When I was younger we had these toy guns called “tracer” guns. These guns used
discs, called tracers that were launched out the gun by a spring. The range was, at best, about 10 feet and as a child it was quite cool. These blue or gold colored guns could hold 20 discs at a time and since the discs were nickel-sized were lost very easily. Nerf has brought back disc technology in as big way as the Nerf Vortex system.
The Nerf Vortex launches neon green discs about 1.5 inches across. The discs are a foam ring around a hard plastic core. These are much harder to lose than the tracer discs of yesterday, unless you are shooting them in the grass. If there is light green in your lawn you may have to look around a bit.
The initial release of the Vortex line is four blasters, Proton, Virgilon, Praxis and Nitron Blasters. The Virgilon holds 5 discs, The Praxis is a Blaster Rifle with a 10 disc capacity clip, and The Nitron is the big boy. The Nitron Blaster can go full auto and has a clip with 20 disc capacity. Although there are 4 blasters, this review if for the base model of the Vortex line, The Proton.
I have waited awhile for the release of this line of blasters from Nerf. Everything that I saw on line made me think that I would be replacing my dart blasters for the disc line. After trying the Proton I don’t see that happening. The Proton is lightweight with a very sleek 
design. The gun measures approximately 10 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. It is a single shot blaster which you load by pulling back the breach and inserting the disc. There is a level on the side that when thumbed, slides the breach closed loading the weapon. The gun has a safety feature that when cocked, if it does not have a disc in place it will not fire.
The range that I was able to achieve was about 45 feet with varying accuracy. There were several shots where the disc had a pronounced wobble. I do not know if it was moisture from the grass that caused this or it is a glitch in the firing mechanism. It has repeated itself since so it could also be a slight flaw in the disc itself.
Bottom line is The Proton is a great introduction to the Vortex line. I like the design but find the color scheme unappealing. The biggest complaint I have about The Proton is that there is no storage for the extra discs. Some of the single shot Dart Tag or N-Strike Blasters have a spot for extra darts for quick reloads, The Proton does not. The Proton retails for about 9.99. Toys R Us actually sell all of the Vortex line for about 5 dollars more than Target or your local retailer so unless you need it now wait until you find it cheaper. I am looking forward to what else Nerf has in store for fans and I hope that the Vortex is just an addition to the Nerf family and not a replacement for N-Strike.
