We have been vocal about our concerns regarding the Nerf N-Strike Elite Mega Thunderbow blaster’s place in the Nerf lineup since its announcement at Toy Fair earlier in the year. We joked that 2014 might be The Year of the Bow because of the number of products being released at the same time as bow-touting celebrities like The Walking Dead, Disneys Brave and The Hunger Games. But time has passed, and weve had several opportunities for hands-on time with the Thunderbow, which has softened our position slightly. Still, we wondered if a bow that had more in common with typical Nerf blasters than anything relying on drawstring tension was worthy of the price being asked.
According to executives at Hasbro, the new Mega Thunderbow was created because boys wanted something similar to the Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow but with a design and feel that is more tailored for them. A re-shell/recolor of the Heartbreaker would have been an obvious strategy and it could have been released under the Elite brand. But Hasbro went a different route, and engineered something that would aim to go a good bit fartherboth figuratively and literally. The Mega Thunderbow was born fromthis input, but it did not receive a warm welcome. In fact, the Nerf Internet Community expressed an almost immediate disdain, with comments on the Nerf sub-Reddit like: Nothing about this looks even vaguely appealing (Landgrave Customs), a horrid addition to the MEGA line (Duke Wintermaul), and I dont get it (Nerfenstein). It went on and on, even though we were publicly skeptical. The Thunderbow is now available for purchase. We brought one in to test it.
Packaging and design
The Thunderbow, unlike other Nerf products sold under the Elite or Mega brands, is packaged so that the bulk of its body can be seen on shelves. This might indicate that the Thunderbow needs to be different from other Nerf blasters, which are usually designed to look like guns or blasters. Hasbro has also told us that the Zombie Strike Crossfire Bowhas been a huge success at retail, so they would probablylike the to see if the bow part will lead to further success with this new product, as well.
In this case, however, showing more of the product might not necessarily be a good thing. Most of the people in the Nerf community with whom we have discussed the Thunderbow feel as though it is not balanced-looking, with oversized proportions and an overall aesthetic that is not in keeping with many of the more functional, vaguely mil-sim feelingNerf blaster products. We agree. Sure, the Thunderbow is impressive-looking. But thats just because the body is big, not because it looks particularly bad-ass. It actually looks quite goofy, which is a common symptom of a body that lacks power and desire.
It is also big, which will likely help it sell.
Ergonomics and Use
Mega Thunderbow is easy to use, thanks to its well-formed grip. Fatigue won’t be an issue because the blasters weight is well-balanced. However, firing can be a bit more complicated. Although Hasbro has placed markers painted on the bow string to indicate where finger grabs are best, it doesn’t really matter. The string can be drawn back in any way one likes until the priming mechanism has been cocked. This is unlike previous Nerf products which had the bow strings attached directly to the plunger, so the strings basically serve as a fun way of moving the arms that prime the plunger. The blaster is fired once the strings are released (allowing the arms to spring forward).
There is definitely more of a tactical quality to the Thunderbow than some Nerf blasters (particularly motorized ones), but compared to something like a Z-Tek Bow, it still feels oddly isolated from the action of firing. The draw of the bow is not related to the distance of the shot once it has been cocked. For anyone who has ever used a bow-and-arrow, (and who hasn’t), that is disconcerting. ), that feels disconcerting. Indeed, thats the reason were inclined to call the Thunderbow a blaster versus a bow. Although it has arms and a bowstring but fires like a traditional blaster,
The act of pulling back a string gives this blaster an entirely unique feel. Its possible to fire dud shots that only go a few feet by only pulling back the bowstrings part way, which implies that the string pull is indeed related to the shot distance. However, this kind of thing goes out of the window once you reach the cocking point. At that point, no additional draw will increase the shot distance. No amount of Herculean strength will make darts fly any farther or fastereach full pull delivers the same punch.
Performance andMeasurements
So, the Thunderbow isnt really a bow, apart from aesthetics. There will be no performance difference regardless of how much you tweak your technique or draw the strings. This is all very strange for a bow.
Yet, as a blaster, the Thunderbow is still impressive. We conducted our tests in a park on a clear day. We took a series of shots in opposite directions to measure distances. This is similar to how supercars must pass in both directions in order for them top speed records. And the results surprised us: 28.0 m 29.3 m 30.8 m all the way up to an incredible 33.5 m, 15 cm! This is one of the first Nerf products in some time that not only reached is claimed distances in our testing, but actually
exceed them. It beat its claimed maximum range by over 10% in this instance. We had to make some insane arched shots in order to reach those distances but we still managed to get them.
Accuracy over 30.5 m distances wasnt great, with shots typically landing a good 15-6.1 m apart (or more), but wind and other variables can certainly be a factor at those ranges. With an average velocity of 22.9m per second (85 FPS), the rubber tips and foam bodies can only hold so much momentum to keep things straight. Products like Zing usually do much better in this regard.
Of course, being a bow, one cant expect a very good rate-of-fire. The Thunderbow is a blaster, not a bow, and this makes it a surprise.
Fun and Value
The Mega Thunderbow is quite expensive. Given the limited functionality, we wish it was a lot cheaper. There aren’t any tactical rails in sight. The engineering is based on the existing internals. The ammunition is not original and the actual uses of such a product is very limited. Pricing has been increasing with the Nerf Cam ECS-12at, and the Rhino Fireat. This trend has many Nerf enthusiasts concerned.
Unfortunately, we don’t believe that the Thunderbow will alleviate any of these fears. The Mega Magnus is being promoted by Hasbro as a top-tier product. However, the Mega Magnus is significantly less expensive and just as fun.
The big question is: Is the Mega Thunderbow a fun product? Is it something you’ll keep coming back to even after your first use? It delivers on performance and lives up to its Mega billing for aesthetics. And its cool that Hasbro tried to go big-and-badwhen boys asked for a bow-type product. The Thunderbow is still not a bow. It kind of looks and feels like one, but it doesnt have the same dynamics as a real bow. And in some ways, that makes it not as much fun to use as one would expect. Its also expensive for many, we expect prohibitively so, for something so different than atypical Nerf product that is a known quantity. Whichall leads usto wonder if those boys that asked for a bow were really asking for something like the big, expensive, faux-bow product like the Thunderbow, or if perhaps they were reallyasking for something a bit simpler, a bit less expensive, and a bit more like a real bow. Hasbro might want to think about this further. Next time, take a look at the Rebelle line (with Elite-levelperformance).
