Retro: Super Soaker CPS 2500. That's tuff.

I've been on a roll with the acquisition of retro Super Soakers lately, and I have to admit I was absolutely stoked at this latest find. The Super Soaker CPS (Constant Pressure System) 2500 is one of the all time Super Soaker fan favourites from 1998 and is one of the most powerful water blasters ever made other than it's legendary older brother in the CPS2000.  I owned one back when they were released but it was unfortunately thrown out when I was not about; you can imagine how upset I was as even second hand units these days normally go for quite high prices on eBay, being quite popular with collectors and seasoned water fight affectionatos alike.

Sooo you can imagine I was very happy when I got the call to pick up a NIB almost mint unit for 40 bucks:)

   

 The Super Soaker CPS2500 is considered the "second most powerful water blaster made" but is still an incredibly formidable blaster in its own right. As the successor to the CPS 2000, it was slightly "detuned" with a smaller firing chamber capacity and slightly shorter distances but was also considered more practical during actual water fights with various refinements such as a rotating triple nozzle selector to adjust your amount of soakage required in battle. It's the same size and form as the CPS 2000 which essentially means it's still bloody massive; with a 3 litre tank capacity and a weight of under 2 kilos you just don't see water guns made like this anymore! Like most CPS tech blasters, it has actual recoil and also can drain near half a litre of water per shot on the largest aperture, meaning you can drain your tank pretty damn quickly if you're not careful:)
                                                            

The CPS2500 is quite solidly built and sports a predominantly grey finish with red and purple accents. It's really not the best blaster for small children due to it's size, however it's surprisingly well weighted and easy to wield during water fights (I recall doing slides and commando rolls during a first year O-Week water fight while holding this thing). It comes with a shoulder strap which is good because the CPS2500 still does get kinda heavy to carry for long periods of time.

 The CPS 2500 has an air pressure gauge to let you know how 'primed' your blaster is. It also uses a tracked pump that slides along rails to pump the blaster up which is awesome; it's quite comfortable to hold although it does take quite a lot of pumps to prime the blaster and with wet hands it can lead to blisters if you're not gripping it correctly.

 The blaster is VERY powerful- normally when you see a "don't shoot in eyes and face" with water guns you can laugh it off, but with the CPS 2500 it really doesn't feel nice and can be likened to a point blank burst to the face with a garden hose set to hard stream. The older CPS 2000's were rumoured to take out an eyeball, and while these 2500's aren't as lethal, I'm still not one to really wanna try:)

Three nozzles- a 5x, 10x and a massive 20x thickness stream- smaller aperture tends to lead to thinner, further streams but a 20x takes the cake for hilarity and total drenching. The 20x aperture is also very close to the stream from a CPS 2000 so it still makes for some powerful soakage during battles.

To be honest, all of the blasters in the original CPS range are absolute powerhouses, but the CPS 2500 is just an absolute cannon. On a good day, other blasters like the 2700 and Monster can match it, but on the whole the CPS 2500 dominates any water fight. There's just nothing out there like it and you'd be a pretty brave dude to come at it with any of the current Nerf branded Super Soakers and not expect to be totally outclassed and soaked immediately. Ranges of around 7-10 metres is pretty normal for this blaster which in water fight distances is pretty normal, but it's about HOW much water you can shoot in those distances that makes it a king of the hill blaster.

Unfortunately, they just stopped making these blasters by the new millennium, rendering the CPS 2500 as a cult classic and just one for the die hard collectors. I've always thought it was a shame that kids of today haven't had the opportunity to experience CPS blasters of the late 90's- they're just so much fun:)

If you do ever manage to find one, I would strongly urge anyone to pick one up, as the CPS 2500 really is a classic water blaster that has to be experienced to be believed. They're waaaay over priced by eBay sellers unfortunately and some even go for the 200 dollar mark second hand, but if you can find one for under 100, I'd suggest you get it. It's satisfying stuff, and guaranteed enjoyment:)