The weight of the water tank is also spread out evenly and the handles are smooth and comfortable to grip, so you won't face ease of use difficulties with the Hydra. In our range tests we fired each water gun several times at various angles to find the maximum range we were able to reach. Across the board we found that aiming your gun slightly higher helped the water fire further. This is because once it leaves the gun the water starts to drop, so aiming it slightly higher will give the water a chance to cover more ground before it falls.

Then we refilled each gun and counted how many times you could fire it before the tank would need refilling. Firing action – There are two types of release action: trigger action, where you fire a trigger and which might be easier for smaller fingers; and pump action where you vigorously pump first to get a powerful stream of water, which requires more muscle power and can suit older kids. Features – Fancy a soaker that does more than blast water? Some shoot slime, Nerf bullets as well as water, or water balloons. You only fire once between each refill, so you've got to make it count, but that one shot comes with plenty of range and firepower. A distance of 9.6 metres made this the winner of our range test, and if you're unfortunate enough to get caught in the fire of this blaster you're sure to get soaked.Size of the water soaker – You can find water soakers as small as a palm-sized little pistol, or as big as a full-on bazooka blaster. Large feature-filled soakers may look like the most fun, but if they’re too big for your child to handle they might feel frustrated and upset that they can’t control it.

One of the water guns, the Nerf Super Soaker Fortnite HC-E, was unfortunately broken on arrival, so we were unable to complete testing for that one. Soaking power You might be tempted to don your army fatigues, but you'll be at a major disadvantage. Light clothes that won't absorb too much water are best for keeping you agile and speedy in the heat of water-based battle. 5) Get to cover After a lot of research, we've discovered that the Stream Machine TL 750 might just have the longest range of all the water guns we've looked at - more specifically, it can fire "up to 70 feet", which is a whole lot more than the majority of the competition. Want a water gun that can shoot the farthest? Take a look at the Stream Machine. Water capacity – Soakers are made to hold different capacities of water and small water tanks will need to be constantly refilled. If you’re just looking for a simple, fun game to play around a paddling pool, then a smaller water capacity could suffice, but for epic water fights choose one with a larger tank.Blast Distance – Whether it’s a gentle blast or a full-on soaking, you can find water guns with various blast distances. We've listed the blast distances for each soaker, but remember these are the maximum possible distances, not all kids will be able to reach those max lengths, especially if strong pumping is required first. We measured the capacity of each water gun by filling the water tank up to maximum and then pouring it out into a container on a set of scales that told us how many millilitres of water were inside. This tactic can be used to your advantage when your enemies run out of water, too. If you're close to the refill station when they need to come in to load up, they'll be left wide open for you to give them a good soaking without any risk of return fire. 2) Aim high To find out how each water gun fares at the all-important task of drenching your opponents, we dressed a tester in white overalls and dyed the water in our water guns green.