Have Sabre and Spectre revived HPA?

Well, definitely maybe.

After attending a few games running HPA I’m left thinking why this form of propulsion isn’t more widely used within the hobby. After all, there’s crossover with Airsoft and Paintball so for those with tanks, regulators and remote lines the barrier to entry is relatively low…

However, the Nerf hobby is massively diverse and even more niche within the UK projectile sport scene. Generally players get involved for the love of scratch building, the games being “less serious” (i.e focused less on MilSim), the variety of blasters and diversity of the community in general. A huge bearing on this is also cost: Nerf is relatively cheap to get into and you can make it as frugally attractive or expensive as you want and still be “competitive” at both ends of the spectrum.

So does a blaster, core and ancillaries costing between £5-£600 fill a gap? Or does it create a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist?

The answer is: it depends.

Firstly, HPA usage has been gaining more traction within the UK scene after nearly dying out post pandemic. The ability to vary FPS by turning a dial is extremely attractive, not having to carry batteries, rate of fire and simplicity being additional key features. As is the noise. Oh, the noise!

This isn’t Spectre’s first core but it is Sabres first collaborative manufacturing effort with Spectre.

We do of course have the closed bolt SuperCore which features 50ml of air volume vs SniperCore’s 31ml.

So the SniperCore requires more pressure than Super? Does this mean the SniperCore is less powerful than the SuperCore?

Yes. Yes it does.

The naming of the cores hasn’t helped in clearly defining their purpose. In the future the cores will be renamed “CQBCore and DMRCore” which makes more sense.

With SniperCore being the first open bolt system there’s no need to deprime or re-prime the blaster after reloading which enables the user to be more effective when speed is of the essence. The pushing or loading of the dart into the breach and firing are all done while pulling the trigger. In theory this single motion will give better Rate of Fire over a closed bolt system: comparisons due in the future to test this theory.

The closed bolt system of the SuperCore will offer better accuracy (as the dart is loaded into the breach before air is released from the core) and due to higher volume of air: higher FPS for the same pressure as the SniperCore. This core is easily capable of over 300FPS where the SC would top out at 250.

So, that’s a bit of a whistlestop on the cores. Now: the body.

Typically hobbyists will engineer or 3D print their own blasters much like Springers and Flywheelers outside of one box solution brands such as Worker, Sabre, HC, XShot etc. You are only transferring the firing engine (the core) and ancillaries from one body to another so it’s purely down to preference and budget. Available examples are the Neutrino, Polarstar, Spectre’s ADHD and Nir0daha’s Bullpup design.

The Sabre Abraham offers a “real steel” feel even in its Prototype form with a weight not too dissimilar to a Worker Seagull. (Even having a tank strapped to my back goes unnoticed.) With both cores almost being one box solutions asides from a few couplings, hoses and a Valve, the ability to very quickly build a durable blaster with an excellent finish is definitely attractive to some users. Not everyone wants to scratch build or 3D print.

That said, there are a few improvements needed before the retail model is finalised. These may be fairly obvious but if not, I’ll leave you to decide what they should be from the images.

Costs wise we’re lead to believe the Abraham Body will be full CNC and therefore a similar price to the Apex Prime (without the core or ancillaries). Be this the case if you’re starting from scratch you’re looking at £600-£700 all in.

The Abraham will certainly be popular with those unwilling to compromise on material and those who want a real steel finish. After all, Apex’s are sold and used regularly at high FPS games in the UK…

How popular will the Abraham and SniperCore be in the UK? I guess we’ll wait and see!

So…”it depends”… getting into HPA depends on your motivations, budget, play style and access to HPA permitting games. There are plenty of value solutions out there that cater to many needs and motivations. As a higher end mostly complete proposition, does the SniperCore by itself, the Abraham by itself or both combined fill a load out void and will it compliment your play style? Only you can answer that question.

I’m hoping the SniperCore and future re-release of the DMR or SuperCore are drivers behind HPA’s growth within the hobby. More HPA gear, more interest, more players of all budgets and styles, more Nerf, more better.

Full video review coming soon!