As the temperature rises in the summer months, water blasters, water guns and super soakers provide kids an opportunity to play outdoors, to burn off energy and cool off.
If you’re a child of vintage, translucent plastic pistols, be prepared to be stunned. The market for water toys generally has seen a boom (in case the wild pool floats floating over Instagram did not sway you) and the basic water pistol has been given the look of a Terminator in such a way that you don’t have to be (or even be) children to play with the toys.
We spoke with experts, professional reviews as well as crowdsourced to determine the top water guns as well as the most enjoyable super soakers this summer, no matter if you’re aged 5 or 65, or somewhere in between.
The X-Shot Warfare on Water
“Zuru’s X-Shot range is filled with reasonably priced Water blasters” experts in the toy business Marissa DiBartolo, editor in chief of TheToyInsider.com. “The Fast-Fill is one of our favorite toys this year since children can simply dip into the water and fill it up with 24 inches of water in a matter of minutes,” she says. We found this Zuru X-Shot on sale at Amazon and Target for just $9.
Nerf Fortnite Super Soaker
“Hasbro’s Nerf line also features the Fortnite license this year that is taking things to a whole new dimension,” DiBartolo says. Encourage your kids to take their phones off by playing their favorite video game in real-life. The water blaster, which is sold at Walmart and Amazon for less than $16 “looks similar to the Fortnite weapon, and is a blast for kids of all ages,” DiBartolo says.
The Nerf Super Soaker Squall Surge
This variant of the Nerf Super Soaker line topped review site Wirecutter’s review of the top water guns. The 16-ounce reservoir is ample for long water fights Wirecutter’s staff says the air-pump option is perfect for giving the blast more power.
The Nerf SuperSoaker Freezefire Blaster
This water gun isn’t cat-friendly. A shocking number of the more than 400 Amazon reviews recommend using the water gun as a teaching device to discourage cats from doing whatever it is that they aren’t supposed to do. This Super Soaker’s reservoir comes with wide mouths, which means you can put in frozen cubes of ice and offer whoever is fighting you a chilly shot of water.
Last time we checked, Nerf Freezefire Blasters were most often sold out on the internet as well as in physical stores. If that’s the case , and you’re shopping, you might want to consider using the Super Soaker Freezefire 2.0 a good alternative — and an affordable one priced at $19.99.
SwimmingWays Blow up Space Blaster
If you’re at the middle of the pack in the current year DiBartolo offers a great option for kids even as young as. “The Space blaster and monkey themes are cute and silly and the blaster isn’t too extreme,” she says of the inflatable water gun that is a hybrid.