The Water Warriors Stingray is the smallest air pressure blaster released by Buzz Bee Toys Inc. in 2007. As a small soaker, it is light to carry easily concealable, but also lacks the power and reservoir capacity of large soakers. Nevertheless, the Stingray can make for a decent back-up blaster or sidearm in most water wars.
The Blaster ::
Nozzle ::
The nozzle on the Stingray is capable of producing a decent, smooth stream. As expected, the Stingray lacks a separate pressure chamber, thus the force behind the stream comes from its pressurized reservoir and flow through the intake tube. In order to maximize water use, the intake tube extends towards the handle/grip region. However, unlike the Water Warriors Hammerhead, the Stingray's overall smaller size and shorter reservoir means that the intake tube is not excessively long, thus does not appear to reduce stream performance compared to other similarly-sized soakers.
Pump ::
The pump on the Stingray feels somewhat short, even for a pistol-sized blaster. However, pumping, in general, is standard and the pump can adequately pressurize the reservoir, albeit needing a few more strokes than expected due to the smaller air pump volume. Oddly, the pump grip, itself, is smooth while the exterior of the pump shaft is textured. Swapping these properties would have been preferred since a slightly textured grip makes it easier to hold, particularly if wet.
Triggers / Grip ::
The trigger pulls smoothly while the grip serves double-duty as also being the reservoir cap. The texturing on the grip is meant to facilitate removing and replacing the cap, but feels a little odd when using the blaster, itself. This is not a problem, per se; just an observation. The fact that the grip region is open means no restriction for those of larger hand sizes.
The Reservoir ::
The Stingray's reservoir holds a decent capacity for a soaker of this size. As the grip is also the cap, this makes the Stingray's profile shorter when refilling, allowing it to be refilled from shorter-height faucets. The reservoir's cap, however, has an odd plastic stopper nub on it. When tightening the cap, this plastic nub will prevent the cap from tightening further unless the cap is pulled slightly to allow the nub to pass the barrier on the soaker's body. If the cap is not fully tightened, due to its downward placement, water will leak from it as the reservoir is pressurized. The plastic stopper, however, slows down tightening the cap at a point when the cap is not truly sealed, making its purpose questionable. Additionally, the cap seems to also serve as a pressure release valve, releasing water down the grip is the reservoir is over-pressurized. This is somewhat annoying as one's hands will undoubtedly get wet during this process.
Overall ::
As a whole, Water Warrior Stingray is a decent, pistol-sized blaster. Well balanced and offering respectable power for a small soaker, the Stingray's shortcomings come primarily from its size as well as positioning and resign of its reservoir cap. Overall, the Stingray would serve well as a decent back-up blaster or as a primary soaker in small and/or indoor mini-water fights.
Pros
Simple design with clean lines. Decent power for a pistol-sized soaker.
Cons
Being a small soaker, has limited output and capacity. Reservoir cap design has some peculiarities; over-pressurizing results in water trickling down the grip.
80
Nozzle ::
Pump ::
Triggers / Grip ::
The Stingray's reservoir holds a decent capacity for a soaker of this size. As the grip is also the cap, this makes the Stingray's profile shorter when refilling, allowing it to be refilled from shorter-height faucets. The reservoir's cap, however, has an odd plastic stopper nub on it. When tightening the cap, this plastic nub will prevent the cap from tightening further unless the cap is pulled slightly to allow the nub to pass the barrier on the soaker's body. If the cap is not fully tightened, due to its downward placement, water will leak from it as the reservoir is pressurized. The plastic stopper, however, slows down tightening the cap at a point when the cap is not truly sealed, making its purpose questionable. Additionally, the cap seems to also serve as a pressure release valve, releasing water down the grip is the reservoir is over-pressurized. This is somewhat annoying as one's hands will undoubtedly get wet during this process.
