Hands-On: Water Warriors Python @ iSoaker.com

[isoaker]

The Water Warriors Python is the mid-sized air pressure blaster by Buzz Bee Toys Inc. released in 2012. It features a pressurized reservoir that holds a decent amount of water and a nozzle selector with three setting: two stream settings and a burst-type setting. It also features improved trigger-grip styling and, though looking related to other blasters, somehow has a better feel to it.

While I still need to do both output tests and range testing, one thing I do wish to comment on is the third nozzle setting. The nozzle, itself, looks like a larger nozzle with an X-bar of plastic cutting the opening into four parts. The result is a very interesting pattern; it ends up creating four streams that travel mostly in parallel, though slightly spreading. Total cross-sectional area of the opening is, I'm guessing, larger than the largest single stream setting on the Python, but output measurements will help verify this. While I'm not 100% sure how this setting will fare when it comes to ranges, it likely will be able to push water farther than a "flood"-type setting while still increasing the area immediately soaked on contact thanks to the slightly spread nature of the blast.

More information and images to come soon.

Soak on!

[isoaker]

Water Warriors Python pictures posted.

Enjoy!

[atvan]

The burst sounds really interesting.

I must say, I love the styling this year too. If the range is truly 40 ft., this cound bring sidearms to a point of usefulness.

[mr. dude]

Looks pretty good! What's the power on it like? Does water ease itself out of the nozzle or is there more of an explosive eagerness about it?

Also, atvan, a lot of the Water Warriors sidearms can hit 40', I expect this to be no exception.

[HBWW]

A lot of these blasters smaller than the Colossus but along the same line look like medicre piston powered stuff. Good to hear that they're actually PR's and apparently "good" ones at that.

[Nitro123PG]

Nice to see pistols with nozzle settings. I also like this idea of several spreading stream rather than a riot blast. These look like large, but still good pistols.

[DX]

40' is still not that useful when it's PR. You need the right water-air mix to achieve the optimal balance between range, shot time, and amount of pumps. I still hope they come out with a Defender-like separate chamber pistol. A BBT Defender would have all the strengths of the Defender without its main weakness, the trigger system. Plus, it could start with 40' range instead of having to drill for that.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

Yes! Finally, no more fan nozzles!
Now that that is out of the way I am glad to see a verity of nozzle settings on a gun of this size, while I generally only ever use one nozzle on most my guns, it is still nice to have more then one when you need and and/or you don't like the one it comes with if it has no selector. Not sure if I am going to be buying one though, it looks really nice but I am running out of space to store more guns. I have two bathtub sized boxes and they are about at their limit now.

[marauder]

40' is still not that useful when it's PR. You need the right water-air mix to achieve the optimal balance between range, shot time, and amount of pumps. I still hope they come out with a Defender-like separate chamber pistol. A BBT Defender would have all the strengths of the Defender without its main weakness, the trigger system. Plus, it could start with 40' range instead of having to drill for that.

This is how I feel about my Explorer. It lasts at ~40 ft for 1 sec. My friend Louis used it against me in a battle, and I bested him with my SC 600 mk2 which gets 37. It lasts indefinitely (when you keep pumping) at that range, and because of the weight distribution I could extend my range by firing one handed, arm extended, whereas he could not.

[marauder]

Just looking at what you have, I think this is going to be one of the best pressurized resservoir weapons out there. Now... I do think that pressurized reservoir weapons are technologically a thing of the past, but if I had to have one for a specific game, or if im just fighting in the back yard, this looks good.

Guided pump, 3 nozzle choices, comfort grip, 49 oz of water! I like what I see. Can't wait to see the range testing/shot time. Check out da comparison:
http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/soaker_c ... ors_python

I never liked the MD 5000, even though performance wise it was decent.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

Seams to have a moderate output, really can't wait to see the range, I hope it is another 40ft gun.
I never had a Max-D 5000 but I decided to look up this comparison:
http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/soaker_c ... ors_python
I think I will like the feel of the Equalizer better (I am weird and like the cylindrical shaped guns) but if this has range to match its good selection of nozzles I will probably buy one, assuming I can find space for another gun.

