Rant: "Crimson" or "Red" Strike

My SOTW-winning shot,
probably thanks to that blaster

On a cold morning of Black Friday in 2009, Wal-Mart shelves were stocked with 3 recolored blasters that would turn out to be some of the most sought-after recolors in N-Strike history.  Somewhere between the rarity of these blasters and the bold color choice, they've often been the centerpiece of a Nerf collector's N-Strike armory.  I'm talking of course, about the Red Strike series.

Nearly 2 years later, these blasters are still showing up on auctions for a pretty penny and always seem to get attention even though they are, essentially, recolored blasters.  There is nothing special performance-wise about these blasters.  It's just the color and their limited release that add to their "allure".  I myself am lucky enough to own the Longshot and Recon from this series, so I've done my "homework" about these blasters.  If there is one thing that has bothered me most about this rare series is the overwhelmingly big misconception about their name.

On the record, this series is called "Red Strike".  I have never seen anything printed on the boxes that suggests that they are called "Crimson Strike", which seems to be what everyone else has been calling them for the past 2 years.  I think a large part of the reason that they're so often referred to as "Crimson Strike" is because there are so many well-known folks in the online community who constantly refer to them as this.  So I did some more homework again to make sure that I wasn't crazy and that these are, in fact "Red Strike".

While neither the Longshot or Recon boxes explicitly state anything but "Exclusive Color", the Vulcan's box art clearly states in the upper right-hand corner "Red Strike".  It's the only box art that not only has the recolored blaster, but also has recolored graphics and labels.  The other two simply have recolored blasters with a stamp that says "Exclusive Color".

But don't feel bad!  Even the fine folks at the Nerf Wiki had long-since published their products as "Crimson Strike".  They have made the switch to "Red Strike", as I suggest you all do the same.  It's only right that we get the names of these rare blasters right.