Super Soaker is a famous brand of toy water gun that uses, depending on the model, different types of water propulsion, allowing them to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt guns. The name "Super Soaker" is sometimes misapplied to refer to all types of water gun, but this is an incorrect usage, since most non-Super Soaker water guns do not match up to the performance of true Super Soakers.
Super Soaker has dominated the market for water guns for many years, yet more competition is now arising with Buzz Bee Toys and their "Water Warriors" brand.
Technology
Air Pressure
By far the most common Super Soakers use air pressure to force the water out of the nozzle: both the XP (eXtra Pressure) and Max-D (Maximum Distance) range of Super Soakers use air pressure. Two main systems are used in this technology, as indicated below.
Pressurised Reservoir
Super Soakers that use this system have air pumped into their water reservoir. This exerts a force on the water, which is released through the nozzle upon the trigger being released.
Examples of pressurised reservoir models include the SS 50, the XP 240, the XXP 175, the Max-D 2000, the SC 400, and the HydroBlade.
Separate Firing Chamber
This system involves water being pumped from the reservoir into one or more separate firing chambers, thus compressing the air in these chambers. This exerts a force on the water, thus providing the power to push the water through the nozzle when the trigger is pulled.
Super Soakers using this system are, generally speaking, more powerful than ones using Pressurised Reservoir Technology.
Examples of separate firing chamber models include the XP 150, the XP 250, the XP 105, the XXP 275, and the Triple Aggressor.
Piston Pressure
This system is very simple in its concept, water being simply forced through the nozzle by the pump's shaft pushing it.
Since the power available is directly proportional to the strength of the arm of the user, many Super Soaker users shun this type of Super Soaker. On the positive side, no pre-pumping is required, as opposed to the other type of technology where one must pump several times to build up the required pressure.
Examples include the Helix, the Splashfire and the PS Mighty Cannon.
Constant Pressure System
The Constant Pressure System (CPS) is, arguably, the most powerful system used by Super Soaker in its guns. It involves the user pumping the water from the reservoir into a rubber chamber, which expands as more water is forced into it. This pressure is released when the trigger is pulled, typically yielding a mighty blast in the case of the high-end models.
CPS technology is used in all of the CPS line, all of the Monster line, and most of the SC line of Super Soakers. Most veteran Super Soaker favour this type of technology, since the power can be very high.
Examples include the CPS 1500, the SC 500, the Monster XL, the WWF Undertaker and the Flash Flood.
Ranges
SS (Original)
1988 marked the début of the Original Super Soaker 100, which was later renamed the Super Soaker 50. This gun easily outpowered other water guns of the time, and made its mark on water gunning forever. This original range was augmented with other blasters in subsequent years, such as the Super Soaker 100 (not to be confused with the original name for the Super Soaker 50) in 1990 and the Super Soaker 300 in 1993.
Note that this series did not have a prefix as such as did the later ranges, such as "XP", but these guns are often referred to as the "SS 50", "SS 30", etc., taking the initial of "Super Soaker".
Due to their age, most of these guns are seriously outpowered by later Super Soakers, being mainly collectors' items. However, the Super Soaker 300, a backpack soaker, has very good power to hold its own on even today's battlefield, albeit being somewhat fragile.
XP (eXtra Pressure)
This range, now discontinued, used air pressure. Most of the range are regarded as good soakers, even on today's water battlefield. Their sizes range from the pistol-sized XP 15 to the XP 300 which sported a backpack for higher water capacity.
A extension to this range was introduced in 1996 and was named XXP (eXtra eXtra Pressure). It contained two guns, the XXP 175 and the XXP 275, both of which were double-barrelled, hence their naming as XXP.
Some of the best XP soakers include the XP 300, the XP 150, the XXP 275 and the XP 110. Generally speaking, the one regarded as the worst is the XP Backfire.
CPS (Constant Pressure System)
This range is regarded by most enthusiasts as the most powerful Super Soaker range. Some of these blasters boasted output of 20 times as much as the standard XP 70! Most of these blasters qualified as water cannons, due to their high power.
The CPS range opened in 1996 with the extremely powerful CPS 2000, which was released in two major versions, one sporting more range, the other more output.
Some of the best CPS soakers include the CPS 1000, the CPS 1500, the CPS 2500, the CPS 3000, and the CPS 2000. Most view the worst as the CPS 1-3-5.
Max-D (Maximum Distance)
In 2002, Super Soaker introduced the Max-D line: this line only ever contained six blasters. All were based on air pressure. Thus, power was limited, especially since none were very large.
Despite the "Maximum Distance" boast, testing by enthusiasts failed to uphold this claim on Super Soaker's part. Nonetheless, the Max-D 6000, in particular, has decent range for a blaster its size.
Since, as outlined above, only six models were released, there is a limited choice of blasters from this range. However, most would agree the Max-D 2000 and Max-D 6000 were overall good blasters.
SC (Super Charger)
1999 saw the introduction of another line of Super Soakers. These blasters, dubbed the "Super Charger" line, featured the capability to be filled and pressurised from a hose using a "Quick Filling Device" (QFD). Since most of the line was based on CPS technology, the line is regarded by most enthusisats as one of the better lines, including as it did two backpack guns, the SC: Power Pak and the SC: Big Trouble.
Most of the guns in this range were viewed as good, but perhaps the most legendary blaster from this line is the SC: Power Pak. The SC 500 is also a very good blaster for its size.
Monster
The Super Charger range was extended in the year 2000 with new blasters based on the same hose-filling concept. These, however, seriously outsized the original SC lineup, hence their appellation. The two original blasters released in 2000 were named the Monster and Monster XL: these boasted huge sizes and good CPS power, the Monster XL having dual barrels and 11 nozzles to choose from! Due to their weight, a special reinforced QFD was included with the guns.
In 2001, the original Monster from 2000 was renamed the Monster X: this allowed a new blaster to be released under the name "Monster". To avoid confusion, this blaster is often referred to by enthusiasts as the "Monster (2001)".
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