Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

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James G.
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Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

Post by James G. » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:54 pm

This is fairly recent news, and hasn't been posted about yet, so I thought I would make a thread noting it.

Spyra recently introduced a new "LX" blaster, which looks similar to the Spyra Two, but lacks the electric features. It appears to be refilled and powered (pressurized?) via a rear-mounted pumping mechanism, and then can be repeatedly fired when the trigger is pulled. Performance is said to be slightly weaker than the regular Spyra Two at only 9m range for the regular shot, and there's no indication anywhere that it supports the higher-range 'power shot'. At $89, it is almost half the price of the regular Spyra Two.

Without having used either one, it seems from reading and watching coverage that it could be tersely described as being like a rich man's Hydro/Typhoon Burst. It seems difficult to me to justify this expenditure on performance grounds, even in a market that is saturated with pump-to-fire blasters. Am I out in left field?

Drenchenator
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Re: Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

Post by Drenchenator » Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:37 am

Personally I have found Spyra's water guns to be interesting but never compelling enough for me to buy them. To me, the "single shot" aspect seems like a gimmick but I suppose some people could want it. That said, based on my cursory view of Spyra's website, their LX blaster seems to be an interesting addition to their lineup. I wonder how much of the design was influenced by the recent supply chain crises, since a purely mechanical blaster does not require any "fancy" computer chips or batteries, etc. Sourcing the parts likely is much easier. I was never sold on an electric water blaster, but this one seems more interesting to me because it achieves roughly the same performance as their electric one, but without the added complexity and maintenance (charging) associated with an electric blaster. That said, I have no plans to buy a Spyra blaster.
The Drenchenator, also known as Lt. Col. Drench

SSCBen
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Re: Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

Post by SSCBen » Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:14 am

Welcome to WWN, James G.!

Only 9 m range!?! Is that angled range or flat? Spyra can do better than that. If that range is right then I suspect this product may have had less development time than they'd like, so they might not have been able to fully optimize it. Likely the Spyra LX2 would have better performance.

The jet seems to be breaking up badly in this video review, so it does seem to me that there is a lot of room for improvement. Unfortunately LordDraconical seems to mostly shoot flat, so it's not clear to me how much the range would increase by angling.

Still, I think this is a step in the right direction. I'm not a fan of battery-powered water guns, and I personally would also prefer a blaster with more water capacity.

As for whether to buy it, that's up to you. Out of all the blasters on the market today, this sounds like the best to me. But the blasters on the market are mostly bad today aside from Spyra.

I personally bought a Spyra One back in the day because I wanted to support the development of better water blasters. The Spyra LX is still expensive, but given inflation, it's not bad. About $90 today is about $50 in 1996. I don't recall what the CPS 2000 sold for back then, but I think it was comparable.

Full disclosure: I've done some consulting for Spyra before, but these opinions are my own.

James G.
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Re: Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

Post by James G. » Thu Jul 21, 2022 2:32 am

This reviewer, "Voyager Entertainment" does mention one interesting advantage for the LX: although its shots are visibly worse than the Two's, it also has a much better refire rate. That suggests that the Two is better for a ranged, precision game, while the LX is better at applying pressure up close. I suspect the Two's advantages are better for 'elite' water warfare, and that the LX would be better suited to how most casual water gun users are likely to end up playing.
Last edited by James G. on Wed Apr 05, 2023 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

SSCBen
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Re: Spyra's non-electric blaster: "LX"

Post by SSCBen » Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:45 pm

Nice find. Watching that video, I can definitely see the advantage of the LX at closer distances.

Storm Surge on the WWN Discord also noted that the LX's shots look bad initially, but once the valve is fully open, the jet looks smooth. That's something Spyra should consider in the next version.

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