Mail Bag .:
This section contains selected emails from the various emails iSoaker.com receives. Emails are left unedited with the exception of the removal of off-topic items and email addresses for privacy. Comments are posted after particular emails. Email addresses from senders are kept private.
Posted: 20050116 - From Ray
Yes the pump grip is smallest on the artic shock, the next biggest on the flash flood, then the triple shot is the larger of the 3 about the size of a maxD 2000, but I like it because you can hold the entire pump grip in your hand. One noticeable difference also is that the pump stem is more sturdy than previous models which have stems that tend to bend and feel flimsy. Well these new models seem to have stems made of solid through plastic which will not bend. The artic shock's pump stem is shorter than other models of its size but this gun still packs a good punch. This gun has one resevoir. The top part of the resevoir is just the back blue chamber which is connected to the bottom resevoir by the handle, so when you load water through the top part, it just flows through the handle to the bottom part of the chamber until the water fills up to the top part. The bottom chamber noticebley has a larger opening this cap is tethered to the gun. inside is a "removable core". This core has 2 parts, a sleeve, and a sort of icicle pop stick. You'll remove the stick part, fill the sleeve with water, insert the stick into the sleeve, then freeze. Remove core from freezer, separate stick from the sleeve and you have a icicle pop on a stick. You then place this "icicle pop on a stick" into the core chamber and close it up. Then load with water from the top part of the chamber. So see the water is cooled by simply by being around the icicle, which is about 6 inches long and 2 inches thick.(or you can just add ice). The arctic shock takes about 20 pumps to pressurize 100%, and is based upon air pressure technology. I don't know for sure if there is a separte pressure chamger for this gun, however just listening to it while I pump it, it sounds like it, and looks like the blue part behind the nozzle could be a separate pressure chamber. The resevoir holds 40oz. I don't know if the ice core is effective at cooling the stream I havent tried it yet, I figured the only way to truly test that would be under ideal (summer) conditions. The overall balance of the gun feels good and I would rate the power at a little better than the hydroblade.
iSoaker.com Comments: Thanks, Ray, for answering the questions I had sent earlier. Ever since first seeing pictures, I was a little curious about how the Arctic shock was set-up.
Posted: 20050107 - From Ray
I wasn't even aware that new super soakers were out yet by Hasbro. I went to Target yesterday and couldn't believe it. Anyway I was wondering do you have any of the new soakers and when will they be posted on the website? I purchased the new super soaker triple shot and the new super soaker flash flood. Both seem to work really well. The triple shot holds 17oz of water and you can rotate the the front nozzle to choose a regular beam, (which is probably 2x), or a 5x beam which is surprising for a soaker this size (its rather small), or a fan blast like that of the secret strike. The Flash flood is based upon CPS technology and produces a stream much like the Splashzooka but holds 40oz of water. On top is a lever which can be pull back to unleash the flash flood which is basically a riot blast that only last a second and only goes about 10ft. But both soakers have good range on regular setting. I plan to purchase the other new soaker called the "Arctic Freeze" or something like that which allows you to shoot cold water by freezing a special core then placing in the soaker or adding ice cubes.
iSoaker.com Comments: Sounds like great news! I look forward to getting my hands on some when they become available.'tis good news to have verification on the return of CPS-based blaster.
Posted: 20040717 - From Dark Elite
Turns out some of the old XPs aren't extinct after all. Toymaster in
Leicestershire, England seem to have a steady stream of XP85 Triple Shots
coming in. Oh dear. On a lighter note, they're also getting XP310s for £10
apiece. At last I've found a replacement for my clapped-out old 310. Along
with Air Hogs Vectors and Max-D 6000s, they might be heading towards some
more powerful blasters... Then again, maybe not...
P.S. Where HAVE all the big cannons gone? All year I haven't seen a single CPS for sale, nor any other weapon higher than a Max-D 6000! There are people who want to soak that are OVER six years old, you know! To all toy stores : Stock up on the big guns!
iSoaker.com Comments: Sadly, CPS-class soakers are rare these days. Seems like the general consumer prefers soakers below the $20 USD price which pretty much excludes the larger cannons. Perhaps the future will yield us more cannons again, but time will tell.
Posted: 20040614 - From Dark Elite
I have searched your website thoroughly (and read nearly every review on it, brilliant site!) but I still cannot find a blaster I used to have - The Storm 2500!
It works around a strange principle, it has two tanks, one main reservoir
and one 'Unlimitor' tank.
It is Air-Pressure based, with around 1.8X nozzle.
But what really sets it apart is the 'Blast' nozzle attached to the
pump, which, when the switch is toggled to 'blast on', sprays a sort of riot
blast when you pump, only with longer range. The blast nozzle is supplied by
the Unlimitor tank, meaning that if you hold the trigger, turn blast on and
pump, you get a long-range pinpoint shot and a riot-blast at the same time!
