MORE WORK AND Review: Rayven CS-18

Taking the graveyard shift at work (11pm to 7am) for the very first time today..
I don't think I'm ready for it, and I'm also going out early in the morning on Monday so I think I'm pretty screwed.
But I've went to work without sleep for a day before so.. I guess I can make it..
(not considering the fact that I almost fell asleep while standing still)

Anyways, it's my manager Jason's last day at the AMK Hub branch today.
I'm actually pretty sad cuz I didn't get to send him off or something..
It's gonna be different at work without him. No one's gonna..

- Say about how slow I work
- Scold me when I'm not doing something appropriate
- Pronounce my name wrongly multiple times
- Beat me in Scramble (okay, it's still going to happen)

But I personally think, it's all the shit that I went through that makes me a better person altogether.
My time here may be short, but you've been a good mentor and an inspiration.
Good luck at the Jurong branch, and see you next time.
:)


Now, for my second Nerf blaster review: Rayven CS-18.

The flagship of the Nerf "Light it up" series. Bullpup semi-auto blaster. Blaster has 2 sling points and 2 tactical rails (I think the one of the side is pretty useless). Comes with a 18-dart clip that can "charge" certain darts to glow in the dark for a fixed timing. Got this at a pretty good price of $40, and still no regrets till now :)

First I'll go to the build of the blaster.
Actually, the thing that got me so attracted to this blaster (apart from the modding potential) was the bullpup design.
The integrated stock's length is just nice for an 18-year-old..
It's really easy to remove the clip as well, there's a button near the side of the clip that's pretty easy to press. This makes it possible to reload the blaster with only one hand, which is great.

There are downsides though. The blaster tends to be a little "tail-heavy" (due to the batteries), but this will not affect the performance or whatever, just a little side note.
Also, there isn't enough grip for the non-firing hand, but this can be remedied by attachments on the blaster.

Rayven with a 6-dart mag and a Spectre "mock suppressor". 6-dart mags are pretty hard to unload due to it's length :\

To fire the blaster, simply push the "acceleration trigger" below the firing trigger to rev up the flywheels, and while holding it down, pull the firing trigger to fire a dart (the dart goes in between 2 spinning wheels and fires off, similar working principle to a tennis ball launcher).

Since it takes time for the flywheels to spin at max speed, there seems to be a slight delay between starting up and firing, like 1 to 2 seconds.

I'm not sure if this will affect the way I play my games, after all, it's my first battery powered Nerf blaster :\

Rate of fire of this weapon is great, an average of 3 darts per second. Combined with the 18-dart magazine this can be a very good blaster for spamming :)

I think the "glow-in-the-dark feature" is more of a gimmick than providing any actual use, but I gotta admit, firing glowing darts is cool as hell (no pictures though).

3 "AA" batteries on the magazine also tend to add unnecessary weight to it, so I'd avoid using that feature most of the time..

Overall, this is a pretty neat blaster to use, but since it's ranges are not anywhere "good" (30-35 feet), if you're going for serious gameplay you're always better off with the Stryfe (at 10 bucks more).
I'm getting batteries with a higher discharge rate soon (16.8 volts), so this blaster will be kicking some ass at the expense of it sounding like a washing machine. I gotta find some way to make it quieter though.

OVERALL SCORES:
Comfort: 8.5/10
Mobility: 7.5/10
Range: 6/10
Rate of fire: 10/10
Overall score: 7.5/10

Decent score for a "primary weapon". Get it if ONLY it appeals to you.. (and if it's on offer)