The end of summer means the start of a new refresh of the main Nerf blaster range! Elite 2.0 has replaced Elite, which is a focus on black and metallic colors, easy assembly and more attachment points. The Trio replaces the Triad and provides three quick shots on a small platform. It fills the niche quite well, ata low price, even if it doesnt quite seem to hit the 27.4m claims on the box.
Snapped Together
The lack of screws is what has been most striking about the Elite 2.0 blasters‘ construction. The Elite 2.0 blasters seem to have been built without any screws. The blaster body is made to have as few pieces as possible, snapped together tightly. The tactical rails remove the extra detent piece and replace it with extra plastic ridges within the shell. Modification will be more difficult, but not impossible, but it’s not impossible. Typically toy companies dont make products for people to modify anywayand while I acknowledge it when doing reviews, its not usually a focus or something I grade the blasters about.
The Trio has a tiny bit of paint on one Nerf logo and TRIO logo; all other writing is simply molded into the plastic shell. The Triads triangular barrel setup is exchanged for three inline barrels. This, together with the larger shell and the need to mount an tactical rail, make for a chunkier blaster. You can still keep it in a large pocket.
Priming is still achieved with a Jolt-style prime. Pull down, fire the blaster, repeat until all three darts are expelled towards your target. Although the main handle is smaller than the rest, it is necessary due to the nature of blasters. The handle’s top is well-shaped enough to allow for comfortable use, even if your hand extends below it.
There are two sling points on the blaster, if you wish to clip it to something.
Performance
Although smart AR setups result in decreasing fps results from top barrels, they did not decrease much. The average fps was 68fps, while the bottom barrel averaged 62fps. In addition, its easy to fire off all three shots in two seconds, and then to reload the blaster.
I should also mention that 90 was not possible with any angled shots, despite the box claims. One did come close, at 86, but one would hope that a few shots would actually hit the number on the box
Internals
Trio shell pieces snap together, but it takes some effort to remove without damaging the shell. Even so, its possible to open the blaster with a couple flathead screwdrivers providing leverage as you work your way around the blaster. Internally, its what youd expect, with a large vertically mounted plunger and a smart AR assembly.
The handle’s bottom, where the main spring rests is designed to snap in, and cannot be easily removed. It has yet to come off without causing any damage. If progress is made in that regard, Ill let you know if spring replacements are possible or helpful!
