Features:

  • Bolt-action blaster
  • Includes 7 high-impact rounds
  • Fires rounds at a velocity of 100 feet per second (30 meters per second)
  • Easy-load magazine, trigger lock, and tactical rail
  • Comes with red and blue team flags
  • NOTE: Refer the User Guide before use.
  • Skill level: intermediate
EXCELLENT AND LOTS OF FUN

We picked up a few of these and they are fun. You can be shot with them and they do not hurt but they will fly across the house with accuracy. Of course you should use eye protection as a direct hit from there will hurt. The clips load in realistically and with a button will slide out. You will need more ammo as these go quick. I recommend for the family fun.

Super impressed!

All I can say is these things are a ton of fun. They are easy to use....super accurate....and super powerful.. wouldn't suggest for people who can't handle small sting from Nerf ball.....they literally sing along quite quickly. My 4 year old and 7 year old battle around the house and both kids have face mask goggle things....a shot to the eye would most definitely hurt and could cause damage to eyeball. Great price....beat Nerf guns ever...(rival in general).. worth every penny.

Averages 94 FPS; auto-return ambidextrous side-priming handle; weaker to, but more practical than the Apollo.

My ProChrono Digital chronograph measured the speed of the Rival rounds fired by this stock Phantom Corps Helios blaster at an average of 94 feet per second (FPS). The standard average velocity of a Nerf Rival blaster is 100 FPS, so the Helios’ velocity rating is just under the average, but just remember that for a “springer” type blaster, typically the stronger it is, the harder it will be to prime (to compress the internal spring enough to operate the blaster). Younger “Nerfers” should have a harder time using the blaster but I believe the new auto-return priming “bolt” handle should help a bit with the overall operation. The blaster was designed for teenagers, after all, and it is still easier to operate over the awkward top-priming Apollo. The closest related blaster to the Helios happens to be the Apollo. In fact, one could argue that the Helios is the Apollo MK2. The Helios comes with a detachable priming handle (for lefties, righties, or ambidextrous people), a 7-ball magazine, 7 balls (including the display ball embedded in the standard packaging), and 2 Rival flags (1 red and 1 blue). Minimalistic, but for the money, I suppose it is a decent deal. The Helios is compatible with the same Rival 12-round magazine that the Zeus, Hera, Apollo, and Atlas can use, so coming with a small magazine is not a big concern for most people. It’s body frame and tactical rail location are close in size and placement to the Apollo, but it is a bit thicker and the tactical rail is twice as long as the Apollo’s. The detachable handle is a great innovation so long as you do not lose it. It allows the user to switch the handle from left to right and vice versa by pushing a hidden lever at the base of the priming handle area and pulling the priming handle out. As far as ergonomics go, the size of the handles may be a bit too much on the thick side for people with smaller hands, but I have no qualms about the pistol grip because I feel that it needs to be big enough to fit a magazine inside of it. The Helios’ trigger-pull is nice and smooth. It does not have a Slam-fire function (which it does not need to have, by the way), but the auto-return on the priming handle is a very nice addition. Nerf Guru, Coop had discovered that if you Prime the Helios (like an Apollo) by pulling back and pushing forward on the priming handle instead of letting it automatically return on it’s own, that it actually might jam. He was able to deduce that the auto-return function might just be interrupted by the user’s operation and cause a jam. I had not had a jam, but it is good knowing that bit of information (and so now you know about it; pass it on). The Jam-access door is on the left side below the priming handle, and it is very small. How small? Well, you can barely fit a Rival round through it, so IMHO: it is too small. There is an orange anti-lock release lever located on the left side in close proximity to the thick rear lower sling/ flag or team-color mount. This location for a flag mount is probably the hardest flag location for people to see, but whatever. Anyway, the anti-lock release lever may come in handy at some point if your blaster gets stuck, but mine has yet to seize-up. The other sling mount above the barrel is thin and flat and pretty much unusable (actually, come to think about it, I don’t think it was designed to be one). There is a trigger-lock lever or “safety” lock above the main trigger on both sides of the blaster. The magazine release button is located on the back of the base of the pistol grip. I find this mag-release to be slightly difficult to press and the 12 dart magazines seem to have some sort of awkward resistance whilst pulling the magazines’ out for a reload, kind of like it’s Phantom Corps brethren, the Hera. In conclusion, keeping the price low and the benefits high is a plus for the Helios. I know that those who love “springers” were itching for a legitimate replacement for the awkward mid-top-hook-Prime Apollo. They will be happy to know that the Helios fills that void quite well. For the time being I feel the Helios deserves a 5-star rating. For now, anyway. This is obviously subject to change if I discover any severe flaws or critical shortcomings and I will return to change my rating and explain my findings in detail (time of this review dated 12-19-2017).

