We’re reaching the tail end of the year, with lots of items to still appear on shelves. We have, of course, big ticket items like the Perses that were introduced at Toy Fair. However, there are other items filling in the remaining shelf space. Come October, one of those items will be the Rival Knockout XX-100. Hasbro was kind enough to send me a blaster as part of the public reveal – and after having the blaster for a week, I’m impressed with how much power can come out of a $10 package!
The Nerf Rival Knockout XX-100 will be available Oct. 1 at most major toy retailers.
EVERYTHING IS A JOLT RESKIN
The barrel, of course, has all the hallmarks of a Rival spring-powered blaster – tight restriction for initially loading the ball, a hop-up tab, etc. However, there’s one key difference: the “safety valve” that we like to call an air restrictor isn’t really a safety valve, at least in the traditional sense. It does assist in loading ammo into the barrel at the right spacing, but it doesn’t really block the air when the ball isn’t loaded. It’s preferable that you don’t dry fire blasters, but especially not this one.
Overall, the blaster feels as sturdy as other Rival entries. If you really want to use it, there’s a rail on top for accessories.
Firing the Blaster
Even with the plunger tube within the grip, it’s no larger than that of, say, a Helios. Most older hands will find it comfortable to hold.
Performance
As expected, the rate of fire for a single shot, breech loading blaster is somewhat slow (who knew???). At best, with ammo on hand (or stored on the blaster), I could prime the blaster, load the breech, and fire at a target once every three seconds. Of course, that’s assuming reasonable aiming and not just firing for the sake of firing.
It should be noted that, in my sample size of one, that while the ball stays in the air for an appreciable time due to the imparted spin, it doesn’t seem to float as long as other Rival blasters. It’s still very usable, but I had to adjust my aim slightly.
Overall Opinion
It took long enough for a single shot Rival blaster to finally happen. It’s obviously not going to be your primary blaster (unless you’re a strange person like me, where ANYTHING can be your primary blaster). But the Rival Knockout fills a nice role as a sidearm or backup blaster, with plenty of power to spare.
On a personal note, thanks to the guys down at the Ohio University Urban Gaming League for having conveniently-timed Nerf wars! It made evaluating the blaster a lot easier – especially since I’m known to use anything, so no one really questions what blaster I’m using. Which comes in handy when no one is supposed to know you have this new blaster. Thanks, guys 🙂