Review: WW Tiger Shark - ^

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wetmonkey442
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Review: WW Tiger Shark - ^

Post by wetmonkey442 » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:04 pm

Well, I finally got around to buying a WW Tiger Shark and I have to say I am very impressed. Coming from someone who hasn't really bought a new gun since my '05 Blazer (at least not for myself), I'm happy to see Buzz Bee and the team at Water Warriors has designed another solid and powerful mid-sized blaster. Having never used the Pirahna/Lightning, I'm not sure how well the Tiger Shark performs compared to its predecessor. I can say that it outperforms the WW Scorpion, as well as the MD 6000/MI Defender range guns. I'll write a much more detailed review later (perhaps this weekend). I'll post the review here and on Downpour to start off some more summer updates. Until then, I took some pictures with my new shiny digital camera:


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The whole gun. I have to say, I like the coloring/styling. It's pretty minimalistic, but like all WW guns it does seem a bit clunky in places. The weird red tubing doesn't really serve a purpose (even an aesthetic one IMO, I'll probably remove it).

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Ah, the infamous grip area. I finally saw what everyone else was talking about. Even with my pinky finger hanging below the guard, the upper edge of the plastic casing still hurt the top of my hand. I don't even have very large hands, so this is going to present trouble for a lot of people my age and older.

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I really liked the nozzles. They were nicely constructed, the selector was easy to turn and clicked into place without trouble. I didn't run into any of the trouble that iSoaker ran into with his Orca, in terms of incomplete nozzle selector rotations. I also liked the differences between the nozzles in regards to power, stream size, and lamination. Unlike the first generation Blazer, there were not a whole bunch of nozzles that were similarly sized. I found the small nozzle good for saving water, the medium nozzle good for all around soaking, and the large one had a pleasant kickback to it. I'd rate the largest nozzle at around 3-4x and the smallest one around .5-1x.


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Looking down the barrel.

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The whole gun. Overall very well constructed even if seemingly bulky and unnecessarily clunky in some areas.


Edited By wetmonkey442 on 1177088720
Link to primary Water Warriors Tiger Shark discussion thread
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Adrian
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Post by Adrian » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:07 pm

Nice review. What's the range and output like? How does it "feel" when shooting?

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Post by wetmonkey442 » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:11 pm

Good questions, something I should of covered.

I was and am a bit hesitant to relate the stream size to everything because I never used the Pirahna/Lightning. However, I'd say that the gun was not as powerful as a CPS 1000 or 1200. It wasn't as powerful as my first gen Blazer either. However, (and this is all approximation, I'll get specifics in a bit) I felt like the stream went about 30-40 feet. The medium sized nozzle had the best range. I'm used to larger nozzles going farther, however the largest stream on the Tiger Shark went a few feet shorter than the medium stream.

I'll edit this post with pics and stats soon.


EDIT:

I don't have any accurate way of measuring range for now, but I was able to get some pictures:

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The smallest stream setting.

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The medium stream setting.


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The largest stream setting.

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Fall off after the largest stream. As you see, the pressure's pretty constant, even near the end but not to the degree of a CPS gun.




Edited By wetmonkey442 on 1177089801
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Post by isoaker » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:42 pm

Nice pics and good initial review info!

As an aside, I never had any nozzle selector problems with the Tiger Shark, only with the Orca. The Tiger Shark, overall, seems like a better evolved blaster than the Orca. I have no idea, either, about the aesthetic/functionality of those red tube bits. :goofy:

If you'll be posting a review on Downpour, please let me know the link and I'll add a link from the iSoaker.com review page to Downpour's review.

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Post by DX » Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:41 pm

Nice review! Definitely get rid of the red tube things, they serve no purpose [took mine out of the Orca, looks much better without them].
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Post by SilentGuy » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:44 pm

Nice review! The red tubing does seem out of place, and I'm still wondering if I could get a Tiger Shark and cut off part of the hand guard. My fingers fit inside, but my hand itself does not.

My Orca also seems to lack power - the large nozzle doesn't get much range. I guessed more range though, even if my estimations are poor. Perhaps my CPS 4100 is even worse if the Orca also has poor range.

Both guns look pretty chunky, but balance is good.

