One of the water guns, the Nerf Super Soaker Fortnite HC-E, was unfortunately broken on arrival, so we were unable to complete testing for that one. Soaking power After a lot of research, we've discovered that the Stream Machine TL 750 might just have the longest range of all the water guns we've looked at - more specifically, it can fire "up to 70 feet", which is a whole lot more than the majority of the competition. Want a water gun that can shoot the farthest? Take a look at the Stream Machine. We measured the capacity of each water gun by filling the water tank up to maximum and then pouring it out into a container on a set of scales that told us how many millilitres of water were inside. We then took photos of how drenched they were and judged how much soaking power one shot from each water gun has.

Water guns with single shots and those that need pumping up before firing are especially weak against moving targets. It takes time to prepare those water guns to fire so you've got to make your shots count, which isn't easy when your target is on the run. 4) Wear the right clothes If you've got a water gun with a good range, this tactic will help you maximise your advantage. 3) Keep moving

Power: Typically measured in distance or PSI, a water gun’s power will play an enormous role in its overall performance and user experience. Not only is this area responsible for how far a water gun can shoot, but it will also play a massive role in determining a given model’s accuracy — especially from a distance. To separate the best water guns from the duds we bought ten bestselling blasters and put them through a string of tough tests.

Ammo” Capacity: Though it limits portability, the volume or reservoir of a water gun will directly determine how much “ammo” it can store — a metric that will directly determine how long of a firefight one can enjoy before having to refill their weapon. By way of context, your average water pistol can shoot a distance of 5 to 40 feet. The vast majority tend to fall around the mid-30s, and the bare minimum range we'd recommend is 10 feet unless you're opting for power (as is the case with the Super Soaker Soakzooka) or sheer soaking capability. How much does the most powerful water gun cost? Blast Distance – Whether it’s a gentle blast or a full-on soaking, you can find water guns with various blast distances. We've listed the blast distances for each soaker, but remember these are the maximum possible distances, not all kids will be able to reach those max lengths, especially if strong pumping is required first.

This tactic can be used to your advantage when your enemies run out of water, too. If you're close to the refill station when they need to come in to load up, they'll be left wide open for you to give them a good soaking without any risk of return fire. 2) Aim high If you're looking for the best water gun that balances price with power, the Super Soaker Hydra is a front-runner with few rivals. Thanks to a handle pump that unleashes a deluge of water, it'll completely drench opponents in no time at all. Although it'll get through its 65 fl oz (1.9L) tank faster than you'd expect, there aren't many alternatives within the same price range that can challenge it.

To find out how each water gun fares at the all-important task of drenching your opponents, we dressed a tester in white overalls and dyed the water in our water guns green. Ways to keep your family living costs down, and kids of all ages happy Get our Family newsletter – it's free monthly We're looking especially to see if manufacturer claims prove accurate in the real world, so if a product is advertised on its ability to fire water jets far, but in reality they go just a few meters, we'll tell you. We'd certainly recommend this water gun for the littlest ones in the water fight, but older children would probably prefer it as a side-arm. Water capacity – Soakers are made to hold different capacities of water and small water tanks will need to be constantly refilled. If you’re just looking for a simple, fun game to play around a paddling pool, then a smaller water capacity could suffice, but for epic water fights choose one with a larger tank.You'll have to make those shots count, however, as despite having a capacity of more than a litre we only fired it seven times before it needed refilling. This may be partly due to how much water is wasted during pumping, as it dribbled a lot of water out of the end of the barrel when we were pumping it up. During testing we rate Super Soakers and other water-spewing weaponry on build quality, water capacity, features and range, which we feel are the most important elements to a good water gun. At an impressive range of 9 metres, you'll also be likely to hit your opponents before they can get close enough to return fire. Overall, we think this is a superb water gun that'll make everyone want to be on your team for your next water fight.

Firing action – There are two types of release action: trigger action, where you fire a trigger and which might be easier for smaller fingers; and pump action where you vigorously pump first to get a powerful stream of water, which requires more muscle power and can suit older kids. You only fire once between each refill, so you've got to make it count, but that one shot comes with plenty of range and firepower. A distance of 9.6 metres made this the winner of our range test, and if you're unfortunate enough to get caught in the fire of this blaster you're sure to get soaked.We filled each water gun, pumped it up to full power if required, and then fired them several times from a few different angles. Once filled, you'll also need to remember to keep the water gun upright, as we found it leaks when pointing downwards. Then we refilled each gun and counted how many times you could fire it before the tank would need refilling.