If laser tag feels a bit meh and paintball feels a bit ouch, the Gel Blaster Surge (aimed at age 14+) is just about right. It is physical… but you’re not covered in little, round bruises the next day. The price of entry is reasonable too.
It’s white and looks quite sci-fi. It shoots little gel blobs called ‘Gellets’ that burst on impact. They're a bit like Orbeez. They’re water-based and, although you can buy them hydrated and ready-to-use, it’s cheaper to buy a big bag of tiny, dry Gellets and soak them in water for two hours plus. They swell up considerably, to ten times their original size.
The Gellets are non-toxic and biodegradable. So while, as a mum, I wouldn’t want the Blasters used around the house; in the garden, park or forest it’s fair game. They’ll wash away.
It’s shockingly fun. You’ll want to soak a lot of Gellets because you’ll go through them fast. The Blaster’s rechargeable battery lasts for 4 hours of play but a hopper of Gellets lasts mere minutes. It’s that compelling, whether pointed at your sibling or inanimate objects.
Each Gel Blaster Surge (£59.95 at the time of writing) comes pre-charged and with a hopper of 800 hydrated Gellets, so you can play straight away. It also comes with a box of 10,000 dry ones, which will keep you going much longer. You can buy further packs of 10,000 dry Gellets affordably (£6.99) and even get a large, collapsible Depot (£19.99) container to soak them in, but frankly you can soak them in water in any bowl, so you don’t need a Depot. (Though if you do want a Depot, you can save a little by buying a bundle.)
What you do need though is two Blasters. You can shoot at objects but a battle is much, much more fun. The Gel Blaster Surge comes with two barrels. Switch to the orange barrel (90 feet per second velocity) to dial back the strength for toddler battles, but teens will absolutely want to shoot each other full pelt with the pre-installed white barrel (170 feet per second). All’s fair in love and war.
The Blasters do come with safety specs though, which is definitely a good idea. You wouldn’t want to take a Gellet in the eye, at either velocity.
With the white barrel, your Gellets will go more than 100 feet, so you can also enjoy target practice the length of the garden.
The Blaster also has two modes: semi and full-auto. With the former, it fires one Gellet when you pull the trigger. With the latter, hold the trigger down to fire eight Gellets per second.
My teens loved battling each other, and friends, with the Gel Blaster Surge. I found it compelling too. And while it’s pricier than, say, water pistols it’s great value when weighed against going paintballing. The Gellets are cheap and you can play again and again.
Put a pair of Gel Blaster Surges, and plenty of ammo, on your Christmas list. You’ll have a BLAST!
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| The Gel Blaster Surge: Shockingly fun |
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