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Post by HBWW » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:11 pm

I'm pretty sure the red tubes have no use and are strictly for design, just wouldn't make sense to use them.
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Post by isoaker » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:47 pm

C-A_99 wrote:I'm pretty sure the red tubes have no use and are strictly for design, just wouldn't make sense to use them.
The red tubes are definitely Star Fleet standard issue GNDN tubing, only smaller. No, really! :goofy:

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Post by HBWW » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:42 pm

And what is it for? Transfer of excessive compressed subliquid to initiate atomic growth of the PC system to allow for higher output volumes and to help the stream defy air resistance?

Hmm, just noticed the new navbar layout. Very nice. :cool:
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Post by bb1 » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:03 pm

C-A_99 wrote:And what is it for? Transfer of excessive compressed subliquid to initiate atomic growth of the PC system to allow for higher output volumes and to help the stream defy air resistance?

Hmm, just noticed the new navbar layout. Very nice. :cool:
That nails it right there.

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Post by wetmonkey442 » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:06 pm

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the final review right now. I did some more testing today (which escalated into a sort of mini-soak fest with my brother).

I still don't have official ranges, but I was able to get shot times for all 3 nozzles:

Smallest-22 seconds
Medium-13 seconds
Largest-4 seconds

Drop off is slightly longer than with Super Soaker brand CPS guns, and thus it's harder to tell when to stop counting off seconds. I stopped once range had dropped below about 15-20 feet. However, drop off occurred fairly quickly. Thus, discrepancies in shot time should not amount to more than 2 or 3 seconds.
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Post by isoaker » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:18 pm

Shot time is something that's a little bit more subjective, IMO. The numbers I have for shot time are somewhat shorter than what wetmonkey442 reports since I tend to stop the time once I feel the stream power is dropping less than ~80-90% original power. Either that, or wetmonkey442's PCs are larger on his or that his nozzles are slightly smaller. :goofy:

Definitely looking forward to seeing the completed review!

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Post by wetmonkey442 » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:48 pm

Yes, that's what I've always found to be the case.

Here's the review. It's complete except for range and volume stats which I should have before the end of the week.

Water Warriors Tiger Shark Review

Front to Back

The Tiger Shark is part of the new ’07 lineup of Water Warriors guns. It is second in size to the larger Orca and can be seen as a direct descendant of the similarly priced/sized Piranha/Lightning. The Tiger Shark is a relatively mid-sized blaster that relies on the diaphragm technology used in previous models of the Piranha/Lightning and Blazer. This same technology is utilized in the Orca. The single diaphragm used in the Tiger Shark is housed a spherical gray pressure chamber located about halfway down the length of the gun.

The Tiger Shark features 3 nozzle selections, rated approximately at .5x, 1x, and 3x. The range of nozzles is nice to see, and they all seem to perform solidly. The largest range was observed with the medium nozzle. Stream lamination on all 3 nozzles was above average, with lamination on the smaller two nozzles much better than other equivalent soakers. The three nozzles are housed in a nozzle selector that is bright orange like most Water Warriors or Super Soaker brand guns. The rotation of the selector was clear and unobstructed. The Tiger Shark’s trigger valve is arrayed in line with the bottom nozzle in the nozzle selector. When choosing a nozzle, it’s important to remember that the water will be flowing through the bottom nozzle. Luckily, it’s hard to align the nozzles in between selections, as a definite “click” is felt when you snap a nozzle into place. Thus, leakage resulting from misaligned nozzles should not be a problem commonly experienced with the Tiger Shark.

The main casing of the Tiger Shark is dark gray and is pleasingly neutral. No bright colors here to strain the eyes, or give away a position during a night fight. The pressure chamber and reservoir are both gray, darker than the rest of the casing. The nozzle selector, trigger, and pump cap are all bright orange. The reservoir cap, trigger handle, and pump handle are all colored a subdued red. There is a minimal amount of aesthetic features to this gun, however the curious lack of adornment finds an exception in the presence of three thin plastic tubes that arc over the top of the pressure chamber (never coming in contact with the chamber itself), connecting to the main casing of the gun on each side. They seem strangely out of place, and are not hollow, thus they serve only for aesthetic ornamentation. It had not been tested at this time, whether it is possible to remove these tubes. It has been reported that similar tubes above the pressure chamber(s) of the Water Warriors Orca are removable which can only lead to the assumption that, with sufficient force, it is possible to detach the tubes from the casing of the gun.