[isoaker]

Water Warriors Python review now posted. Need to measure a couple more stats to complete it (namely shot time and ranges), but I still opted to push up as much as I could for now and add in additional information once I measure them

Enjoy and soak on!

[marauder]

Just arrived home (finally) and opened up my box from Toys R Us with my new Python. I am disappointed, not in its performance, but because this gun is .... so massive. I read the iSoaker review, including the measurements, and realized it was going to be larger than I originally imagined, but it's even bigger than that. I was expecting something about the size of an SC 500 but it's the size of the 270, getting close to the size of my 110. There's no way I'm going to be able to use this in the pistol rounds @ Connecticut.

The performance might be amazing, but one has to ask - what purpose does this serve in my arsenal? This gun has a lot of things going for it - power, output, nozzle options - but the power drops off rather quickly and after a bit of firing you are unable to shoot at steeper angles without taking mist shots. There's really no excuse for the Python not to have a pressure chamber. I plan to do some more tests, hopefully including using it in a fight. Hopefully it grows on me.

[SEAL]

Well, welcome home!

Sounds a lot like the Equalizer to me. It's also around XP 270 size, is PR, and blasts a lot of mist out when firing at steep angles. As far as purpose goes, I'd probably say that it would be best as a backup for a larger gun, though the Defender or XP 70/270 would probably do the job better.

[marauder]

Had my first battle today, if you can call it that. Tiff and I took the Python to the park today, on the way to the movies.... never made it to the theater.

I took a few test shots and then Tiff yanked the gun away and chased me around the park. I would have grabbed it back and soaked her, but she was wearing a pretty dress so I just tried to dodge and get in to grab the gun away. We did this at the beach with the Scatter Blast, back in May, and I was able to get in and grab the gun several times without being hit - not so with the Python. I was absolutely drenched by the time we left.

The triple burst nozzle is absolutely devastating at closer ranges. The entire seat of my pants was drenched from one shot, though it was a good second + long, not a tap shot. I was underwhelmed by the gun's power, but it could just be that she didn't pump it up enough, will have to check this out upon further testing.

She said her favorite nozzle was the larger nozzle because it shot the furthest. The stream lamination wasn't that great, however, and it broke up a lot while running and firing. Again, could just be that she didn't pump it up enough. I have a feeling that it takes a rather high amount of pumps to maintain optimal pressure levels. It would only make sense that larger pressurized reservoir guns would take more pumps... XXP 175 anyone? Another problem with pressurized reservoir guns is that there is an inverse relationship between the amount of water in the reservoir and the amount of pumping it takes to bring the gun to an optimal power level. In plain english, the less water you got in your tank, the more pumps it takes to keep your power and range high. I observed this indirectly, she was pumping way harder at the end. The pump felt great in my hands when I was testing it out. Should be good for kids and adults. My one complaint, however, is that the pump is so smooth that it's wayyy too easy to slip out of your hands when you combine the weight of the gun fully loaded with a little water on the pump handle. This happened to me once. I can see this being a risk right after you fill the gun up or at the beginning of a fight, as its all too easy to get water on the handle when you're filling up. The Python is so heavy, relatively speaking, that the front end of the blaster swung down towards the ground. If you've ever seen the Three Amigos it was like the scene where Ned is dueling the German pilot, he pulls the revolver out of his holster and its so heavy that it drops to the ground before he can bring it back up.

That, again, is my biggest complain about this gun. The Python is a giant pistol, which brings about all sorts of unnecessary problems. When I say pistol, I'm speaking of the Python's design, not its "class." BBT should have done one of two things with this gun - either decrease the size by 25%, or give it a pressure chamber and move the pistol grip/handle/trigger to a more forward position so that the gun's weight wasn't 100% in front of the grip. The Python reminds me of those .50 caliber revolvers people use to hunt deer. Yes, they are extremely powerful, but you have to use a freakin bipod with it and it still doesn't shoot as far as a .306. If you're going to hunt deer - why not just use a rifle? I find myself saying the same thing about the Python. If I'm going to use a gun this size why not just use one that has a pressure chamber and isn't completely front end heavy.

I hope to give this gun another combat test soon, but not on the receiving end next time. Gotta lot of guns to test. Will report back with more later!

