Were still coming to grips with the whole Zombie Strike line of Nerf products that Hasbro introduced in 2013. Although all Zombie Strike products have the same color palette of lime green, orange and brown, the overall look is different. Some of the products seem to have been designed as Humans vs. Zombies-oriented designs from the beginning, such as the Hammershot or Sledgefire, both with faux handle wraps, steampunk-esque lever pulls, and steampunk-esque handles. But other products like the Fusefire, Ricoshet, Ripshot and even the Crossfire Bow have a much more angular appearance, and even N-Strike embossing. This review’s topic, the Sidestrike is part of the latter group. It features sleek lines and N-Strike Elite branding on the handle.
The Sidestrike, despite its probable origins as an Elite-branded product, was recolored to make-up the Zombie Strike line of products after dies were made (Hasbro denies this and claims that this disparity is intentional), is still an interesting blaster. The included holster is particularly noteworthy. The all-plastic holster is compatible with both Sidestrike and the Firestrike blasters, but not much else. Its ambidextrous for use on either left or right sides, and can hold up to 4 Slimline darts of Elite or Zombie Strike variety (2 on each side). It has a belt clip, but nothing on top to keep the blaster in place when things go sideways. Oh, and youll pay at least more than you probably should for this unique accessory but more on that in a moment.
The Sidestrike itself is actually a nice little blaster. It is compact and has a small handle. There is medium draw. The muzzle also contains storage for 2 darts. It is comfortable in the hand and easy to conceal. It’s actually quite fun to use, so you may not want it to be hidden. Not in a total annihilation, overwhelm your opponent kind of way, but in a wow, this shoots a lot farther than I was expecting! kind of way. It has a very visceral pop when it shoots, and the darts fire far and true. Our maximum was approximately 18.
9 m over a series of shots with a 20-30 degree arc, and roughly 15.8 m with zero incline. The darts were also relatively accurate, with a minimal of sidewinding and spiraling. The only significant performance downside is the fact that you only get a single shot before reloading, though the front-load aspect at least makes reloading a simple procedure. The Sidestrike is comparable to the Firestrike and Triad in single-shot performance, overall feel, and utility. In fact, if the Firestrike didnt exist, this might be the best single-shot, back-up blaster Nerf currently makes.
The Sidestrike costs almost twice as much as the Firestrike depending on where it is sold and has virtually the same blaster.
Now back to that holster. You have to pay at minimum €80 to get a holster for your Firestrike Sidestrike. This was at least more than we would have liked to have paid, and when you consider the Firestrike sells for and comes with a light beam targeting system (gimmicky as it may be), we find it hard to believe the Sidestrike should be – more for a simple plastic holster, 3 more darts and NO targeting system. Not to overemphasize the point, but the Sidestrike is almost double the price of the Firestrike, depending on the retailer, and is virtually the same blaster, with the same performance, same dart capacity, same size, etc. Perhaps if the holster was a more universal accessory (a fabric-based design versus hard plastic) that could hold a variety of blasters or gear, we would feel the price differential was justified. But as it stands, its basically a 75 piece of plastic with limited use and a very high mark-up.
This is a great little blaster, which should have been an Elite product but was instead given Zombie Strike treatment. But thats okay, because it still performs well, and we cant blame Hasbro for trying to diversify and make a buck or two. What we can blame Hasbro for doing is charging a premium for an accessory with limited utility (and likely very little cost to manufacture). This little bit of gouging spoils an otherwise excellent addition to the Nerf blaster product range Zombie Strike or N-Strike.
