Gift Buying Guide for 7-13 year old boys: Nerf Water Gun review

In our neighborhood, water guns have gone big time. Eager to get our kids outside in the summer, parents have gladly bought lots of the latest models so that the children can have water gun wars. Dividing up into teams, the kids run all over our yard, and even up and down the neighborhood in games that last for hours as they duck behind bushes, shoot the opponents and then run to fill their guns.

• Why spend money on Water Guns?

These water gun fights give everyone a chance to cool down in the afternoon heat and offer a chance to compete in real life rather than a video game. Since pressure water guns can shoot a long distance, even my little seven year old can compete with her 13 year old brother Brendan and his friends. In fact, because she is so short and can hide better than anyone else, she is actually a sought-after member of the team. I love the fact that fun games like water gun wars allow both boys and girls and kids of all ages to play together. It has been well worth the investment to get a compressed air watergun for each of my kids and a couple of extras for friends.

However, compressed water guns are not just for kids! My husband likes to join the action and even high school and college age kids like to use them to cool off. In fact, the Nerf Thunderstorm ad uses college age guys in their video advertisement.

• What makes these new compressed air water guns special?

Unlike the old-fashioned squirt guns we used that you had to fill by immersing in water or slowly water in a small hole, these new guns allow you to attach directly to a hose or pull up water into the tank. Some of them even offer re-fill tanks, pump-load handles, rapid fire action, high capacity water tanks and long range shooting. You can stiill buy those old-fashioned clear plastic water pistols for a buck or two, but after seeing the new compressed air water guns, most kids don't want to turn back. However, high powered water guns are more than a buck or two and many of them claim to have the same features. So which is the best water gun on the market right now? Does more money equal a better gun? Not necessarily. All of the Nerf Super Soaker guns work great. And the Nerf brand tends to make guns that last longer. Especially with water guns, that is important because these tend to get a lot of hard play. All of the Nerf guns have some special features kids like but the Soaker Wars Bottle Bliz and Nerf Soaker Thunderstorm stand out.

The Soaker Wars Bottle Bliz is great because it lets you attach any ordinary soda bottle to fill it up. You can have a whole ammunition pile of water bottles ready before the battle!

However, for real power shooting, the best compressed water guns are the automatics, which use cartridges and battery powered shooting rather than pump-pull action.

My son Brendan and his friends have tried out the new models and compared them to some of the ones from last year. His conclusion? For the best water gun on the market right now, buy the Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm. Why is it the best?

• Clips for storing water make it faster to change out than other guns
• automatic shooting means you don't have to pump
• no pumping means faster shooting
• long range shooting of 20 to 30 feet
• smaller size means it can be used even by younger kids

The Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm is not the most expensive water gun on the market, but it offers the best playing experience. At around $15.00, it makes a great birthday present for friends, or a beginning of the summer investment for keeping the kids or grandkids outside and exercising. For a close-up look of how this gun compares to the competition, check out my son Brendan's video above!

• Water Wars at the Pool--an Unadvertised Feature

One feature that isn't advertised is that any of the guns that don't have an automatic feature (batteries) can have their bottom part taken off so that the tube which takes in water is exposed. That way, they can be used at the pool by sticking the tube into the water and shooting away.

• Join the Fun!

I'm looking forward to the water wars in my neighborhood this summer. In fact, I'm thinking about hiding an extra Nerf Super Soaker Thunderstorm under my sink so I can join in the fun too!