Socks, sliced bread, Pez dispensers, water guns. There are some things that seem destined to never change. But fed up with an apparent lack of evolution in the water gun department, a team of German innovators quit their day jobs and set out to redesign the nostalgic, summertime toy for the 21st century. Three years later, they’ve taken to Kickstarter to fund the Spyra One, a next-generation water gun that will get you soaking wet.
“Spyra One turns your water fights into more than just soaking,” Sebastian Walter, company co-founder, told Digital Trends. “It shoots individual water bullets that clearly hit your opponents up to 30 feet away. With the integrated pump, the tank display, and 100 percent pressure from the first to the last shot, you will have epic water battles like never before — just with water and completely safe.”
Anyone who has ever fired a conventional water gun knows how unsatisfying they can be. The first few shots feel like a rocket launcher but, as the ammo decreases, rounds feel more like they’re shot through a straw.
Walter and his team wanted to change that. In order to fire such precise, single rounds over a relatively long distance, the Spyra One takes advantage of a physical phenomenon called laminar flow (the same one behind “jumping jet” water fountains).
“A specially engineered nozzle-valve combination reduces turbulence in the water and enables clearly visible — and clearly felt — hits,” he said.
Reloading is designed to be a cinch. Simply dip the nozzle in water, press a button, and it automatically refills. The minimalist design of the Spyra One is impressive in its own right, looking like a colorful version of the clean-lined assault rifles wielded by Halo’s Master Chief himself. There is even a digital display to let you know how much ammo is left.
Before you whip out your credit card, be warned that the Spyra One costs a pretty penny. Almost $135! But the campaign has already been hugely successful; at last check, it raised more than $263,000 in funding.
And be warned again — no Kickstarter campaign is a sure thing. Too often, we see backers get burned, scammed, or otherwise let down by shoddy projects. (Read our guide on how to avoid crowdfunding flop.)
For their part, the Spyra One team said they recognize their responsibility to backers.
“In the 12 months after the campaign, there is a lot to do from manufacturing to certifications and logistics, but we approach our fun product as a very serious business,” company co-founder Marius Rudolf told us.
Correction: A shipping date has not been confirmed between Spyra One and its production partners.
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