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Best Water Guns for 2023 – CNET [CNET]
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Check out the best water guns to maximize your outdoor fun, whether you’re at the pool, the beach or having an epic battle in your backyard.
Steve Conaway Labs Manager / Senior Technical Project Manager
I am the Labs Manager for CNET’s Home Division based in Louisville, KY. My interest in technology began in the early ’90s, and soon after I began my double major in computer science and computer engineering. I’ve worked in many areas, including computer hardware, software, technology, networking, graphic design, instruction, construction, music and even ballroom dancing! 65% Ron Swanson, 25% Ben Wyatt, 10% Andy Dwyer.
Expertise I’ve been an outdoor enthusiast my entire life. I also renovate, flip and build houses in my ‘spare’ time. Paired with our test lab facilities, I write about lots of outdoor related things – portable power stations, tools, etc.
I never spent much time choosing water guns based on performance metrics. Most of the time, I might be inspired by the coolest-looking one or how advertisers catch my attention more often (looking at you Nerf). But rest assured, after my experience testing some of the best water guns, there are huge differences in best use cases as well as performance.
While some of these models are better for pools, others are more suited for backyards. Or beaches. None of that is unusual. What I did learn, surprisingly, is that some of these water guns are specifically not intended for those uses. Imagine I show up to a fancy pool water gun fight (that’s a thing, right?) with my new, $179 water gun only to spend all day grumbling because I can’t even take the thing into the pool.
Or maybe I’m chasing my dogs around the yard, unleashing the moisture apocalypse upon them, but I have to run back to the kitchen sink after every single shot. Ugh.
Well, don’t worry about being caught in these dire circumstances. I’m here to walk you through the best, and worst, water guns for your situation. Here we go.
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Nerf Super Soaker Hydra
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Nerf Super Soaker Hydra
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Nerf Super Soaker Hydra
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The Super Soaker brand has long been synonymous with summer, water guns and getting super-ly soaked. One important factor in staying in the fight longer is how much water you can carry without having to refill. The Hydra tops our list at 2.1 liters (just over half a gallon) water capacity, which is a third of a liter more than second place (also a Super Soaker), and a whole liter more than the largest capacity of a non-Super Soaker.
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Spyra Two battery powered water gun
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Spyra Two battery-powered water gun
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Spyra Two battery-powered water gun
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Yes, it’s a water gun. Yes, it costs $149. It’s tough to fully condone spending the best part of $200 on a water gun, but it is cool, so I can’t stay mad for long.
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TEMI Super Blaster water guns
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TEMI Super Blaster water guns
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TEMI Super Blaster water guns
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First things first, I bought these by accident. I mean, I meant to buy them, but I misunderstood what they were, and I’m glad I did.
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X-Shot Water Warfare Blaster
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X-Shot Water Warfare Blaster
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X-Shot Water Warfare Blaster
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This category nearly features two winners, but I dropped the Temi water gun because even though it’s great for pools, it pretty much requires a pool to be used. The X-Shot gun, like most water guns, can be filled quickly then the battle can move wherever. Try that with the Temi and you’ll be reduced to a single shot capacity.
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KULARIWORLD 1500cc water blaster
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KULARIWORLD 1500cc water blaster
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KULARIWORLD 1500cc water blaster
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The Kulariworld blaster honestly didn’t fare well in our tests.
Other water guns we tested
Nerf Super Soaker XP50-AP: Old-school design stands the test of time. It didn’t fare particularly well in our testing, having the lowest soak factor overall, but the pressurized shooting design is fun, but may keep you out of a quicker paced skirmish with plunger or automatic options available.
Nerf Super Soaker Soakzooka: This was actually a great product, just not a category winner. Third highest soak factor, and was the only gun to actually shoot farther than its stated claims at 30 feet versus 25.
Team Magnus Incog Water Guns 1,200cc: This gun had one of my favorite looks. It holds a lot of water because it’s basically all capacity and no fluff. It doesn’t shoot very far in comparison to our other tested units, but it’ll keep you in the game for a while, taking about 1 minute, 15 seconds to empty — even constantly shooting.
Spyra LX: With the release of the Spyra Two this year, we also wanted to compare it to the previous model. In some ways this version can be more useful since it can be fully submerged without all those internal electronics, but as far as performance goes, the new generation wins (other than the LX being able to dump its full load about 6 seconds faster, for a higher soak factor). If you like the look, but don’t want to drop $149 on the Spyra Two, The LX is more manageable at $79.
How we test water guns
The nature of water itself makes some aspects of testing water guns a bit difficult, but I feel good about the process overall.
To start, we need to know how much water these things will hold. I do this by weight. Since 1 milliliter of water weighs 1 gram, it’s easy to measure capacity with a scale. After subtracting the empty blaster weights, you can see in the table below exactly how the capacities shake out. The Nerf Super Soaker Hydra has the overall largest capacity followed by its Super Soaker sibling. The least capacity was definitely the Temi blaster since it only stores the water for a single burst at a time.
Enlarge Image
Once the capacities are locked down, I then go through the process of shooting each gun as quickly as possible to find the shortest amount of time possible to empty that capacity. I have help from someone with a timer, and sometimes have to do multiple runs. Sitting around and shooting water guns for a couple of hours nonstop is way more of a workout than i expected.
You can see here that typically, if it takes a long time (over 30 seconds) to empty a water gun, its overall soak factor (capacity divided by empty time) is pretty low. And, although quickest dump time doesn’t always mean the highest soak factor, that is exactly how it works out with the Temi. With a moderate one-shot capacity at just over 500mL, the 1.8 seconds it takes to empty gives it a massive soak factor of almost 300.
The Super Soaker siblings come in second and third with similar empty times, but the Hydra’s larger capacity gives it a better soak factor. The old school Nerf XP50-AP and Team Magnus guns have median capacities and low soak factors, but keep you in the fight for much longer than their counterparts.
Enlarge Image
The only other measured test we run is for distance. This one is fairly simple in design, but has a touch of abstractness to it.
Holding the blaster at the same starting point, height and angle, I let out several blasts, usually five, until I am sure than I can’t get the water any farther on an outdoor concrete surface, which discolors well with water. I then measure from the starting point to the furthest edge of the water markings — discounting any stray single drops.
Water gun FAQs
What is a water bullet gun?
Water gel/bullet guns, aka soft gel guns shoot small biodegradable polymer water beads. The beads start out small and dry but before use, you soak them in water so they expand in size to be loaded into the blasters.
How much does the most powerful water gun cost?
Currently, the Spyra Two is the most expensive water gun on the retail market at $149 (plus shipping). Overall, sub-$20 offerings are the cheapest water guns, $20s in the medium range, and the more expensive water guns start in the $30s.
Which water gun has the longest range?
Most water guns boast ranges of 30-50 feet, but in reality, rarely do they shoot farther than about 30 feet.
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