Also, it only seems to need 3-4 pumps to reach maximum range on the main
nozzle, making it very good for a close-up battle. Plus it features the
usual Storm photon beam thingy, for a 'liquid lighning' effect. Best used as
a torch in night battles, but you need to pull the trigger to turn it on, so
oh well.
The only reason I haven't got my Storm 2500 any more is because I bought it for £10 when I was between blasters (when my XP310 smashed), and, after
being thoroughly pleased with the general look and feel of the blaster as
well as it's perfomance, I realised this was not a blaster to use to keep
dry. This blaster will drench the user a lot more than any opponent short of
a CPS2000 (and that's saying something!). It seems to leak EVERYWHERE! It
leaks from the pump, the trigger mechanism, the reservoir, the blast nozzle,
basically anywhere that's watertight on a proper blaster, leaks on a Storm
2500. Pity, really...
iSoaker.com Comments: Leaks from everywhere? That doesn't sound so appealling anymore. Admittedly, iSoaker.com doesn't have many (just one) Storm Guns featured. When Storm Guns were new, I picked one up and tried it out, only to feel ripped off by the price and disillusion with its performance. I ended up opting to overlook that series.
Posted: 20040606 - From BKG
With the slim pickings of CPS-class blasters actually available for sale in
stores this year, I thought that your site might want to let people know
that they can buy a re-incarnated CPS 4100 at Toys-R-Us stores nationwide
for $19.99! This is apparently a special deal that they made with Larami/Hasbro, because it says right on the box that these blasters are
exclusively available at Toys-R-Us. The re-release comes packaged with 4
Soaker tags. They also have another re-release package with a pair of Max-D
Secret Strike blasters for the same $19.99, but I was not as interested in
this, since I already own more Air Pressure-type guns than I need.
The only other CPS-class blaster that I have found for sale these days is
last year's Blazer from Water Warrior (Buzz Bee Toys). I paid $20.99 for my
Blazer at K-Mart (the day before I found the CPS 4100 at Toys-R-Us). I
don't know if you are allowed to mention specific retail stores on your
website, but this seemed to be news that many of your visitors would like to
know. (Not everyone has the luxury of a large collection of rare and
discontinued CPS guns in their arsenal!)
BKG
P.S. Is it just me, or have all the blaster manufacturers decided that the market for water guns is ages 3-5 y/o? Every year the number of useless gadgets attached to mediocre (or worse) blasters seems to proliferate at the expense of any serious weaponry.
iSoaker.com comments: Thanks for the general heads-up on places to find soakers, particularly the CPS4100. This year, there just seems to be a dearth of higher-powered soakers. From my understanding, this is due to a general cap (~$20 USD) retailers seem to think people are willing to pay for soakers.
Posted: 20040606 - From Henry J.
SPLASH-OUT [water time bomb]
(C)2002? Toy Quest Co [product #01422]
(TM) Rudell ["Six Flags Over Texas"]
patents: U.S. 4,991,847 & 4,890,838
price: $1.98 [reduced from $4.99]
avail: Toys-R-Us [as of 01-May-04]
dia: 12.5 cm [4.9 in] weight: 170 g [6 oz]
capc: ~365 mL H2O* [assumes 1 cc ~1 mL.]
timer: ~20 sec
blast radius: ~0.3 m [12 in]
*Based on volume of #4 water balloon filled to 8.9 cm [3.5 in] diameter.
OPERATION: Device consists of outer casing, which separates into two halves. A #4 water balloon [10 supplied] is placed inside chamber and the casing reassembled. Upper casing half contains clockwork timer, which releases a needle that pierces the balloon, releasing the water. Lower casing half contains a safety interlock, which prevents timer from operating when device is disassembled.
COMMENTS: Originally designed as a "Hot Potato" water game. Device could be used as a "time bomb" in a reverse game of Capture the Flag. [First team to place and set off time bomb wins.] Blast effect is decidedly unimpressive, however. One could do more damage by simply hurling a water balloon
My interest in this device stems from a pet project: transposing Airborne Ranger missions into water wars scenarios. [Airborne Ranger was a computer game released by MicroProse in 1987.] Most of the missions featured are versions of classic war games such as Capture the Flag ["Steal a codebook"], a variation on Assassin ["Capture an enemy officer"], and Prisoner Escort ["Free the prisoners/ hostages]. Several of the mission scenarios, however, involve demolitions. To that end, I offer this review of Splash-Out for your consideration. Again, results are unimpressive, but otherwise, not a bad toy for under $2!
iSoaker.com comments: interesting device, but not sure yet whether to include it in the main soaker database just yet.