Fun, with solid performance

This is a fun blaster with solid performance. Got it for less then $20 which I think is a reasonable price point for this blaster. I like mag fed blasters I think they are fun, and the mags for these are usually reasonable. I think I paid less $7 for the 12 round mags, and they came with 18 rounds of ammo. Fun, Simple, Rival blaster.

The Helios is a good replacement/alternative to the Apollo

The Helios is a good replacement/alternative to the Apollo. The priming handle being on the side makes for a full tac rail on top, and having the primer be spring loaded means you only have to use one motion to prime. After you let go of the priming handle, the bolt slides forward on its own. Also, it's more comfortable than the Apollo. There's an actual buttstock and there's a place to hold in front of the trigger, rather than the Apollo's slanted trigger guard being in the way. I like how the phantom corps line has taken the disadvantages of the original two Rivals (Zeus and Apollo) and fixed them with the two new models (Hera and Helios). Also, sling mounts. Thank you.

Awesome entry level rival spring blaster.

First of all, there are way better blasters in the nerf rival line up. This blaster, the Helios, is a direct successor to the Apollo blaster. It is a 7 round (upgradable to 12) magazine fed, spring powered blaster. Keep in mind the rival line up now has a full-auto 200 round hopper fed blaster (Prometheus) so the Helios will not be the baddest blaster on the block. What the Helios does offer is a well built quality blaster at a great price. This blaster is perfect for a group of kids running around the neighborhood with a bunch of spring powered blasters. It's a lot of fun and accurate. But in the hierarchy of serious nerf blasters, this is just a little fish. Still, I think the quality and overall feel of this blaster is incredible. Just don't compare it with the other high capacity full auto offerings in the nerf rival series like the Nemesis and Prometheus.

Nerf wars are an absolute blast!

A heap of fun. I bought 4 of these for myself and my kids and we have an absolute blast running around the house shooting each other. We have not had 1 issue with jamming as other reviews have said even with another brand of ammo that is made for these guns. 2 things that I would reccomend purchasing with these are 1. A lot of extra ammo. These are round balls that will roll and find their way under everything. 2. Goggles or face masks as these things will come at you quick (100 fps) and if you get hit in the eye I could see these doing some damage. The handle used to cock these things is reversible depending on which hand you use. Magazine holds 7 shots and if you put one in the chamber the gun holds 8. Loving these so far but losing a lot of ammo under the couches.

Way easier to prime!

My 6yr old son plays outside with his neighbor friends which are around 10-12 years old and they love nerf wars. However, nerf rival has been hard for him because they are hard to prime since he is so little and he wants rival so he can be like the big kids! Tried multiple blasters and they were hard, and the battery powered ones were heavy for him to lug around. Saw this and bought him it to try and surprisingly he was able to prime this one. Struggled at first but he did it and was super excited and got the hang of it and is doing it easy now and loves it. Actually even shoots better than his friends rival blasters! Overall great purchase!

My husband loves this nerf gun, but unless your ...

My husband loves this nerf gun, but unless your boys are tough then this gun might not be for you. It hurts when you get shot. Powerful.

LIKE NERF & PAINTBALL, IN ONE!!!

My son got his first Helios as a gift. He also got a separate extended Cartridge and balls. So for Christmas, I got another Helios, a 4 extended cartridge pack, and a 100 balls. these are so much fun. I never liked the darts. They always were a pain to get working. I also think full auto on Nerf stuff is kind of cheating. Plus, the addition of having to charge the device and its an additonal area for problems. The Helios and the Nerf balls is the best thing they've ever made. It's the perfect begining area for anyone interested in Airsoft or Paintball. It's perfect for indoors or neighborhood kid games. I would suggest wearing eye protection though. The ball comes at you at a good clip. The Goggles by Dewalt are perfect. These are so much fun and one of the more affordable Nerf guns. I would also get a 100 or 200 balls, so during a battle they'll be everywhere. Just accept that these balls will be found all over your house.

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