Payload / Ammunition

By: iSoaker.com

The choice of soaker to be used is critical for any games, but the choice of payload can provide more interesting twists. By altering the temperature of the water used, the target of the stream may suffer an added consequence along with getting wet.

Only clean, clear water should be used in any water blaster. Other liquids could be quite damaging to the soaker. iSoaker.com does not condone, support or recommend the use of any other liquid apart from clean, clear water.

Temperature Ranges

The following is a short list of water temperatures and their potential effects.

• ICE-COLD: Ice-cold refers to water that has been chilled (usually with ice) to near freezing. (Loading ice into the water reservoirs is NOT advised) Freezing cold water has a sting to it when it hits, especially during late-evening or night games.
• COLD: Standard payload from most taps or hoses. Most people expect this type of water to be used. No advantage to using it.
• ROOM TEMPERATURE: This refers to water which is basically equal to that of the air temperature. This slightly elevated temperature as opposed to cold actually adds to the discomfort level of the target once hit.
• LUKE-WARM: Luke warm water is water at basically body temperature. Targets hit by enough of this water suffer an interesting side effect. Luke warm temperatures tend to make people want to urinate. Go fig'... Use carefully and wisely.
• WARM: Warm water gives an extension to the room temperature water effects. Most people expect to be hit by cold water. Being hit by warm water feel rather uncomfortable and awkward, especially on hot, sunny days.
• HOT: Hot water should not be used since this can actually really hurt. The objective of water fights is to soak people, not injure them.

Other Things to Note

Salt water and hard water (water with a lot of calcium/lime in it) will damage the blaster if allowed to dry within the inner-workings. Blasters should be flushed with clean, salt-free water if salted water is used. Pool water should not be used since pools tend to contain high amounts of chlorine. Though the blasters are commonly made of plastic, the screws holding the blasters together are metal along with some inner parts. These will rust if not treated properly.

Water Properties

The best way to understand one's water blasters is to understand the substance we all need to survive: water. As much as one would wish water blasters to be able to fire long distances with high accuracy, reality shows serious limitations to this dream. Fact is, water is subject to two main forces once it leaves the nozzle of our favourite water blaster: air resistance and gravity. These forces work in tandem to limit the firing range and accuracy of any water stream.

Sticking Together

Water has the great ability to interact with itself to form pools and streams. However, a stream coming forth from a water blaster is subject to small localized air currents which, after enough distance, will cause the water stream to break apart into individual droplets. Though this phenomenon results in a larger area being hit with water, it also shortens the distance the water can travel. The only way to minimize this phenomenon is to generate larger streams of water. The larger the stream, the farther the water must travel before the stream begins to fall apart. This is one of the reasons why blasters of the Mid-Power or greater stream nozzles can often fire farther and more accurately than lesser-powered blasters.

Firing Angles

Firing angles is one variable an individual can use to control how far a water stream will travel. Physics and/or mathematics will show that firing at a 45-degree angle from horizontal upwards will fire farthest. However, other angles are often used in order to fire under or over obstacles. Also, only piston-based, elastic-based, and separate water/air-chamber-based weapons can be fired at any angle without risk of generating a mist shot. Other air-pressure based water blasters have restrictions on which directions they will blast water and which will result in a mist shot. One thing to note is that the closer one gets to 45-degrees, the longer the distance water from the blaster actually travels. As such, some streams of smaller blasters actually break-up mid-arc reducing range. This means that while 45-degrees would theoretically give the furthest firing distance, in actuality, a lower angle would work better.

Wind

Wind is one variable usually not controllable by an individual but must be compensated for in order to increase one's accuracy in soaking the intended target. One thing to remember is that thin streams of water are more affected by wind direction than thicker streams. Also, the longer the path the water uses to travel through the air, the more the wind will affect the stream's direction. (This same problem affects firing angles.)

Depending on direction and strength of the wind, one can end up increasing or decreasing the effective range of one's water weapon. As well, curving shots can also be done to strike targets around corners if the wind is just right. Unfortunately, there is not simple formula for figuring out how each different water blaster will behave given the weather. As such, one just needs time to practice and become familiar with one's blaster-of-choice and its stream's behaviour.

Updated: 20100205 | Posted: 19990519

:: Submitted Information

Water Transport By: Field Marshall Turumbar | Posted: 20030424

Backpacks: Due to the load that many students carry in their backpacks on a daily basis, transportation of water is no longer much of an issue. A person can easily carry two to six liters of water without much impact on their maneuverability. Furthermore, as the mission requires, one can simply shed the backpack or lighten the load depending on the needs of duration, travel time, stealth, expected resistance, and soaker model. A Max-D 6000 on a scouting mission would need no water, but perhaps to be safe, one liter would suffice. However, a Monster XL on a hill defense mission should keep four to six liters of water minimum. If your position is going to be taken and you cannot take all of your bottles with you, empty them before retreating. It’s better than letting your opponents get them.