REVIEW – In my childhood, the venerable Super Soaker™ was the coveted new water gun that every kid HAD to have. If you showed up with one of those pea-shooter water guns to a water fight and other people had a Super Soaker™, you were done for. I feel like the electric blaster style water gun is the latest wave of technology in the water gun arms race and I’ve wanted one for years ever since seeing demonstration videos on Reddit when they first came out. Spyra offered their latest SpyraThree™ water gun for review and I’m the lucky boy (trapped in a sagging middle-aged body) who gets to review it!
What is it?
The Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun is a battery powered water gun that shoots blasts of water (think large globs) instead of streams. You can refill it by simply dipping the tip in a water source and pushing the trigger forward (which takes about 20 seconds) and then you’re good for another 20+ shots. The SpyraThree™ has different firing modes as opposed to the similar SpyraTwo™ model, including a fire-rate-limited League mode, and a burst-fire mode.
What’s included?
- Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun
- Charging Cable (USB C)
- Cleaning tool
- Manual
Tech specs
Click to expand
- Effective Range: 10.5 meters (35 feet) regular shot, 15 meters (50 feet) PowerShot
- Weight (empty/full): 2,2 kg (4.4 lb)/ 2,9 kg (6.4 lb)
- Battery life: over 2200 shots
- Rate of fire: 54,5-300 blasts/ minute
- Recharge time from empty: 4 hours
Design and features
The Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun is a long rectangular slab of plastic with some serious weight to it. 6+ pounds when filled is pretty much the same weight as many military assault rifles, so this model is better suited for teens and adults than smaller kids (though my 2 year old loved pulling the trigger while I held it to shoot targets and balls). If you’re looking for a lighter one for smaller kids, the SpyraGO is a similar but smaller/lighter version. You can order the gun in red or blue colorways (great if you’re picking up multiples for team play).
The handle is comfortable to hold, and the trigger is multifunctional: you can pull it back as expected to fire a water blast, but you also push it forward while dipping the tip of the gun into a water source to refill it.
The mode selector switches between League, Burst, and Open modes. League mode is fire-rate limited, with the added option to “charge up” a “Power Shot”. This is done by holding the trigger, then releasing after it’s charged to throw a larger blast a bit further. Burst mode allows for up to 3 shots in rapid succession, and Open mode simply lets you shoot regular blasts each time you pull the trigger.
A display on the back of the gun shows water and battery level. This goes up to 99 when full, but uses ~8 “units” of water per shot, or more if you’re doing the burst or Power Shot modes. I do wish this showed actual shots remaining, but where they allow different types of shots I can see how that’s harder to do. The battery indicator never went below 3 bars during testing, even after hundreds of shots and 10+ refills. Spyra rates it for 2200+ shots before fully depleted, so it’ll last you a while unless you’re just refilling and holding down the trigger on repeat.
There’s no rear sights, but the short range and large water blast projectile means this front sight should work well for most people. After a few shots you get a good feeling for where it’s going to go.
The bottom of the handle has a weather-sealed USB-C charging port, and the power button to turn the gun on/off.
The front of the gun has the barrel (obviously) and the water intake port (the mesh covered spot below the barrel). Spyra recommends only using clean tap water to keep the gun’s internals clean but the mesh cover would help at least keep debris out if you disregard this advice and refill from streams/lakes.
Performance
After charging up the Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun (which took a couple of Hours since the battery arrived nearly dead), I tested it out in the backyard with a variety of targets. From the first blast I was hooked, this water gun is tons of fun to shoot and be shot with. When you’re on the receiving end, you get soaked if hit square on (but it doesn’t hurt). On the giving end, there’s a satisfying recoil with each shot. The range seems to meet their estimate of 10 meters, so you’re going to need to be close to whatever (or whomever) you’re targeting. The Power Blast mode seems roughly twice the amount of water, and it does throw it just a bit farther than the regular shot. At 10-15 meters you’re going to need to arc the shot through the air and back down towards your target, you can see that adjustment I had to make in the video above as the ball I was shooting got further and further away.
What I like about the Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun
- It feels well made
- Shoots accurate and consistent shots each time, even when near empty
- Different modes would be great for group games
What needs to be improved?
- 22 shot water tank goes quickly if you’re shooting rapidly, I would love the option to squeeze more shots out of a tank with smaller amounts of water per shot
- It’s heavier than I expected, definitely best for older kids/teens/adults.
- Expensive (this is common to all of the newer electric blast water guns though).
Final thoughts
If you’re serious about your water gun fights, you won’t regret adding the Spyra SpyraThree™ water gun to your arsenal. I know I’m going to be happy having it around to shoot nieces and nephews for summers to come. It feels solidly built, is comfortable to hold, and is a blast to shoot (literally). I’m also probably going to have to add a couple of the lighter SpyraGO models to my collection as well for the younger ones!
Price: $169 (on sale for $143.65 when reviewed)
Where to buy: Spyra and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Spyra. Spyra did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
