The Hammerstorm is an interesting anomaly. It’s part of the Alpha Strike line, but it’s clearly not constructed the same. The blaster is screwed together, not clipped. The handle is large and comfortable. There’s much more plastic than you’d expect. And you have eight shots in the cylinder, plus storage for eight more. As a result, it’s possibly the best blaster in the line so far.

A single tactical rail is located on the top of the Flyte, in front of the jam door. It features two sling points near the front of the blaster. The Stinger SD-1 is a single-fire blaster that primes via a priming handle on the bottom of its handle, similar to the Jolt EX-1. Unlike other Jolt-styled blasters, the Stinger does not feature a trigger guard in front of its firing trigger. With the included yellow Elite darts (which remind me of french fries when I’m hungry, oddly enough), the Cobra averages 69fps. This is on par with typical Elite blaster ranges. This is the major downfall of the Cobra. The handle, while sufficient for gripping the blaster, feels horrible due to the skeleton nature of it. It can be somewhat ignored when the blaster is used in short spurts, but long term use is uncomfortable. Finally, the trigger is sealed within the shell, rotating on a point, with the “catch” attached to it and supported by ribs in the shell. This is a weak point if you attempt to modify the blaster, for sure. Then again, if you’re modifying the blaster…you’re probably not the target audience of the Alpha Strike series. PerformanceThe Hammerstorm has a similar setup to the Hammershot – the rotation mechanism is slightly different. Beyond that, I would expect modders to be able to change up the internals in a similar manner; new springs or spring spacers are both effective.

Start blasting with Alpha Strike blasters from Nerf, the number one blaster brand*! If you’re new to the Nerf brand, Alpha Strike blasters are an awesome way to get into adrenaline-pumping Nerf battles and experience the power and performance of the Nerf brand. They’re easy to use so first-time battlers can begin blasting fast. And if you’re already a Nerf fan, these blasters make great additions for your Nerf collection! With the included Elite darts, the Hammerstorm averaged 73fps in testing. Rate of fire was decent at two darts per second when used one-handed. However, this rate of fire will vary, depending on individual finger strength and how many hands you use; younger children may fire slower, for example. In addition, one hand priming, one hand firing means you can pull off shots faster. Only slightly, but it’s noticeable when emptying the entire cylinder. Internals Alpha Strike • Assembler Gear • DinoSquad • Doomlands 2169 • DragonPower • Elite 2.0 • Elite Jr. • GlowStrike • Hyper • Laser Ops • Mech Strike • Mega • Mega XL • Nerf LMTD • Nerf Pro • Nerf Sports • Nitro • N-Strike • N-Strike Elite • N-Strike Modulus • Power Moves • RIVAL • ULTRA • Vortex • Web Shots • Zombie StrikeOut of interest, I cut and installed a small length of CPVC (CTS 1/2″) to add some precompression (though more could have been done). That by itself raised velocities to 84fps. Final Opinion