The Spyra LX
Pros
TBD
Cons
TBD
Submitted Review .:
by Hydrogen31
Spyra LX: released in 2022.
Dimensions: 62 (length) X 21.6 (height) X 8.1 (width) cm.
Weight empty: 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).
Weight full of water: 2.2 kg (4.9 lbs).
Official water capacity: 700 ml.
Review:
Introduction: The Spyra LX is the first ever non-electric water blaster released by Spyra. It maintains the incredible single-shot technology of the electric counterparts, but with no need to worry about charging a battery. This, of course, has some drawbacks. It is a medium to large-sized water blaster that uses an elastic bladder pressure chamber, similarly to the old school SC and CPS Super Soakers, which delivers water bullets with similar power to its electric counterparts.
Usage: Just like the electric Spyras, to load the blaster you need to submerge the front part of it in a container with water inside and then use the manual pump, located at the back of the blaster, to suck in the water directly into the pressure chamber. The amount of time it takes to pump depends on how fast you do it, but generally takes around the same time as it would for an electric Spyra to do it with its pump. You can monitor its water level by looking at an indicator on the side of the blaster, just like the ones you find on the pressure chambers of some SC and CPS Super Soakers.
After you are loaded, you just need to pull the trigger, and bullets of water with very impressive range will come out of the very big nozzle (a 10X). The bullets have very similar power to the electric versions; however, they tend to get dispersed a little sooner than those, meaning that if you are shooting under 8-10 meters there will be practically no difference, but if you are long-range sniping, you will be better off with the electric ones, which keep the bullets compact till the end.
The good thing when compared to the older electric versions (Spyra One and Two) is that you don’t have “loaded bullets,” meaning that you can spam the fire trigger as quickly as you want, potentially soaking someone in a few seconds. Of course, this advantage is lost if you compare it to the Spyra Three or newer models.
Durability: This is one of the issues of this blaster: even though the exterior is made of the same rock-solid plastic, the internal springs tend to fail quite often. For example, the trigger of my unit, after some time of use, started to not go back up after pulling it. After that, the internal spring—which is responsible for instantly closing the water valve after shooting—stopped closing the water, making it act like an actual SC or CPS Super Soaker, creating a huge blast of water that reached insane distances (16 m). That was fun and all, but soon after this happened, the blaster completely stopped shooting, and I had to open it in order to get the water out of the pressure chamber. This issue is quite widely spread with this model.
So, even though the blaster is fully mechanical (which would make you think it's more durable) and has similar capabilities when compared to the electric models, it seems like the internal mechanism is not as durable as those. That said, if you do manage to get lucky and get a unit that for some reason does not present this issue, or perhaps you find a way to fix it, I believe that this water blaster could have similar durability to old school water blasters, potentially lasting decades.
Here is a summary of its pros and cons:
Pros:
1) Cool modern design.
2) Very fun to use, with a solid grip and quick refill (if you pump quickly).
3) Very good range, just a little less than the electric counterparts, very powerful water bullets, and decent water output.
4) Has solid, durable exterior materials.
Cons:
1) Requires a bucket of water to use.
2) Not a lot of water capacity; you will need to reload quite often.
3) It presents the durability issue I described.
Weapon statistics:
- Tank size: 700 ml
- Max range at 45°: 11-13 m (some shots go a bit further than others)
- Max range aiming flat: 9.5-10.5 m
- Effective range (the max range you will actually be able to get a decent hit on someone): 11 m
- Shots in one tank: 18-22
- Shot output: around 30 ml
- Output per second: depends on how fast you pull the trigger
Conclusions: the Spyra LX is quite a fun and effective water blaster that can be used in most situations. i can recommend it for basically any type of water fight, as its output and range are enough to rival most other water guns. You will definitely have the upper hand if the enemy is using basic modern super soakers, but be careful if there are any SC or CPS super soaker users, as those are still superior blasters in terms of water output.
The price of the Spyra LX i believe started at 84 $/€, but was later reduced to 64. Nowdays this blaster is no longer being produced ad was replaced by newer versions, that hopefully don’t have the same issues. If you can find it for 50 $/€ or less i can still recommend this blaster today, as its power and water fight style is much different than all other water guns, but if you have the money to buy one of the electric versions, i would advise to do that, as they are all round better, more fun and more durable options.
Power: 55. Range: 80. Encumbrance: 60. Ergonomics: 80. Capacity: 30. Overall: 70
Images .:
Related Content .:
Product Listing Page | Nerf Super Soaker Product Evolution Tree | Predicting Pump-Action Performance
Additional Resources
Water Blaster: Basics | Care, Cleaning, and Storage | Soaker Use: Basics|Repair Articles
:: SPYRA LX
