Hands-On: Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm

[isoaker]

Just opened up and gave my newly acquired Super Soaker Thunderstorm a little testing. Word of the day: underwhelming.

While, like the rest of the Nerf Super Soaker line, the blaster looks and feels great, its performance leaves much to be desired.

First, the good stuff: solid build, solid feel, and the clip/magazine system feels very sturdy, snapping into place, but not needing to worry about dribbling canisters when these are detached. Styling is slick, too, and ability to add on various accessories to customize your blaster I'm sure some will like.

As for performance, well, you can do faster soaking with a Super Soaker Point Break than you can with the Super Soaker Thunderstorm. Well, the Thunderstorm will theoretically soak someone more since it can carry a little more water and swap in additional magazines if available, but output wise the Point Break wins. Range does not appear very great, either, as the stream was already showing a noticeable downward arc at the 10' mark (about as far as I can do testing indoors). I'm guessing a level range of around 15'-20' with an angled range adding perhaps another 5' at best.

Anyhow, pictures of the Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm posted. Full review to come...

[isoaker]

Super Soaker Thunderstorm review posted.

Enjoy!

[Nitro123PG]

My neighbor is actually considering buying this. I have a CPS 1000 on the way to my house thanks to eBay, so the matchups at our neighborhood are going to be VERY uneven this year. This is pathetic, even for Hasbro. Does anybody know when those CPS patents expire? SS sales are going to plumment after that day.

[HBWW]

But... you don't have to pump that thing! The wonders of not having to pump a blaster! Haha, tell your neighbor about it, and if he buys it, let him learn the true price of buying a Thunderstorm when summer rolls around.

BBT seems to be doing well already. I suspect that if they don't already have larger, high-flow valves (they switched to pull valves recently, not sure how well they allow for flow), they will soon. High scale air pressure will cost money, but it may be a viable option before the CPS patents expire. (I suspect that they will expire in about 2018, given the 20-year life cycle of design patents.)

In fact, I am more curious to see what BBT will come up with for next year. They seem to have frantically filled up this year's line at the last minute when the injunction against CPS started, so they may have to have quickly put together the new Ultimate blasters and re-release the old blasters to fill the upper end of the food chain (after a few minor changes, such as the AP conversion). With more time to work on next year, they may come up with something interesting. On the other hand, they seem to run on a two-year cycle, where they only make big releases of new stuff every two years, and this year is supposedly one of them. But either way, contrary to popular belief, air pressure is not difficult to put on the scale of the old CPS's, at least from a design standpoint. It does however, seem to cost more money than CPS's of the same capability.

The Thunderstorm seems to bear similarity to the Tarantula which was released in 2007. The Tarantula however, appears to perform far better than the Thunderstorm, surpassing its output by more than three times. If you compare the Thunderstorm commercial to that of actual shot videos, you'll notice the ones in the commercial appears to perform far more like the Tarantula. =p

[martianshark]

They make the Thunderstorm look like a pumpless CPS or something. It's ridiculous.

Even the WW Jet is probably better than the Thunderstorm. If possible, show your friend some Thunderstorm videos and then show him some CPS vids and maybe he'll realize it's junk.

Thunderstorm vs CPS 2000

[Nitro123PG]

I'll try that, but this is a "new is better" kind of kid and will be hard to convince.

Also, have you seen the Hydro Cannon commercial? They attempt to make it look like it shoots a stream instead of a riot blast. Ugh

2018? Ugh, I dunno if I'll even own my soakers anymore, let alone use them. I hope the hobby sticks.

[martianshark]

Hmm... Even the Saturator AK-47 seems to be more powerful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFargZDz ... re=related

Hopefully your friend will at least get something besides the Thunderstorm. It's probably the worst in the 2011 line.

If he gets a Thunderstorm, he'll be sorry.

[HBWW]

Even the WW Jet is probably better than the Thunderstorm.

http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis ... storm.html
http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis ... s_jet.html

Thunderstorm: 7.5 mL/S
Jet: 9 mL/S

For reference: http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis ... ntula.html
Tarantula: 28 mL/S

And for your friend: CPS 2000: 650 mL/S (Or about 849 mL/S for the MK I)

This... is even more ridiculous when you consider the fact that the Jet is marketed towards small kids and the Thunderstorm to guys who are old enough to build their own water guns by themselves. How Nerf ever had their one and only brilliant idea of a CPS with a big ball valve plus trigger in the midst of all this crap is beyond me; the awful designs on the rest of the Nerf SS line seems deliberate when compared to the HC.

I would say the commercial for the HC simply downplays and ignores the low shot time (not surprisingly), but I think it represents the blaster better than the Thunderstorm commercial did. If you look carefully, you'll see a disclaimer stating that slow motion is used for many shots. The whole thing is shot very carefully to hide the "major pumping required" factor as much as possible.

If you're friend's so strictly into the new stuff, go for the WW Sphinx or Gorgon. Either way, none of it is really new; this year is mostly re-hashes of older designs, and if you trace the origins of the tech, the motorized squirt gun is far older than air pressure. Of course, if your friend cares more about the lack of a pump, the marketing, and the pretty box, he's going to be completely drenched this summer.

SS Thunderstorm internals: http://modworks.blogspot.com/2011/02/ne ... storm.html

[Nitro123PG]

I convinced him to not buy the Thunderstorm, (or ANYTHING in the 2011 line) and he said he might go for a Gorgon. Phew.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

What!!! 9.17 onces, thats less than a Max-D 2000! I find the new clip system pretty useless. I've always found that the pressure chamber is the clip and when you pump it it's like your reloading. Yeash, at this point it doesn't really suprize me that the gun isn't very good.