Whilst browsing Facetube and Youbook, I watched a
great review by
Bobololo about the
Dorm Labs Red Dot (Pinpoint) Sight. I had seen this product mentioned before and thought "Man, that looks an awful lot like the
NcSTAR Red Dot DP sight that I've been using for awhile". His review showed everything that it came with, including a little bag of goodies that nailed down my suspicion. To wrap up his review, Bobo said the price was a bit steep, as Dorm Labs was listing this Red Dot for $24.99
on their website. So I went back to Amazon.com where I originally purchased a handful of the NcSTAR sights for my Laser Tagging group to use to check on the price. List price is $12.99 with a sale price of $9.65
on the link I used.
Somewhere between getting rid of the gold "NcSTAR" logo on the top of the sight and redeveloping a clamp specifically designed for a Nerf Tactical Rail that worked just fine straight out of the box in the first place,
Dorm Labs has doubled the price on a plastic red dot sight for Tacti-cool Nerfers to purchase. I'm all for folks making "aftermarket" Nerf Accessories. Folks like SlyDev, Orange Mod Works, Xplorer, and a handful of other guys have been making great products. Dorm Labs have made other great products before, but I know this product they're selling... and I know that it already works without modification in my own personal experience. I made a review of this versatile accessory back in
July of 2012, so it's not like this is "new" at all. It just kinda bugs me that Nerfers who need a Red Dot sight could get their kicks for 10 bucks instead of the one that Dorm Labs "made". Did I miss something, or could Bobo have gotten his Red Dot sight for half the price? Polishing cloth and all.
Didn't take long for a response to this. Seems like a reasonable explanation.
Hey guys,
Wanted to take a second to post an official response to this. A lot of our products are derived from airsoft components, we've said that from the beginning. In this specific case, the red dot base assembly that we use is very likely made by NcStar or at least in one of their factories. We're not 100% sure since we purchase them through a separate distributor, but it sure looks like it based on your article.
When we were testing the red dot sights in the very beginning, before we even started selling them, we thought we weren't even going to have to make an adapter, which would have been great. However, there are a few problems with this. As Owen mentioned above regular clamps fit most, but not all Nerf rails securely. Certain blasters it would fit really snug, and other ones it would pop right off. You can't sell something that is guaranteed to fit on Nerf blasters, and then have it only fit on 75% of them. That was the main reason for designing and printing an adapter. Furthermore, we found out it would be violating some very serious firearm export laws if we were to ship them anywhere outside of the US as they are normally sold. The adapter makes them only compatible for Nerf blasters and therefore, no harm done by shipping them overseas.
If anyone has any other questions on this please feel free to contact us. We're not trying to rip anyone off, we're trying to bring cool unique products to the Nerf community that were previously not easily accessible or didn't exist at all.
Best Regards,
Dorm Labs
This isn't really related, but I'm trying to turn my Longstrike into a laser tag blaster. However I don't want to maul my LTAR to get lenses. I was wondering where you get your custom lenses, and if you have any tips for choosing the right lens and, when installing it, getting the focal length and orientation right (making it shoot straight and accurate).
ReplyDeleteRelevant or not, it's a fantastic question. The lens we used on that one pictured is from a Laser Challenge Virtual Paintball set (sounds odd, but it's got quite the st of optics). As far as mounting them, find a flat surface on the blaster and just mount it in there as best you can. If it's off by a bit, having an Adjustable Red Dot Sight means you can correct whatever inaccuracy the lens might have.
DeleteThanks, 'Zook (or is it Baz? =P ). There's a real lack of Lazer Tag mod guides online compared to dart blasters.
DeleteThat's why I'm here! ;) Yeah, most folks shorten it to "Zook", but I've seen "Baz" before too. Actually, most folks just mispronounce or spell it as "Bazooka Field".
DeleteI've heard this sight needs a size adapter for a tagger.
DeleteLots of Dormlabs stock is simply bulk bought "Airsoft" grade equipment simply re-mounted a bit to suit Nerf rails. They have some good ideas but execution and pricing still need a bit more development. I get that they have to make money, but the extra parts they add don't quite justify the mark up, given that this sight bolts onto nerf rails already!
ReplyDeleteAs the gentleman who is mentioned by name in the response I would like to officially say that I did NOT say that standard clamps would fit most N-strike rails. That is a damned lie
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that an adapter is needed to attach it to a weaver rail a LXT, or LTTO. Or are you just refering to fitting Nerf taggers in general?
DeleteNerf taggers in general.
Deletegee thats a bit rough mike how much is genuine nerf rds i bet it cost more.i have the same rds as well and there is no markings on it or the box with ncstar. i paid $20 to someone in the NIC not 10 bucks to one of the 'big' company's...fair go mate
ReplyDeleteZook, how are the batteries in this thing? I read that it uses 2032 batteries, how many? how long do they last?
ReplyDeleteIt uses one 2032 battery. They don't last very long if you leave the power switch on! lol Other than that, it's not too bad for battery life.
ReplyDelete