Out with the foam, in with the goo. Nerf, the company synonymous with the foam dart, is making a blaster that fires gel capsules instead. The Nerf Pro Gelfire can hold up to 800 of the tiny polymer rounds that burst on impact. It fires them off at up to 10 rounds per second and boasts that no clean up is necessary. It’s a patented new technology that will be available this fall. But pre-orders are already open and $79.99 will get you the Nerf blaster and 10,000 projectiles. The projectiles come dehydrated so you just add water before loading them up into the Gelfire and unleashing them on your enemies.
The warnings that come with this new product are a little wild. That it’s intended for ages 14 and up seems standard enough for a toy of this caliber. It comes with protective eyewear. Okay, fair enough considering the tiny projectiles. But the website also states: “This is not a toy.” And that seems a little ominous. Also: “Impact from rounds may cause temporary marks on skin” and “Rounds may stain.” Sounds like some clean up may be necessary after all.
There’s also a warning not to modify the blaster. But we know from experience that YouTubers around the world probably will. After all, you can have a lot of fun with souped-up Nerf guns, like this one that breaks the sound barrier. Or Adam Savage’s 1000-shot blaster or helmet-mounted cannon.
Will this new Nerf Gelfire goo-shooter make classic Nerf darts a thing of the past? Hopefully not, especially considering that Nerf’s new mascot Murph is made purely of darts. If you’re not following Murph on Twitter already, they are low key one of the most wholesome accounts.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