[isoaker]

Can't say I've had the same pump-slipping problem, but then again, I've not use my WW Python in any sort of major engagement. I do definitely agree, though, that the Python is shaped like an over-sized pistol and is rather front-heavy. I even find the WW Equalizer a little easier to handle single-handedly compared to the Python (the Equalizer is ~4.5cm (~2") shorter).

That said, constructive feedback is always great to have; we are seeing definitely improvements at least to the Water Warriors line thanks to community feedback.

[marauder]

I took some range stats on my Python. There has been a little wind, so I won't use these on Hydrowar, but the results were rather telling so I decided to post them here.

55 degrees F, 49% humidity

Burst: 33 feet
Large Stream: 36 feet
Small Stream: 37 feet, 39 feet

There was a little back wind behind me when I took the 39 ft shot. At that point the stream had broken up a bit and a decent amount landed up to a foot further. A few days ago I was firing into the wind and only hit my 30 ft marker. The lesson here is that the Python's stream is not well laminated and as a result is quite effected by the wind. This not only makes it more difficult to hit your target in open places during a windy day, but also during a fast paced pursuit. I am rather impressed with the burst setting, however. You would think that the little streams would get broken up rather easily by the wind. Either this isn't the case, or they already spread out so it doesn't really matter. The burst stream seems to hit ~33 ft no matter how much wind there is. Isoaker's get's about 34.5 ft, and I'm hoping this is what I'll get on a calm day.

Also, it is very difficult to empty out all the water from the reservoir. Once I get down to about ~15 oz I end up frequently taking mist shots, unless I hold the gun at a certain angle. That's not very practical. BBT did not leave any excess space in the internals, so they did a great job saving space and eliminating any excess room/weight. That's great, but I would have accepted a little more weight/bulk for a gun that could use all the water in the reservoir.

[SEAL]

The lesson here is that the Python's stream is not well laminated and as a result is quite effected by the wind. This not only makes it more difficult to hit your target in open places during a windy day, but also during a fast paced pursuit.

I have the exact same complaints about the Colossus. It's actually noticably harder to hit people with compared to an MD 6000, even though the 6K supposedly gets less range. This has made me not really want a Colossus anymore, and I'm wondering if the Gorgon does the same thing. It's funny, because all of my BBT guns, which are slightly older, have excellent lamintation.

And this new keyboard is killing me...

[marauder]

Just fought a battle with my Python vs a Vindicator and Gorgon. We were going to have a bonfire and fight in the backyard, but it was too wet and the fire wouldn't stay lit, so we moved to the front yard and used the porch lights. The opposition never left the porch. This was smart because it gave them a bit of an elevation advantage and it also kept me in the light and out of ambush mode. I would much much rather have fought out in the woods or the back yard in the darkness, and I think the enemy knew that. I ended up losing 5 to 6. The game was too one dimensional to warrant a true war story, so I'm just going to write down some notes and after-thoughts here.

The Vindicator definitely had the best stream lamination. It was kept on the largest nozzle size for the entire battle. The Gorgon was using either the 2nd or 3rd largest nozzle size. The Gorgon seems to have about average stream lamination. The stream wasn't as juicy as the Vindicator's but both seemed to shoot the same distance and both scored 3 hits on me. I was able to move in and take shots when pressures were low, or when my opponents were pumping. The Python can definitely dish it out. Once I was down to about 2/3rds of a tank I was able to fire with one hand (extended) which increased my range to about a foot or two of my opponents'. I was not as accurate firing the Python this way as I have been in the past with other guns; my XP 65 comes first and foremost to mind. This is probably due both to my lack of experience with the gun and to the low stream lamination.

The Python is not a very good stand off gun. Stand offs are where the two sides are "dug in" so to speak, where no one has the upper hand and no one can force the other to retreat. The stream breaks up too much, and once your ammo is depleted you can no longer fire at certain angles. The one exception to this would be if you are playing a soakfest vs someone with a similar sized gun, or someone slow who isn't too quick at pumping up their CPS. You could just charge in on the burst setting and overpower them. Unfortunately I was up against a Gorgon and a Vindicator.