Nerf Raider CS-35 Review

The Raider CS-35 was Nerf's third CS blaster, and the first to utilise 'slam fire' and a drum mag. It was originally officially released on 9/9/2009. Unlike the majority of modern Nerf blasters, the Raider (as you can see above) is blue instead of the traditional yellow/orange.


The Raider, unlike the Alpha Trooper which is all go and not much show, is a much better looking blaster. With an 18-clip (mag) loaded into it, it resembles WWII SMG's such as the Sten Gun. With it's 35 drum, however, it resembles a mix of a Tommy Gun, Sten Gun and an LMG of some sort. In other words, it resembles something machine-gun-ish.

The 35 drum is one of the key attracting factors to the Raider, as it is the highest capacity Nerf currently offers. (as of 2011). As it is a CS drum, it is compatible with all other CS/ECS blasters such as the Stampede and Recon. It's capacity is twice that of the next largest drum/clip (mag) (18 drum/clip [mag]), and so this drum is a large advantage ammo-wise. It's also 10 more than the nearest capacity - the Vulcan's 25 dart belt.
However, all this extra ammo comes at a big price. When it's loaded into the Raider, the Raider becomes very left side heavy, and as a result can unbalance you in your first wars with it. It's not hard to get used to, as the drum isn't actually that heavy, but it's more the unbalanced nature of the Raider. Unlike most CS blasters with their centre of gravity somewhere in front of the handle, the Raider's is towards the left.
Also, hold that much ammo requires a very big drum. The circular part of the drum is twice as wide and twice as high as the AT's drum (meaning 4* the front and rear surface area), which adds a lot of bulk, especially to a blaster with it's clip (mag) dock facing towards the left. It's easy to hit walls and other objects with it when you're so used to vertical clip (mag) docks like the AT. It also means exposing more of yourself than you would have to with vertical clip (mag) dock weapons. Usage tips here.

The Raider is primed similar to an AT, but uses a foregrip instead of a shotgun style pump grip. This can take some getting use to, but fortunately the foregrip is extremely comfortable. I personally prefer the AT's pump grip, although I know that SG Nerf prefers the Raider's foregrip.

The Raider is primed by a simple pull of the foregrip, replace the clip (mag)/drum if necessary, push the foregrip back into position, then pulling the trigger. It's very simple, and kids of most ages will be able to do it.

The Raider was the first blaster to utilise 'slam fire'. This simply means you hold down the trigger and move the foregrip back and forth as quickly as possible. This is a lot faster than the traditional pull-push-trigger method, allowing for a ROF of 5 dps if done quickly enough. Particularly with practice, slam fire can put out a substantial wall of foam which is merely amplified by the huge capacity of the 35 dart drum.

The Raider's foregrip priming action is quite smooth, although due to its design the foregrip tends to scrape against the side of the rails on which it travels, shaving off small pieces of plastic and adding friction to the prime. This will likely vary between units, although mine was a particularly bad offender.\

The Raider is a notorious jammer.
The 35 dart drum features a somewhat slow feeding mechanism which not only increases misfire and jamming rates, but also limits rate of fire. Unlike modern 18 clip (mag) which can feed reliably extremely quickly, the 35 drum can start to jam up at 5dps and more, though this depends on the individual drum.
The inherent drum jamming rates are not helped by the Raider, which is more jam prone than the Recon. For whatever reason, the Raider feeds worse than the Recon, and can result on chopped darts, such as these:

This has happened to me frequently when just casually handling the Raider. I would imagine that prolonged war usage would cause far more jams of a more serious nature.

I've reviewed the Raider's stock a while ago, here.

Now onto the Raider's firing. It is an old blaster, so Recon like ranges are expected. It also has a long barrel, which reduces range but supposedly increases accuracy. The barrel is not removable as the foregrip needs it for a guide rail.
The Raider is reverse-plungered, so potential range is limited.
The Raider's ranges are approx 8m when single shotting, and 9-10m when slam firing; less than an AT, but still decent in an indoor war.
The Raider's accuracy is not as good as an AT or Longshot, although it is still bearable thanks to its capacity and ROF. It has one of the worst accuracies I've ever seen on a Nerf blaster.

The Raider retailed for $60-80 when first released. However, it is frequently available for $40 in Kmart and BigW in sales. Considering it comes with a unique drum and solid blue stock, $40 is a reasonable deal for the Raider.
I recommend this as it's not only good value for money, but it also bolsters your other blasters, and is a decent blaster in it's own right.
The Raider is useful as a booster pack for other clip (mag) system blasters because of its unique blue extendable and very sturdy stock, and its equally unique 35 dart drum. As a blaster however, the Raider is totally and utterly inferior to the Alpha Trooper (both N-Strike and Elite) and the Rampage, the Elite version of the Raider.

Pros:
Highest capacity available from Nerf (as of 1/1/2012) (which can be used in all CS blasters), stock is extremely sturdy, ROF can be up to 4-5dps - more than most blasters, generic CS blaster pros
Cons:
Accuracy and range are not the best (outclassed by AT), side clip (mag) dock gives the Raider bad weight distribution when using the 35 drum, clips (mags) and drums are difficult to remove from clip (mag) dock (due to design), 35 drum is ridiculously bulky, large and heavy (although useful in the Stampede), generic CS blaster cons

Power: 3/7
Accuracy: 2/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Usefulness: 4.5/5
Rate of fire: 4/5

Overall: 3.63/5

Personal Rating: 1.5/5 - never liked the Raider's design. The drum's too big and the Raider's too unbalanced. Also jams are frequent. Ranges and accuracy suck too. The stock is cool though, and the drum is useful for feeding things like the Stampede.

Awesome capacity, great booster, sub-par blaster.