Super Soaker Central

Hey guys,

I was surfing through amazon.com for a high powered watercannon when I stumbled upon a watercannon dubbed the "Splash Attack Beast Water Cannon."
(http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?ur ... ter+Cannon)
The advertisement said that it could shoot splashballs 50 ft. and had a water stream that could go 20 ft. Does anyone know whether or not the performance of this blaster is good enough to match the CPS blasters?

Thanks,
Isaac

The stream doesn't sound very powerful, and the splashballs seem to me like a gimmick. I don't think it sounds very useful, although I may be wrong.

To me they look like paintballs you fill with water. The description says it shoots like paintball. So i'm guessing thats what it is.
Its just a gimmick that is made to sell the gun

So its probably just a waste of money?

Thanks,
Isaac

I think there was some discussion about this water gun here or at iSoaker.net but the gun itself is pathetic. 20 feet is bad for a water gun and 50 feet is bad for something like a water balloon. Don't waste your money on it.

Ok. Thanks guys for your responses!

Yep, we've seen it before. Just to clarify, I think it shoots plain old paintballs, not "splashballs." 20 feet is half the range of a decent water gun and 50 feet is a quarter the range of a decent paintball marker. And I wouldn't want a paintball gun in a water war and vice versa (not that I play paintball). So, that's another no-go...

I guess its really overpriced for its performance.

Thanks,
Isaac

I've seen different versions of the same concept. The 'splashballs' are mini versions of the foam ball water bombs you can get. As such, they're reusable, but their small size means their unlikely to get the target very wet.
If the range really is what's claimed then it could be of some use in one-hit-kills with no minimum wetness. But that's about it. And I view all range claims with skepticism.
Only other thing it's gonna be useful for is variety in your collection. (The same reason why I got a Shield Blaster)

Ok,

Thanks,
Isaac

PS. Is the Shield Blaster a soaker worth getting?

Hmm, on closer look I am wrong - splashballs aren't paintballs. The Amazon description says they're reusable, as cantab mentioned. But remember, good water guns can get that range with plain water.

Shield Blasters aren't worth it in my opinion. They're not powerful so you wouldn't want to get one for use in a water war. I guess it depends on whether you consider the shield to be novelty or gimmick.

Which one?
Most of the Shield Blasters aren't great. I've got the 2000, haven't done range testing yet.

Cons:
It feels somewhat uncomfortable to hold, especially for long periods.
You must have left hand wielding and right cranking, not the other way round.
The stream pulsates, most noticeably with slow cranking.
Cranking somehow feels more tiring than pumping.
It can't be fired one-handed.
The shield is too small to reliably keep you dry, though it's more blocking area than most guns have.
It's also flimsy enough that I reckon a big stream, or direct water bomb hit, would just knock it down.
The reservoir cap is small by modern standards.

Pros:
You can shoot constantly until the reservoir runs out, but that's not as uncommon a capability as you might think. Besides the obvious motorised blasters, some pressurised blasters have low enough outputs that you can 'keep up'. And of course there's the Steady Stream.
Choice of nozzles. Three streams and a triple.

In short, probably not worth getting. Many other guns are better, and an umbrella makes a much better shield!

UPDATE: Range, while not atrocious, is not brilliant. You have to crank the handle pretty fast to get decent range.
The pulsation is VERY noticeable. It's also very difficult to precisely aim the gun when you're cranking it. The result is that while it serves for soaking a general area (on any nozzle), accurate shots at angled range limit are next to impossible. That means you'll be wasting water instead of getting it all on your target.

A couple of mods spring to mind as unique for the shield blasters. Motorisation is one possibility; get a suitable motor and battery and just slap it on the side in place of the crank. Wouldn't even need to open the gun.
Another is replacing the peristaltic pump with a different one. Provided it's possible to crank fast enough (perhaps using gearing) I reckon a centrifugal pump would be better.
With those two together, you could perhaps get something more like a bigger version of the tarantula. Though I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.

I've heard that the Shield Blaster 3000 isn't bad, but that the ones with lower numbers in their designations were poor in performance.

Thanks,
Isaac

@cantab: Neat idea to motorize a Shield Blaster. It shouldn't be too difficult to do and would make a reasonable electronically actuated water gun. Cheap drill motors should work and I don't imagine the modification would be too difficult. Someone with some free time and a spare Shield Blaster should give it a try...

Yummy, Shield Blaster modifications!

The 3000 essentially is a shield, you could gut the gun and still use the shielding capabilities. Or, like Nerf, integrate the gun to another, such as the Max-D 5 or 6000, and you have a shield blaster 5/6000! Another plus, it's no longer cranked!