New XP20 review

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cantab
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New XP20 review

Post by cantab » Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:29 pm

Just got the new XP20, ie the "re-release" of the Super Soaker 20, but branded as an XP for some reason. For the 30 and the 100 that's no problem, but there was already a completely different XP20 so yay confusion!

I guess this ended up being a sort of proper review after all. Though I won't give a score until I can compare it to my other soakers (which are stuck in the back of a cupboard somewhere I can't easily get to).

Quick figures, all rather approximate:

Reservoir volume: 130 ml (brimmed).
Range: 7 m or more
Output: ~25 ml/s
Shot time: 3.5 s

The XP20 is the baby of the 2020 re-releases. The design though makes it still kind of bulky, the bulk increased as the pump handle is absurdly large, the original had a much more discreet "button" handle. It'll just about fit in a coat or sweatpant pocket but awkwardly, and forget about quick draws, bits are likely to snag. The pump shaft is a + cross-section and feels like it could get bent easily. The reservoir is a screw bottle, not the bayonet fitting seen on the XP100, and holds about 130 ml brimmed. It's translucent enough to see the water level. The bottle neck looks about the same diameter as a standard pop bottle. There's an intake tube so level or upwards shots are possible but even a slight downwards angle is likely to just shoot air. The nozzle looks just under a mm in diameter.

I've always valued ergonomics in my water guns and the XP 20 is great, with a nice open grip and simple trigger guard. The grip is kind of chunky though (probably because the pump's inside), small children might find it too bulky. The pump placement is quirky but no real problem since the gun is so light.

What about using it? Well, leaky is the main word I think! There's no proper pressure relief valve, so I pump pump pump and then it starts dribbling out of the nozzle. And after some puzzling, I figured out that if I screw the reservoir in too tight, that will cause it to leak air or water there too. Considering the natural reaction to such a leak is "oh I'd better screw it tighter", this is a pain in the behind. But I think with experience I could learn its quirks.

When it's behaving itself performance isn't too bad. I've had 7 metres out of it and that's close to, though not exactly, level, a higher angle might go further. It's very much broken into droplets at that point. It emptied about 90 ml in 3 1/2 seconds, so considering dropoff it probably peaks about a 1X output.

Overall thoughts? It's OK but not brilliant. It performs well enough for its size but the awkward shape counts against its use for assassins/killer. The output's big compared to the reservoir which is fun but counts against it for practicality. And the leakiness is a minus if you want an indoor water fight.

Modification ideas? Replacing or assisting the valve spring would allow higher pressure. You could knock a good two inches off the height by cutting down the pump handle to be more like the original. If you removed the rear protrusion below the reservoir, which I assume is just decorative, you could maybe fit a larger bottle. (Although one, watch out for weight on the screw threads since it has no other support, and two, why not just get an XP30.)

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SEAL
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Re: New XP20 review

Post by SEAL » Sat Jun 20, 2020 11:46 am

Wait, this is pressurized? To me it looked like the trigger was fake.
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cantab
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Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:58 pm

Re: New XP20 review

Post by cantab » Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:08 pm

A fair point considering it's exactly the same colour as the soaker body. But yup, it's air pressure.

A few photos now I've been able to copy them over. https://imgur.com/a/zGPfzmT

I also just noticed another curiosity. On the back side of the blaster is embossed:
© 2018 Hasbro
EC Reg. Des. App.
All Rights Reserved
Made In India

I-3650A
The first line is what made me do a double take. Either the toy design process takes longer than I thought, or Hasbro have been sitting on this for a year or two before releasing it! I wonder what the dates on the 30 and 100 are. Maybe they're later and they just designed the 20 first. But the chance that these got postponed in favour of what Hasbro did sell in 2018 and 2019, that hurts.

marauder
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Re: New XP20 review

Post by marauder » Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:45 pm

Wow, isoaker doesn't even have a review yet. This is probably a pinch valve like the original SS 20. Pinch valve blasters often dribble water out of the nozzle when overpressurized. The new pump grip is yuuuge. Looks like it could still be a bit of fun.

Thanks for posting Cantab.

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