt to get a decent rate-of-fire, we not only discovered this blaster doesn’t like to be hustled, it may actually have some inherent design flaw that prevents it from firing consistently–period. More than any other blaster we have tested to-date, we had an alarmingly high amount of jamming problems. We simply wrecked a ton of Elite darts, at one point having as many as three (3) darts all jammed up in the breach and barrel at one time. We removed the clip during one of these instances to discover a dart with it’s tip pointing at a 45-degree angle upward (!), with the back-end still in the clip. And more than half of the dozen darts that came with the Longshot now have foam chunks missing from their bodies–in fact, we laughed at how we could readily see microscopic foam bits flying out of the barrel along with the darts as we fired. And yes, we fiddled with the clip alignment, etc., and no amount of noodling around seemed to change anything.
Value and Fun
Unfortunately, things don’t get any better for the Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12 in the value department, because ours was $34.99 at retail, and we can think of many, many blasters that operate much better for a lot less money. If this was a “novelty” blaster being released solely for collectors or something, and it was priced at $19.99, then it would at least be a reasonable enough purchase to buy for the different color scheme, and of course the modding potential (which is huge). As it stands, with the slipshod re-color, the reliability issues, the mediocre performance, and a price that’s only $5 less than a Demolisher (which can hit 70 feet and shoot 4 darts per second), the Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12 is simply a bad value, any way you cut it.
But is at fun, at least? Well, the Longshot CS-12 does feel good to hold, and it does have a certain nostalgic aura about it that we dig. Pulling back the priming lever is still enjoyably tactile (unlike most everything flywheel-based). And we even like the recoil of the spring as it unloads, which is a feeling you just don’t get with most newer designs. But it the end, it’s just so frustrating to use and underwhelming in performance that you don’t really even want to bother with it. And the fact that it’s rather ugly doesn’t encourage you to even attempt to live with its faults just for the “cool” factor.
To say we were disappointed with the Longshot CS-12 is an understatement. We fully expected this to be one of the surprise hits of the year. Instead, it just ended up being one let down after another, despite how hard it tugged on our nostalgic heartstrings. Though as we were reminded via the good folks on Reddit like “Foam Data” and “Lord Drac,” the original Longshot CS-6 had its fair share of problems too, including a poor dart tooth design and slow rate-of-fire (and really only came into its own in the hands of modders). So perhaps it’s our own fault for expecting the 2014 version to somehow be competitive with blasters of today. And in the end, that’s the one very good thing about the Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12: it reminds us just how much progress has been made in 8 years, and makes us happy we can now get products from Nerf that are a lot more fun, for a lot less money.