There hasn’t been a real innovation in water gun technology since the Super Soaker was introduced 21 years ago! (And cue feelings of being old.) And while I’m hesitant to officially refer to them as water guns, these Xploderz toy firearms certainly bring something new to the table. They look like Nerf guns, but work more like paintball guns. However, instead of blasting your target with paintballs that leave stains and bruises, the Xploderz fire little non-toxic balls of a superabsorbent polymer made of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide, coloring and water. They’re safe to eat, though it’s not recommended, and can be disposed of in a garden since the material was originally designed to help crops absorb and store moisture. Xploderz water pellet guns bring a whole new element of fun to shooting games.
The ammo starts off as little pellets that you need to soak in warm water for about 4 hours so they absorb enough water and expand to be large enough to be fired by the guns. It also means they’re softer and won’t hurt as much when they hit their target, which will most likely be another person. The pellets can be grown right inside the swappable ammo clips too, so you never have to touch them before they’re fired at distances of up to 85 feet. The two models pictured above, the sniper-like XRanger 2000 and the XStormer 1000 will cost you $39.99 and $29.99 respectively. While ammo refill packs, which include an empty clip, appear to run about $5.99.
A nice concept. My only issue is how you fire it… having to pull the little “load” lever then pull and release the firing thing seems kinda time consuming.