Super Soaker

Piston water guns have been produced for many years.[8] These guns do not have triggers; they are fired simply by pumping. Although this design feature allows them to reload rapidly, piston pumpers tend to have less range and less power than other designs.

Originally made popular by the Super Soaker 50,[9][10] pressurized reservoir systems are still common for small water guns. A water gun using this system is pressurized by air being pumped and compressed into its reservoir. When the trigger is pulled, a valve is opened and the compressed air pushes the water out of the nozzle.[11]
Super Soaker started with two pressurized reservoir water guns, and has continued to produce them in various shapes and sizes.

This is a more powerful air pressure system that was also first introduced by Super Soaker. It is designed so that water is pumped from the reservoir into an empty plastic container. As the water is pumped in, the air sitting inside becomes compressed. When the trigger is pulled, the valve opens and the compressed air forces the water out.[11] The brand first used separate air pressure in 1991 on the Super Soaker 100 and has since used the technology in many other water guns.

Super Soaker has made a few spring-powered water guns. They first made the Quick Blast in 2008. The Quick Blast was a triggerless gun which functioned similarly to piston pumpers, but had a spring-loaded piston inside. The Quick Blast had a firing valve, which automatically opened once a certain pressure was reached. The spring would then push the water out the nozzle.[12]

The Super Soaker Shot Blast, released in 2010, used a system nearly identical to the Quick Blast with different styling.[13]

In 2013, Super Soaker produced the Flash Blast. While this blaster was spring-powered, this pistol-sized blaster used a system different from the previous two. Its slide was cocked back once. Then the trigger was pulled, firing a short stream of water. Function of this gun is similar to Nerf guns.[14]

Super Soaker later made many motorized water guns. In 2011, they released the Thunderstorm, which used an electric pump to push water directly out the nozzle.[15][16] In 2012, Super Soaker made two motorized water guns: The Lightningstorm, a reproduction of the Thunderstorm with added accessories, and the Electrostorm, a smaller motorized gun.[17][18] Each required four AA batteries to run.

The Constant Pressure System is the most powerful system used by Super Soaker.[19] The user pumps water from the reservoir into a rubber bladder, which expands as more water is forced into it. The stretched rubber exerts a constant pressure on the water, giving the blaster a thick and constant stream throughout the entire shot. In most older models, the resulting blast is forceful enough that recoil can be felt.

Hasbro has implemented the Constant Pressure System in Super Soaker blasters a number of times since completing the takeover of Larami Corp in 2002.[20] The most recent implementation was in the 2011 'Hydro Cannon',[16] while the largest post-takeover pressure chamber (at 900ml) is found in the 2007 'HydroBlitz' blaster.[21][22]

Unlike the classic super soaker series or the CPS series, the XP ("eXtra Power") series did not have a linear relationship between the model number and the size and power of the gun. It also coexisted with the Classic series for a number of years before replacing them. Some unsuccessful concepts, such as quick-twist tanks, were experimented with and abandoned during this transition period. By the time the Classic series had been fully phased out in 1996, the XP series had settled on the following lineup:

XP 15

As a micropistol and the smallest XP soaker ever made, this was roughly equivalent to the SS 10

XP 35

As a light rifle, this arguably filled the same role as the former SS 30

XP 65

As a medium rifle, this was the effective replacement for the SS 50

XP 105

As a heavy rifle, and as the lightest one still in production with a separate pressure reservoir, this effectively replaced the SS 100

XXP 175

Featuring two tanks and two barrels, and being the second-largest blaster in the lineup, this was the successor to the SS 200

XXP 275

Despite being a single-piece blaster, this inherited many design principles from the SS 300, such as the fact that it was fired by pulling a lever on top of the barrel rather than by pulling a trigger.

These were replaced every two years by successive generations of models until finally the XP series itself was replaced by the Max-D series.

The Super Soaker CPS 2000 is a Constant Pressure System (CPS) class water gun released in 1996 by Larami. It was the first model in the CPS line, which initially included only a single blaster. While a fearsome sight, it was often acknowledged as being overpowered, depleting its pressure chamber too quickly, and needing pumping too frequently. A second version of the CPS 2000 was released shortly after, though Larami did not announce or publicly acknowledge any changes.

CPS 2000's warning label

After two years, the CPS 2000 was discontinued, and four new CPS blasters were launched:

CPS 1000

The molded casing made this appear to have only a single, spherical pressure reservoir

CPS 1500

The molded casing made this appear to have two spherical pressure reservoirs

CPS 2500

By far the most similar in appearance to the CPS 2000, but with an adjustable nozzle for more moderate output and longer-lasting shots, this was once said by Lonnie Johnson to be his favorite Super Soaker model

CPS 3000

The first backpack blaster since the SS 300, and the second one ever.

After two more years, those models were replaced by the CPS 1200, 1700, 2700, and 3200. After two more years, the final CPS models were the 2100 and 4100.