The trigger system utilized in the Tiger Shark is the original pull valve trigger. It doesn’t rely on a ball valve the way Max D trigger systems do. In this way, the durability of the trigger system may have improved, forsaking the extra boost in range that the ball valve seems to lend. The pressure relief valve used with the Tiger Shark is extremely loud and obvious. It screeches when the diaphragm has filled with water and dumps excess water back into the reservoir.

The reservoir is nice and big; however it is opaque, so water levels are hard to tell by just holding up the reservoir and attempting to eyeball the demarcation. Luckily, the weight of the Tiger Shark is fairly well balanced, and thus, with a bit of experience it is quite easy to guess approximately what fraction of the tank is still filled with water simply be feeling the weight.

The pump on the Tiger Shark seems a bit on the short side, but this does not seem to affect the number of pumps needed to fill the diaphragm with water. It took approximately 13 pumps to activate the pressure relief valve. The pump handle itself is large and cylindrical, reminiscent of earlier Super Soaker designs (think CPS 1000). It’s comfortable to hold and pump, however the pump itself is a bit wobbly as it sits in the pump shaft. This causes the pump handle to inadvertently hit against the edge of the pump cap when the pump is pushed back after being withdrawn. It does not cause the pump to bind however it does cause minor aggravation of the plastic, and may reduce the structural integrity of the pump over time.

The largest and most noteworthy failure of the Tiger Shark lies in the handle. The main handle, held when using the trigger, is almost ridiculously small. Any adult or even adolescent with normal sized hands will have trouble fitting three fingers below the trigger. It is necessary to let your pinky finger wrap around the bottom of the casing that connects the handle with the rest of the gun. This is uncomfortable position. Another unfortunate downfall of the handle is the way the casing above the handle is shaped. Quite the anti-thesis of such comfortable soakers as the MI Defender, the Tiger Shark’s casing forms a completely flat plane directly above the handle. This does, in no way conform to the natural contours of the human hand, and places all of the weight of the soaker on the upper part of the hand. While the Tiger Shark is not a heavy water gun, holding it is such a position becomes tiring after awhile.

The Tiger Shark comes with a strap, which is always a good thing to see in mid sized soakers. Although the Tiger Shark is fairly small, and not cumbersome at all in terms of size or weight, the strap allows a user to wield the Tiger Shark simultaneously with another gun without fear of slipping and dropping the gun.


Battle Effectiveness/Capability

The Tiger Shark is a mid sized diaphragm soaker. However it handles, feels, and operates more like a larger air pressure soaker. The usefulness of the constant pressure technology is exemplified in the largest nozzle. It has quite a kick and has above decent range for a gun that size. An individual using the Tiger Shark is more than capable of holding his/her own against user wielding smaller CPS class soakers and downwards. It is not recommended to use the Tiger Shark against any soaker bigger or more powerful than a CPS 1500. However, the Tiger Shark is a decent opponent to any of the larger modern soakers, and more than a match for the majority of water guns on the market today.

The Tiger Shark is relatively small water gun, and can be wielded comfortably by practically anyone over the age of 5 or 6. Smaller children might have trouble holding the gun and pumping. The balance of weight makes the Tiger Shark comfortable to hold over long periods, although the ill-designed handle can wear on a user’s hand.

The Tiger Shark is most effective when paired against similarly sized soakers. It can hold its own against a CPS 1200. The true strength of the Tiger Shark lies mainly in its shot time. It has an extraordinary 22 second shot time on the smallest nozzle. Its extensive 17 second shot time on the medium nozzle can be utilized in many ways depending on game type. In a standard soak fest, a user can simply outlast the opponent and then move in to soak when the opponent needs to repressurize. In a 1HK game, the Tiger Shark’s shot time, when coupled with a tap/pump battle approach can stretch a fully pressurized diaphragm on for quite a long time.

Overall, the Tiger Shark is a versatile and solid soaker that, despite drawbacks, can perform solidly in any water gun fights. In the right hands, the Tiger Shark proves to be an ideal soaker for any situation.

Overall Stats

Pumps to Fill: 13-16

(10/10) When Compared Against Similar Soakers
Range: 7/10
Power: 7/10
Shot Time: 8/10
Mobility/Balance: 9/10
Design: 7/10
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